I find it hard to believe that for more than 200 years, the Dutch-Belgian troops were regarded as "The Cowards of Waterloo". This video sheds a different light, and hopefully will erase that horrible accusation. Thank you!
Excellent 1st episode, thank you. I've lived most of my life in Waterloo and have roamed the length and breadth of the 18 June battlefield. Excellent that you are attending to the events further south first and delighted to see/hear of the Dutch/Belgian involvement. It is all too often overlooked or, worse, denigrated. I look forward to your handling of the
I accidentally posted too soon.... ...handling of the immediate aftermath of the battle on 18 June too. The period between Napoleon's departure from the battlefield to his ultimate capture by HMS Bellerophon .
Is it possible one day to take the drone footage and overlay where units were positioned and their movements during the battles? I suspect that it might involve complicated (and expensive) computer work and is why no one has done it yet. Yet, it would illustrate the ebb and flow of the battles better than mere animation. Regardless, this was another excellent addition to the channels catalogue. Thank you, Zack. 😊❤😊
@thenapoleonicwars I was thinking something simple like coloured rectangles with a unit type symbol and regimental name. It's more the idea of an overlay than actual animation. Perhaps arrows showing movement. Animation is far too expensive, that's certain.
@@charlesphillips4575 the biggest issue is that the entire ridge has lost about 6feet of height. A further six feet of earth was taken from the forward slope from the mound to La Haye Sainte /the Brussels highway to make the mound, but that only affects an area of a few hundred meters on a battlefield that is kilometres wide
@@thenapoleonicwars That was only the first change. There are 2 major roads that were not there during the battle and the tracks that were there have gone. There is a major town encroaching on the west edge of the battlefield and several new buildings even in the middle of the battlefield. Detains like field layouts and woods are also different. That is just the actual battle of Waterloo, if you want to study the entire campaign, as this video does, the problems are much worse.
Wellington was in charge of an Allied army …only 25,000 of his infantry troops were British troops and his spacing o out across the battlefield was crucial as he knew some of his units were little more than militia …some of these units did leg it but had to run through British troops who battered them for it ….2 farm buildings were used to stabilise the front ..one Hougemont was held by British units and the other by German troops …these were allways pivotal to the battle while waiting for Bluchers Prussians ….British heavy Cavalry decimated the central french push but when the French called the Old Guard forward to Assault it was the pivotal moment in the battle as never before had they been turned back and beaten and it was British Troops in line (led by Maitland ) that did it …Britain didn’t win this battle by themselves and Wellington knew he needed Blucher Prussian troops to come through on his promise to meet up ….but could the Allies of won with out Wellington and the British forces in the field ?….no way !!.
Three farms. Hougoumont was held by a multinational force, it’s just that the guards get all the attention. La Haye Sainte, as you say, held by Germans. Third farm was Papelotte, held by Dutch troops. Guards attack was in three waves. British pushed back two waves with Dutch artillery support, the other was pushed back by the Dutch - this is precisely what I mean about how most people only know half the story. More on all this in later episodes
Well done, Zach. Love that you are covering this in this manner, discussing folks like Saxe-Weimar and Rebecque. And taking to the air with it is awesome; as much of that footage as possible will really give folks a sense of what sometimes we don't get, scope and scale. Great stuff. looking forward to more!.
It's good to see historians revisiting Waterloo, but I think the opening idea that the battle is understood as an exclusively British victory is something of a straw man. Maybe that's how it's taught to British children, but I don't know of any adult history of battle that neglects Blucher's key role or fails to mention the roles played by Wellington's Dutch and German troops and commanders.
You need to bear in mind that most people don’t even know what happened at Waterloo, and if they do, the narrative spun is Britain vs France on 18th June. A number of people who are informed and have read up on the battle will watch the opening three minutes and know the basics, but all documentaries have a challenge of balancing across the entire breadth of knowledge, from those who have none, to those who are experts. A middle ground has to be found, and my experience after a decade doing all this is that most people barely know that the Prussians exist, never mind that the Brunswickers, Dutch and King’s German Legion were integral to Allied success. 👍
It's not at all how it's taught to British children... I'm 40 years old and when I was at school it was already all about reducing the British role and fanfaring Blucher and the Germans, Dutch and Belgians in Wellington's army... 🤦🏻♂️ Every time I hear someone raise this ridiculous strawman I cringe... they, like the creator of this video, are complete amatuers and frankly don't even know anything about the little side points they're trying to make. most history enthusiasts know more about this battle than them... this guy is typical of middle class Englishmen who are expert in monetising the most trivial and basic education.
