CPGIU Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History Pagina 1 de 1 Napoleon's Waterloo Campaign An Alternative History by Steven Marthinsen Chapter : 0 by Steven Marthinsen Copyright 1997-1999 All maps reprinted and modified with the permission of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Copyright @ 1997-2004 - Carel Histoxe Bt Figurines - Tous dis révands http://www histofig. com/history/empire/livres/book_01_00.html 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 1 de 16 Napoleon's Waterloo Campaign _ An Alternative History by Steven Marthinsen a 7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15- 16-17 A DECISION THAT COULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY Introduction 11:85 June 18th, 1815: On The Road To Wavre : The steady tramp of marching feet and grumbling voices filed the air as Lieutenant Jean Pichot, aide de Sone fo,the commander of the Il Cavalry Corps General Count Exelmans, waited with growing impaticnce atthe [ar end of the small bridge ready for any chance he could get to cross over. The columnwas a tong ‘one. all infantry of, if he could make out the few exposed shako plates correctly, the 37th Ligne and they had no interest in letting any fancy dressed horseman splash mud all over the place simply boesuse he Couldn't wait his turn. Several eyes looked at him with undisguised envy, obviously they had no ides what it Was lke to have ridden continuously the better part of four days including an especially miserable nde the a neers. The sky had cleared by now, the sun even gracing the landscape for a change, but the ground particular feeling and force the rain swollen stream; imagine what the infantry would say if he slid off his Saddle there? Besides, they had time. Everyone knew that the Prussians werent going anywhere they Brent supposed to and French troops could march faster than any in the whole world. Stl, duty did eckon and so, when he saw a break in regiments, he put spur to horse and galloped across the narrow ige accompanied by the curses of the foot sloggers who were soon splashed with mud as he swept by egiments of infantry until what he sought came plainly into view. There, just off the road on a slight round Were a group of men wearing bicorne hats, a sure sign that some high ranking officers were present, One fran he noted as he approached nearer, the one in the middle of the group, had white feathers on his har though these appeared to be somewhat more worse for wear than he was used to when he made hie reports to his superiors (Marshall Berthier's feathers had always been perfect). Nevertheless, this was the man he sought. Ricing up confidently, Pichot raised a hand to is fur busby in salute. “Lieutenant Pichot reporting si!” Ths.man inthe fancy bicorne looked up slowly from the map he was holding, his eyes seemingly wanting to Gzamine the wet but fancy dressed aide before actually talking to him. The officer, Marshall Exmanuel, Grouchy, nodded to Pichot slighty, his aristocratic upbringing dictating his very calming presence When he Spoke, the words were very articulate, clear and polite, something of a rarity for the ears of the leutonent "Make your report, sir, if you please.” [nstinctvely, Pichot straightened up in the saddle, ignoring for the moment his sore behind. “Sir, our troops have scouted all the way to Wavre as ordered with units fanning out in both directions." Nodding slighty again, Marshall Grouchy quickly countered. "And what did you find? Where have the Prussians retreated to?" wae Prussian army, sir, has split up all over the place but the bulk of the enemy have marched north, to Havre, There are stil deserters along most of the minor roads but General Exelmans is concent that fe 2s located the main Prussian army and it seems to be in good order. Prisoners thal we caplured sed that Ganiscns fave been moving since early morning to join Wellington. Scouts to the west reported hearing gunfire just before | left,” the aide said as he pointed in the direction of Mont St. Jean where the mary French army under the Emperor Napoleon was most probably by now. Letting the Words sink in for a mamant Peninhsstnntend tantsHistofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 2 de 16 make in 2 moment might be the biggest of his career. The Prussian army of Field Marshall Blucher had retreated on Wavre not like a mass of paniced fugitives but rather like a real army and now they were marching to jin the British. Guns had been heard fring fo the west which meani’a hate van ones Soit Wasn't his imagination or Gerard's; guns were deployed and the Emperor only fired his beloved cannon When things were in earnest, Battle between the main army and the Anglo-Dutch, it would seem, wae joined, But where? "Lieutenant Pichot, did you find out where the guns were heard? This is erifical for our plans." Suddenly feeling like a fish out of water, the aide de camp swallowed hard and thanked God he knew the answer. "Local farmers said the sound was beyond the forest of Paris.” Alight breeze arose and curled the map over. Momentarily losing his cool, Grouchy angfily slapped the pifending end back over. Where was this forest of Paris, he thought, as his finger raced across te paper to ipoate it As he half expected, the forest, the Bois de Paris, was very much north of his current positon ane ihre cid? get his troops moving faster, he could expect another rebuke from a very impatient emperor. Already he had delayed marching north during the hours of the morning; he hoped with all his faith that this did not cost him, Guessing the distance and remembering where the Prussians were, Marshall Grouchy. could see that the dreaded decision was coming upon him ever faster now. To the right of the marshall, General of Division Maurice Gerard reached over and held a corner of the map So he could see where everything was taking place. His horse stamped a hoof nervously inva shallow Puddle. Noting where the two forces were, the main French army and their. wing, he could see quite quickly that they were marching away from the Emperor and not toward him. Marshall Grouchy was taking his men, all 30,000 of them, out of the potential battle area and he felt duty bound to let it be known. "Sir! We are going the wrong way.” Another voice cut in, this one loud, harsh and coming from the marshalls left. t belonged to the ver outspoken General of Division Dominique Vandamme. "Marshall Grouchy! Our course is obvious! March to the sound of the guns!" he declared as he pushed a finger onto the map. Marshall Grouchy gritted his teeth as he eyed the man whom he knew to be a'good soldier but whom he Considered nothing more than a brigand. "General Vandamme! Kindly keep your opinions to yourself. tT need them, I will ask for them.” Not tbe brushed off so easily, the fiery Vandamme rocked his head back slightly as if holding his ground. pile Emperor is in battle with Wellington somewhere to the west. Itis our duty to keep the damned Prussians off his back so that he can crush them without interference. | volunteer to march my Corps immediately to the sound of the guns.” fotagain. The marshall stared at the map without really looking at it. Vandamme and he had had quite a flare up on the 15th and here again it seemed that Something might come up between them. This was not good for the command and only could lead to disaster if he did not take control of things now. The general was eager, perhaps too eager, to receive the baton of the marshalate but Napoleon liked men whowore agressive and he had to admit that the fire breathing general of Kulm was af least that, The battle of Kulm {724 been 2 defeat for France but it did show the spirit ofthe troops under Vandamme to be very high and that he let few things stand in his way. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, except the enemy, the clash of personalities between the generals and their commander was such that I was affecting the erie right wing of the Armee du Nord. Vandamme had already (ragged his feet.n carrying out some of his orders and Gerard too seemed ready to mutiny and go his own way. Now more than ever he had to take controlof tne fituation, Napoleon had warned him this might happen as they walked on the battlefield of Ligny just as he had filed him in on everything he needed to know to command a wing of an army on campaign. The Emperor had known it was his first such appointment but he had nonetheless placed his confidence in his pew marshall to carry out the assignment to pursue Blucher and this meant keeping him away from the flank of the main army ift should engage the English somewhere to the west. He mustn't disappoint a given trust like that. Gerard searched for the marshall's eyes. "Sir? Do we march to the guns?" Pichot watched with hesitant fascination the battle going on in the commander's head. At that moment he 19adne desire to advance to anything higher than a mere lieutenant. Imagine the responsibility! Thiry, thousand men marched to his orders and no others. One mistake and many lives could be lost for hte gain, No. Command was best left to the generals, Not receiving any answer, Gerard pulled at the edge of the map. Pointing with his white handed glove, he made some quick calculations in his head. “Sir, if we march now from here and presuming Blucher moves with the Prussians from Wavre, we could meet them around, around..."Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 3 de 16 ‘Lasne." Grouchy said as both their fingers hit the litle town on the map at the same time. “But that assumption presupposes that Blucher is not going to continue his retreat to Liege or Brussels. If we march on Lasne, we could be missing an excellent ‘opportunity of destroying the Prussians by a direct pursuit to Wavre. And suppose Blucher debouches from Wavre on to me and takes me in he flank? {ovale ‘compromised for not having obeyed my orders which, you well know, are to march against Blucher." Yardamme shook his head in obvious disgust. The new marshall, this general of cavalry, had no business Eommanding this force if at this moment he did not know what to do. How could it be more plain? The Emperor was in battle and they had barely begun to march. f someone didn't Jo something, and soon, they Would end up, like d'Erion on the sixteenth, doing nothing but the consequences would be far worse. At the Bagmment, no one was in contact with Blucher except for the cavalry scouts. Their whole force should have been in front of Wavre by now to see for itself where the Prussians were; Blucher could march nearece with a formidable French army right on his boot heels. He grunted loud enough to annoy tne ears of tre Fomeander. "Sir a snail can't catch a bleeding dog with its tal between is legs. we had started marching ;Reneral Vandamme!” Grouchy growled, finally losing his cool, "be so good as to rejoin your corps this instant to await my orders before you aré relieved of command. Do not come back unless | ask you to. understood?” Sensing that he had crossed the line ke he had so many times before), Vandamme nodded, impressed {hat his commander had actually threatened him. it might be a hollow threat but nen again it might not ond this general could not stand being out of any potential fight. Salting stiffly, he turned his horse around and {rotted away followed by his staff officers. Much to the marshalls chagrin, however, his troops cnsered aro as he rode by. Regaining his composure while he shook his head, he looked back at Gerard who was patiently waiting his instructions. "I suppose you wish to march to the sound of the guns as well?” tieiOuld Seem to be the prudent choice, sir, and the Emperor has long preached this to us," Gerard replied firmly. He, too, did not care for the new marshall but, seeing Vandamme nearly dismissed, he ted areeoe Approach to try and get his superior officer to change his plans. "So long as we keep Blucher away, we Rave fulfiled our mission and, if we can intervene at the Emperor's battle, well, so much the better Besides, the Prussians are in good order and united. | would wish the main army to be together when we fight him instead of our few corps.” Well thought,” Grouchy complimented. He knew that Gerard disliked him as well but at least he had the fense not to fan the flames of discord. But what should they do? More and more he felt that fate rested on bis shoulders and that agonizing decision was clearly something of great magnitude, The Emporor nad Gptrusted him witha third of the Armee du Nord to command as he saw fi Should he march’on Laeie? Was it even feasible? Already Vandamme's troops were marching on Wavre and so they would have to be Cf teritory yet had managed to remain out of both the battle Quatre Bras and Ligny. Bul perhaps Gerard day there was only one battle to fight, the Emperor's, and if he could keep Blucher occupied then that battle could be fought without anyone looking over his shoulder for the Prussians. Who had failed the great man during France's most desperate hour, Part of him cried out from imeile. foe TERS. 3 9004 general. he knew that. Why would the Emperor have given him the right wing if he also did not think the same? Did he not have a reputation of excellence as a cavalry commander to uohold? He had ie Femember that and forget any of these gloomy and self degrading thoughts. Nonetheless. the decision sit walted for him because he was the commander. No one, not even the fiery Vandamme, could make this decision for him. Gerard could tell his superior was in turmoil and he did not envy his situation. Suddenly, events seemed to Removing very rapidly and only a move now, right now, could avert catastrophe. He considered pushing the issue again when no other response was forthcoming but, for a moment held his tongue lo allow Grouchy some space and time to think. A few minutes more would not hurt anyone. ‘To the marshall, there appeared to be three choices. First, he could march to the sound of the guns as filev/C:\WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati..