Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny - Hardcover

Gregory Fremont-Barnes

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9780752462110: Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752462113 ISBN 13: 9780752462110

Publisher: The History Press, 2014

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Writing to his mother the day after the fighting, Captain Thomas Wildman of the 7th Hussars described a victory so splendid & important that you may search the annals of history in vain for its parallel . Little wonder, for Waterloo was widely recognised even in its immediate wake as one of the most decisive battles in history: after more than twenty years of uninterrupted conflict this single day s encounter finally put paid to French aspirations for European hegemony. The culminating point of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo also witnessed levels of determination and bravery by both sides which far exceeded anything experienced by the veterans of Wellington s recent campaigns in Spain and Portugal. Indeed, it was that unconquerable spirit which left over 50,000 men dead on the field of battle and tens of thousands of others wounded. This thoroughly researched and highly detailed account of one history's greatest human dramas looks first at the wider strategic picture before focusing on the tactical roles played by individual British units all meticulously examined with the benefit of the extensive array of hitherto unexploited primary sources which reveal the battlefield experience of officers and soldiers as never before. Refusing simply to repeat the same unchallenged accounts and to commit the same errors of previous historians, this work relies exclusively on hundreds of first-hand accounts by men of all ranks and from practically every British regiment and corps present on that fateful day to provide a fresh and revised perspective on one of the most pivotal events of modern times.

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Product Description:

More than 50,000 men were killed during the Battle of Waterloo, on a day that proved to be the culmination of more than 20 years of war and a decisive turning point in European history. This detailed analysis of the battle draws on hundreds of first-hand accounts by men of all ranks and from practically every British regiment and corps present, and examines the wider strategic picture before focusing on the tactical roles of individual British units.

About the Author:

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A prolific author, his other books on this period include The French Revolutionary Wars, The Peninsular War, 1807 14, The Fall of the French Empire, 1813 15, Nile 1798 and Trafalgar 1805. He also edited Armies of the Napoleonic Wars and the three-volume Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As an academic advisor, Dr Fremont-Barnes has accompanied several groups of British Army officers and senior NCOs in their visits to the battlefields of the Peninsula and to Waterloo. In addition to the Napoleonic period, he specialises in the study of insurgency and counterinsurgency, his wider work for the UK Ministry of Defence on these subjects regularly taking him to Africa, the Middle East and South America.

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