@@thenapoleonicwars doctorates these days are beyond a joke 🤷🏻♂️ qualified medical 'professinals' think it's ok to chop of childrens' genetalia and anthropologists and archaeologists teach 'out of Africa'... academia is a complete mess. you probably believe in the holocaust... I've had more in-depth conversations about the intricacies of Wellington and Bluchers' movements and communications in the pub with strangers than what you presented here...
I kind of wish they had never built the Lions Mound,as I would of loved today to have seen that intact Allied Ridge. But with most Historical Battles,I'm sure the participants and people of the time weren't expecting us to be fascinated by them hundreds of years later so I guess it was no big deal to change the landscape to build the mound.
excellent presentation, looking forward for the next episode. I hope you also will present the ever so neglected left flank of Wellington's army, Papellote, La Haye, Frichermont.
My son (age 6 at the time) and I walked the hill. at the museum there is a diorama of French cavalry charging a British square. My son turned to me asked "who are the good guys?"
Quite annoying to repeat every few seconds that no one mentioned this and that while it has been covered and mentioned for 2 centuries. Nevertheless, thanks for the video and the work gone into it.
Great video. You clearly made a more in depth research than I have done. Indeed, the battle of Waterloo is to this day in the Brittish narative as you point out. Then you have the French naritive as can been seen in the Invalide museum in Paris. The Dutch naritive from secondary sources includes two generals that learned their trade in Napoleons army fighting for the revolutionary ideal. Chassee and Bernhard (it clearly as you point out wasn't Lippe Bisterfeld as I was lead to belive) The trick Bernhard on his own accord indeed made and what you seem to miss is spreading his forces out sans reserve. A ploy by acting as if you are a greater force. When you commit to much to breaking that force and it's not a ploy but the main allied force it can lead to destruction of that commited force. For Ney and Napoleon knowing where the main body is is crucial before committing. Maybe the leader on the ground sensed weak forces and pushed hard but I guess Ney needed pudently to wait. You state that Ney made several mistakes during this campaighn. I've seen none. Ney actually twice won the campagne for Napoleon. First as you correctly point out in Quatre Bras for if d'Erlon had done what Ney ordered him to do Ney would have won that day and there would have been no Waterloo and Brussels would probably have fallen. (Had ' d' Erlon marched to Napoleon at Ligny then Napoleon would have probably finished off Blucher.) Napoleon's narcissitic personality lost him the campagne. He should have put Davout in command and himself stay in Paris. Suffering from stomach pains no doubt due to his first suicide attempt after his first forced abdication. He took a potion that had lost its potenty probably arsenic which ultimately also killed him. It also made him lateron leave the battle at a crucial moment when Ney correctly sensing weakness in the lines sprung the preplaned action into effect. Winning the campagne a second time yet only when backed up as per plan. Napoleons ego again took the better of him. Having left Davout in Paris as not to again steal his glory but now by Ney. Had Napoleon then commited his old guard Wellington forced into weak square would have been routed. Before Blucher could come into play. Neither did Ney make a mistake of not spiking the British guns. They should have been turned on the squares. That Ney lost his temper at the betrayal by Napoleon knowing this had lost the battle and would cost him his life is understandable. Many historians also fail to grasp the importance of thd river Dyle. Napoleon should have sent his main force up the East side of the Dyle. And only send a feint force to harras Blucher up the West side hugging the river with flank protection. Taking the bridges preventing an easy hook up of allied forces. So, I wonder what your next videos will bring. 18:13
I differ in that Napoleon was still the better commander for the French campaign than Davout. Wellington and Blucher had almost twice the force of Napoleon. The only hope for French is, as Napoleon planned, to defeat one army before they could join force. For that mission you need a commander who's daring and savvy, willing to take risk and quick to respond. That description fit Napoleon much better than Davout or Ney. Otherwise i agree with you. The British narrative, which dominate mainstream literature, exaggerates Wellington while understates the roles of others. For me it is ridiculous to think that a volley of the British fire in French's last attack could send the French army routing. For one thing it was the Young Guard, not the Old Guard. For second thing, the French had attacked and repeatedly got pushed back the whole day still they attacked again and reached the last line of enemy defense. So another pushback should be no big deal. We learned that Zirten's corp arrived at that time and broke the French flank. That's what saved Wellington, not his brave last stand but of course he was too English to give credit to the Prussian. The strategic advantage is already on the allies side with their size superiority, so they just needed to buy time to win the campaign. For that we can mention Wellington deploying troops in La Haye Sainte, Uxbridge charging into d'Erlon and delaying the French for almost 2 hours, Von Bulow's early arrival that locked a chunk of French on their flank. Those moves prevented the French from defeating Wellington before Blucher came in full force. it was those tactical moves that won the battle for the allies, not Wellington's brave last stand. i don't know whether Ney was right or wrong with his charge. The British always boast about their squares breaking French cavalry charges, yes but the squares were finally broken, too.