\book_O1_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 4 de 16 pangampe,tad declared so passionately and it would mean that his whole force would be united in any pattle with the enemy. Unfortunately, this also meant the loss of valuable time as Vandamme cocriec marched and he recalled Exelmans from Wavre. Also, this choice resupposed thatthe Prussians were the Spee a ilington. If they cid not, he would indeed be named drion. The second choice was ust fre opposite. All of his forces could move on Wavre, leaving Exelmans' troops to keep contact arin ire Bugsians for him and report on any moves they might make. This idea was appealing av he eleven that Plucher was retreating away from everyone and could not {engage the Emperor in any case. But suppose Rees wrong about the intentions ofthe enemy? What then? The last option involved etaching a ones of infant to parallel the Prussians and slow them down while the other infantry corps continded inane Mave’ the cavalry corps could keep the line of communications open between them in case one wer attacked by superior forces. The third option was a bold one as he risked having his force divided sod Gefeated in detail before anyone could help. But was this option really so bad? Grouchy knew fromthe Erugsians were organized and fe knew that they would have trouble constructing anything ike 2 Datte plan (on the spur of the moment. Perhaps this was the way. General of division Gerard decided that his boss had had enough time. He leaned forward in his saddle and Said, quietly but firmly, “Sir, is something wrong? What shall we do? My corps is nearly here...” puhen Vandamme will continue to march on Wavre?" Gerard said, only a hint of hesitation in his voice as he did not wish to have Grouchy change his mind ihe complained thatthe whole force wasn't mereire west with him, es. The rest of our force will tie down any Prussians that you do not find and bring them to battle” Grouchy declared strongly even though his mind was stil riddled with doubt. "March quichly general and give my regards to the Emperor.” Gerard saluted smartly. He had wanted more but duty and honor told him to be satisfied with what he had received. "Yes si!” He waved forward his senior aide de camp. "Capitaine Mattel the corps will change is route of march. From here we march west. March to the sound of the guns!" Marshall Grouchy eyes registered the patient Pichot to his front. Once one made an order one then had to be able to translate it easily to others. "Lieutenant, ride to General Exelmans and inform rim that Genes; Gerard is marching west to join with the Emperor and that his corps wil cover our flank from Waveerte Chapelle St. Lambert. Inform him also that General Pajol's cavalry will support him shortly ithe seke More detailed instructions will follow." The aide de camp, resplendent in his hussar style uniform, gave the most correct salute in his life and Spurred his horse to the main road where the last of Vandamme's infantry were nearing that nartow litle idee, Splashing everywhere, he ignored the insults and rode as fast as he could through the mucdy {racks beyond. Having heard the conversation of the generals, he suddenly felt very important ane whe Speed at which both horse and rider moved suggested that perhaps something very big was going to happen this day, ene aide’s departure left one man with his lonely thoughts. Taking a last glance at the map while an arillery team noisily rolled by, he prayed inside that he had made the right decision, CHAPTER 1: THE EAGLE RETURNS Capitaine Bouchery, formerly ofthe 33nd Ligne, records his observations at the return of Napoleon to the Continent and his own subsequent actions in rejoining the army. wes at my home in Normandy, a half pay officer who hadn't seen a real franc in months and who's main ambition inte at the moment was fo plant a vegetable garden, when tho news camo that the Emporer had lurned from the island of Elba. The word had spread ike widtre and, without hesitation, I picked out iy fg untorm and hurried off to Paris thinking that this was perhaps the best way to rejoin any regiment thar cared to have me. Unfortunately, in my haste | had left my old white cockade In place and 30 wren | ntered the capital | was instantly jeered and pelted with various disagreeable objects by the poorer founsfolk who caused me to beat a hasty retreat into an alley fo remove the offending article. After @ short time and a quick cockade switch, | reappeared and found the people who had so recently disoaranari neHistofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 5 de 16 ortan 18 hace a ends. Picking through them, | hastened to the Tulleies where the Emperor was fhe Boureave gone, My excitement was great and forall the world i seemed that the eleva ron cule of the Bourbon monarch had all bean just a bad aeam, Along the way Ira eer et na ul Sioa that areal te Emperor had already arrived some timo before but that th word wae evn) imme ones nev aleble solders wore being called together to either rejoin thololdregimontenn fo to (orp ie anes from the parts ofthe old, This was welcome news though the tnought Trey ees oe going sna, coraded again lef dry note in one's mouth. Nevertheless, | raected tht I was were tele ees ‘and, come what may, I was there fo serve tho Emperor. Dapoleon's return to France in March of 1815 marked the end of one series of remarkable events and the Peginning of another. Napoleon Bonaparte, greatest soldier of the age and coomeng Emperor of the French captured Bar peen forced to abdicate his throne in 1814 as the allied armies of Austtia, Proseie ares Bree Cree eee eat's 4nd his own marshals tured against their master In order to force him to fermarne Tees over France, Haris reasons have been given to explain the seemingly final result but most, if not al, have entirely roca een. 2s {0 why these wars lasted as long as they did inthe fist place. The eonavere ht of Care jaer'at Napoleon's ambition was to blame forall the Bloodshed because he waned ie ale shot Serpe like some mindless conqueror but, while ths trait was involved to Certain Germ e teeg Pxplanation is ofa simpler nature. Two great factors were in play during this trea mood oe they were later Bore World War One began: money and pride. Like the 1914-18 struggle, war was rosa eee pair crgmian'y adversaries ranged themselves against one another. England and France, seep een ape eighteenth century, were no exception to this rule. : 1W,great part. the Napoleonic War was essentially an economic struggle that had its roots dating back to the ‘1600s. With the growing reliability of the square figged sailing ship, the various European nations sent out ies gets and merchant marines to explore and bring back the wealth that Could be eect swoon he value ofthis trade cannot be underestimated. England was able 'o nat ony renter re Go fleet Feercer to oSt of enemies but they were also able to subsidize the armies of Europe, quite bers ly as well, Coun f,cary the fight to Napoleon and France over the course of almost weny vets i any one ation as able to monopolize the trade of the overseas world then it would count teal tho eer Powerful ppaGn. on the planet. For a time, Spain had been able to do this. Now, England held most of the sepa ont she was very jealous to let any other country have a piece of her lucrative pie. Groat wey 28 the seataring nations got a taste of the money to be made, clashes occurred between the Sroponenal Bowers and all throughout the seventeenth century England and Holland. the wee recor arcpemer cane, Sea: fought with the latier country in the end losing iis strength to England. Froctene ihe bag ere eget 9 grow in the eighteenth century and they too strugoled withthe Engian ith, except for the gti. in America, largely the same result. The resurgence of France under Nepatoan eer bee stage for England had for many years now successfully maintained her policy of playing the continental powers of uzop* against one another and it had paid off well for the island nation’ Not only deen ten English fleets bul tac ne wal ade routes (and therefore bag richly laden Spanish vessels waenever theres te war) Ram Geo provided a tremendous amount of security to an island nation that greatly recedes Me, fom the continent. Obviously then, in the eyes of the government and to's leecer eotan aes people of England, the idea of keeping other nations bickering {specially long time rival France) and at war with one Paraoniesiys 200d one and one that also provided quite excellent bonuses to the growing ance Paradoxically, England and France were two very heavy trading partnere tral oer elie greatly from the Steraceonomies and if one was doing wel the other would also benefit yet despie ine rae Gi the eighteenth century Certainly an amount of pride, harmful and Nepiaced at best, was at work here just as it was later in 1914 and did not help mattors at a. ayertheless, however much war was going on in the world between France anid Enlans te smuggler fancy aerass the channel never ceased for a moment just as Dutch banks very probably backed he nglish funds would help France get back on a war footing in 1818! ad ate er elton began the rest of Europe, including England, watched France fal into anarchy and corte this was not unwelcome, France had always been an aggresuive noighber te ee ena ent Fewest recently she had helped infet a stinging defeat on England during the Amora trenton However, when the Prussians faltered at Valmy in 1792, the rest of Europe began to toate we eo ow Fear oest Roush she might be quite disorganized, was growing to be an even mere foneiatie ie nae pase ver been before. What was more, this new and vigorous Franwve was allowes (0 senator file://C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati.,,.book 01_01.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Altemative History 1 Pagina 6 de 16 Celebrated soldiers: General Napoleon Bonaparte. This commander, famed for his brilliant Italian campaigns where he routed successive attempts by several enemy commanders to defeat him, had hit Upon the idea to bring a threat to India via Egypt thereby shaking England's confidence to her core ang saat nat suhere she would feel it most. While the military campaign ended in failure, hastened by ine fasting of the fine fleet at Aboukir by Admiral Brueys, it did give'a clear indication that the Erencty etsy wrote ia atthe lifeline ofthe island nation and this knowledge would make them very dangerous firey Visigthe, *8cension of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul, the pictured changed dramatically. Bonaparte's aang per abs.call it his ambition, was to make France the premier nation in the world to replace {rngland who, as explained earlier, had years before replaced the Dutch as the leader in the weores arket, [norder to do this, the First Consul, amongst other great achievements, began a steady and wel theres Some near ization ofthe navy in order to turn tito the force ithad once been, He even managed to ave it Sou time, if only for a short span, to recuperate when he signed with England the Peave of Anvere 1802, Nether side was under ary ilusone tea ae peace would last as Bonaparte followed his plans to Ser hess othe world economic market and England kept to her established plan of letting no country, By the end of the 1809 campaign against a regenerate Austria it was readily clear that Napoleon was the master of Europe but even so he had to maintain control over the new styled Empire because, a wee Sorein, hg moment he withdrew his forces from any conquered country another army, as always frranced arduous and hot cas one KeeP 2 foothold into continental Europe. In this they succeeded though the ong, Fre aus Sng Nat always successful campaign again must have cost England a great deal, However, chon {he size of the English overseas empire, cash flow was not the problem. Napolson, however hed ort Frowying tendency of remaining both alive and in power while at the same time increasing the size of the French navy unti it might once more challenge the Royal Navy of England. Atthis point. with Napoleon wed to an Austrian arch duchess and therefore seemingly solictying his Postion in the continental hierarchy, England cast about for a cooperative friend on the main flies, he knew it was only a breather and it seems that his patience for the game had finally worse Se {ong as England could hire out the armies of continental Europe, he could not achieve what Ne wered foo Erance. Ambition may well have played a role in his rejection of the offers but i also seems iisely treat 2clually wanted it ll © end as, to use his own phrase, “Death is nothing: but to live vanquished anerwntout Gespite some new glory, he was forced to abdicate when Paris fell in 1814, The meteor ifs of ie Emperor seemed to have come full circle and left him as he had begun in 1792. a manlost gra. vowd of humanity with no power to change the course of history,Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Altemative History 1 Pagina 7 de 16 coment aofNapoloon's France in 1814, the conquering powers of Europe met in Vienna to carve up the continent. Lord Castlereagh, sean were Modiied and a redrawn map of Europe began fo emerge. Not surprisingly, no one power ended up with a great piece of the teritoriai pie and none, save Spain, received any of France's oe eos Colonies other than England. Matters having been settled, the monarchs of Europe fookes ferwruy eons Fearn (9 the ways of old, none the wiser after all the years that had passed and all the lives they had lost. A ‘group of small vessels sighted in the Gulf of San Juan changed all that, [apeleon had been sent to the istand of Elba off the western coast of Italy by the allies in 1814 and from ceesealke an eagle perched on a small rock, he watched and listened tothe events going on in far any Sekals events he was no longer a part of. He received only a few visitors on Elba, the most signiicer? absentees being his wife Marie Louise and his son, and had to settle himself wih sunnaneynee is cay seom wth what money he had. Itwas not a happy time for a man who used to put is long Hours every £2 governing an empire that had stretched across most of Europe. A man of action if there aves ved been, Ooh, $9 many things to do before there were no other municipal projects he could accomplish, Inceed: fea note to Bertrand, he told his companion to reprimand the gardener for employing too many met in te HENegR Cl a garden “the size of my hand". The great brain could not go on like this and, keowing this fact, Pe fel the exile was killing him just as assuredly as any assassin. Fortunately for him, enough of @ commotion was beginning just a narrow stretch of water away that he realized that his story might not be quite over as he had perhaps thought Napoleon's ears didn't have to be so finely