"The definitive book on Waterloo?" Topic

I have read previous posts as to peoples opinions as to the best books but is there an unbiased definitive history, I am especialy interested in the Prussian actions arond Placentoit

Try Adkins Waterloo Companion

Hi Shipka

Russia 1812 is the campaign I'm really interested in. This may sound irrelevant, but bear with me! I have 20 or so books on the Russian campaign, and my point in mentioning this is, simply, that there really is no definitive version. Each account has its strengths or weaknesses.

I'm much less red well read on Waterloo, but for sheer fun I would recommend Allesandro Barbero's 'The Battle'. I have written a review on this for Amazon UK, in case that might be helpful here is a link:

link

If you're interested in Plancenoit, you might like Peter Hofschröer's book 'The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory'. It appears, from some comments I've read online, that some English reviewers don't like Hofschröer, because he has something of a Teutonic axe to grind, as the second part of his title suggests.

Personally I like his work and find his Germanocentric angle interesting and refreshingly different.

link

Another of Hofschröer's books, Wellington's Smallest Victory, about Capt. Siborne's 'Great Model – a massive a Waterloo diorama – is fascinating, and also well worth reading.

Hope these suggestions might help?
Cheers

Seb

there never will be a definitive book about waterloo

Like the definitive set of Napoleonic rules…

But are there definitive books about a ball?

The best books on Waterloo that I have read are Siborne's history (which is a different book than that of the Waterloo letters), Ropes' history of the campaign, and Houssaye's volume on the campaign and battle.

I would recommend reading all three for an excellent overall view of the campaign in Belgium.

B

I've a soft spot for Mad Hoffy's series that Seb Palmer quoted.

Siborne is good too.

Concur that each volume adds it's own value. Adkins Waterloo Companion is a resource I enjoy and found useful during researching how to paint and play with Hovel's newish Pappelotte model: hovelsltd.co.uk

Plancenoit is well represented as well. Sorry, no links, but I gained appreciation and better understanding of the Prussian actions around Plancenoit by viewing contour maps of the area to understand the difficulties the Prussians endured to attack from the east, and the advantages the French enjoyed in attack, defense and reinforcement of Plancenoit. Let us know which book you choose.

I think that you read as many as you can. I would hate to think how many books on Waterloo I have read over the years. Saying that – Chandler's study of the battle is quite good.

another vote for Alessandro Barbero, well written, comprehensive and easy to follow. Check the reviews on amazon: link

I would second Barbero's book. It has its faults, but it does do justice to the Prussian attack, especially about the issues they had with burning through their skirmishers too quickly. He's good at grasping the big picture, but his depth of knowledge can be a bit weak at times.
a
The maps in Adkin are a very useful supplement (maps fairly useless in Barbero). I concur with Condotta that they add a lot to a general understanding. But Adkins does not attempt a comprehensive account

I have found Hofshroer a bit jumbled and not satisfactory as a main source for anything, but useful as a supplement.

I haven't read Siborne, but I understand that is marred by errors that subsequent research has brought out. Houssaye's work is one of the best classic accounts, with more details from the French side than many works, and using Siborne's research too. It's a bit brief on the details of the battles though. He also has a tendency to rage about French mistakes rather than get to the bottom of why they were made…but that can be said of most historians of this era.

Don't forget to include Pierre de Wit's website at waterloo-campaign.nl/. He's spent a lot of time gathering sources on the campaign. I hadn't been to his site for a while, but it looks like he may have it completed. Here's his pdf of Bulow's initial attacks

PDF link

Unlike some authors lately, he heavily footnotes his "papers."

Michael,
That was a pretty definitive, succinct and yet detailed account of the IV Korps assault.
Interesting that the initial primary objective was La Belle Alliance – always assumed it was Plancenoit.
Also interesting that it clearly describes the French action as at best a delaying action, the French didn't really appear to have the initiative at any point in the action, more a case of reacting to the steady stream of Prussians debouching from the woodline.
Thank you for the link

Another vote for Chandler's "Waterloo, the Hundred Days"

link

I've noticed Pierre's website for a couple of years now. It took him a while to get Waterloo done. It hard to find a good detailed account of Waterloo (or Quatre Bras or Ligny or Wavre) that uses a lot of sources from all sides, so I always believed that his site is a great place to start. It's not written like a smoothly-reading book would be, but there's a place for getting into the details.