@@user-yi1qp1ch7s well yes, Napoleon when not troubled with severe stomach aches. Which he had by his own suicide attempt. The problems in Paris and the rest of uprisings in France he could have tackeled better than Davout possibly could even with his ill health. In the field during a campagne you can't have that. In Paris that's less of a problem. Handeld correctly would provide more reserves for Davout. Had Napoleon been his good old self he would have crushed Blucher during the first encounter. And, he'd made sure that Blucher had the first attempt not succeeded crushed Wellingon first. War is politics with other means. In so many words Sun Tzu before and von Clausewitch after. Grabbing Brussels after defeating the allied army under Wellington or forcing Wellington not to give battle after Quatre Bras might have broken the coalition and have Napoleon accept the same deal offerd by Metternich prior. Given the battle at Waterloo Napoleon in good health or Davout would have won that battle before Blucher became an issue. And, Blucher wouldn't have even crossed the Dyle river.
Frankly, anyone who's even remotely interested in Waterloo is WELL aware of the decisive role played by Blucher - and Bondarchuk's excellent movie demonstrated its importance.
Thank you for your feedback. Of course a documentary is aimed at the full spectrum of understanding of the battle, from experts to complete novices. Whilst you are to be congratulated on your understanding, do try not to be condescending to those who are not aware of the nuances. The Anglo-centric narrative is widely recognised as a problem amongst experts of the period.
@@thenapoleonicwars "do try not to be condescending to those who are not aware of the nuances." I wasn't 'trying' to be anything. Over the course of several decades, I've never met anyone _seriously_ interested in this battle who was unaware of the vital importance of Wellington's tactical genius (combined with the steadfastness of the British troops in particular), and the vital Prussian contribution at the eleventh hour: scarcely a _nuance_ IMHO. That's all I'm saying! As far as 'condescension' goes, you should have read some of the remarks by up-their-own-fundament film critics at the time that _Waterloo_ was released. For MY sins, I thought that Bondarchuk was a genius, especially after watching _War and Peace_ : an opinion I suspect you'll sympathise with!
@@MrGettysburg44 Ok!....but if you go to Normandie, you get exactly that impression, that it was an american victory, due to hundreds of small and big monuments for US-troops, only few for british or canadian. If you go to Waterloo, you get the impression, that it was an english and dutch victory, nearly nowhere the Prussians are mentioned. Just like in Normandie the US, at Waterloo the prussian troops brought the decission. ((was living in Normandie some years and visited Waterloo several times))
Glad to see that a younger generation is investigating what really happened here. Roughly 25% of Napoleon's opponents at Waterloo were British this made me always wonder why the Duke of Wellington is (almost) always portrayed as the victor of Waterloo. After reading German/Dutch publications such as "Englands große Waterloo-Lüge zu den Jahrhunderttagen von 1815" the only conclusion can be that Waterloo was a Prussian/German/Dutch event, with British troops in a supporting role only. This does not mean that the reputation of the Duke of Wellington as a great soldier is questioned in this work, on the contrary. This 529 page, extremely detailed, publication makes complete sense. It changed my view of these eventful days in June 1815 entirely!
The info and the narration are solid, but the dramatic movie music undermines it. Something like Napoleonic fife and drum or just military snares would be better if music is needed. Still good overall, good history.
This is honestly pathetic. I don't know anyone that doesn't know about the Prussian element at Waterloo, or the Germanic component under Wellington's command. Build up and strawman and knock it down.