tuned to hear about what was happening in France as there was ough grumbling going on to tell him how the people were feeling and if any return was indeed possible Speaking with General Bertrand one day, Napoleon asked what he thought of the plan to raters fe Escnco, “Tam told by some that the people would welcome me, what do you feel Bertrand?” “Stre,“repiod the faithful genera, "the people have had ther fil of our august King. Success will greet us." $a the. allied sovereigns but it was hardly their good qualities that assured this (if indeed they Nod eney ‘The continental powers looked upon them as a group that would restore “legitimacy” to the raling clone range. and. because of their undoubted incompetence, also leave her weak and out of any Taos to-grab onctaimed territory. England, for her part, saw them as just the perfectly chosen rulers that would lesa her Srves tangmPire nicely intact and undisturbed (the French navy went into quick oblivion when they eraved). Finally, the master thief Talleyrand saw them as a fat cow ready for more milking. Therefore, France received Louis the XVIll, the "unavoidable" rhe new King, ft from good living abroad but endowed with remarkable patience and even some dignity, telumed to a France that could well have been a foreign country. However, this fact did not bother Lune the 'ad eagerly sought (if at a great distance) was now in his possession and he intended to at ie seip an for Some time more. Nevertheless, a great deal had changed curing the inforvening Years of his self imposed exile but this made litle difference to the grand entourage that came back on the matty ieaey anew "estored” monarch. Many of the King's followers had fought against their county for Ting eats in the service of foreign armies while others had simply leached off their respective hosts Cut erang one unigue quay In common: Once Napoleon had abdicated, the clack once more read 1789 and he closest thing to an honest government any country atthe time had ever experienced and the people, {fag grown used fo it what was more was that country was benefiting greaty by i. Public works, he ers, 3d put France atte foreont ot ations. How could anyone expect the people of France, a group raised on real signs of govemmental core 2nd nurtured with military glory, to renounce all that they had heard and had been part of just to welesnos back a large, pesky group of blue bloods who wanted to put their boots back onto the peasants ae filev/C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati..\book_01_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 8 de 16 nothing had ever happened? Incredible as it seems, the Bourbons did just that and quickly alienated most of the population. {all seemed so trivial a fist but in troubled times lite things have a tendency to become very much {Cater than the Sum of their parts. The people of France could not go back to the way things had been, iow many Peasants had purchased their frst land from the broken up estates of fleeing Royalists? How mary non, Catholic churches had been given over to worship by Protestants, a group traditicnally years previously during the reign of a wholly different Louis). More than likely, any government that over Showed signs of trying to rule constitutionally would probably have been accepted and eventually even hailed. The Bourbons, curious group of cowards and indolents that they were, could not even achieve that. ig Feports were Coming in of no nonsense Frenchmen who were busy building up thei tallies of waylald Cossacks and athe Faders who had never ceased brutaizing hele Zones of occupation and were sexy contact th interest. It was said that the wells around Strasbourg seemed to produce some of the strangest tasting water. : The other favored point that the new Bourbon government managed to achieve was the end of the hated conscription but this act was far too obvious to be attributed to anything but sheer practicality. France was nejonger at war and she didn't need a large influx of men to fil out her campaigning regiments; the days of yniversal miltary service were apparently over and no one was going to mourn its passing, The money, Saved from this decree should have been significant and could well have been put fo good use ifthe monarchy had had any real sense of what it was doing. Fortunately or unfortunately, they did not. The end of conscription was a sensible and realistic course of action but the related problems resulting from the overall idea of reducing the strenath of the ‘army produced some ofthe most insulting outrages that any honest Frenchman had ever suffered. The prickly task of reducing the army to a peace tims force would be iRGjcative of how the Bourbons would deal with the country as a whole. It wouldnt be easy for many people but with an honest hand and some intelligence the problem could be overcome and everyone satisted wath the result. As one might expect by now, things didn't work out that way, Napoleon's army had been composed of many soldiers whose entire adult lives had been spent on Trane peace weal net gee, han the ao soldering (though they were very good at that). For thse men, peace would not be easy and the smoothest route that could be taken was needed to put them back into society with @ minimum of shock. The Bourbons tackled this question ike a man being suddenly umped with a bucket of ice cold water. Instead of thinking about the soldiers or even what they were Going, the new government promptly cast adrift thousands of soldiers with barely {enough money fo ve in Squalor in their own home towns. These men, the victors of Austeritz, Friedland and a host of other baties, had come to expect something more than this shameful act and, by collecting in cafes across the land. they {grumbled across watered down wine and hoped for the day when Napoleon would make his return: It wae ipuch the same for the returning prisoners of war; no sooner were they in France when they learned thar {heir regiment was no longer in existence and that they had been put on half pay to be replaced by another fficer: One can imagine the anger ofall the soldiers when they found that returning emigres were celing {heir old posts while they had to return home to beg on the streets to eat. It wasn't Hght and the more wings they had the worse it got. Maybe he would return some day, Curiously, with France nearly bankrupt (much ike during the 1790s), one would think that raising new troops, especially guards, would not even be considered. Any why should t? France already had tne finest {rogps in the word as her guard, Napoleon's Imperial Guard, and, with a slight change of neme and Perhaps a uniform accouterment, this should have sufficed. Indeed, Louis could have beneifted by feconcling these old sweats to him in such a way as to bring France closer to him. Loui forall hs blue blood was nothing more than another foreign prince usurping a throne given to an emperor who had been ‘Bbproved overwhelmingly by the people. Tact would be a necessity once again but, as the guard was dong iis normal duties, some progress could eventually have been made. As before, the Bourbon knack of doing just the wrong thing at the wrong time came to haunt them. (From the start, the Old Guard was shunned by the swarms of emigres that flocked around the king like hungry buzzards and, instead of any reconciliation, they were completely alienated and thrust info eastern France to rot in obscurity as garrison troops in Nancy and Metz. Once there, all they could do was sit around and join al the other disgruntled soldiers in the cafes and barracks to grumble; all too soon this grumbling would be heard across the nation. After dealing with the Old Guard, the Bourbons quickly built up @ group of former Imperial regiments to form King's regiments of various sorts only to get scared of them, 00, and send them away from their sensitive eyes (and ears probably). Finally, Louls and his sone came file://C:\WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\book_01_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 9 de 16 heing vey eat brained and fiscally damaging idea to turn the army back into a pre-Revolutionary one by instoed cr ucanbensive guard show regiments of cavalry and infantry and naming all the other regiments instead of using the new numbering system. The veteran soldiers were outraged at this obviaus omar ts crearg AY and yet more discomfort was created in the ranks, AS one can see, the handling of tie ary, Slearly showed to the people how things in France as a whole might progress under the hew Goverment and the future wasn't looking too rosy. {larted to become reality. Louis was besieged by "loyal servants" who calmly but 1e new peasant owners to be evicted While these actions damaged the standing of the Bourbons and promoted that ofthe former emperor, Berhaps the most pressing matter that faced Napoleon was one of time. The Bourbon governnlon bed Bead cut off his promised funds and there was a real possibilty that is tle kingdon- would Go pankrupt in a shor time. In addition, there was the sinister possibilty that he would-be moved; St Helena, {hat god forsaken mid-Attantic stopover, had been discussed and this made Napoleon shiver Ife wan Tre ag cSPecially there, any chance of regaining the world stage would be over and, ina way, so wed his Me, There had to be one more chance and the time to do it seemed to be nearing, re.Neat of 1815 began withthe French nation simmering with revolt. All across the land the people spoke ingoGe of the anticipated event that seemed certain to happen in the springtime. They, lke the soldiens p he army. were under no illusions, however, and they tempered thelr enthusiasm with’a real cautions the previous oe were stil falsely strutting in the dearly bought confidence of having beaten the Emperor only the previous year. In view of these facts, the people hoped for the best but more than ikely oxpectee ne worst. While the population of the country boiled quietly like water in a covered pot, there were others who were [st as quietly, and perhaps even more so, doing their part to open the road again to the exied lecoer of ane. he Most important man of that determined breed was none other than Marshal of France Josn de Dieu Soul, the same man who for so many years faced the Duke of Wellington inthe Iberian peninsula Marshal Soult must be considered one of Some back. These things he did in such a way that when he alienated the Bourbons after sovers| Incrae cts Jaaitst his former comrades, he was actually following his orders and acting like @ good Royalist, He Krew frat the soldiers might distrust him later but he was willing to sacrifice his own reputation ir oder toon ee {ames of revolt which would only help to bring around the quick and bloodless removal of hie corton Marshal Soult began his involvement frst by ridding the government of General Dupont, the man who had {Pet fis head at Baylen in Spain in 1808 and surrendered his force intact to a rabble Spanish army. Takeo biggest coup of Soul's back alley political career as it made some of the foliowing actions possiele ord far Easier than they ever would have been before. The marshal knew that ifthe emperor returned to the Country there was the very real possiblity that France would be tom by civil war, To make sure thie didn't eur. seemed a good idea to rid Louis of any real fighting troops he might have around his person and Sp.,Pertaps in 2 strong carriage) someone might have fired and started a bloodbath. As it was, Soult Shunted the ex-Guard cavalry out of Paris and over to Morter (a former commander of the Impersl Guard, Strangely enough) and the other newly formed royal cavalry regiments (made up of Grande Armea filev/C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alterati..\book_01_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Altemative History 1 Pagina 10 de 16 veterans) to the outlying provinces effectively denuding Paris of any fast shock troops that could be deployed quickly in case of an emergency. Soult's hand may have been a lostee soe teaie os gotten the cards for himself in legitimate style and was playing them exceedingly well de Stand stage was now set forthe return of "the Corsican’. The people were disgruntied, the soldiers Sishonored and the great clock of time frighteningly poised with ts arms painting ert 706° Sth Thos Salyone man in the world who could have taken advantage of such a sitostion and the sustyot ce on Gr February 26th, 1815, Napoleon, with leven hundred men of his Old Guard, set sail rom Elba to return Pe cance. For the former emperor it must have been a tense time when any ite thing could hrs rae the venture for good. Fortune, however, stil followed and favored him, | ie to visit an old friend who was stil ruling in the flea bag Kingdom of Naples: Joachim Murat. Napoleon, ait stinging from the Seaipeanibted by his own sister through his former marshal in 1814 when they had betreued Non Swallowed his pride for the moment and told hs former corrace otis intentions insofar as the moves he motto dat paltically when he reached Paris. Wamed to ready his colorful and questionable army narod downs goed chop glsh oF Prussians, it would be very useful to have Murat cooperate wm tay and! oi Aang a-Beedly chunk of Austrians or other alies and prevent them from interfering foro ohile in ee napoleon Anew thal the Neapolitan army was near worthless; the threat of the Neapoltan ron however, magnified is strength many times. Unfortunately for him, King Joachim had other teas ong moka squander the lot before anything began in earnest. eve pasion was stil just a bold adventurer and he knew it. Souther France was traditoneliy Royalist enclave and he could only expect limited and probably very quiet support from the peasants who dare rot risk showing any form of favoritism to their former master, With General Coole leading the way, the they seaig of oops neared Cannes around one in the morning. Aside from gathering sonce proven Wraria Culd not enter the town, Instead, the mini “Grande Armee launched itself info sforced imonen we The news of Napoleon's return moved like lightning to every corner of France. The whole country writhed in Ferd Nes twitch as old hatreds, so recently put away, arose again and with new fervor, He heat (rere oevetat would happen now? How would the King react? Would there be civil war? ‘These accetions She group, however, had immediately decided to whom they would owe their allegiance: the Imperial Guard. Shunted into obscure garrison duty in Metz with Marshal Oudinot, tne men of ie feet neers and chasseurs had already made plans to dispose of their despised white cockades and look car ot farelully hidden eagles to adorn their fags once more. Oudinot, realizing that those on ect very much a barometer for the entire army, thought that if he could sway them then just maybe a ‘disaster could be 2yoided, Unfortunately, it was already too late if indeed he could have ever achieved wrat he hod been Marstoat Gengamen ofthe Old Guard knew but one master and he wasnt in Pars, nol yot, Nevorthaees, Marshall Oucinot, a veteran of many years and innumerable wounds, tred his level best lo sonar arm that they should stay loyal to the king, file://C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Meu Porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\book_O1_Ol.