What do you think?
Rate this book
Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815 #1
Waterloo: the Campaign of 1815: Volume I: from Elba to Ligny and Quatre Bras
The first of two ground-breaking volumes on the Waterloo campaign, this book is based upon a detailed analysis of sources old and new in four languages. It highlights the political stresses between the Allies, and their resolution; it studies the problems of feeding and paying for 250,000 Allied forces assembling in Belgium during the ‘undeclared war’, and how a strategy was thrashed out.
It studies the neglected topic of how the slow and discordant Allies beyond the Rhine hampered the plans of Blücher and Wellington, thus allowing Napoleon to snatch the initiative from them. Napoleon’s operational plan is analysed (and Soult's mistakes in executing it). Accounts from both sides help provide a vivid impression of the fighting on the first day, 15 June, and the volume ends with the joint battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras the next day.
It studies the neglected topic of how the slow and discordant Allies beyond the Rhine hampered the plans of Blücher and Wellington, thus allowing Napoleon to snatch the initiative from them. Napoleon’s operational plan is analysed (and Soult's mistakes in executing it). Accounts from both sides help provide a vivid impression of the fighting on the first day, 15 June, and the volume ends with the joint battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras the next day.
736 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2017
56 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
John Hussey
16 books2 followersAfter reading History at Cambridge John Hussey spent 30 years working for BP around the world including the Congo in the 1960s and Nigeria in the 1970s. He was awarded an OBE in 1971. He has written many articles on British military history, mainly on the Napoleonic and First World Wars, and served as a member of the International Historical Committee for the restoration of the Waterloo Battlefield. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 27, 2025
Grand Campaign
Reader caution is advised with this book. It is not for the causal reader or someone looking to enter into the rabbit hole of the Napoleonic Wars. John Hussey’s two part series on the Waterloo Campaign in 1815, is dense, a slow burn and extremely intricate. However, for those who want to go on this journey, the book can be extremely rewarding. As no stone has been left unturned, no letter or diary entry has been left unread and no argument left unanswered. There were two elements that hit me, the amount of research and attention to detail this book gives, alongside the sheer volume of information that is thrown at you. This is not your average book on The Hundred Days, as it covers grand strategy and tactics of each faction, their national governments point of view and what their military leaders knew, thought and wanted to achieve.
The aim of Hussey was to look at the campaign as a whole and not just tell the famous story of 18/06/1815, the charge of the Scots Greys, the battle for Hougoumont or the French cavalry attacking the British squares. He wanted to tell the story of Ligny, Quatre Bras, Wavre and Waterloo in their context and why and how each was thought. It is almost a book made to ‘set the record straight’. Any Napoleonic enthusiast will know this starts with Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from Elba, whilst the Congress of Vienna was in full swing. Impressively, Hussey is not an academic and furthermore his work says away from controversy or far out theories. He is able to navigate top end politics and strategy very well, the dynamics between the Duke of Wellington, Prince Gebhard von Blücher, Karl Freiherr von Müffling and Count August von Gneisenau are particularly interesting. Where Hussey is weaker, is the French side of this coin. What were the main dynamics of Napoleon and his Marshals in the campaign? I walked away feeling a need for more of this, even after much a long read.
When we get to the battle sequences, again Hussey is in his element. He explains the tension of ‘Frank versus Teuton’ at Ligny which culminates in a bloody battle and how, four miles apart Quatre Bras and Ligny were in fact the same battle. What happened at Quatre Bras was in fact more important for all sides. At Ligny, the Prussians were defending a built up area of town, so bloody house to house fighting ensued. But the French, short of men somehow managed to dislodge the Prussia from the town, Hussey, like so many other historians before him, perhaps is unsure of how this happened. I still am. From Quatre Bras we learn the importance of the heights, but not such much of the hedges north of the stream that ran through the battlefield. This was crucial checking the French cavalry. One bold statement is that he says there were two charges of Kellerman’s cuirassiers instead of the usual one. Hussey is confident in this and so as we can see, he focuses huge detail on some areas and skips over others. For me however, this didn’t affect the pacing.