I truly enjoy your channel but I think it was a mistake to narrate it like a BBC documentary. You should stick with your normal format. The cinematography was excellent though. Keep that up
@@thenapoleonicwars Sorry. I wasn't trying to be over-critical. I was looking forward to watching this, having been to the battlefield a number of times, but not having seen it from the air. Just a bit annoyed about the "debunking" comment. The real facts of the campaign are well known and not hidden. I feel that this video is aimed at people with no knowledge of the 100 Days campaign which I wasn't expecting.
@@MrGettysburg44 okay, fair enough. Apologies for being short with you. There’s a balance to be achieved with documentaries- you have to hold audience attention, while setting a scene and making it accessible to those with all knowledge and none. People who have read more than 1 book about Waterloo will know some of this, but not all. Those who watched the Napoleon Movie and want to know more wouldn’t know Saxe Weimar, Perponcher, Rebecque, or, frankly, Blucher from a line up. If you’re looking for expert deep dive, The Napoleonic Wars Podcast has that covered. The format for this has to be different in order to engage. Apologies again for being snipey with you. 👍
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I find it hard to believe that for more than 200 years, the Dutch-Belgian troops were regarded as "The Cowards of Waterloo". This video sheds a different light, and hopefully will erase that horrible accusation.
Thank you!
Excellent 1st episode, thank you. I've lived most of my life in Waterloo and have roamed the length and breadth of the 18 June battlefield. Excellent that you are attending to the events further south first and delighted to see/hear of the Dutch/Belgian involvement. It is all too often overlooked or, worse, denigrated.
I look forward to your handling of the
I accidentally posted too soon....
...handling of the immediate aftermath of the battle on 18 June too. The period between Napoleon's departure from the battlefield to his ultimate capture by HMS Bellerophon .
I am Belgian and read my Masters as a former soldier at the War Studies Department, King's. Loved every minute of your first episode.
Thanks mate 👍 More to come in the future
Nice work, Zack! Wonderful overview.
Amazing... looking forward to more...
Is it possible one day to take the drone footage and overlay where units were positioned and their movements during the battles? I suspect that it might involve complicated (and expensive) computer work and is why no one has done it yet. Yet, it would illustrate the ebb and flow of the battles better than mere animation.
Regardless, this was another excellent addition to the channels catalogue.
Thank you, Zack. 😊❤😊
It’s definitely something under consideration. As you say, the tech is a bit complicated and there isn’t any budget to make fancy stuff happen sadly
@thenapoleonicwars I was thinking something simple like coloured rectangles with a unit type symbol and regimental name. It's more the idea of an overlay than actual animation. Perhaps arrows showing movement. Animation is far too expensive, that's certain.
The problem is the battlefield has changed a lot, so a model of the area as it was would be better than looking at the area as it is now.
@@charlesphillips4575 the biggest issue is that the entire ridge has lost about 6feet of height. A further six feet of earth was taken from the forward slope from the mound to La Haye Sainte /the Brussels highway to make the mound, but that only affects an area of a few hundred meters on a battlefield that is kilometres wide
@@thenapoleonicwars That was only the first change.
There are 2 major roads that were not there during the battle and the tracks that were there have gone. There is a major town encroaching on the west edge of the battlefield and several new buildings even in the middle of the battlefield. Detains like field layouts and woods are also different.
That is just the actual battle of Waterloo, if you want to study the entire campaign, as this video does, the problems are much worse.
Nice work
Wellington was in charge of an Allied army …only 25,000 of his infantry troops were British troops and his spacing o out across the battlefield was crucial as he knew some of his units were little more than militia …some of these units did leg it but had to run through British troops who battered them for it ….2 farm buildings were used to stabilise the front ..one Hougemont was held by British units and the other by German troops …these were allways pivotal to the battle while waiting for Bluchers Prussians ….British heavy Cavalry decimated the central french push but when the French called the Old Guard forward to Assault it was the pivotal moment in the battle as never before had they been turned back and beaten and it was British Troops in line (led by Maitland ) that did it …Britain didn’t win this battle by themselves and Wellington knew he needed Blucher Prussian troops to come through on his promise to meet up ….but could the Allies of won with out Wellington and the British forces in the field ?….no way !!.