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 11 de 16 Ata review one day, he walked in front of the assembled men. Taking aside one scarred officer of Grenadiers, he had asked him what he and his men would do when he shouted, *Vive le Rol!" [The officer had stared at him blankly before opening a sly grin, “Monsieur le Marechal, the men and all of Us will answer ‘Vive le Empereur'!™ Oudinot had shaken his head. The king was lost. ‘The Bourbons reacted to the news in typical fashion, the great mass of Louis refusing to move any hidden Toccles and instead deferring the decision to his Minister of War, the quielly conspinnis Marshal Song (ony 2F ironies. If there was something that this marshal knew about his troops itwas ta ey wrocld go hance. Napoleon like bees attracted to blooming violets. Already there were troops aligned along the Fmperor's route of march, the frst significant grouping being south of Grenoble near [os Mure eva Soult ‘knew that if his former chief could win these men over, it was likely that the whole army would do the come. re Royalists were convinced early on that the puny tide of Bonapartism would quickly be swept back into Iiensta when the people cast their indignant eyes on them and that there was lle fo fear. They ware oth {Wing In another world. Some of these men, commanding army units along Napoleons future Ine erect were actually anxious at frst to "have a go at Bonaparte’s brigands” but as the news becarne more Brihe woret scene became somewhat abated. Most Royalists were not real soldiers and all tne posturing The sang, would do no good when the Old Guard leveled their muskets and let fy with a Romnic volley ape_Soldiers that many of them commanded were under no delusions, however, and they. happily had already made up their minds when they had heard and had prepared as best they could for the roto {fficolor cockades, battlewom flags and eagles began to make a clandestine reappearance tien cars of {he most unikely hiding places as if the soldiers knew that their august commander would seen crow took {othem. Itwas a tense time for officers and men alike as neither trusted the other and each worded cioet The Emperor still marched with speed, forcing his way through dificult terain as much as to hurry his Stivance 2s t0 avoid populated centers where any number of unexpected things could happen fie had lready declared that he wanted his return to the throne to be a natural and bleodiess event and cons it Bat Been. BY avoiding major urban areas In Royalist Provence, he was safe from the badly aimed pistol ball that could begin an unwanted and grievous bloodbath; Napoleon wanted everything on he ce arco perfect or at least {0 appear perfect to those outside, especially those men sill in Vienna A trumonat {eur Not marred by eny unfortunate incidents, would show that the people wanted him and a quick but pagarmed exit of the Bourbons would show the rest of the world that he was serious about Keeping the Fre fata ang (yeneant letting men who had plotted to kill him many times get away. All these things were in The march north had been a prodigious one, much like the great sweeps that the Emperor had done so cht Had plannce: Now oeeeat fe c00 spits a8 everything sil seemed to be going exacly as ther Tepes PannEs. Now however, the test was to come. It was March 7th, 1816, and the gun wae nears iis apex in the clear sky. A battalion of the Sth Ligne, a unit which boasted Wagram as one of te fornon battle honors, lay deployed across the road clearly barring the path into the town of Grenoble. iat thoughts must have gone through Napoleon's mind when he saw the first formed body of troops Parring his advance. Here the die was cast. Here, too, the affair would succeed or fall with the floc ara musket. After snapping shut his glass, he tured to Capitaine Raoul, an aide de camp, and gave s rod: The ‘act must begin in order to finish the play. Epa, Young but confident Raoul approached the line of infantry and studied them for a moment just as the Emperor had told him to. They seemed nervous. Stopping his horse, he harangued them briefly siwing nis comments at the Royalist commander, a man named Delassart. "You will answer before France, he re gideecy al watching for any reactions. There were none. The men stood like so many statues, though the aide noticed that many of them would not look up at him. His job finished for the moment he tarred he ‘mount around and rode back toward the litle force that was finishing deploying along the road. The men of the Sth were fully bursting at the seams now and the tension that filed the air must have been awful: Theit minds racing with mixed emotions, they were now subjected to.a visual torment: ine beakers pf the Old Guard began to fil their eyes along with the red and white pennons of the formidable Parc Lancers who were now fast approaching their postion. This was oo much to ask for. The battalion began file://C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati...\book_0101.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 12 de 16 {o.lose its appearance of statues and become far more shaky. Men began to glance at their officers half opine hal they would end the charade and allow them to weicome back thelr tue leader, But Gaty snd {foubt fold them to stay put. Each man knew how he would react, but would the others falow? Wry dik t have to be them? ro enangers.continued up the road ata steady trot and they were getting close, almost as if they were going IREnaTBe, Quickly, orders were given to pull the battalion back some Dut even'as the motion began it became evident that was too lat. The lancers were vely Gose how. the grout sonoy gos ut and the men turned again, their bayonets bristling from the front ranks but thelr hearts sunken inthee itgrmacts. The lancers came to a sudden hall and then, as quickly as they had come up, they wheeled to the right and fell back to the main line of the Old Guard infantry that was marching up the rooe. lease ney Soldier of eal, ot good look at him, The Emperor had dismounted and was on foot just ike any ordinary Soldier ofthe line. The old beaten overcoat, the unadorned hat, the green habit, all these things reminded them of former days, days when France was truly great Take aim!” a voice rang out from the Royalist line. Automatically, muskets were raised to eye level and heads tilted behind the locks of the massed guns, Napoleon took stock of the situation and there and then knew he had to make a crucial decision, These nthe men of the Sth Ligne, represented the whole army and if he could win them over then, he palieved: the whole of France would come over to him too. One last shot of conscionee rolled through his Pady_28 to whether he was doing the right thing but it was dismissed with a solemn nod and put fo raat the {tlure now stared him in the eye. He turned to Colonel Mallet. "Have the men carry thelr weapons user their left arms.” Mallet's eyes widened. "Reversed, sire? Would that not be dangerous in the face...” ‘Napoleon glanced at him in an almost fatherly fashion and his voice had no sound of iitation. "Mallet, obey your orders." "Sirel" [The Emperor did not witness the slight confusion within the ranks of the over protective Old Guard and Upstead started walking towards the battalion of the Sth that blocked his way north. As he stepped sof puer the lightly crunching gravel under his feet, he saw that every musket was aimed at him, ames at his There was to be one more test, though, before he could even try to speak to his former soldiers. The same Royalist voice as before cracked angrily through the motionless scene. "There he is! Fire!” Napoleon's eyes flinched withthe word but the absolute silence ofthe stage was not broken by any sharp Teeter a musket. Nothing changed and no one moved. It was if nothing had been heard by aryone save the ofecr who ad yeled the order. No one so mh as twitched an ayeeroweney nee ere Say one pulled a trigger. The tense stand off continued. The Emperor, his hands moist from hidden sweat, swallowed to clear his throat, “Soldiers of the Sth," he began, his voice slightly raspy at first but rapidly becoming normal and familiar, ‘you know me” Napoleon paused just for a moment to let the words sink in even though the excitement he felt was building Imightiy inside of his body. Eyeing every man in a quick sweep of his eagle eyes, he continued, tus voles echoing his feelings, “If there is a man among you who would shoot his Emperor, here | am.” For a moment it seemed as ifthe ground shook with pent up emotion until in a frenzy it exploded into the open. "Vive I'Empereur!™ file://C:\WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati...\book_01_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 13 de 16 Allacross the field the men cheered and rushed forward and in an instant Napoleon knew he had won his. greatest victory. The mighty gamble had paid off. Everywhere he looked. the Soldiers of his army, of France, cried out his name and waved their shakos high on the ends of their muskets. It was a Gay to remember; to tell one's grandchildren. The Old Guard speedily ran up to protect the Emperor from the Gromds but during that moment he defied them and waded into the soldiers as they moved to touch his and. his coat, or anything else so that they might count themselves among the first to have come back to him. Everywhere, white cockades were tossed to the ground and, as if by magic, the Blue, white and tea reappeared from every comer. The noise was deafening but no one cared here,'a family had been recnited on this day. This, they knew, was the meaning of true glory. That glory of the dusty field carried itself easily into the town of Grenoble where he knew he was once more Fad nperer ghe Beople crowded to See him just as his soldiers had and he had been right: the Sth Ligne ad indeed represented France and she had come over to him without a drop of blood being spiled at ak frad just been able to do and this fact separated him from ordinary rulers, Now, there was nothing that could Stop his triumphal entry into Lyons and from there all the way to Paris itself For those not directly involved in Napoleon's march north, reliable‘news was hard to come by and, Sspecially at frst, led everyone from peasants to ministers to wonder if the whole enterprise was nothing crore nan 2 hair-brained altempt at regaining some vain limelight before an eventual and inevitable triumph Of he allied powers. After all, how could the "adventurer" from Elba hope to gain any support in.a nation vo fully devoted to its new king and his benevolent court? The men thinking these thoughts were nat Frenchmen. The Congress of Vienna, that famous meeting of land hungry empires, was stil in session When Napoleon made his return and the ministers of all the various “legitimate” monarchies were stil they felt, their armies would have to do the work of all good men and save the continent fram the commoner who dared call himsetf the only truly legitimate ruler in Europe. Gorically, the allied sovereigns found out the news that Napoleon had landed in France on the very same ay, March 7th, that Napoleon won back his country. Notwithstanding, these same sovereigns decded on 2 course of action to rid the world once and for all of the menace of "Buonaparte”, Hammering out an agreement (with Talleyrand's active blessing: he feared losing his cash cow) to act together In 2 full scale invasion of France they at first thought that it would be only a formality as many expected the King's loyal oops to take control ofthe situation and do the dirty work for them. Unfortunately for them, the King had 2o loyal troops and thus it was to be that they would once more have to take on the renegade Frenstiren {and restore the rightful ruling order to France. Confidence ran high and why not? Had they not taken on Napoleon only a year before and handed him a series of defeats leading right up to his ovn capital? Yes, they told themselves in a wave of stale compliments each ruler gave the other. It was only Lor Gastlereagh of England that seemed to remember that the previous February they had been perilously Close to losing everything again and had it not been for his bottomless purse...It was, however, decided, Signed and, most impressively for any allied cause, put immediately into action. Declaring Napoleon an international outlaw, they set the stage for a crusade against a single man, saying that the coming war was not directed against France but only Napoleon himself, Seldom had so much fear been directed sgainst a single man, [The allied plan of action called for a massive quantity of troops to make their way into France, bludgeon {ke, from every comer of her long border. The Anglo-Dutch army of the Duke of Wellington and Biucher's Prussian army were encamped in Belgium and would form the northern pincer of the invasion. In the enter, Schwarzenberg's composite Austrian army would march into the mid-section of France while Erimont’s Piedmontege army would attack from farther south in the relatively unforified ltlian frontier. inally, the decrepit Spanish army would march north from the Pyrenees and thereby complete the eile. Far off in Poland a slowly moving Russian army under Barclay would provide the needed reserve punch when the time came in France. All told, over 700,000 men marched on France. Formidable in numbers, the allied armies would have the age old problem of all powers working together: they had to try and stay together as their strength lay in