Eagles at Waterloo?

[Harry Faversham]

Eagles at Waterloo?
The two Froggy Eagles captured at Waterloo by the British Army are very well documented. It’s also well documented that His Grace’s Army, by and large spent the night on the battlefield, and took little part in the pursuit of the enemy. So my question is…

Wot ‘appened to the rest of Boney’s gilded chickens?

I’m not having it for a minute, that in the rout which saw Boney lose the Imperial Chamberpot, resolute clumps of Frenchies stalwartly defended their Eagles agin the rampaging Prussians. Were they picked up, discarded in roadside ditches by triumphant Deaths Head Hussars, or meekly surrendered as scores of Frenchmen tried to jack it in?

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Mike]

Could you be careful with some of your turns of phrase please?
Such as Froggy and Jerry etc.

[vtsaogames]

My take: Prussian cavalry advancing through the night found it easier to take prisoner or saber those fleeing in panic than deal with the cluster of die-hards around each eagle. Consider that some Prussian cavalry got into a hard fight with British cavalry on the field in twilight. Prussian artillery trashed Mercer’s horse artillery until Mercer convinced a Dutch-Belgian battery to enfilade the Prussians. Things were confused. The Prussians suffered 7,500 casualties before the pursuit began, so they may have been a tad worn out. And they had marched a long way before the fight.

Who wants to be the last fatality (possibly at the hands of a friend) in a battle that you suspect has pretty much ended the war in a big victory?

It's never too late to have a happy childhood

[Patrice]

I am not a Napoleonic specialist (and certainly not admiring him) but I thought that most French units retreated toward Namur and other towns quite peacefully, with Grouchy (at last) being quite effective to protect their retreat?

Mike wrote:

Could you be careful with some of your turns of phrase please? Such as Froggy

Personally I’m not shocked by the nickname “Froggy” as I so much enjoyed hearing it in the mouth of Sean Bean in the Sharpe series. And as a Breton our local derogatory word (in French mouths) is “Plouc” which an English medieval reenactor and friend of mine, late Colin Kendall (Mesnie Nicolas) liked so much to call my medieval group when he met us in reenactment battles many years ago: “Aoooh les Ploucs!”. But I understand Mike would prefer to avoid any misunderstanding.

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Harry Faversham]

Sorry all, no offence was intended. I’m from Sheffield same as Sharpey…

if that’s any excuse!!!???

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

Oi, guv’nor! I got some fancy brass chickens in me boot. Want a butcher’s…?

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[Cerdic]

Sounds like Thad should be driving a yellow three-wheeled van…

So, plouc? That is what Bretons are called by the rest of France? Have I got that right? Dare one ask what it means?

http://28mmreview.blogspot.co.uk

[Patrice]

Cerdic wrote:

plouc? That is what Bretons are called by the rest of France? Have I got that right? Dare one ask what it means?

Off topic, all my fault. 😉 “Plouc” is derogatory French for peasant and originally it was aimed at Breton peasants and/or from rural areas as so many village names in Brittany begin by “Plou…” (meaning “parish” in Breton)

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[Harry Faversham]

One thing I didn’t think of…
The Eagles could be detached from the flagpole thingy, much easier to conceal that way. I’ve often wondered if there’s not a few Imperial Eagles still at large, hidden away and forgotten, by the likes of a Brigadier Gerrard, still awaiting their masters return?

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[vtsaogames]

Patrice wrote:

I am not a Napoleonic specialist (and certainly not admiring him) but I thought that most French units retreated toward Namur and other towns quite peacefully, with Grouchy (at last) being quite effective to protect their retreat?

 

The troops with Grouchy retired on Namur covered by Grouchy’s effective rear guard action. But the troops from Waterloo fell back on Genappe and Quatre Bras, being chased by Prussian cavalry all night. But I still suspect each eagle had a tough core around it, falling back rapidly. The many thousands who had left the ranks would make easier pickings. There’s also the question of how many Prussian cavalry kept up the pursuit all night. I suspect many of them called it quits a mile or two south of La Belle Alliance. Long day, long fight.

 

Edit: different war. Speaking of hiding colors, Burgoyne’s army removed the colors from staffs and hid them under uniforms. They burned the staffs and claimed the colors had also been burned. Congress used this as one of the reasons to renege on the Convention, keeping the rank and file as prisoners.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

Cerdic wrote:

Sounds like Thad should be driving a yellow three-wheeled van…

The water quality in Rio de Janeiro has given me the trots, but that’s as close as I come to Trotter’s.

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[vtsaogames]

One last thing: at Genappe some French infantry erected a barricade in the street and prepared to stand off the Prussian cavalry. Rather than attack the barricade, the cavalry produced a drummer boy on a horse and had him beat his drum. The French, assuming that enemy infantry had arrived, decamped. The drummer boy was called on again during the night whenever serious resistance was encountered. I suspect a couple fresh battalions at Genappe could have stopped the pursuit IF they managed to avoid being swept up in the rout.

 

Of course, in a game, I’d roll that they joined the rout.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood

[Thaddeus Blanchette]

As I implied above and as Harry says, I bet a lot of the Waterloo eagles ended up in private hands, one way or another, and may be still out there.

We get slapped around, but we have a good time!

[Author]

Posts