Three farms. Hougoumont was held by a multinational force, it’s just that the guards get all the attention. La Haye Sainte, as you say, held by Germans. Third farm was Papelotte, held by Dutch troops. Guards attack was in three waves. British pushed back two waves with Dutch artillery support, the other was pushed back by the Dutch - this is precisely what I mean about how most people only know half the story. More on all this in later episodes
Well done, Zach. Love that you are covering this in this manner, discussing folks like Saxe-Weimar and Rebecque. And taking to the air with it is awesome; as much of that footage as possible will really give folks a sense of what sometimes we don't get, scope and scale. Great stuff. looking forward to more!.
Excellent stuff!
It's good to see historians revisiting Waterloo, but I think the opening idea that the battle is understood as an exclusively British victory is something of a straw man. Maybe that's how it's taught to British children, but I don't know of any adult history of battle that neglects Blucher's key role or fails to mention the roles played by Wellington's Dutch and German troops and commanders.
You need to bear in mind that most people don’t even know what happened at Waterloo, and if they do, the narrative spun is Britain vs France on 18th June. A number of people who are informed and have read up on the battle will watch the opening three minutes and know the basics, but all documentaries have a challenge of balancing across the entire breadth of knowledge, from those who have none, to those who are experts. A middle ground has to be found, and my experience after a decade doing all this is that most people barely know that the Prussians exist, never mind that the Brunswickers, Dutch and King’s German Legion were integral to Allied success. 👍
@@thenapoleonicwarsyep … this. Knew about the Prussians but didn’t know the importance the Dutch and others played in the lead up to it.
It's not at all how it's taught to British children... I'm 40 years old and when I was at school it was already all about reducing the British role and fanfaring Blucher and the Germans, Dutch and Belgians in Wellington's army... 🤦🏻♂️ Every time I hear someone raise this ridiculous strawman I cringe... they, like the creator of this video, are complete amatuers and frankly don't even know anything about the little side points they're trying to make.
most history enthusiasts know more about this battle than them...
this guy is typical of middle class Englishmen who are expert in monetising the most trivial and basic education.
@@greg_4201 cupcake, I have a doctorate in Napoleonic history. I am many things, but an amateur is not one of them 🤣
@@thenapoleonicwars doctorates these days are beyond a joke 🤷🏻♂️
qualified medical 'professinals' think it's ok to chop of childrens' genetalia and anthropologists and archaeologists teach 'out of Africa'... academia is a complete mess.
you probably believe in the holocaust... I've had more in-depth conversations about the intricacies of Wellington and Bluchers' movements and communications in the pub with strangers than what you presented here...
but very interesting, thank you very much
Good job, The Napoleonic wars podcast is fantastic
I kind of wish they had never built the Lions Mound,as I would of loved today to have seen that intact Allied Ridge. But with most Historical Battles,I'm sure the participants and people of the time weren't expecting us to be fascinated by them hundreds of years later so I guess it was no big deal to change the landscape to build the mound.
excellent presentation, looking forward for the next episode. I hope you also will present the ever so neglected left flank of Wellington's army, Papellote, La Haye, Frichermont.
They are absolutely part of the planned series 👍
My son (age 6 at the time) and I walked the hill. at the museum there is a diorama of French cavalry charging a British square. My son turned to me asked "who are the good guys?"
this was fabulous well done
Very well done mate
Quite annoying to repeat every few seconds that no one mentioned this and that while it has been covered and mentioned for 2 centuries. Nevertheless, thanks for the video and the work gone into it.
When will we see Episode 2?
Great video. You clearly made a more in depth research than I have done.
Indeed, the battle of Waterloo is to this day in the Brittish narative as you point out. Then you have the French naritive as can been seen in the Invalide museum in Paris.
The Dutch naritive from secondary sources includes two generals that learned their trade in Napoleons army fighting for the revolutionary ideal. Chassee and Bernhard (it clearly as you point out wasn't Lippe Bisterfeld as I was lead to belive)
The trick Bernhard on his own accord indeed made and what you seem to miss is spreading his forces out sans reserve. A ploy by acting as if you are a greater force.
When you commit to much to breaking that force and it's not a ploy but the main allied force it can lead to destruction of that commited force. For Ney and Napoleon knowing where the main body is is crucial before committing. Maybe the leader on the ground sensed weak forces and pushed hard but I guess Ney needed pudently to wait.
You state that Ney made several mistakes during this campaighn. I've seen none. Ney actually twice won the campagne for Napoleon.