Adkins Waterloo Companion is not a definitive source, I am told, however it is very colorful, informative, and very user-friendly.

I Drink Your Milkshake
Have you read Adkins – your statement: 'I am told, however it is very colorful, informative, and very user-friendly.' implies that you have not.
If you indeed have not read it, how do you know that 'Adkins Waterloo Companion is not a definitive source'
The world awaits an answer!

The number of Waterloo books in English alone is a bottomless pit. I have read most of what is mentioned here. If I was to read one book it would be Barbero's book followed by Chandler. They are easy to read, engaging, and give a good overview without as much bias as in other books. For me personally Barbero's is the the best if I had to have one.

Adkins is not a history of the campaign. But if you want a book that gives overview information on tactics, uniforms, and select portions of the battle then Adkins is designed to do this, and for that it is recommended.

Adkins Waterloo Companion

Again

Bernard Coppens – Waterloo – les mensonges

This is the first book I read about the battle which made me understand how it was fought – otherwise go for Hofschröer.

Alessandro Barbero: The Battle.

Very good. Uses French, Prussian, Belgian and British sources.
Written by an Italian with no axe to grind.

Michael, thank you for mentioning Pierre de Wit's site. I have only read it (though recently) for Quatre Bras. I think it is an invaluable resource, because it draws from so many sources. It also has a proper discussion of terrain features. At QB he shows the importance of the hedges near Gemioncourt stream – often overlooked by wargamers. One French account suggests their pioneers had to cut their way through it!

I am a bit wary of some of his analytical conclusions though – especially suggesting the Jerome's division didn't do very much. The one source of evidence he didn't seem to draw on was casualty reports which, if the sources I have seen are reliable, suggest that Jerome was a bit more active than that. But that a trivial criticism, because he lays the evidence bare – you can always draw your own conclusions.

Not so good for an overview, but invaluable for digging into the detail.

Another vote for Adkins – an extraordinary undertaking. Nothing else comes close in terms of comrpehensive coverage and detail. Such lovely photos and pics too!

Apologies for thread necro but better than starting new topic.

What Waterloo books would you recommend that focuses best on French side of battle? (Looking for books written in English language that are still in print).

In particular looking for as much detail as possible on La Haye Sainte.

Try Field's book – Waterloo, the French Perspective
link

Thanks very much

Will check that out.

" How the English beat me"; Napoleone Buonaparte, St. Helena Press, 1818.

"How the English beat me"; Napoleone Buonaparte, St. Helena Press, 1818.

You mean, "I should have won but that Grouchy screwed up, Ney was an idiot and Wellington got lucky", by N B.

There's an old book called "Waterloo, Battle of Three Armies":

link

This book isn't the definitive history of the battle, but it's well worth a read. Three different historians (British, French and German) tell their country's view of events. It is most instructive to compare their accounts of the same event. They all, of course, show a "home-team" bias.

It's why I was so excited by Barbero's book, because he didn't have a "dog in the hunt," and could be objective without becoming a pariah to his countrymen.

Does anybody else think that there's just a little too many Waterloo books out there, at least in the UK? It's reached saturation point in my view. Go into your local Waterstones and Waterloo titles make up around 75% of the Napoleonic inventory. I know it was the deciding battle and that the bicentennial is rolling to us but really, you'd think that the preceding 15+ years of Napoleonic strife had never happened. You get the odd Austerlitz or Peninsular war title on a shelf but that's generally it. Marengo, Jena, Eylau, Friedland, Wagrem, Borodino and Leipzig fans need not apply.

Sorry to go off topic.

I totally agree, DontTreadOnMe, there's way too much emphasis on Waterloo in English-language publishing. The same thing is true about Gettysburg – it's the only battle that gets written about. For WW2, it's D-Day.

I suppose this is what sells, since those are the battles that lay audiences may have heard of. But those of us who want to take our interests a bit further have to hunt for it.

Nope – I have a load of Naps books but can never get enough Waterloo – it is the defining battle. Sorry

Ye Gods! You think Waterloo has too many titles? What about that wee stramash, The Zulu War! I hate to think how many books are written about that nano-second in historical time!