their numbers. Ignoring proper strategy was normal for the allies, however, and so, with their separate camps allocated along the border of France, they opened themselves up to be {eteated in detail by a smaller and very fast marching French army under the soldier who had so many times humbled the rest of Europe. By quickly concentrating his army against the closest and most competently led force, it could be possible to defeat it in detail and then repeat the process against foes whose leaders were even less competent. [nt Allied offensive was to begin on the first of June but various hitches from a slow moving Russian army {0 full scale mutiny by impressed Saxon troops in the Prussian army led to continued postponements by file://C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...book_O1_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 14 de 16 {he overall commander, Prince Schwarzenberg of Austria (the man who had been chosen over Czar Alexander | after the Duke of Wellington nearly had a heart attack when he learned that tho Russe leader Tranted,'e command the armies), who was probably eyeing the situation for his own sovereign and nor {aking any chances ifthe French suddenly won a major action. Austria, always the professional lence Squatter, would side with the allies at first but, as Emperor Francis may have told his commander tere might come a time when a switch of allegiance could prove to be most profitable; besides, ine Auster ruler held @ formidable trump card, or perhaps insurance policy, in the persons of Napoleon's cen aed his ile Marie Louise who was Francis’ daughter. Thus informed, the Austrian supreme sommanase o acres the attack postponed, again, to June 27 when he figured that everything that could be readied woula ce and that the French would be caught between anvils of troops and be crushed. {hg.campaign that had resulted in Napoleon's abdication in 1814 had been rightly hailed as one of his fin Wyo. 2Teas Of troops, ask questions and then leisurely vanish from sight, generally in a westerly direction What good would it do Napoleon anyway? Like Xerxes of Persia before the invagion of Greece woul k not Go.even greater harm to Napoleon ithe knew how bad things were going to be? These thoughts of unbridled confidence spouted from the likes of Alexander and Frederick Wiliam of Prusets tor Rehwarzenberg, a man who maintained perhaps more than his share of respect for the French emperor, London, Napoleon entered Paris on March 20, 1815, ending what was the most amazing coup in history. The whole city turned out to see hir “Vive I'—Empereur” could be heard from all corners well into the night; [axe heaved a grand sigh of relief at getting rid of the pesky Bourbons and for that night at least could Sige Scundly. Grimmer thoughts would probably be in the air when they awoke but for now everything was right in the world of the Emperor. During the night before Napoleon arrived, the Bourbons scurried away like so many frightened children accompanied by 2 few of the worthless Royal Guard and the bellowing laughter of Marshall Macdonald who Watched them pack but then decided it was best to leave with them. One could only imagine what wont {rough their confused minds during the fight, probably shades of January 1793, but they could not krow {tat Napoleon had given orders that they be allowed to safely vanish across the border with only a force of cavalry under General Exelmans to gently push them from behind. What started oul as a respectable column soon disintegrated, however, as the Royal Guard began to feel that trading expensive unions for anonymity was probably a good thing and soon there was lie for Exelmans to chase, Nevertheless, tne general came away with some guns and a bit of loot and succeeded in his orders of “helping’ to see Louis ut of France. The Bourbon reign had lasted less than one year. iThe nation that awoke on March 21 was one that badly needed a reform in the government, the military and in national morale. Everything was a shambles and would have to be rebuilt anew which seemed inccevicle when compared to a France that had been functioning efficiently even during the dark days of 1814. The army Was scattered and disorganized with regimental officers floundering on half pay and the men discharged to the wind, The once mighty navy, an arm the latest group Bourbons had no time for, Was Sulelly rotting away without crews or workmen in its ports. Finally, the government was, to put it nicely, in a file://C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati..\book_01_Ol.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Altemative History 1 Pagina 15 de 16 Dr aeecired in endless leagues of bureaucratic red tape. All sorts of work would be needed in his country put there had never been a man more committed to sorting it out than the one now occupying the trong Money for financing was not a problem, he soon found out, but getting the time to implement those With Napoleon busy carefully balancing his new goverment, fate decided to curse him with an old friend {hose ambition coupled with yet another of the Emperor's curious siblings conspired {o rob him of some of GNsauable lime he so desperately needed to preserve. Former Marshall Joachim Murat, the Current King Si.Naples, had been one of the most celebrated cavalrymen in the world at one time and fis marrage to Napoleon's ambitious sister Caroline seemed to have guaranteed loyalty to France wren everything had been arranged. Contrary to hoped for expectations, Murat had turned traitor to Napoleon ana Promes 1814 to keep his worthless throne but had immediately tured to Napoleon when the latter was on Elba and {Be allies began to mutter about giving that particular fleabag throne to the Neapolitan Bourbons. The Given a major French victory, Murat's throne would have been assured but, it he was anything: he wong {ol head of legendary proportions. Misreading Napoleon's intentions, he believed that hi old Boss wosia take the opportunity to reenter Northern Italy and retrieve the Iron Crown for himself before King Murat had a chance fo. This was a typical move for the former marshall as he failed to realize thal just maybe Napoleon would have other worries on his mind than the occupation of Northern Italy ‘tfenly he had an ounce of sense for every pound of courage he has,” lamented Napoleon to Marshall Davout, "he would be the wisest of fellows.” turat's mobilization in Naples confirmed the thought that the rulers in Vienna had come up with, namely, thatthe upstart King was working with the returned Emperor and would strike to draw away forces frown pther fronts. This helped to convince them that Napoleon had no intention of keeping the peace whien he pad declared already and that he was preparing for the war that must now surely follow. However like Napoleon but fr diferent reasons Ine alles hee so raontot at solving the problem in a anc, besides, they had worn thin much of their treaty credibilty the previous year when they foreign ministers because it ate away at the time the French Emperor had and ruined any cl achieve @ peace with Europe without anymore fighting. However, given the previously mentioned facts, it was doubtful that any agreement would have occurred between the two great foes, Napoleon and England, without a major disaster striking one or the other to the point where they could not continue the struggle. {My dear crowned brothers declare me an outlaw!" he was heard to say one day to General Savary. “Yet the English banks see fit to loan me the money I need to undo the damage left by our august king” {And at reasonable interest rates as well, sire,” Savary added as he reflected on his knowledge of the {ransaction with the Dutch banks that had the backing of England, “Indeed,” Napoleon replied. "But will they give me the time to use it?” ‘Savary shrugged. "Unfortunately, sire, even English gold cannot purchase time.” The Emperor laughed. "Then come along general, we have an army to rebuild." Napoleon's response to the challenge of rule in the France of 1815 quickly became among the most prodigious efforts of his whole life. With little time to quibble over small details, he set abot writing a more open constitution that he felt would help rally the disparate fragments of France and unite them behind his enough to ignore it if he needed to. It would be another story if he were defeated but he felt he could not give that more than a passing thought as the crisis at hand was to win the fight, not lose it. Already he was Prepared to gamble once more for a great victory that would undoubtedly solidify his cause. rally the ficke French people and, if he was able to inflict a signal defeat on the English, bring his foremost enemy to the negotiating table. {apoleot's efforts in the months before the Waterloo campaign began were rapid in bearing fruit though the people were, for the most part, stil afraid of what would happen should thelr armies be defeated in file://C:AWINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati...\book_01_O1.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 1 Pagina 16 de 16 many people to that effect and it was now that he decided, in secret to no one but himself that f the Waterioo campaign failed and he lost the support of the government, he would abdicate the throne sather than plunge France into another long and probably hopeless campaign. The one most prickly acter fo feonacted during these short months was the call up of the class of 1815 to service in the army, The end of the mandatory miitary conscription had been the most welcomed act announced by he Bourbon government and renewing it could well make a great many people very unhappy. Thinking long and hard on the subject, Napoleon came up with the story that the class of 1815 was merely on a sort bf oxtcneed Ieaoe Since they had been called up already and were therefore eligible for a recall to arms, Response to this wes Selually quite good and as the French army marched into Belgium, these new men were just reaching ther depots prior to being trained and sent on their way as replacements for the army. That done, he turnee te other problems where he invested his tremendous reserves of energy in the rebuilding of just about Syerything else. He even found time to rename a number of ships of the fleet to their orginal non-Royalist fames. It was truly a remarkable feat that he performed on the government of the nation though he keew that some of his patches and fixes would have to be checked or replaced when he had more tne Homepage - Chapter 2 Copyright @ 19872008 Cercle histone Gt Figunngs - Tous dois sands file://C:A WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati...\book_01_OL.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Premier Empire Pégina 1 de 1 file://C:\AWINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\sommaire-en.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Altemative History 2 Pagina | de 9 Premier Empire - Napoléon Napoleon's Waterloo Campaign An Alternative History by Steven Marthinsen Chapter :0- 1-2-3-4-§-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-18-16-17 CHAPTER 2: PLANS AND PREPARATIONS. Caporal Bidault, a soldier of the 8th Ligne, records his feelings on rejoining the army for the Waterloo campaign. Atiist it was uncomfortable, because we were outsiders, but soon enough the others warmed to ve ara, BS we were all soldiers in the same situation, we became a strong and proud regiment. We even becams fond of our colone! as he proved himself a good officer in battle with a yell that could aise the ceca re regiments thet re es, Some regiments got new officers fom the half pay lot and men from many other old One idea that is not generally realized, though it is quite obvious, is the fact that Napoleon had to sit down and plan an entire campaign based on threats that would materialize along every part of his border Thece Enemy threats, almost always in greater strength than he could muster to face them, Would push his traders necessary to stem the large allied tide while he used interior lines to concentrate a greater force of 2.Single point and defeat one of the enemies immediately in detail. Similarly, he Could also ot pull all of Ks best troops to accompany him either as that would have compromised those same commanders ha hod ict {o lead the other fronts. Napoleon's solution to this problem probably vexed him quite @ bit bat in the ond ioe Saing, UP with a list of generals and marshals that he thought would be able to carry their commands with ability even if some posts would only be temporary. Here again, the concept of limited time forced han ty make some decisions he did not want to and give jobs to some he knew were really not on his side tested. The Emperor chose General Armand Caulaincourt, his former Master of Horse, to Be his Poreign Minister where his familarty with Alexander of Russia might prove useful (if he were carciully super ieedy this general had raciated a certain amount of defeatism affer the Russian campsign and Napoleons Suspected he had partly come under the influence of the Russian emperor but he was stil an excellent Subordinate and a good man. Former Minister of War General Lazare Carnot, the wily republicen fram the filev/C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati....book 01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 2 de 9 ‘Napoleon was almost certainly aware that Fouche was stil knee deep in his intrigues and more than likely, given a French victory, would banish him and replace him in this unpopular post with the loyal and far more efficient General Savary though the latter was none too excited to resume that job. Lastly, Napoleon chose as Minister of War the finest of his marshals, Nicolas Davout. This posting has raised more questions than any other regarding the choices Napoleon made before the Waterloo campaign began but the reason becomes clearer given the possibility that if he were defeated in Belgium but somehow managed to retain the support of the government (or he changed his mind regarding a campaign in France), he would want a man in Paris that would be able to hold it indefinitely while any sort of fighting continued around him. Napoleon well remembered his spineless brother Joseph's less than energetic efforts al defense of the capital in 1814 and how the city fell after only a brief fight thereby causing his more tired marshals to absolutely