First as you correctly point out in Quatre Bras for if d'Erlon had done what Ney ordered him to do Ney would have won that day and there would have been no Waterloo and Brussels would probably have fallen.
(Had ' d' Erlon marched to Napoleon at Ligny then Napoleon would have probably finished off Blucher.)
Napoleon's narcissitic personality lost him the campagne. He should have put Davout in command and himself stay in Paris. Suffering from stomach pains no doubt due to his first suicide attempt after his first forced abdication. He took a potion that had lost its potenty probably arsenic which ultimately also killed him.
It also made him lateron leave the battle at a crucial moment when Ney correctly sensing weakness in the lines sprung the preplaned action into effect. Winning the campagne a second time yet only when backed up as per plan.
Napoleons ego again took the better of him. Having left Davout in Paris as not to again steal his glory but now by Ney.
Had Napoleon then commited his old guard Wellington forced into weak square would have been routed. Before Blucher could come into play. Neither did Ney make a mistake of not spiking the British guns. They should have been turned on the squares. That Ney lost his temper at the betrayal by Napoleon knowing this had lost the battle and would cost him his life is understandable.
Many historians also fail to grasp the importance of thd river Dyle.
Napoleon should have sent his main force up the East side of the Dyle. And only send a feint force to harras Blucher up the West side hugging the river with flank protection. Taking the bridges preventing an easy hook up of allied forces.
So, I wonder what your next videos will bring. 18:13
I differ in that Napoleon was still the better commander for the French campaign than Davout. Wellington and Blucher had almost twice the force of Napoleon. The only hope for French is, as Napoleon planned, to defeat one army before they could join force. For that mission you need a commander who's daring and savvy, willing to take risk and quick to respond. That description fit Napoleon much better than Davout or Ney.
Otherwise i agree with you. The British narrative, which dominate mainstream literature, exaggerates Wellington while understates the roles of others. For me it is ridiculous to think that a volley of the British fire in French's last attack could send the French army routing. For one thing it was the Young Guard, not the Old Guard. For second thing, the French had attacked and repeatedly got pushed back the whole day still they attacked again and reached the last line of enemy defense. So another pushback should be no big deal. We learned that Zirten's corp arrived at that time and broke the French flank. That's what saved Wellington, not his brave last stand but of course he was too English to give credit to the Prussian.
The strategic advantage is already on the allies side with their size superiority, so they just needed to buy time to win the campaign. For that we can mention Wellington deploying troops in La Haye Sainte, Uxbridge charging into d'Erlon and delaying the French for almost 2 hours, Von Bulow's early arrival that locked a chunk of French on their flank. Those moves prevented the French from defeating Wellington before Blucher came in full force. it was those tactical moves that won the battle for the allies, not Wellington's brave last stand.
i don't know whether Ney was right or wrong with his charge. The British always boast about their squares breaking French cavalry charges, yes but the squares were finally broken, too.
@@user-yi1qp1ch7s well yes, Napoleon when not troubled with severe stomach aches. Which he had by his own suicide attempt.
The problems in Paris and the rest of uprisings in France he could have tackeled better than Davout possibly could even with his ill health. In the field during a campagne you can't have that. In Paris that's less of a problem. Handeld correctly would provide more reserves for Davout.
Had Napoleon been his good old self he would have crushed Blucher during the first encounter. And, he'd made sure that Blucher had the first attempt not succeeded crushed Wellingon first.
War is politics with other means. In so many words Sun Tzu before and von Clausewitch after. Grabbing Brussels after defeating the allied army under Wellington or forcing Wellington not to give battle after Quatre Bras might have broken the coalition and have Napoleon accept the same deal offerd by Metternich prior.
Given the battle at Waterloo Napoleon in good health or Davout would have won that battle before Blucher became an issue. And, Blucher wouldn't have even crossed the Dyle river.
Great information, unfortunately your background music overpowers your narration to excess at times.
Frankly, anyone who's even remotely interested in Waterloo is WELL aware of the decisive role played by Blucher - and Bondarchuk's excellent movie demonstrated its importance.
Thank you for your feedback. Of course a documentary is aimed at the full spectrum of understanding of the battle, from experts to complete novices. Whilst you are to be congratulated on your understanding, do try not to be condescending to those who are not aware of the nuances. The Anglo-centric narrative is widely recognised as a problem amongst experts of the period.