Within this, all of the usual stories and characters, that o love so much about this period of history are discussed. The Duchess of Richmond’s ball, how the road from Charleroi to Brussels was unintentionally left wide open, causing Wellington to possibly say ‘I’ve been humbugged, by God’, the dynamics between Wellington and the Earl of Uxbridge (‘well he can’t run off with me’), what Wellington may have promised to the Prussians, the remarkable recovery by Wellington before the battles on 16/06/1815, the tragedy of Sir William D’Lancey and his wife, why Brussels and Belgium as a whole was important to Napoleon and the huge mistake to leave Louis-Nichols Davout in Paris and the mistake of Comte de d’Erlon marching aimlessly along the Roman Road between Quatre Bras and Ligny without doing much. What I will take away from this book, is that going forward this will act as a reference point when I retreat back to the campaign. Looking over the many maps and diving into various topics of points of discussion. Bring on volume two!
Reader caution is advised with this book. It is not for the causal reader or someone looking to enter into the rabbit hole of the Napoleonic Wars. John Hussey’s two part series on the Waterloo Campaign in 1815, is dense, a slow burn and extremely intricate. However, for those who want to go on this journey, the book can be extremely rewarding. As no stone has been left unturned, no letter or diary entry has been left unread and no argument left unanswered. There were two elements that hit me, the amount of research and attention to detail this book gives, alongside the sheer volume of information that is thrown at you. This is not your average book on The Hundred Days, as it covers grand strategy and tactics of each faction, their national governments point of view and what their military leaders knew, thought and wanted to achieve.
The aim of Hussey was to look at the campaign as a whole and not just tell the famous story of 18/06/1815, the charge of the Scots Greys, the battle for Hougoumont or the French cavalry attacking the British squares. He wanted to tell the story of Ligny, Quatre Bras, Wavre and Waterloo in their context and why and how each was thought. It is almost a book made to ‘set the record straight’. Any Napoleonic enthusiast will know this starts with Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from Elba, whilst the Congress of Vienna was in full swing. Impressively, Hussey is not an academic and furthermore his work says away from controversy or far out theories. He is able to navigate top end politics and strategy very well, the dynamics between the Duke of Wellington, Prince Gebhard von Blücher, Karl Freiherr von Müffling and Count August von Gneisenau are particularly interesting. Where Hussey is weaker, is the French side of this coin. What were the main dynamics of Napoleon and his Marshals in the campaign? I walked away feeling a need for more of this, even after much a long read.
When we get to the battle sequences, again Hussey is in his element. He explains the tension of ‘Frank versus Teuton’ at Ligny which culminates in a bloody battle and how, four miles apart Quatre Bras and Ligny were in fact the same battle. What happened at Quatre Bras was in fact more important for all sides. At Ligny, the Prussians were defending a built up area of town, so bloody house to house fighting ensued. But the French, short of men somehow managed to dislodge the Prussia from the town, Hussey, like so many other historians before him, perhaps is unsure of how this happened. I still am. From Quatre Bras we learn the importance of the heights, but not such much of the hedges north of the stream that ran through the battlefield. This was crucial checking the French cavalry. One bold statement is that he says there were two charges of Kellerman’s cuirassiers instead of the usual one. Hussey is confident in this and so as we can see, he focuses huge detail on some areas and skips over others. For me however, this didn’t affect the pacing.
Within this, all of the usual stories and characters, that o love so much about this period of history are discussed. The Duchess of Richmond’s ball, how the road from Charleroi to Brussels was unintentionally left wide open, causing Wellington to possibly say ‘I’ve been humbugged, by God’, the dynamics between Wellington and the Earl of Uxbridge (‘well he can’t run off with me’), what Wellington may have promised to the Prussians, the remarkable recovery by Wellington before the battles on 16/06/1815, the tragedy of Sir William D’Lancey and his wife, why Brussels and Belgium as a whole was important to Napoleon and the huge mistake to leave Louis-Nichols Davout in Paris and the mistake of Comte de d’Erlon marching aimlessly along the Roman Road between Quatre Bras and Ligny without doing much. What I will take away from this book, is that going forward this will act as a reference point when I retreat back to the campaign. Looking over the many maps and diving into various topics of points of discussion. Bring on volume two!
July 30, 2018
Excellent overview of the Waterloo Campaign up through Quatre Bras and Ligny. Hussey has obviously done his research, and yet it is highly readable, not dry at all. Since I was using a Kindle, the maps were not the best however.
It is a well-known story, but it is one where we can never know all the 'facts'. The participants, winners and losers alike, made mistakes, therefore, they tried to cover up to some extent. Some of the accounts given were written years after the battles so can be taken with a grain of salt, but that is a part of history. In modern times we are used to knowing about major events within minutes/hours of their happening, but the Anglo-Dutch, Prussian, and French armies didn't have that luxury in 1815. They and Europe would have to wait for two more days for the climax of the struggle.
