"What did Napoleon say about the Battle of Waterloo?" Topic

"On June 18, 1815, Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by a coalition of British, German, Dutch-Belgian and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington and Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher. As a result of this defeat, Napoleon was removed from the throne of France and spent the rest of his life in exile on the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena. There he had plenty of time to reflect on the last battle he ever fought. What did Napoleon say about the Battle of Waterloo?…."
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Amicalement
Armand

"Merde !"

Mostly "it wasn't my fault."

I rolled a 1.

This wouldn't have happened under the old rules.

You all beat me to it! My version was:

"These new rules are merde!!"

DB

Mostly "it wasn't my fault."

Actually, what he later said was that nobody, including himself, had done their duty.

He also said that if Berthier had been there, he 'would not have met this misfortune.'

He rolled seven 1's in a row.

"Soult! Bring me my Brown pants!!"

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

"I was well beaten by better generals and better troops. I extend my congratulations to the British, Prussians and their Allies"?

"I should have kept the Louisiana Territory and regrouped there."

Coulda, coulda, woulda

OK, this is a UK "Soccer" thing but, ask the manager after the game..

"We had the best of the first half.

It is a game of two halves. That decision outside LHS, the lad with the axe, he should never have been shot. What was the ref thinking?

All the crucial decisions went against us."

VAR. Run the battle again with that (with apologies to our Rebel Colonies who think football is played by huge lads in armour ..with a U…plate and soccer is for girls and who are so lucky to have no idea about VAR )

Great posting. Tango can do it, you know, bless him (Grin)

Thanks my friend! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

"Personally, I blame Ney and Grouchy and the weather!"

To adapt the caption on a cartoon that appeared in Punch many years ago, depicting the retreat from Moscow:

"True, it has not been a successful campaign – but it will make a wonderful wargame in which I shall often be victorious!"

this for a game of soldiers….I'm off!

Ah, but where would we be without him and his wars. Many a wargames owes his love of history and the colour of the period to that man and his greatcoat. Waterloo was a close run thing, and that is what history shows us.

I wonder how many have read the link Tango provided. It is not at all bad, but provides a tiny fraction of what Gen Buonaparte had to say about his last campaign in 1815 (after signing an abdication, remember).

Much worse…indeed almost depressing…is to read the quality of response it produced. My lads are academics and always warn me about the level of discussion on social media, I do not just mean the typos here, but…………dear God

TMP is good. Of that I am convinced.

This is the internet – not really a place for academics?

Very little…Mont St Jean however is another matter!

In July 1816 Napoleon told Admiral Malcolm:

Wellington ought to have retreated, and not fought that battle, for had he lost it, I should have established myself in France…. Wellington risked too much, for by the rules of war I should have gained the battle. (11)

The following March he told Dr. Barry O'Meara,

The plan of the battle will not in the eyes of the historian reflect any credit on Lord Wellington as a general. In the first place, he ought not to have given battle with the armies divided…. In the next, the choice of ground was bad; because if he had been beaten he could not have retreated, as there was only one road leading to the forest in the rear. He also committed a fault which might have proved the destruction of all his army, without its ever having commenced the campaign…; he allowed himself to be surprised. On the 15th I was at Charleroi, and had beaten the Prussians without his knowing any thing about it….

[Wellington] certainly displayed great courage and obstinacy; but a little must be taken away even from that, when you consider that he had no means of retreat, and that, had he made the attempt, not a man of his army would have escaped. First, to the firmness and bravery of his troops, for the English fought with the greatest obstinacy and courage, he is principally indebted for the victory, and not to his own conduct as a general; and, next, to the arrival of Blucher, to whom the victory is more to be attributed than to Wellington, and more credit due as a general; because he, though beaten the day before, assembled his troops, and brought them into action in the evening. I believe, however, that Wellington is a man of great firmness. The glory of such a victory is a great thing; but in the eye of the historian, his military reputation will gain nothing by it.

Here the bulletin dictated by Napoleon on 20th June 1815 (it is in French of course, sorry):

1789-1815.com/bulletin.htm

Thanks!

Amicalement
Armand

ConnaughtRanger

No, what he would have said was 'Why did I not believe that Wellington would be stupid enough to hold such a position and rely and risk so much on the arrival of the Prussians. And why did I not believe that Grouchy was stupid enough not to be able to find the Prussians. And finally, why was I clearly stupid enough to overestimate the abilities of these two commanders.'