press for his abdication. This pill was a bitter one and one well remembered it would not be swallowed again. Given Davout's brilliant defense of Hamburg uring 1813-14, he knew that his retention of a maneuvering army between the Seine and the Marne, coupled with his marshall's energetic techniques of defense, could give him a decided advantage in the field. As it was, the appointment of Davout to the post, one given under protest of that able marshall, was a waste of his military talent in the short run but one that Rot only would fit his zeal and loyalty on the political front but also, potentially, help in the long run during & campaign against the invading allies in France. With the situation in Paris set to his current satisfaction, Napoleon looked to the other potential fronts of combat along the French border. He knew that war would stretch from Belgium to Spain and, with the imitating Vendee in uprising again, there was the possibilty that the English would choose to land some of their troops along the French Atlantic coast as well. Napoleon often wondered if England had any real idea what an advantage they had in total control of the sea; given a permanent marine raiding force at sea they Would tie down thousands of French troops. Instead, when they did land, they invariably landed in areas, that were easily defensible or completely unhealthy as in 1809 when they tried to take Antwerp and failed quite miserably. Given that their track record was less than good in this area, Napoleon thought it would Suffice to place a good commander with plenty of expert gendarmes in the Vendee to keep it quiet and protect France's back door. The Vendee, a hotbed of Royalist activity since the Revolution, had revolted Several times but had never received any real support except for an odd Bourbon prince that might exhort the rebels from a safe distance off shore and then sail away to let someone else get dirty leading the troops; As a result, Napoleon placed General Maximilien Lamarque in the Vendee commanding the Army of the Loire which, along with the intelligent gendarmes, was a polyglot formation of all sorts of miscellaneous troops that added up to about 11,000 men. This number, as it resulted, would be enough to Gaim the area and ena! the campaign fay quicly when the leaders were captured and the ret either dispersed or made prisoners. Once more, Napoleon's appreciation of his opponent’ skill and temperament allowed him to get away with only a relatively small force while maintaining most of his strike force ready for the campaign in Belgium, Napoleon had few marshals rally to his standard when he returned but one that did was Louis Gabriel Suchet, the Duc o'Albufera and the one marshall to actually win his baton in the vicious combat in Spain. The Emperor's choice to give command of the Army of the Alps to this marshall was consistent with all the other choices he would make concerning the defense of the French borders. The Piedmontese frontier was relatively unfortfied and would require a man who could act independently and properly take advantage of the resources he had at hand and Suchet was very clearly such a man. Suchet readily accepted the posting as it was to his liking. Used to commanding relatively small forces (in this case, 23,617 men) that required finesse against larger enemy armies, he immediately began to plan hhow to improve his position and perhaps also take some territory while he was at it His success in this ‘would help a great deal later during the campaign. The next posting, the Army of the Var (5,500), went to another marshall, Guillaume-Marie Brune. This man, in disfavor since 1807, returned to the Emperors service in 1815 and was given the aforementioned command which included the port of Toulon Some uestioned his appointment here but the Emperor knew that his marshall was an ardent republican (commanding in @ Royalist homet nest) and that he had stopped an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in 17989 and so would be ideal for the post in case the Royalists tried again to betray part of the country to the enemy. Defending the Spanish frontier were two tried veterans, Generals Bertrand Clausel and Charles Decaen. Each was given a small force (6,820 and 7,633 respectively) to watch the Pyrenees for any ‘Spanish or Portuguese expeditions but these failed to materialize during the entire campaign. Along the ‘Swiss border in the Jura mountains was the force of General Claude Lecourbe (8,420), a former cohort of General Moreau back in the days of the Consulate. Threatened with arrest for his part in urging Marshall Ney not to join Napoleon, Lecourbe was bold enough to declare his personal loyalty to France and offered his services to the returned Emperor. Impressed and in need of a man who could fight well in mountains, Napoleon accepted and gave him the Swiss frontier. Lecourbe would not disappoint. Finally and probably the most immediately critical area for defense, was the area occupied by the army of the Rhine (23,000) This command Napoleon gave to General Jean Rapp, a much decorated and equally well wounded veteran of all the famous campaigns. A man well able to take care of himself, he had demonstrated this on many baitlefields as well as in cities as when he defended Danzig throughout 1813. Trusted with the most loyal and militant sector of France, this was a high honor for a former aide de camp turned general of division and showed the respect that Napoleon had for the man. With men like these on the frontiers, Napoleon ‘could rest assured that his country would be well and ably defended during the campaign that was soon to begin file://C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemnati...\book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 3 de 9 All the men chosen to defend the French frontier were first class commanders with solid reputations and excellent track records. Napoleon needed every other front to hold or be quiet so he could concentrate on his chosen task without having to siphon off troops to stave off disaster elsewhere. Remember, the French Brmy had to defeat at least one major force in order to have any hope whatsoever in a campaign in France. ‘As willbe seen later, Napoleon actually hoped that one crushing defeat would be enough to end the ‘campaign for the allies before it had even really begun. Marshall Davout settled into his new job as Minister of War and quickly began to show the intelligent zeal he had always been noted for. The army had to be reorganized in no time flat and all sorts of supplies. would be necessary fo even hope to get the campaign in Belgium started on time. To say that the army Was unprepared would be inaccurate; a year of Bourbon rule had definitely left its dilapidating effect on the tnlire structure and the whole was simply a mess. That the Army of the North was able to march on time, ‘with al of is equipment and in secrecy was a miracle of organization on the part of Napoleon and his top ‘officers and can rightly be considered one of their finest achievements. Working hard and together. the Emperor placed great faith and trust in Davout whose posting, though not a field command, was clearly the most important military command in the whole army. There was good reason for this, too. Not many ‘commanders actually iked the "Iron Marshall" but ali respected him and would do as he ordered. Knowing the French capacity for doing ridiculous things when there was a crisis at hand (a duel over army appoiriments for the campaign resulted inthe incapacitation of one General), his was absolutely ie) ghd the success of the preliminaries for the campaign showed that Davout had indeed done his Job well. All manner of items had to be made, requisitioned or reworked and, because of the care of Davout and the men who worked for him, these things were largely accomplished. The important essentials for the men Were seen to first, these consisting of serviceable Charleville muskets to fire with, shoes to march on and, perhaps most importantly, new eagles to give their lives for. Other items, like complete uniforms, went by the wayside forthe moment and even the Imperial Guard had to make do with 2n odo collection of old and new outfits (at least once this would be an advantage in battle when Prussian uhlans made a fatal error in judgment and decided to pick on a unit they figured would be easy meat because of its appearance: the ath Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard!). The other arms of the army met with varied success in the procurement of what they needed. The artillery came off quite well but they had an advantage over the cavalry in that their guns didnt have to grow. Since the debacle of 1812, horses had been in short supply and the same state of affairs would apply to the cavalry now; there simply were not enough horses to go around and the ariilery had prionty on horseflesh. The French cavalry would march in good order to battle in Belgium but ll the regiments would be lacking in overall strength. Similarly, most French infantry battalions were also Guile weak for the beginning of a campaign but like everything else this serious problem would have to wait s there simply was not enough time at the moment to deal with it. Napoleon hoped that @ quick and Successful sertes of battles against the English and Prussians would win him enough time to refll and refit his regments to near normal strengths and so make them far stronger for the potential longer campaign ahead. With the organization of the army in good hands, the Emperor could now settle down to planning the campaign he knew would begin before long. Since leaving Elba, he had felt that he had two choices of what fo do and they corresponded to being either defensive minded (like the allies thought) or, what was more to his liking, offensive. The former had certain advantages and at first seemed quite attractive. Getting the frontier fortresses into shape could be done reasonably quickly and, with a touch of regulars to bolster the National Guards in the town, they could be expected to hold on in the face of the allied onslaught and force them to bleed strength to cover their lines of communications while they advanced deep into France. Napoleon believed that any coordinated attack by the allies would not materialize against his army until July ‘Voth and that would give him even more time to get the defenses of Paris in order and to collect greater strength for the campaign. Response to the conscription of the class of 1815 was surprisingly good and Soon many new units would be available to at least defend certain locales or to join the main army in the field, Drawing the allies into central France, he planned a campaign of the central position in which he would operate around the armed camp of Paris maneuvering between the Seine and the Mare. Remember, Marshall Davout was in command in Paris which would not only make the city inviolate but also make ita potential second strike group with which to defeat the enemy. While the advantages thus were many, the disadvantages were potentially crippling to France and Napoleon did not want to wage an ‘ogressive war on his own soil where his own subjects would suffer, especially after an allied defeat. The Exsperor had always tried to take the war to the enemy to keep him out of France and force the cost of the war on someone else. While not always a good policy for the poor souls in the Rhine states it benefited France by not having her eastern provinces ravaged by successive invasions. Moreover, if he waited patiently on the defensive for the enemy, they could potentially drag things out by pausing to take the fortresses along the way and therefore force his hand and make him react to their actions instead of the opposite as had always been before, Aso, by fighting in cena France, he gave up the best reesiog GFound he could ever ask for in the Rhine district of Eastern France not to mention the other provinces that Would also have to be sacrificed. Most of all hough, the campaign could prove to be a long and expensive ‘one in lives and money and, while he was not really concerned with the thoughts of his newly formed Government, he had not retumed to France to cast her into another costly war that might be all for nought. This plan was therefore rejected as he always had to know that it would be. file://C:\WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemati...\book_01_02-htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 4 de 9 The other plan that Napoleon had formulated had only come about recently as news of the allied agreement in Vienna and the subsequent massing of their armies on the frontiers had reached his eyes and ears. By May, it was clear where the allies were concentrating and the potentially deadly mistake they had made by not keeping their forces sufficiently concentrated in case the French were to make a sudden attack. Of all the allied commanders only Prince Schwarzenberg had kept his widely differing army together a one great mass on the Rhine facing the seemingly tiny force of General Rapp. This force, though individually the largest, was not what Napoleon was looking for. Schwarzenberg was not a dangerous ‘opponent and certainly lacked speed when attacking besides the fact that his force amounted to nearly 250,000 men all told. Napoleon instead looked into Belgium where the armies of the Duke of Wellington and Marshall Blucher lay. The Prussians had been throughout 1813 and 1814 the most redoubtable of foes and they had been the ones that had taken Paris to end the war in 1814. Blucher might be an old fool with limited military talents but he had the heart to inspire his men greatly and could make them march and fight with formidable tenacity. Wellington he had never met in action but reading the reports of his subordinates in Spain made him realize that the Englishman was an excellent tactician but his army was a great conglomerate of separate and not always cooperating parts and would move slowly at best. Nevertheless, the defeat of an army commanded by England's most famous commander would be not oniy of great material value but also of excellent propaganda value as well. Napoleon believed that if Wellington was defeated soundly in battle and his army scattered to the winds, then perhaps Lord Castlereagh’ government would lose its support and fall from power. This event in itself would hasten an end to the war a the allies would be deprived of their subsidies and then their ardor in turn. If the defeat did not end the war, Napoleon would then have been in a good position anyway to join up with General Rapp in eastern France and meet the timid Schwarzenberg in what could only be considered the worst possible area for an allied army: Alsace and Lorraine, the two provinces where French partisan activity had been the heaviest in 1814. Remembering the previous year when with only 40,000 men he had stopped the Austrian general on more than one occasion by sheer force of personality, imagine what he could do with around 150,000 troops that were victorious and now defending their homeland. Because of these facts, Napoleon considered every other front more or less as a minor threat compared to the Anglo-Prussians and felt secure that he could deal with the other armies, even if they were joined by the Russians, after a ‘successful campaign against his most dangerous opponents. Time again was of the essence but here Napoleon had genuinely purchased some by his excelent choices for ihe command ofthe frontier armies. Now he could turn all his attention to Belgium The plan for the campaign of 1815 was a borrowed one though the owner of the original was still named. Napoleon Bonaparte, Back in 1796, a young General Bonaparte had just taken command of the Army of Italy and had found himself in a situation that was less than favorable and nearing dangerous. The French army he acquired was starving, lacked discipline and was spread over a large area in order to acquire supplies while the twin enemy armies of Colli and Beaulieu were not only reasonably well supplied but were also planning to launch an offensive together to drive the French out of Italy once and for all. For all intents and purposes, Bonaparte was in a very tight spot but his response to this was characteristic: launch an attack, The French general knew from reports that the Sardinians under Coli were separated from the Austrians under Beaulieu and therefore it would be possible to push his army between them before they could mass together and then defeat each in turn. Starting in mid April, Bonaparte had begun his offensive and before long had achieved his aim of spliting the enemy forces away from each other and shattering their shaky alliance at the same time. The plan now, some nineteen years later, was much the same. Napoleon knew that the Prussians held no love for the English and if separated and defeated might well retreat away from Wellington along their lines of communication. Similarly, if Wellington were separated and defeated, he too might move away from his ally and leave both open to a defeat in detail The armies of Wellington and Blucher, much like those of Colli and Beaulieu, were separated enough to where a sudden offensive could catch both unaware and not concentrated. Thrusting quickly across the ‘Sambre from behind the string of fortified towns around Beaumont, Napoleon planned to take Charleroi, catch the one Prussian corps there, push it back or rout it, and then advance up the Brussels highway. That much he felt certain about; once the offensive began he knew that everything would change but so long as he achieved strategic surprise, then everything else would favor him so long as he took advantage of itin time. Napoleon fully expected both enemy commanders to react in the way they were known to and in fact hhe was counting on it. Wellington would concentrate fairly quickly but would not risk an offensive move with his uneven army. Blucher would almost certainly concentrate as quick as his befuddled staff could manage and then immediately offer battle in just about any place he could find. These actions would play right into Napoleon's hands. If Wellington sat, then a pinning force could keep him involved most of the day while the ‘main French army pummeled Blucher. If Blucher charged, then the same would be true again. Either way, Napoleon felt that his action of penetrating between them would cause a likely response and help buy him some of that commodity time again. fon the odd chance they did what they should do and fall back to unite, then all would be for nought and he would be forced to fight the campaign in France if at all. But he dic not think that was going to happen. Blucher's hatred of all things French would spur him to do something rash and Wellington would be nowhere near to help him Coupled with the enemy commanders and their very different personalities was the terrain on which the battles would be fought. Napoleon felt that, with his well organized cavalry and artillery superiority, any set piece battle would be in his favor because the land north of the Sambre was largely open and rolling. He knew one of Wellington's main tactics was to find difficult positions that would lead to French infantry file://(C:\ WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Altemnati....book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 5 de 9 attacks being channeled into effective killing zones where cavalry simply could not deploy properly and artillery could not be brought to bear. Such menacing terrain did not exist in Belgium and that fact reinforced his notion that Wellington would have to sit tight or move slowly to keep his army together and cohesive and therefore would not likely be in a position to help Blucher. "Do the Prussians and English realize what we are up to? I think not, Soult, or they would have already made moves to coalesce Somewhere around perhaps Quatre Bras,” Napoleon said authoritatively as he lay ‘on the floor with his maps arranged in front of him. Soult kneeled after removing his feathered bicorne and depositing it on a nearby chair, “All of our reports indicate that even if they do find our concentrations, they don't feel you are capable of launching an attack and perhaps will only feint north to delay the Austrians along the Rhine, sire.” “A child could see what must be done,” the Emperor retorted, propping himself up on his knees. "Nevertheless, send over a few more deserters and some plain clothes spies. That will set them talking. If enough time passes, they won't believe it when it does happen like Alexander at the Hydaspes. Confusion ‘can be a good ally when it works with you and not against.” "Indeed, sire, let us hope ours is less than theirs. If we only had more time to train the men and let them settle into their new regiments..." Napoleon stood abruptly. "We have no more time, Soult,” he snapped. "The opportunity is there and we ‘must take it. Fortune does not wait for anyone.” Indeed she did not. The plan of campaign that Napoleon had adopted was suited to his style of warfare and ‘one very much coupled with the realities of war. The Emperor believed in offensive action as the one sure way to destroy the enemy army quickly and completely and one would find it difficult to find fault with the idea. The campaigns of Marengo, Austerltz, Jena, Friedland and Wagram had all been decided in the end by one great battle that was soon followed by negotiations for peace. While the formula did not always work, a8 at Eylau and Aspern-Essiing, the fact that either of those battles had the potential elements for the results of the later bates inthe respective campaigns showed that it was very plausible and in general successful. What was more, lighting offensives and few battles made for shorter campaigns and, in the end lighter casualtes overall, Napoleon never had a problem ordering his men to attack when tdcked in battle but woe betide to the commander not involved in the fighting to fail to look after the well being of his. men. Contrary to popular opinion, the Emperor cared a great deal about his men but he showed it most in a strategic sense and left the day to day welfare of the Grande Armee to the subordinate commanders it belonged to. ‘As was usual with Napoleon, even before the troops were on the move he felt nervous and uncertain (Offensive campaigns are not easy. The Emperor knew quite well that the attacker has the great bane of not Knowing where the enemy will be or where he will move to or what his intentions might be. Therefore, using any meihod he might have at his disposal whether it be scouts, spies or traitors he must gather as much information as he can, decipher it and then act according to the input attained. It was in this area of expertise that Napoleon had an element in the French army that most other countries lacked and one that gave him and his commanders a great advantage on campaign and allowed for his offensive style to come {o full fruition: an excellent and well organized staff. Brought to a very high state of efficiency by the tireless Marshall Louis-Alexandre Berthier, Napoleon's Grand Quartier General, was the machine through which the Emperor could rule his empire from the saddle while on campaign and have it function with good results. This was a definite and clear advantage, especially in battle when decisions have to be made in an instant based on often sketchy information at best. The allied attack on Dresden in 1813 was canceled by the high command when it found out that Napoleon had arrived but the attack launched itself because the ‘Austrian staff couldn't get the orders out in time. This would not happen with Berthier's men riding around the battlefield. Also, the Grande Armee's staff included Imperial Aides de Camp, men of experience and proven valor, who could command combined formations on their own or replace generals who had suddenly been killed in combat. With these attributes and more, the French army could react faster and be ina better position to defeat greater numbers of the enemy. Unfortunately for France, the staff of 1815 ‘would have significant difculties with Napoleon's style of warfare and this led to odd anomalies during the campaign which at least once would cause the Armee du Nord to miss a grand opportunity of crushing the enemy early in the offensive, Marshall Soult was confirmed as the chief of staff of the Armee du Nord on May 9, 1815, as Napoleon ‘seemed to be hoping, in vain, that his formerly ever present Berthier would make a return and take his old post again. This would not happen as Berthier suspiciously fell out of a window at an inn and died while making his way back to France after escorting the King off French soil. No one knows what really happened as he could have murdered but the reality forced Napoleon to accept Soult as Berthier's replacement, a post which no one in such short notice could really fil. The Emperor felt Soult was the best choice for the job as he wanted a tough marshall in place whom everyone else would obey because of his litle (the grade not being an actual higher rank) and he was quite familiar with working with him. Also, as file://C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 6 de 9 mentioned earlier, he might have wanted to keep an eye on him as well. Perhaps this was, too, for the benefit of the soldiers who were looking at most any officer now with a certain suspicion especially those who had served the Bourbons so very recently. ‘As May crept by, Napoleon solidified his plans. Working with Davout and Soul, the Emperor began the careful preparations for the offensive that would be so necessary when the campaign opened. The northern departments, all conveniently on war footing since Soult had been Louis’ Minister of War, were carefully fed supplies of ail types to be ready for the sudden concentration of troops Napoleon envisioned to be in position along the river Sambre opposite Charleroi by mid June. With these three all working together and the various corps commanders doing their parts wherever they were stationed, the work went well enough and the potential frailty of Soul’s new staff went largely unnoticed. Napoleon grumbled once that the aides looked more like dandies than aides de camp but he was too busy wih running a country and planning @ campaign to bother with Soul's choices. As it was, Napoleon perhaps had a case of wishful thinking when itcame to how his staff would handle things, after all he had gotten used to it over the last twenty years, and felt that Soult should be able to keep a lid on things if only for a few weeks, Napoleon's plan of campaign was simple and precise. The Armee du Nord, consisting of the Imperial Guard, five infantry corps and four cavalry corps, would concentrate around the town of Beaumont and then aitack across the river Sambre on June 15 at the convergence point of the town of Charleroi. The army would be led by a thick cavalry screen whose main purpose was to cover the approach routes of three main columns of troops and feel out where the enemy was. Advancing with the light infantry advance {uards would be engineers of all types tasked with repairing any destroyed bridges and throwing extra ntoon bridges across the Sambre to aid in the building of the bridgehead. By the end of the 15th, lapoleon hoped that his army would be massed north of Charleroi and tidy in between Wellington and Biucher. The idea here was not necessarily to catch the enemy completely dumbfounded by the attack, though that was always desirable, but to find them in the first stages of concentration so that they could be defeated in detail i possible. However, this plan was typically Napoleonic in that even if the two armies were not defeated in detail by the 16th, he still would be between them and be in a position to destroy each inturn anyway. Napoleon always buit in a certain flexibility into his strategic plans and this campaign of 1818 would show this fact at its best even with all the disappointments to come in the next few days. ‘The beginning of June brought about another remarkable feat of arms and one that quietly marked the beginning of the campaign: the secret massing of the French army from its concentration areas along the frontiers to the town of Beaumont south of the river Sambre. All the French corps were spread out along the border and the fact that they were able to do what they did was truly an amazing event and one really only possible for the French army under Napoleon. I Corps was at Lille, I Corps at Valenciennes and Maubeuge, Ill Corps at Mezieres, IV Corps at Metz, VI Corps at Laon, the cavalry corps at Beauvais and the Imperial Guard was at Paris with the Emperor. All except the Guard were soon on the march to Beaumont. On June 7th, the borders of France were closed with no one able to leave or