It is a well-known story, but it is one where we can never know all the 'facts'. The participants, winners and losers alike, made mistakes, therefore, they tried to cover up to some extent. Some of the accounts given were written years after the battles so can be taken with a grain of salt, but that is a part of history. In modern times we are used to knowing about major events within minutes/hours of their happening, but the Anglo-Dutch, Prussian, and French armies didn't have that luxury in 1815. They and Europe would have to wait for two more days for the climax of the struggle.
September 23, 2020
There are few historical episodes as dramatic as the “Hundred Days” – the label given to Napoleon’s doomed attempt to reclaim the French throne and reestablish his empire. Having driven out the restored Bourbon monarchy of Louis XVIII, Napoleon faced off against the coalition of powers that had exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba less than a year before. Though Napoleon struck first and scored some initial victories, his defeat at the battle of Waterloo ended his last bid for power, and led to his imprisonment on the remote island of Saint Helena until his death nearly six years later.
It is an understatement to say that there is no shortage of books on the events of the Hundred Days and the battle of Waterloo, as authors began writing about it almost from the moment the guns stilled and have not let up since. Yet even when weighed against two centuries of accounts of the battle, John Hussey’s book stands out. The first of a two-volume work on the Hundred Days campaign, it is the product of meticulous scholarship and careful reassessment of every significance event and controversy involved. This is evident from the very first chapters, as Hussey looks at Europe’s long history with Napoleon and the events leading up to his decision to escape his exile – a decision born of a mix of boredom, ego, ambition, and frustration with the slights inflicted upon the former emperor by the Allied powers that had defeated him.
With a British officer resident on Elba to supervise him and a British warship patrolling the waters between Elba and France, Bonaparte’s decision was not without risk. His successful arrival in France, followed by his bold journey to Paris, though, defied the odds and achieved his goal. Yet Hussey describes the tenuousness of Napoleon’s hold on power, with many in France still exhausted from his reign and wary of what his return might bring. Aware of the post-exile divisions among the coalition, Napoleon hoped they might provide an opportunity to maintain his throne. Nevertheless, he prepared for war.
And war was coming. Hussey devotes considerable space to describing the coalition facing the returned emperor, with pride of place going to the commands led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Arthur Wellesley, the duke of Wellington. Hussey spends several chapters dealing their commands, their operations, and their activities, with intelligence operations featured prominently. This is central to his efforts to unpack the events of Napoleon’s 1815 campaign and establish clear chronologies and understandings of what the commanders knew and when they learned it. The issues can often seem trivial, but they serve a clear purpose in serving as the basis for Hussey’s analysis of why decisions were undertaken, and why alternatives were not pursued.
Hussey ends the volume with an account of the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras on 16 July. Though he details the actions separately, he makes it clear that they need to be regarded as a whole. His explanation is of a piece with the rest of the book, in which Hussey lays out the facts and explains how he reached the conclusions he did. It’s a careful work of often painstaking construction, and is what makes the book such a valuable addition to the already substantial library of works on the events of 1815. Take together with its successor volume, Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815, Volume II: From Waterloo to the Restoration of Peace in Europe, it’s a book that serves as an indispensable history of the battle, one that no serious student of the subject can afford to ignore.
It is an understatement to say that there is no shortage of books on the events of the Hundred Days and the battle of Waterloo, as authors began writing about it almost from the moment the guns stilled and have not let up since. Yet even when weighed against two centuries of accounts of the battle, John Hussey’s book stands out. The first of a two-volume work on the Hundred Days campaign, it is the product of meticulous scholarship and careful reassessment of every significance event and controversy involved. This is evident from the very first chapters, as Hussey looks at Europe’s long history with Napoleon and the events leading up to his decision to escape his exile – a decision born of a mix of boredom, ego, ambition, and frustration with the slights inflicted upon the former emperor by the Allied powers that had defeated him.
With a British officer resident on Elba to supervise him and a British warship patrolling the waters between Elba and France, Bonaparte’s decision was not without risk. His successful arrival in France, followed by his bold journey to Paris, though, defied the odds and achieved his goal. Yet Hussey describes the tenuousness of Napoleon’s hold on power, with many in France still exhausted from his reign and wary of what his return might bring. Aware of the post-exile divisions among the coalition, Napoleon hoped they might provide an opportunity to maintain his throne. Nevertheless, he prepared for war.
