Although I have been off line for a while, my Waterloo project has been proceeding at speed behind the scenes.
The Waterloo battlefield has two main roads: the first to the West runs diagonally from Nivelles to Brussels and was the road Wellington expected Napoleon to use as a way of outflanking his right, cutting off his avenue of withdrawal to the Channel Ports.
In fact, it was the second road from Charleroi to Brussels that dominated the battle and was the axis that Napoleon actually chose to exploit. The Brussels-Charleroi Chaussee is therefore intrinsic to our understanding of the battle.
So far, I have constructed the buildings at the southern end of the battlefield from Rossomme to La Belle Alliance. I have also completed the northern area from Mont St Jean to La Haye Sainte.
My task now has been to join these two areas to create a single 20 metre long strip through the battlefield. In preparation, I have studied the topography and given special attention to the rolling nature of the ground. At first glance, the land seems flat and featureless but closer inspection reveals subtle undulations that cause the Chaussee to descend into cuttings and allowed the French to move much of their artillery reserve forward onto an advanced ridge from where the famous "Grand Battery" played onto the Allied ridge.
The photos that follow show a section of the evidence and then my interpretation of the results.
Relief model with faux fur uncoloured:
With La Belle Alliance and the orchard at La Haye Sainte attached:
With the road and corn coloured:
Mont St Jean:
From Rossomme looking North:
Rossomme:
Old Guard at Maison Lacoste:
2nd Lancers Service Squadron:
La Haye Sainte:
8th Dutch Hussars:
2nd Belgian Carabiniers:
French prisoners:
The idea is to give a slice through the battlefield; hope you enjoy!
takes the plunge!