come in by land or sail, Rumors, many planted by Napoleon's intelligence officers, began to float their way across the border to both English and Prussian ears and these achieved two completely divergent results. First, concentrations of French troops were known to be in the area, perhaps around 100,000 strong, and of ‘course that was true; Napoleon knew that he could not completely hide everything and, as stated above, had planned for such an event. Second, the intent of these massed formations was so variously reported that It only served to confuse the allied commanders and therefore keep them from forming any real idea as to what the French were doing. One such rumor pointed to a sudden offensive from Lille, where | Corps had been for some time, towards Brussels and this seemed fo fit in with Wellington's idea that any attack would be launched against his communications. Therefore, he kept his troops posted where they were Which was stil far apart from Biucher's Prussians. In the end, while the rumors served to keep everyone in place, which helped Napoleon, they were largely discounted by the simple fact that both Wellington and Biucher felt that Napoleon would not dare to launch a decisive attack against their obviously superior forces ‘which numbered near 250,000 men. Against most any other general of the era perhaps this could have been a realistic observation but both men really should have known better than that. To win the war, Napoleon needed his enemies to cooperate with him and allow him to defeat each in turn before they could Unite into a huge and unbeatable mass on French soll It seemed now that Fortune may well have returned to him one more time. ‘The war was nearly ready to begin, Napoleon's concentration of the army had been an absolutely outstanding success marred by only one major staff slip up by Marshall Soult of no orders being sent to Marshall Grouchy at his headquarters at Laon. The new marshall, however, showed no hesitation after an interview with the Emperor and immediately sent off orders for his cavalry corps to join the rest of the army by forced marches so that all could begin on time. Napoleon was irritated by this "oversight" on the part of ‘Soult but there was not the time to give proper lessons to a man largely unfamiliar with detailed staff work. He was convinced that Soult would learn in time and he left it at that. (On June 13th, Napoleon was at Avesnes and the next day he arrived in Beaumont to be surrounded by all Gf is troops win bivouacked nearby to keep concentrated and ready to go despite the foul weather raining ‘down on them, If he had paused for a moment to think about it, he would have been well satisfied by what he had achieved. In ten days, the entire Armee du Nord had come together to a single point from varying distances up to 300 miles away to take up positions just south of a major concentration of the enemy file:// WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 7 de 9 without that enemy doing anything to counteract what had taken place. In addition, many of the newer units had actually finished their organizations on the march which only sings the praises of their commanders for their skill and Marshall Davout for his efforts at supplying them with what they needed to do this act. But Napoleon didnot pause. Issuing his typical order 0 the day to his troops on the 14th, he reminded them of the anniversary of the battles of Marengo and Friedland and extolled them to give their utmost again to secure for France the victory that he sensed everyone knew they needed. That done, he lay down to sleep 2 while, the massive workload on his shoulders finally forcing him to stop and rest a while. In his mind he knew he wasn't the same man as he had been in 1814 and even the impending thrill of a coming campaign ‘was not fully reviving his energy yet. Shaking his throbbing head, he held it in his hands a moment before allowing himseif to fall quietly asleep next to small crackling fire. After all the work he had done, he prayed his body would not let him down now. ‘The allied armies in Belgium that sat blithely unaware of the torrent about to engulf them were stationed casually about the countryside with Wellington's troops widely dispersed to make supplying and billeting easier (the Duke always being well aware of his supply lines) and the Prussians in a more concentrated fashion corps wise to the east of him. Both commanders felt relatively safe where they were and thought that the rumors of an impending French offensive to be rather unlikely at best. Wellington gave no reason to think otherwise as he immersed himseif fully in the social life of Brussels where he entertained weekly and even found time fo escort a lady to a cricket match at Enghien. When told of a rumor that Bonaparte was at Maubeuge only forty miles away he waved it off and wrote a letter the next day stating, again, that he did not expect hostlties to begin for some time. But such was the character of the Duke that he would react swiftly only two days later and make the campaign such a near run affair. Blucher on the other hand was more or less chafing at the proverbial bit. Fuming over not having been invited to the Congress of Vienna (where his presence would probably have been most interesting, if disruptive), he felt that the politicians of his country were giving everything away that they had won in 1814, everything he had won, for no real return on the investment. News of Napoleon's return revived the old field marshall and he was ‘anxious for the fighting to begin so he could dash the miserable French once and for all; in his mind he already had plans of blowing up the new bridge in Paris commemorating the Prussian defeat at Jena in 1806, ‘The Duke of Wellington and Field Marshall Blucher commanded widely differing armies but both men knew that the essence of all their plans had to include proper cooperation so that they could readily join forces and bring about the defeat of Napoleon and his smaller army. That this fact seems so obvious today does fot do the question justice as at that time many officers on both sides actively did not trust each other and some even tried to get in the way of this crucial act. Blucher's own chief of staff, General Count Neithardt von Gneisenau, suspected the English of possible treachery stemming from the secret alliance treaty formed against Prussia and Russia at the Congress of Vienna and made no bones about this fact to anyone who was wling to Isten, Lucy or the alles, however, was the fact hat the commander in chiefs ‘of both armies liked and respected each other and even if their subordinates did not understand why, they ‘were fully prepared to work together as much as possible to affect Napoleon's defeat. ‘The Duke of Wellington had for some time now formulated several plans to deal with the French should they attack across the frontier. These plans, partly based on the numerous and repetitive rumors flying about, showed quite clearly that his main concern was with his own lines of communication that stretched to Ostend on the channel coast. This attitude, though curious given the fact that both commanders wanted to cooperate with one another, was quite understandable given the Duke's own hard won experience with allies in the past. Having campaigned with the worthless Spanish and more than once suffering from their Collective stupidity, Wellington had developed the idea that he would have to take care of himself and his army first before any other notion came into play. Going over his detailed maps of Belgium, he began to think of where the French might attack from if in fact the rumors were correct in that respect. Dismissing What he considered to be unlikely courses of action, he decided upon two that he reasoned to be the most ‘compelling in terms of what he knew about Napoleon. The first, a bold thrust striking between the allied Srmies was possible but, from his point of view, extremely dangerous for the French. Surrounded by the Superior forces of the allies, he felt and told Blucher at a meeting at Tirlemont that they should have no problem coming together, putting the enemy in a vice grip and then smashing him before he knew what had happened or could react. “if Napoleon comes between us it would be ike a burglar heading down a dead end street, he would have nowhere to go, With your forces to the east and mine to the west, | really see no chance for him," the Duke said as he tapped the spot where he suspected @ battle might occur. “No chance at all.” Bucher grunted but said nothing more. Unlike the other men in the room, the paper campaign did not interest him at all and, what was more, it made him sleepy. Fighting off drowsiness, he nodded to no one in particular. ‘Another Prussian was listening, though, and very intently at that: General Count Gneisenau. "If we ‘concentrate at, perhaps, Sombreffe, where will you be?" Blucher's chief of staff watched Wellington file://C\AWINDOWS\Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001Histofig : Empire - Book on line : Waterloo Alternative History 2 Pagina 8 de 9 carefully. He didn’t trust him and he wanted to pin the Englishman down to a specific place before he left the meeting with his dozing chief. In the scenario they were discussing, Wellington had no intention of leting down his ally. "I wll concentrate imy forces at Nivelles and we will be able to support each other...” Blucher finaly recovered from his stupor and stood suddenly. "And we will destroy Napoleon's army between us!” "Yes," Wellington agreed, too polite to say anything that was really on his mind, “I think you and | can do the business.” This first plan seemed the easiest to counter and the Duke honestly thought that together they would stop Napoleon if he was so rash as to stick his neck into a noose. It was the second plan, however, that concerned Wellington the most and showed that though he might like and respect Marshall Blucher, he would rather not have to rely on him if he did not have to. The Duke's greatest fear was a thrust by Napoleon's army towards Brussels across his own lines of communication, an attack that would force him east to join with the Prussians and force him away from the channel. Fearing for his supply lines and the possibilty that the Belgians would rise against him should Napoleon occupy Brussels, the Duke would keep his forces aligned as they were and still away from Blucher in order to meet such a threat. This concern for his line of retreat would continue to afflict Wellington throughout the campaign and would rob him of some several thousand precious men during the battle of Waterloo. ‘The strategic realities of the campaign, especially after some real French deserters were brought in a few days before the storm broke, should have alerted the allied commanders as to what was actually the most plausible course of action that the French emperor would take. While Wellington thought it would be a strike Against his own right, he had perhaps neglected to put himself in the boots of his opposite number and see it from his side. Napoleon was facing massive numbers of troops along his entire frontier and he had insufficient strength to hope to take them on all at once. He had to catch them separated. Now if he did strike from around Lille for instance, towards Brussels, he would be doing precisely what he simply could not afford to do. The Belgian capital was nothing compared to forcing the two nearest enemy armies into the arms of one another: unification destroyed everything he had worked for. With the allied armies massed together he was hopelessly outnumbered and forced into a position where even if he won a large battle, his losses might cost him the campaign. The fact that Wellington did not seem to consider this fact lends more weight to the thought that he did not feel that the French would attack at all along his front and perhaps. would feint at best in order to buy time somewhere else. Nevertheless, the ever present rumors roused his interest sufficiently to want to gather more information and find out what was truly going on to his south, if anything at all Wetington assigned Major General Sir Wiliam Domberg, commander of the rd Cavalry Brigade ofthe Duke's army, the task of setting up an inteligence center at Mons to try and find out what was going on inside France. Hamstrung by an agreement amongst the allied sovereigns not to patrol inside the French border before the grand invasion began (as this act would make the allies look lke the aggressors in the war, which they were), Dornberg set up and prepared to do the best he could guided by the prevalent thought that all of the activity was nothing more than a sophisticated bluff. Collecting more and more rumors and the occasional deserter (or were they spies?), Dornberg reported to Wellington on June 14th that around 100,000 French troops were concentrated around Maubeuge and Philippeville and that Napoleon had been variously spotted in the neighborhood as well. Wellington's stated reaction was while the rumor might be true, it was probably a feint designed to ascertain allied positions and preparations. before the French emperor took his troops back to form up along the Aisne river and await the allied advance. ‘The armies of Blucher and Wellington remained where they were despite the increasing warning signs. General Zieten, commanding the Prussian | Corps, reported to Gneisenau that the Imperial Guard was in the area along with Napoleon and many of his corps. To the Prussian chief of staff, this information was enough and on the night of the 14th, he issued orders to the army (Blucher being asleep) to concentrate but, perhaps thinking how foolish he would look if nothing happened on the 15th, he failed to put any Urgency into the orders which resulted in General Bulow, commanding the IV Corps, not deciding to move Until the 16th! Naturally, Gneisenau failed to alert Wellington of this intelligence and it was only the Prussians who began to move on the night before the French offensive began. In this manner, the stage was now set for one of the greatest dramas in history to begin. The Emperor faced the Sambre river at Charleroi, his troops ready to fight. The Anglo-Dutch and Prussian armies slept quietly in their cantonments generally oblivious to the attack about to be launched. file://C:\WINDOWS \Desktop\Meu porta-arquivos\Library\Alternati...\book_01_02.htm 29/11/2001