And war was coming. Hussey devotes considerable space to describing the coalition facing the returned emperor, with pride of place going to the commands led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Arthur Wellesley, the duke of Wellington. Hussey spends several chapters dealing their commands, their operations, and their activities, with intelligence operations featured prominently. This is central to his efforts to unpack the events of Napoleon’s 1815 campaign and establish clear chronologies and understandings of what the commanders knew and when they learned it. The issues can often seem trivial, but they serve a clear purpose in serving as the basis for Hussey’s analysis of why decisions were undertaken, and why alternatives were not pursued.
Hussey ends the volume with an account of the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras on 16 July. Though he details the actions separately, he makes it clear that they need to be regarded as a whole. His explanation is of a piece with the rest of the book, in which Hussey lays out the facts and explains how he reached the conclusions he did. It’s a careful work of often painstaking construction, and is what makes the book such a valuable addition to the already substantial library of works on the events of 1815. Take together with its successor volume, Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815, Volume II: From Waterloo to the Restoration of Peace in Europe, it’s a book that serves as an indispensable history of the battle, one that no serious student of the subject can afford to ignore.
August 4, 2020
Given that the Waterloo Campaign is perhaps one of the most written about campaigns ever, you can be forgiven for wondering if anything more can be said?
Well, in this case the answer has to be yes.
The author has opted to avoid the more familiar detailed tactical analysis of the three major battles and instead has concentrated on the strategic and operational aspects of the whole campaign. In doing this he has succeeded in bringing a refreshingly fresh perspective to what could have just been a familiar story retold.
The main focus is upon the less obvious but still significant constraints imposed on the participants, such as logistics, poor communications and conflicting intelligence information. By analysing these alongside the political tensions that existed within the Allies, he develops a convincing narrative of cause and effect and also effectively undermines some of the more contentious assertions made by other scholars. We get a clear picture of less conspiracy and more c***-up.
His narrative flows easily, he has a clear writing style coupled with an impressively deep knowledge of sources (both primary and more recent) in all four of the major participant languages. This is only the first of two volumes, this one ending just after the twin battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras.
Because of the depth of some of the discussions, I would say this is not a book for those new to the Waterloo campaign. For an initial introduction, try Barbero and for a more detailed tactical analysis of these battles try Andrew Field. However, for those who have some familiarity with the story, this is an impressive read, it fully deserves its Templer medal prize.
One negative with the Kindle version of the book, the maps are over compressed, so even with the magnification feature of the Kindle Paperwhite the text is pixelated and almost impossible to read. This is not a problem with Volume 2, so perhaps this can be corrected in Volume One?
Five stars for the quality of the book, but only four stars for the Kindle version.
Well, in this case the answer has to be yes.
The author has opted to avoid the more familiar detailed tactical analysis of the three major battles and instead has concentrated on the strategic and operational aspects of the whole campaign. In doing this he has succeeded in bringing a refreshingly fresh perspective to what could have just been a familiar story retold.
The main focus is upon the less obvious but still significant constraints imposed on the participants, such as logistics, poor communications and conflicting intelligence information. By analysing these alongside the political tensions that existed within the Allies, he develops a convincing narrative of cause and effect and also effectively undermines some of the more contentious assertions made by other scholars. We get a clear picture of less conspiracy and more c***-up.
His narrative flows easily, he has a clear writing style coupled with an impressively deep knowledge of sources (both primary and more recent) in all four of the major participant languages. This is only the first of two volumes, this one ending just after the twin battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras.
Because of the depth of some of the discussions, I would say this is not a book for those new to the Waterloo campaign. For an initial introduction, try Barbero and for a more detailed tactical analysis of these battles try Andrew Field. However, for those who have some familiarity with the story, this is an impressive read, it fully deserves its Templer medal prize.
One negative with the Kindle version of the book, the maps are over compressed, so even with the magnification feature of the Kindle Paperwhite the text is pixelated and almost impossible to read. This is not a problem with Volume 2, so perhaps this can be corrected in Volume One?
Five stars for the quality of the book, but only four stars for the Kindle version.
October 27, 2025
Splendid job of researching and writing an in depth strategic echelon study of the Waterloo campaign. Includes well focused attention to staff work, intelligence, communications and logistics. Not recommended for the novice. This is not a tactical study nor a regimental history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2022
Wow... magnificent! I just finished volume two of John Hussey's mighty, epic two volume history Waterloo, The campaign of 1815. What a great literary-historical journey it was.