@@thenapoleonicwars
"do try not to be condescending to those who are not aware of the nuances."
I wasn't 'trying' to be anything. Over the course of several decades, I've never met anyone _seriously_ interested in this battle who was unaware of the vital importance of Wellington's tactical genius (combined with the steadfastness of the British troops in particular), and the vital Prussian contribution at the eleventh hour: scarcely a _nuance_ IMHO. That's all I'm saying! As far as 'condescension' goes, you should have read some of the remarks by up-their-own-fundament film critics at the time that _Waterloo_ was released. For MY sins, I thought that Bondarchuk was a genius, especially after watching _War and Peace_ : an opinion I suspect you'll sympathise with!
Awesome Vid...but surely I'm not one of a few that was aware of the other battles of the hundred days campaign? And yes it was a German victory 😀
It was NOT a German victory.....it was an Allied victory. Calling it a German victory is like calling D Day an American victory.
“Give me Blücher or give me night”
@@MrGettysburg44
Ok!....but if you go to Normandie, you get exactly that impression, that it was an american victory, due to hundreds of small and big monuments for US-troops,
only few for british or canadian.
If you go to Waterloo, you get the impression, that it was an english and dutch victory, nearly nowhere the Prussians are mentioned.
Just like in Normandie the US, at Waterloo the prussian troops brought
the decission.
((was living in Normandie some years and visited Waterloo several times))
Glad to see that a younger generation is investigating what really happened here. Roughly 25% of Napoleon's opponents at Waterloo were British this made me always wonder why the Duke of Wellington is (almost) always portrayed as the victor of Waterloo. After reading German/Dutch publications such as "Englands große Waterloo-Lüge zu den Jahrhunderttagen von 1815" the only conclusion can be that Waterloo was a Prussian/German/Dutch event, with British troops in a supporting role only. This does not mean that the reputation of the Duke of Wellington as a great soldier is questioned in this work, on the contrary. This 529 page, extremely detailed, publication makes complete sense. It changed my view of these eventful days in June 1815 entirely!
I suggest that this video fails to establish its premise that most people who know of Waterloo don’t know a lot of this, if not most of it.
Any news on episode 2?
The info and the narration are solid, but the dramatic movie music undermines it. Something like Napoleonic fife and drum or just military snares would be better if music is needed. Still good overall, good history.
Wait what! The British didn't beat Napoleon alone, who knew!!!! 😂
British/Prussian victory.
And Dutch 😉
@@thenapoleonicwars and Nassau and Brunswick and Hanover
ABBA did not write a song about Waterloo,,
Certainly the content didn’t bear any resemblance to the battle 🤣
This is honestly pathetic. I don't know anyone that doesn't know about the Prussian element at Waterloo, or the Germanic component under Wellington's command. Build up and strawman and knock it down.
Thank you
I truly enjoy your channel but I think it was a mistake to narrate it like a BBC documentary. You should stick with your normal format. The cinematography was excellent though. Keep that up
Interesting video, but not sharing anything that anyone with an interest in the subject didn't already know. Nothing new.....no "debunking".
Thank you so much for your input.
@@thenapoleonicwars Sorry. I wasn't trying to be over-critical. I was looking forward to watching this, having been to the battlefield a number of times, but not having seen it from the air. Just a bit annoyed about the "debunking" comment. The real facts of the campaign are well known and not hidden. I feel that this video is aimed at people with no knowledge of the 100 Days campaign which I wasn't expecting.
@@MrGettysburg44 okay, fair enough. Apologies for being short with you. There’s a balance to be achieved with documentaries- you have to hold audience attention, while setting a scene and making it accessible to those with all knowledge and none. People who have read more than 1 book about Waterloo will know some of this, but not all. Those who watched the Napoleon Movie and want to know more wouldn’t know Saxe Weimar, Perponcher, Rebecque, or, frankly, Blucher from a line up. If you’re looking for expert deep dive, The Napoleonic Wars Podcast has that covered. The format for this has to be different in order to engage.
Apologies again for being snipey with you. 👍
Nothing new here. Move along, move along.
By all means do
Abba didn't write about it. They used it as a metaphor.
The UK thanked the Netherlands for their heroic sacrifice at Quatrre Brass by annexing its colonial empire.