John Hussey's account of the One Hundred Days campaign is nothing if not thorough. Fortunately his prose is more contemporary in style than, say, Capt. Siborne's, whose very large history of Waterloo - even bigger than this one, esp. if you include the third volume of maps - is known to be a tough slog.
Nor is Hussey's work like Alessandro Barbero's more contemporary account, The Battle, which, placing one squarely on the battlefield amidst the action of the 18th June, has a very different feel and scope. Hussey tells a much bigger tale, of the 'big hats'; this is very much a command and control view of the campaign. There's lots on diplomacy, and even logistics (I don't quite know why, but for some reason I particularly love the latter aspect of military history!). And it soon emerges that the Allied coalition was, as Napoleon knew and gambled upon, a complex and quite fragile thing.
But make no mistake, this is no less exciting for all that it stays closer to the upper echelons of command. For one thing, the way the two volumes are structured works really well: volume one begins with the diplomacy at Vienna, moves through Napoleon's return, before following the build up - Allied dithering versus rapid decisive Napoleonic action - and climaxing with the final three chapters, which focus on Ligny, Quatre Bras, and the wanderings of d'Erlon's Corps.
The excitement builds very nicely. And if, like me, you're obsessed with this era, Waterloo, or - quite probably - both, then the depth of detail will entrance. It is worth restating that this very definitely isn't Antony Beevor style down in the mud and blood stuff. So, if that's how you like your martial history, this just might be arduous going in the first half of volume one and the latter half of volume two.
John Hussey's account of the One Hundred Days campaign is nothing if not thorough. Fortunately his prose is more contemporary in style than, say, Capt. Siborne's, whose very large history of Waterloo - even bigger than this one, esp. if you include the third volume of maps - is known to be a tough slog.
Nor is Hussey's work like Alessandro Barbero's more contemporary account, The Battle, which, placing one squarely on the battlefield amidst the action of the 18th June, has a very different feel and scope. Hussey tells a much bigger tale, of the 'big hats'; this is very much a command and control view of the campaign. There's lots on diplomacy, and even logistics (I don't quite know why, but for some reason I particularly love the latter aspect of military history!). And it soon emerges that the Allied coalition was, as Napoleon knew and gambled upon, a complex and quite fragile thing.
But make no mistake, this is no less exciting for all that it stays closer to the upper echelons of command. For one thing, the way the two volumes are structured works really well: volume one begins with the diplomacy at Vienna, moves through Napoleon's return, before following the build up - Allied dithering versus rapid decisive Napoleonic action - and climaxing with the final three chapters, which focus on Ligny, Quatre Bras, and the wanderings of d'Erlon's Corps.
The excitement builds very nicely. And if, like me, you're obsessed with this era, Waterloo, or - quite probably - both, then the depth of detail will entrance. It is worth restating that this very definitely isn't Antony Beevor style down in the mud and blood stuff. So, if that's how you like your martial history, this just might be arduous going in the first half of volume one and the latter half of volume two.
January 30, 2022
Despite its length, the book devotes little attention to Ligny and Quatre Bras. The battles are described exclusively in terms of the generals' decisions and major movements, and in such broad terms that the book probably won't offer anything new if you're read about these battles elsewhere. In fact, the book gives the impression that the whole campaign was in the hands of a few generals, with virtually no attention to the soldiers fighting or the how engagements looked from their point of view. Other books that explore Napoleonic battles from a range of perspectives are far more informative.
July 18, 2020
As promised in the cover notes, this book is a detailed analysis of sources. May not be the best place to start your reading on the Hundred Days Campaign. But if you are familiar with the events, places and participants this is a fascinating study of the often conflicting primary sources for the events leading up to and including the battles of Ligny and Quatres Bras. Comprehensive evaluation of the voracity of competing versions of events, including private correspondences, written orders, heresay and later remembrances of those who were there as commanders or observers.
June 30, 2025
The most I knew about Waterloo before this was that it was where napoleon was stopped. This book assumes you know a lot more about the war and so I was lost at some points, but I did learn a lot about how napoleon came to power, lost, and retook power so easily. It also seems crazy how much of this campaign was marked by poor communication and incompetence on both sides almost costing the allies victory and costing napoleon the battle.
December 18, 2020
Great history narrative, almost in diary form. It's a long read, better for reference than entertainment with detail down to the hour and mile!!!
March 23, 2021
Excellent Volume on the campaign and the geo-politics of the time that has been missed by most historians. Highly recommended.
October 27, 2023
John Hussey's two volumes are on the the Waterloo campaign as a whole, with this one stopping two days before with the twin battles of Ligne and Quarte Bras. It goes after everything, starting with peace process of 1814.
He doesn't go into a lot of detail there, but does go into the problems of the Congress of Vienna, and points up that Napoleon was watching the emerging factionalism with interest. From there, we get a recounting of the flight from Elba, and then the allied planning at stopping Napoleon.
And that planning takes up the bulk of the book. The general allied plan was to line four large armies up on the German border, and advance into France in something of a repeat of the 1814 campaign. The northernmost armies, British and Prussian (plus a number of minor German contingents which caused a new round of wrangling) were ready first, while Austrian and Russian armies assembled and made their way towards the border.
Napoleon needs to smash each of these armies, at least enough to put the fear of a large French victory into the allies and cause the internal tensions to tear them apart. However, the immediate reaction to his reappearance was to unite once again, putting a strain on his ability to militarily prepare in a hurry. Wellington ends up as the leader on the spot for the allies, and apparently is entranced enough by the allied planning for an offensive to not consider just how offensively-minded Napoleon really is.
Therefore both allied armies on the spot only have the loosest idea of how to handle a French offensive, even as Wellington and Blücher contemplate their coming offensive moves. This helps lead to confusion and a slow reaction on 15 and 16 June from both allied armies.
In fact, breakdowns of communication are the running theme of the last part of the book, as Napoleon tries for a dramatic victory to eliminate the Prussian army as threat, while Ney is involved in an ever-escalating battle against the British. There is a lot of study of dispatch times, and the likely interval for them to get to destinations, which does a lot to show just how fragmented views of these two battles were.
I think on occasion Hussey isn't quite up to juggling all the balls involved here, but its a really big ask, as there is a lot that he is endeavoring to handle, and in general he does it very well, despite me getting lost on occasion. This is a very good study overall, with a lot of awareness and reference to previous serious histories and the controversies they've engendered. Even more than these important elements, the study of the preparations on both sides leading up to the campaign are very important, if you want to read up on more than just a period of three days in June (Ligny/Quarte Bras to Waterloo) at all, get these books.
He doesn't go into a lot of detail there, but does go into the problems of the Congress of Vienna, and points up that Napoleon was watching the emerging factionalism with interest. From there, we get a recounting of the flight from Elba, and then the allied planning at stopping Napoleon.
And that planning takes up the bulk of the book. The general allied plan was to line four large armies up on the German border, and advance into France in something of a repeat of the 1814 campaign. The northernmost armies, British and Prussian (plus a number of minor German contingents which caused a new round of wrangling) were ready first, while Austrian and Russian armies assembled and made their way towards the border.
Napoleon needs to smash each of these armies, at least enough to put the fear of a large French victory into the allies and cause the internal tensions to tear them apart. However, the immediate reaction to his reappearance was to unite once again, putting a strain on his ability to militarily prepare in a hurry. Wellington ends up as the leader on the spot for the allies, and apparently is entranced enough by the allied planning for an offensive to not consider just how offensively-minded Napoleon really is.
Therefore both allied armies on the spot only have the loosest idea of how to handle a French offensive, even as Wellington and Blücher contemplate their coming offensive moves. This helps lead to confusion and a slow reaction on 15 and 16 June from both allied armies.
In fact, breakdowns of communication are the running theme of the last part of the book, as Napoleon tries for a dramatic victory to eliminate the Prussian army as threat, while Ney is involved in an ever-escalating battle against the British. There is a lot of study of dispatch times, and the likely interval for them to get to destinations, which does a lot to show just how fragmented views of these two battles were.
I think on occasion Hussey isn't quite up to juggling all the balls involved here, but its a really big ask, as there is a lot that he is endeavoring to handle, and in general he does it very well, despite me getting lost on occasion. This is a very good study overall, with a lot of awareness and reference to previous serious histories and the controversies they've engendered. Even more than these important elements, the study of the preparations on both sides leading up to the campaign are very important, if you want to read up on more than just a period of three days in June (Ligny/Quarte Bras to Waterloo) at all, get these books.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews