A.C.E. 2

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ A.C.E. 2 / ACE CD 2.iso / CD01BITS / FOGLORYD.LHA / FieldsOfGlory.doc < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1995-04-19 | 160.0 KB | 3,647 lines

· : ¦ . _________ ________ _____________ ._____¦ | · __ / : ___________/ _ \ \ __ _ / | \ |____: : \_/ -A : \______ \ | \_ _: \_/ \_/ | \ ¦ | ¦ \_ ··D_ / / _/ | / |___/ \_ | : : | |_______/ `N· _/ \ \_________/ | \________/ ¦ |_____¦ ¦ | : \__________/ \ ¦ \_ : : \__________| \___________/ . · . »»»» PRESENTS «««« FIELDS OF GLORY =============== TYPED BY SHARD - N&B Fields of Glory brings to life the fire and fury of Napoleon's last battles in an exciting and innovative way. This game puts you in command as no other game has ever done before. All the action takes place right before your eyes. Your troops, horses and guns march and fight across an accurate landscape. Cannon and musket smoke erupts as your troops fire and engage in close combat. But Fields of Glory is more than just a graphical representation of Napoleonic warfare, it is also highly playable and historically accurate. The ability to issue orders at different levels of command, lets you direct the overall course of the battle through your generals, while giving you the opportunity to become closely involved in the fighting at strategic points. Your generals are influenced by their personalities, military expertise and their ability to inspire their troops. The historical accuracy present in this game is second to none, but it is within the extensive database that the meticulous research that provides the background of the game is fully realised. By playing Fields of Glory you can change history and experience the excitement of leading your troops to victory. The vital decisions that shape the course of battles are yours to make. Your tactical skills will be stretched to the utmost as you do battle on the Fields of Glory! David Chandler GAME OVERVIEW ------------- In 1815 Napoleon from exile on the island of Elba, returned to France and made his way to Paris in triumph. His disbanded troops took up arms and flocked to his colours. The defeated ruler of Europe was, once again, Emperor of France. The Allies were taken by surprise. The master military tactician was back! The Anglo-Allied army commanded by the Duke of Wellington was based in Belgium, he would have to combine forces with Bluchers Prussians to defeat Napoleon. The Emperor marched north to drive a wedge between the two armies. The battle lines were drawn for the Waterloo Campaign. Fields of Glory launches you into this moment in history. It lets you lead the Anglo Allied, French or Prussian army into battle; by taking command at army, corps, division or brigade level the unique Close quarters Combat System pitches you into the excitement of furious battles waged in a tense 'against-the clock' atmosphere. Watch cavalry charges, infantry forming squares to beat them off, buildings destroyed by cannon fire and all the carnage of nineteenth century warfare. In addition, Fields of Glory carries out your command decisions quickly and effortlessly with the user friendly point-and click windowing interface. Fields of Glory includes a stunning and comprehensive Waterloo Campaign Database enabling you to view, at a glance at any point in the battle, the status of all your troops and a biography of all your generals - all depicted in glorious colour. Experience the grandeur, splendour and excitement of Napoleonic warfare in battles ranging from fictional small engagements to the huge historically accurate conflicts of Waterloo and Ligny, through five levels of realism. Watch your troops fight in close up on the isometric battlefield or select wider tactical views. MicroProse brings you the sights, the sounds, the scale, the sweep and colour of the Waterloo Campaign in one exciting game; Fields of Glory. THIS MANUAL The manual contains all reference information to help you enjoy Fields of Glory to the full. It contains general information relevant to all computer systems. Specific details on Keys, Installation and Loading will be found in the Technical Supplement included in your Fields of Glory package. The manual is divided into the following sections: A First Battle Guide to take you into the fictional battle of Nivelles. Its purpose is to get you used to the Close quarters Combat System. Here is your first 'whiff of grapeshot'! A Game Options section follows with full reference information on conducting the battle: selecting and deploying troops and issuing orders at all levels of command. A brief outline of Combat Tactics and Troop Formations. Use this section to gather information on where to move troops and, in what formation, for maximum effect. A Campaign Database section with details on how to access and use this unique game feature quickly and effectively. A section on Weapons used during the campign. A section on What Actually Happened? Compare what you have done, or hope to do, with real events. Can you learn from others' mistakes? SORTING THE MATERIALS Your Fields of Glory package contains this Manual, a Technical Supplement, all Battle Maps and a set of disks to run the game. THE CONTROLS The Mouse Controller Fields of Glory was designed to be used with a mouse controller. Keyboard Controls The keyboard can be used to emulate certain mouse commands. See the Technical Supplement for details. Selecting Options This manual will refer to selecting options; you will do this by pressing the specified mouse button: Left Mouse Button (LMB) or Right Mouse Button (RMB). Position the pointer over an 'action area' and press the LMB. The manual will also mark any Action to be carried out by the player with a 'bullet point' (.) as above. When you are in the Database the RMB will always return you to the previous screen. THE POINTERS The Sword Pointer This is the standard pointer. It can be positioned over the 'action areas' before selecting a series of options. The Target Pointer When selecting a position to move a unit to, the sword pointer will change into a cross target shape. Click once on the chosen battle screen position with your Left Mouse Button (LMB). The Artillery Target Pointer When selecting a target for the artillery, the sword pointer will change into a cannon ball shape. Click once on the chosen battle screen position with your Left Mouse Button (LMB). The Magnifying Glass Pointer When zooming-in on a battle screen, the pointer will change to a magnifying glass icon. Position this on the area where you wish to zoom-in and select with the LMB. The Move Pointer If a Unit's Order Box is obscuring an area of the battle screen you can easily move it to another location. Position the pointer on the gold band at the top of the open box. Hold down the LMB and move the mouse. The box will move to your chosen position. THE BATTLE GUIDE ---------------- This section is an introductory guide to the Battle of Nivelles played at the lowest level of realism. Fields of Glory is like no other computer game and so this tutorial is recommended for all players. GETTING STARTED Install and load Fields of Glory as detailed in your Technical Supplement. After the opening sequences you will be taken to the Copy Protection Screen. Enter the correct word from the manual using the page reference given. Main Menu Screen The Main Menu Screen allows you to select a previously Saved Game, Select a New Game, view the Database and configure a list of game options. For the purposes of this guide, simply select a New Game. Select Battle Screen The Select Battle Screen shows the four historical battles of the Waterloo Campaign: Quatre Bras Wavre Ligny Waterloo plus two fictional battles: Nivelles Wagnee Select Nivelles (by positioning the pointer on Nivelles and clicking with the LMB). Select Army Screen The Select Army Screen lets you choose the army you wish to command. These choices conform to historical limitations so, for instance, Quatre Bras has the Anglo- Allies versus the French while Wavre has the Prussians versus the French. Select the French. Realism Level Screen The Realism Level Screen offers the following choice: Conscript: A very forgiving mode for the novice. Good for getting used to battlefield formations, movement and the effects of positioning military units. Regular: A slightly more realistic level that gives your opposing army more intelligence and makes the geography of the battlefield a factor. Vetern: A good level for the competent player. Elite: For the experienced player, not to be undertaken by the noice unless he wants to be destroyed by the opposition. Guard: Extremely difficult to win. The tactics employed by your computer opponent will match the brilliance of the three army commanders. Select Conscript. Deployment Options You enter the Main Battle Screen at the Four Mile Map Level and will be given your Deployment Options. These options give you the chance to deploy troops in any particular battle from three options: Historical: An historical starting point for your battle. All troops are positioned by the program on the battlefield in their historical starting positions. This deployment will alwavs remain the same. Non-Historical: A suggested non-historical deployment of all troops with the further option to re-deploy just your own side within your Own Deployment Area (ODA). Free-deployment: This option displays the historical starting points for both sides but allows you to re deploy ALL troops within realistic limits (for instance, you are not allowed to deploy behind the enemy). You may only re-deploy within your ODA. For this Guide, select Historical Deployment. Once you have finished these selections you will be ready to fight the battle. Fighting the Battle Note that a Brigade is the smallest unit you can control in Fields of Glory. However, in the Prussian Army a Division is called a Brigade and a Brigade is called a Regiment. Command Structure Army -- | Corps -- | -- In Game Units Division -- | Brigade -- Regiment Battalion Company In general, 2 to 5 Brigades make up a Division, 2 or more Divisions make up a Corps and 2 or more Corps make up an Army. Main Battle Screen You will see the Main Battle Screen at the Four Mile Map Level. Troops, Flags and cannons will be visible. Move your mouse pointer around the screen and then place it on the Maps menu on the top right of the screen. Selecting things from Menus can be done in two ways: The LMB will open the menu as long as the LMB is kept pressed. Highlight your choice and release. Selecting with the RMB will leave the menu open until a choice is highlighted and selected with the LMB. Zoom-Out Select Maps by pressing the RMB. The Menu will stay open. Highlight and select Zoom-Out with the LMB. You will now see the Eight Mile Map. This will only show Command Flags. Zoom-In Return to the Four Mile Map Screen by selecting the Zoom-in option from the Map Menu. Position the Magnifying Glass pointer in the centre of the screen and press the LMB. Zoom in once again repeating the above procedure. Place the pointer on a unit of troops and select with the LMB. You will enter the One Mile Map view of those troops; formations, commanders on horseback, limbered/ unlimbered cannon are all clearly visible at this level. Map Scrolling; You will not see all of the One, Four or Eight Mile Map on screen at one time but will have to scroll around it using the pointer and RMB. Position the pointer at one edge of the visible map then press the RMB. The map will scroll in that direction. When it stops scrolling, you have reached the limit of the battle map. Return to the Four Mile Map Screen. It's from this point that you will fight your first battle. Study Your Position Scroll around the map to view the geography of the battle area. Note carefully the position of troops, artillery, cavalry, hills, woods, roads, towns and rivers. Study the position held by the enemy troops. Where has the enemy placed his cavalry and his cannon? The Commanders Flags: In general, the larger the flag, the more important the commander. Select the largest French flag. A Command Orders box will pop up showing details of the commander's name, his portrait, his command unit operational order and status. The Command Orders box lets you issue orders to the troops under his command or to just the commander. You can also view the database by selecting the portrait of the commander. Don't do this now! Close the Command Orders Box by clicking on the closing gadget (top left corner) and carefully select the centre of the group of troops just below the large flag. A Brigade Orders box will pop up with the name of the Brigade (1st Brigade 1/13/IV), its formation (Column), its movement orders (Holding), its status (Formed) and a Portrait of a troop member. You can access the Database by selecting the portrait Don't do this now! Giving Orders Keep the Brigade Orders Box open. Select the Holding movement order (by highlighting 'Holding' and pressing the LMB). The Brigade Movement Orders box will open to give you the choice of: Assault Deploy Hold Withdraw Select deploy (by highlighting 'deploy' and pressing the LMB) and move the pointer to just below the clump of trees to the side of the large flag. You will notice that the pointer has changed to the Target shaped icon. Position it carefully and select with the LMB. The unit will form up and begin to move to the chosen position. Zoom-In (see above) on this unit to watch their progress. Messages: When that position is reached by the troops you will receive a pop-up message from their commander. Read the message carefully. The left hand icon button on the sheet closes the window and returns you to the battle. The commander/unit that issued the message will flash for a few seconds. The right hand icon button simply closes the pop up window. Return to the Four Mile Map (Zoom Out) and examine the enemy forces. Check for any movement or action. Moving a division: In the same way as you ordered troops to deploy, you can move a whole division. (if you're confused about what a division is see the beginning of this section). Scroll to the right of the battlemap. Select the Cavalry Flag. The Command Orders box will open. This gives you control of the 6th Cavalry Division. Select the Portrait (Maurin) to view the Database. Don't worry about the battle - the action will freeze until you close all pop-up windows. When you are in the Database you will see details of the commander and all of his command including the number of troops. For more details on the database, consult the section later on in this manual. Select the Crossed Swords Icon. You will return to the battle. The Cavalry Flag will flash for several seconds to allow you to locate the commander. Select the flag again to open the Command Orders box. Select Holding with the LMB and the Movement Orders box will pop up. Select Deploy and position the Target pointer just past the bend in the road. The whole division will form up and move to that point and a message will appear when they have successfully achieved that objective. Commanding Artillery Units Position the pointer at the base of the cannon (marked) and select. The Battery Orders box will open. This shows: Limbered - Hooked up to horses and ready to move Unlimbered - Ready to fire The current Movement Order (Advance, Back-Up, Halt) The Target Order to select an enemy position and fire. The Status of the Unit (Formed, Routed, Disordered) Highlight Holding and select Advance in the Movement Orders box. Place the Target pointer an inch in front of the cannon (2 cm) and select. If the box obscures your view you can drag it out of the way by placing the pointer on the bar at the top of the box selecting with the LMB, holding it down and dragging the box to a more conveinient position. The unit will now move to that point. Note that the speed of movement depends on the realism level chosen. Select Target and place the Cannon Ball pointer on the nearest concentration of enemy troops. Press the LMB. The artillery unit will try to fire at the enemy. If they are 'Out of Range' or 'Out of the Line of Sight' you will be given a message to that effect. Press the LMB to close the message. The artillery unit range will vary depending on the type of guns in that unit. For details on the number and type of guns you can consult the Database (see the Database section in the manual). Make sure the Battery Order box is open. Select the portrait (position the pointer on the picture and press the LMB) to enter the Database. Once inside the Database select the central portrait again to view specific information including a biography. You will see details of the Artillery Unit including the number of guns/howitzers. Note that each artillery unit in Fields of Glory has historically accurate equipment and that if a cannon is a 12 pounder (lb) it will have a greater range than a 6 pounder (lb). Select with the RMB to return to the main Database screen. Then select the Crossed Swords icon to return to the Main Battle Screen. The artillery unit (a cannon) will flash for a moment to remind you of its position. If you have followed the above introduction you should have controlled the basics of Fields of Glory. You can zoom in and out of the battlefield, issue commands, move artillery, infantry and cavalry units and consult the Database. Now, you are advised to begin an attack. A Suggested Opening Attack: How do you begin? This manual will only give you a starting off point. It cannot guide you through a complete battle because Fields of Glory games are more complex than any chess game and with a greater combination of moves. This is a suggested opening series of manoeuvres. Obviously the rest of the battle will be a reaction to enemy tactics. You are advised to consult the combat tactics section in this manual for basic Napoleoic War strategies and to read the What Actually Happened? section of this manual. These two sections are invaluable as an introduction to manoeuvring on a battlefield. Nivelles is a fictional battle in Fields of Glory that might have taken place. It is the simplest battle, with the two opposing forces facing each other almost in a line. If you succeed in scoring a victory (announced by the Staff Officer's Report) you may wish to fight Nivelles again but this time choose to re-deploy your troops in what you feel is a better and more advantageous position. You may wish to re-deploy the enemy troops or switch sides and take the side of the Anglo-Allies. Fields of Glory allows you a multitude of options just within one simple battle, imagine the options you will have when you tackle Waterloo! Note that all battles in Fields of Glory take place against the clock. If you do not act, the enemy will sieze the advantage. GAME OPTIONS ------------ This section contains full reference information on starting the game, conducting a battle, deploying troops, and issuing orders at all levels of command. Main Menu Screen The Main Menu Screen has the following options: Start New Game Select to begin a new game. Load Saved Game Select to continue a prevously saved game. View Database View the Database for the French, Anglo Allied and Prussian armies Select Battle Nivelles A fictional battle that allows you to get used to the game. Here you can experiment with basic tactical manoeuvres without having to worry about things happening out of your control. Although Fields of Glory will fight the battle for you during complex tactical manoeuvres, this battle lets you move your forces almost like a game of chess. Army Commanders: Anglo-Allied William of Orange, HRH The Prince of Orange, Commander 1st Army Corps. French Maurice Etieme Gerard Commander of 4th Corps. Wagnee Another fictional battle but of more complexity than Nivelles. Army Commanders: Prussian Gebhard Leberecht Von Blucher, Prince of Wahlstadt. Field Marshall, Commander of the Prussian Army. French Marquis Emmanuel de Grouchy Marshal of France, Commander of Right Wing. Quatre Bras Based on the real battle using historical deployments, 16th June 1815. Army Commanders: Anglo-Allied Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington Field Marshal, Commander Anglo- Allied Army. French Michel Ney, Price of Moscova Marshal of France, Commander of Left Wing. Ligny Based on the real battle using historical deployments 16th June 1815. Army Commanders: Prussian Gebhard Leberecht Von Blucher, Prince of Wahlstadt. Field Marshall Commander of Prussian Army. French Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France Commander of L'Armee du Nord Wavre Based on the real battle using historical deployments, 18th June 1815. Army Commanders: Prussian Gebhard Leherecht Von Blucher, Price of Wahlstadt. Field Marshal, Commander of Prussian Army. French Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis. Marshal of France, Commander of Right Wing. Waterloo Based on the real battle using historical deployments, 18th June 1815. Army Commanders: French Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France Commander L'Armee du Nord. Prussian Gebhard Leberecht Von Blucher, Prince of Wahlstadt. Field Marshal, Commander of Prussian Army. Anglo-Allied Arthur Welleslcy, Duke of Wellington Field Marshal, Commander Anglo- Allied Army. Select Army Select which side you wish to control in your chosen battle: Nivelles French versus Anglo-Allies Wagnee French versus Prussians Quatre Bras French versus Anglo Allies Ligny French versus Prussians Wavre French versus Prussians Waterloo French versus Anglo Allies Note that the Prussian army will appear at Waterloo as an added resource controlled by the computer. If you are on the Anglo-Allied side, you can adjust your tactics to benefit from this resource. If you are on the French side you will have to react to the appearance of the Prussians trying to join up with Wellington. Select the Realism Level These options give you a chance to choose a level of realism from the following: Conscript A very forgiving mode for the novice player. Good for getting used to battlefield formations, movement and the effects of positioning military units. Regular A slightly more realistic level that gives your opposing army more intelligence and makes the geography of the battlefield a factor. Veteran A good level for the capable player. Elite For the experienced player, not to be undertaken by the novice unless he wants his troops to be quickly destroyed on the battlefield. Guard Extremely difficult to win. The tactics employed by your computer opponent will match the brilliance of the three army commanders. Troop Deployment Menus Before you begin any battle you'll be given the option to place your forces in positions of your own choosing or accept pre-set deployments. The Menus will show the following information in Deploy Mode: Deploy Menu Save Game: Highlight and Select to save the game at this stage. This option allows you to save a deployed position, so that you can restore your favourite deployment for each battle. Start Game: Highlight and Select to begin the game. Abort: Return to initial Deploy Option Screen. Show Menu A battle map can become quite crowded with symbols so for clarity, when deploying units/commanders, the Show Menu allows the player to see, in isolation, individual troop types, commander types and nationalities. Highlight and select to turn on or off the following from the battle map: Army Commanders Division Commanders Wing Commanders Brigade marked positions Corps Commanders Infantry Artillery Cavalry All Anglo-Allied Forces All Prussian Forces All French Forces Options Menu Place Troops On/Off: This option enables high level commanders to be deployed on the battlefield with all the troops they are commanding Maps Menu Zoom-In: Highlight Zoom-In then move the pointer out of the Unit Box. The pointer will turn into a magnifying glass. Place over the area you wish to zoom-in and select You can only zoom-in one level at a time. Zoom-Out: Highlight and select Zoom-out. You will move up one level at a time. Units Deployment Box When you are in Deploy Mode, you will be able to select Flags or units of troops and this will open up the Units Deployment box. The Units Deployment Box allows you to examine troop/commander details in the Database, view organizational details, move units, change the way they are facing and select troop formations. Portrait A picture of a Troop member or Commander - Select to access the Database. Unit Name Brigade Corps/Division Mode Move Unit: When in this mode, move the pointer out of the box and place in the chosen position. The pointer will change to the Target icon. Select with the LMB, The troops will appear at the selected position instantly and the Box will close automatically. Change Facing: When in this mode, move the pointer out of the box and place in the chosen position. The pointer will change to the Target icon. Select with the LMB. The troops will swivel round and face the selected position and the Box will close automatically. Type of Formation This presents a sub menu. Highlight and select to change the formation. Note that units will only adopt correct formations for their troop type. For instance, only French infantry can adopt a Mixed formation; only Light Infantry can adopt a Skirmish formation. The formation options will vary depending on troop type. If the option does not appear it is historically incorrect for that unit to adopt that formation. For more information consult the Troop Formations Section in this manual. Infantry: Column Square Line Mixed Skirmish Cavalry: Column Line Artillery: Limber Unlimber Close the Units Deployment Box by selecting the 'closing gadget' in its top left corner, or select the LMB anywhere outside the Units Deployment Box. The Main Battle Screens Background The Main Battle Screen is where all the Close Quarters Combat System action takes place. It can be viewed at three map levels. Battlefield Four Mile Map: You will enter the Main Battle Screen at the Four Mile Map level. This means that the distance from one edge of the screen to the other represents about four miles. You can go to the One Mile battle screen or the tactical Eight Mile Map view by selecting Zoom-In and Zoom out functions in the Map Window. Scrolling the Map: At all levels there are more parts to the battlefield then you can see on the screen. You can scroll around the battlefield by moving the sword pointer to the edge of the screen and holding down the RMB. The Menus The Menus at the top of the screen can be accessed by positioning the pointer over the menu name and selecting with the LMB. Keep the LMB pressed, highlight and release to select. Alternatively, press the RMB to keep the menu open. Select with LMB or close by clicking on the map with the LMB. The Game Menu This menu has the following items accessible: Restart: Select if you want to begin a new game. Restart will return you to the beginning of a historical deployment or to the point before deployment if you are using non historical deployment. New Game: Select to return to the Main Menu Screen. Save Game: Save the Game and then continue the current battle. Auto Save (minutes): Select to implement the Auto Save function. You may also choose to turn Auto Save off. You are recommended to save your battles regularly in case something goes wrong with your tactics. Realism Level Chosen: This displays the difficulty level chosen during the game start up. Game Speed: Select a game speed that suits your tactical decision making. Select from: Slow Normal Fast Sounds On/Off: Select to turn battle sounds on or off. Music On/Off: Select to turn the game music on or off. Pause On/Off: Select to freeze the game. Select again to resume the game. You can still scroll around the map and enter the Database in this mode but the game time will remain frozen, Quit Game: Selecting this option will give you a choice to: Save and Quit to the Operating System Quit to the Operating System Continue the Game The Database Menu In any battle you will only be able to view the participating troop/commander Databases. If you want to examine the entire Database select this option from the Main Menu. The Information Menu The Messages option will show a sub-menu giving the following options: Last Message Received - View the last message Brigade Messages on/off - Toggle Brigade Level messages Division Messages on/off - Toggle Division Level messages Corps/Wing Messages on/off - Toggle Corps/Wing Level messages Messages will be displayed in a large pop up box on the Main Battle Screen. The box includes two buttons: the left button returns you to the Battle Screen with the message sender highlighted (flashing); the right button closes the window. The box, like all the window boxes in Fields of Glory can also be closed by clicking on the 'closing gadget' in the top left hand corner. Clock and Date On/Off: The time and date will appear on the top bar of the Main Battle Screen. Note that all battles take pace 'against the clock'. Act quickly and decisively. Maps Menu Zoom In: Highlight Zoom-In, then move the pointer out of the drop down menu. The pointer will turn into a magnifying glass. Place over the area you wish to zoom-in and select. Zoom-Out: Highight and select zoom-out. You will move up one level at a time. You can only zoom-in/out a single level at a time. Repeat the operation to zoom a further level. Battlefield Map Details The battlefield map includes details of terrain, hills, roads, towns, buildings, rivers, bridges and woods. Take time to familiarize yourself with the geographical location: it's the combination of terrain and tactics that wins battles! The Command Flags Command Flags are used to identify commanders and act as 'action areas' for accessing Orders Boxes. Apart from the One Mile Map level, all map scales repeat the same graphic information: Infantry Commanders Flags are rectangular Cavalry Flags are pennants All Corps Commanders Flags are tinged with gold. All Divisional Commanders Flags are plain The One Mile Map This level of map displays Brigade flags as parts of the brigade unit. All commanders are shown as mounted figures with colour coded horses indicating the command level differences. Commander Horse Colour Napoleon White Wellington Chestnut Blucher White Wing (French only) White Infantry Troops Grey Cavalry Troops Grey Infantry Division Black Cavalry Division Black Graphic Brigade Troops plus Flag Artillery Guns, Horses and Limber unit Other Map Scales (Four Mile, Eight Mile) Flags are used to show commanders at all map scales. The flags are sorted by size and type with special flags for the army commanders. No brigade flags are shown at this scale, only troops and guns. You can also select enemy troops/commanders on the various maps but this will only inform you who they are. You will have full access to the Database, except where you are playing at the higher levels (Elite and Guard) but, obviously, you have no control over military orders. In addition at Waterloo, if you are on the Anglo Allied side, you will not be able to command the Prussian troops. Map Scale Command Graphic Eight Mile Army Flag Wing Flag Corps Flag Division Flag Four Mile Army Flag Wing Flag Corps Flag Division Flag Brigade Troops Artillery Gun Moving Troops Around the Battlefield Issuing Orders Command Orders (Four Mile and Eight Mile Maps) Position the sword pointer over an appropriate flag. Select with the LMB. A Command Orders Box will open (see illustration below) Highlight Operational Orders to see a sub menu with appropriate orders for that unit. Assault: Use this order as an all out attack on a selected enemy unit. But use with caution! Units close with the enemy and enter melee (hand-to-hand) combat. Infantry will attempt to fire a volley before closing in with fixed bayonets Hold: Units are ordered to Hold the current position occupied by them. This order will also change the facing of the troops by positioning the pointer in the direction you wish them to face and selecting with the LMB. Deploy: Use this order to make all your tactical moves. For instance if you wish to display to the enemy that you are strong on one flank so that he moves troops away from other parts of the battlefield. Troops will move at normal speed to effective weapon range and make any formation/direction changes deemed necessary for successful deployment. Position the target pointer where you wish to deploy the troops and select with the LMB. The unit will move there taking the appropriate time considering terrain and other obstacles. Withdraw: Use this order to draw the enemy out of position or to remove your troops from a difficult situation. Units will disengage from a Hold/ Assault/Deploy order and withdraw while keeping their formations intact. Units withdraw to the selected point. Highlight an operational order and select it with the LMB. Brigade Orders (Four Mile Map) Position the pointer in the centre of a troop unit. Select with the LMB. A Brigade Orders Box will open (see illustration above). An appropriate formation can be selected from the following that will appear in a sub-menu (if applicable). Infantry Formations Lie: Infantry units advance upon each other in line and when in range fire volleys. Line formation gives the maximum number of soldiers a chance to fire and a well ordered force can destroy the opposition swiftly. Column: Developed to control a conscripted army that lacked the training to manoeuvre in Line, Column formation is deeper and not as wide as Lie formation. It is easier to maintain this formation and it is more effective in close combat but it's more vulnerable to volley and cannon fire. Skirmish: To reduce the enemy's firing effectiveness, light infantry can be used as a screen in Skirmish formation. They are harder to hit but more vulnerable to close combat attack. Do not confuse the Skirmish formation that can only be given to light infantry with the Skirmishers that all Infantry Units automatically put out. Square: A formation that is used as a defence against cavalry. It is a hollow square with troops about four ranks deep pointing bayonets outwards. Troops in a Square can fire volleys against attacking cavalry in the knowledge that they will not be charged down or attacked from the flank or the rear. Mixed: A French brigade formation in which the battalions in the centre are in Line while battalions on the two ends are in Column. This formation benefits from the extra firepower of a Lie formation and the greater effectiveness of a Column formation in close quarters combat. Cavalry Formations: Cavalry can be ordered to adopt Column or Line formation. Operational Orders: Highlight the Operational Order and Select to see a sub- menu with appropriate orders for that unit such as: Assault Deploy Hold Withdraw Highlight an operational order and select it with the LMB. If neccessary, you will have to select a position for this action to be carried out with the target pointer. The order will then be carried out. If the action is in the process of being carried out, the Operational Order will give you that information (for instance 'Deploying'). Troop Status The Status Information will show one of three conditions: Formed: The troops are formed into an effective unit and are ready to recieve orders from their Commander. Disordered: The troops are in the process of forming up, they are not yet a fully effective unit. Troops can become disordered in the face of enemy action or when crossing rough terrain, rivers etc. They can give orders. Routed: This means thatthe troops are not an effective unit. They have been dispersed by enemy action and are running away. Routed troops cannot be given orders. Battery Orders (Artillery - Four Mile Map) Position sword pointer over a cannon at the Four Mile Map. Select with the LMB. A Battery Orders Box will open (see above). Formation: Select between Limbered (hooked up to horses and ready to move) or Unlimbered (ready to fire) Movement Orders: Highlight this menu item to see a sub-menu with appropriate orders for that unit such as; Advance: Advance to the designated position. The Battery will automatically Unlimber when in position. Back-Up: Withdraw to a designated position. The Battery will halt and hold a position. They will fire when the enemy are within range. Highlight an operational order and select it with the LMB. If necessary, you will have to select a position for this action to be carried out with the target pointer. Target Choose this option to fire your cannons. Highlight and select this option. The cursor will become the artillery target pointer (a cannon ball). Place on the chosen target and select with LMB. The unit will point towards the target and, if the object is in range, will open fire. Various message boxes will pop up to give you information (for instance, if you are too far away). At the easier levels, you will not be allowed to fire on friendly troops. At the more realistic levels you are free to make that mistake. Issuing Orders (One Mile Map) Introduction: At the One Mile Map you will see an isometric close up view of the battle area. You will not be able to see the overall picture but can focus in on individual engagements. You will be able to see clearly units getting into formation (Line, Column, Skirmish etc.), casualties and damage to cannon and buildings. This is the best level to use to watch basic battle tactics in action (such as cavalry attacking infantry and the infantry forming up into a square). The Commander: The commanders at the One Mile Map level are all shown on the field of battle. Select on actual figure to view the Command Orders Box. This Box is the same as the Four Mile/Eight Mile Map levels above. Giving a commander orders (such as Deploy) will result in every unit under his command performing that order. The Brigades: Brigades are shown as clusters of men, in correct uniform, with a flag or standard positioned in the centre of the information. Note that each individual infantryman represents about 70 actual troops. One mounted figure represents 70 cavalrymen and one battlemap cannon represents a maximum of 3 guns. Position the sword pointer over a Brigade flag. Select with tne LMB. A Brigade Orders Box will open issue Orders and Change Formations in the same way as the Four Mile Map Views (see above) At the One and Four Mile Maps, you can watch the troops changing to different formations. The End of the Battle When the battle is deemed to have ended you will recieve a Staff Officer's Report with the official outcome. You will then be given the option to return to the Main Menu Screen. COMBAT TACTICS -------------- Overview Fields of Glory allows combat to be carried out quickly and decisively once opposing units approach within an appropriate range of each other. The main factors to bear in mind when considering battlefield tactics are: Mobility and Assault are the keys to Napoleonic warfare. Cannons should be used to disrupt enemy units before an Assault. Battles are won by driving the enemy from their positions with infantry or cavalry attacks. A unit which breaks under an assault will suffer high casualties under pursuit. Infantry in Combat Infantry Types Although national differences may occur, infantry are generally divided into four basic types: Militia: Poorly trained troops who perform the basic line infantry tasks. Line: Generally a moderate level of troops, trained to manoeuvre in tight formations Light: Troops of a higher motivation that could participate in looser formations such as skirmish. Shock: These troops were highly motivated. Their primary role is to carry positions by assault. The French Old and Middle Guard are of this type. Infantry Tactics Skirmish: The order for Light infantry sent ahead to screen a main attack or to fire at enemy formations. Skirmish fire can disrupt the enemy before an assault. Assault: The assaulting troops will fire only one musket volley before closing to bayonet range; stopping to reload would halt an attack and make it break down. To renew an attack would mean committing fresh troops to get it moving again. Infantry are tightly packed to keep cohesion and discipline, even though this makes them vulnerable to artillery and musket fire. Often enemy troops flee before the attack is closed, or the attacking troops falter before they have had a chance to press home the attack. In either case, casualties will be high for the side that fails to push home its advantage. Hand to hand combat between infantry formations is a gamble unless the enemy troops have already been disrupted by artillery or skirmisher fire. Once an enemy is disrupted, victory always favours the attacker. Infantry Organization Chart Name Composition Military Notation Note Company 100-300 men I Battalion (4-12 Companies) II Regiment (2-3+ Battalions) III Brigade (2-5 Regiments) X The basic game unit Division (2-3+ Brigades) XX Corps (2+ Divisions) XXX Wing (2+ Corps) XXXX French army only Army (2+ Wings or Corps) XXXXX Cavalry in Combat Cavalry Type Light Cavalry: Use light cavalry to attack enemy positions, pursue broken formations and as a screen for the army. In general, light cavalry are capable of riding longer and harder than other mounted units and are less effective during the actual battle than heavy or medium cavalry. Heavy Cavalry and Medium Cavalry: To be used in a shock role; either fighting enemy cavalry or attacking infantry. Generally made up of bigger men on bigger horses than the light cavalry. Cavalry Tactics All cavalry have a shock potential on the battlefield. They are used to counter enemy cavalry, harass artillery and infantry. In addition, cavalry protect friendly infantry and artillery. They are also expected to ride down disrupted enemy elements. Cavalry Organization Chart Name Composition Military Notation Notes Company I Squadron (2-3 Companies) II 100-200 men Regiment (2-3 Squadrons) III 300-900 men Brigade (2-3 Regiments) X Division (2-3+ Brigades) XX Corps (2+ Divisions) XXX Artillery Artillery Types Foot Artillery: Foot artillery is used to support infantry formations and to form "Grand Batteries" to concentrate fire at a section of the enemy line before an assault. Horse Artillery: A faster moving unit than foot artillery, they are there to support cavalry units and to operate with the infantry. Artillery Tactics Long range fire will disrupt enemy formations, causing them to become disordered; reducing the number of effective enemy troops. Long range fire is not capable of annihilating enemy formations but artillery fire was always the main cause of casualties on a Napoleonic battlefield. Close range artillery fire can devastate enemy troop formations. Artillery Formation Guns used are identified by the weight of their shot. In this period they vary from three to twelve pounders and are made up of batteries of between four to eight guns. A battery deploys its guns about 30 yards apart and occupies as much of the battlefront as possible. Artillery Organzation Battery (4-8 guns) (100-300 men) Attached to infantry or cavalry organization or placed into artillery reserves. Combined Arms Operation By using all three arms (artillery, infantry and cavalry) in combined arms operations you will be able to manipulate the battlefield to your advantage. Artillery Use guns to disrupt the enemy at the start of any general attack or during an infantry assault. Bring artillery forward with the infantry so that they can devastate the enemy at close range before the infantry closes. Use artillery with cavalry to disrupt enemy cavalry and to bombard infantry who have formed squares to defend themselves against your cavalry. Cavalry Cavalry (apart from combined arms operations above) can also be used to slow down and stop enemy attacks. Cavalry can charge and break up infantry, if they are out of square. If enemy infantry stop to form squares as a defence they would be halted from an attacking position and allow friendly artillery and infantry to throw back an attack. There are numerous counter measures that can be used against combined arms attacks but it is your task, as the commander, to co-ordinate the three arms both in attack and defence. The Fields of Glory Database ---------------------------- Overview The Fields of Glory Database gives you access to a mass of game information and may be consulted at any time during play. It is there to give all details of commanders, troops and their organization within each army. The database will give you a breakdown of commanders' abilities, troop numbers and current condition. Each unit is accurately illustrated with a typical portrait. You may consult information from all three armies and can access it from various modes. The current battle will be frozen in time until you return to the Main Battle Screen. Accessing the Database Controls The Left Mouse Button (LMB) selects an option. The Right Mouse Button (RMB) returns you to the previous screen. The Database Menu Position the sword pointer on the Database menu on the Main Battle Screen and select with the RMB. A menu will stay open allowing you to select the Database for your choice of army. For each battle you will only be able to access the troops actually participating in the engagement, but you can view all of the database from the Main Menu Screen. Highlight the army you wish to view then select with the LMB. You will be taken to the Fields of Glory Database. The Flag Option You can also access the Database at any time during a battle by clicking on the individual Commanders' flags or troop flag/standard (each troop formation carries a flag or standard) and then selecting the Portrait in the Orders box The Database Layout Once inside the database you will see the following information: The Portrait A Portrait of the selected Commander/unit appears in the centre of the screen. The portrait is a guide to the importance of the selected commander: head and shoulders portraits are reserved for the top commanders such as Napoleon and his marshals; three quarter length portraits for divisional commanders, full length portraits for brigades of troops. In addition troop portraits feature an aspect of their function: artillery hold an implement from their guns, infantry hold muskets and cavalry carry either swords or lances. In this way it's possible to assess quickly the function of troops and their commanders. Commander's Details Select the Portrait with the LMB and you will be taken to a detailed information screen. Details shown are: Position in army Leadership Ability Complete name and dates Personality A short biography. There are advantages and disadvantages to each type of commander, and getting to know the commander's strengths and weaknesses are just as important as getting to know the troop types. It should be remembered that these gradings are a guideline to the likely behaviour of a commander, not a guarantee that they will always behave in a particular way. It is, however, true that a Plodding Commander is more likely to follow orders to the letter, but not with such vigour as a Rash one, while a Rash Commander may forcefully attempt to carry out his orders, he may, having done so against the odds, then decide to seize what he believes are opportunities. Professional Rating Poor Good Mediocre Excellent Average This measures the commander's ability to get the best out of his troops. This will effect the commander's units abilities on firing, melee and formation changing. Leadership Unispiring Inspiring Poor Charismatic Average This measures the commander's ability to bolster the morale of his units. This affects the unit's ability to charge, receive a charge, and form an emergency Square. Personality Plodding Impetuous Cautious Rash Average This measures the commander's ability to follow orders and how hard he will try before pulling back and/or asking for assistance. It affects the controllability of the commander's units, and indirectly affects their morale and thus their effectiveness. Brigade Details The above information is available down to divisional commanders. At Brigade level you will see the following information: Small up/down arrows on the lower left/right of the screen allow you to scroll through the information. Select with the RMB to return to the Main Database Screen The Legend Below the central portrait in the Main Database Screen are found the following details. Units Commanded Scrolls To the left and right of the central portrait are scrolls that show the units commanded by the figure in the main picture. By selecting these smaller portraits you can access details of these sub-divisions. The selected portrait will be placed in the centre space and any further sub-divisions will be shown on either side of it. The Icon Block Just below the Legend is the Icon Block Left and Right Arrow Icons Select these icons to move to a unit or commander at the same command level as the one you are examining. Up and Down Arrow Icons If the number of units commanded exceeds six you can scroll up and down by clicking on these arrows. They will not function if there are no other units present. The Chevron Select the chevron (the upside-down 'V' shapes) to move up through the command structure: from troop units up to army commander. The Command Structure Tree Select the command structure tree to view a schematic of the troops commanded by the figure in the portrait. You will see the portrait of the commander plus a diagram featuring units shown in shorthand battlefield notation. Order of Battle Chart This form of notation allows you to see, at a glance, the command structure and the different types of units in each army. Note that Infantry Corps can include Infantry, Artillery and possibly Cavalry while Cavalry Corps only include Cavalry and Artillery. French Army (White on Blue) The Command Napoleon Wing Command Army Reserve Command Corps Command (Infantry) Divisional Command (Infantry) Cavalry Corps Command Cavalry Divisional Command Corps Artillery Command (Infantry) Divisional Artillery Command (Infantry) Cavalry Corps Artillery Command Cavalry Divisional Artillery Command THE UNITS Guard Infantry Guard Light Infantry Guard Heavy Cavalry Guard Dragoons Guard Chasseurs a Cheval Guard Lancers Guard Foot Artillery Guard Horse Artillery Line Infantry Light Infantry Heavy Cavalry (Cuirassier or Carabinier) Dragoons Light Cavalry (Hussars or Chasseurs a Cheval) Lancers Foot Artillery Horse Artillery British and King's German Legion (White on Red) The Command Wellington Army Reserve Command Corps Command Divisional Command Cavalry Corps Command Corps Artillery Command Divisional Artillery Command Corps Horse Artillery Command Divisional Horse Artillery Command The Units Guard Infantry Line Infantry Light Infantry/Rifles Guard Heavy Cavalry Heavy Dragoons Light DragoonS B Hussars Foot Artillery Horse Artillery Hanoverian (White on Green) Corps Command Divisional Command Line Infantry Light Infantry Landwehr Infantry Hussars Foot Artillery Brunswick (White on Light Grey) Brunswick Contingent Command Line Infantry Light Infantry Foot Artillery Horse Artillery Nassau Reserve Contingent (Yellow on Green) Line Infantry Dutch-Belgian (White on Brown) The Command Corps Command Divisional Command Cavalry Divisional Command The Units Line Infantry Light Infantry Militia Infantry Heavy Cavalry Light Dragoons Hussars Foot Artillery Horse Artillery Prussian (White on Dark Grey) The Commanders Blucher Corps Command Divisional Command Cavalry Corps Command Cavalry Divisional Command Corps Artillery Command The Units Line Infantry Light Infantry Landwehr Infantry Light Dragoons Hussars Uhlans Landwehr Cavalry Foot Artillery Horse Artillery The accompanying details printed to the side of the icon break down as follows: X or I (see details in previous section) First number is the unit itself (Brigade number/Name) Second number is the parent unit (Division). Third (if applicable) the parent of the parent unit. If this is a Corps it is shown in Roman numerals. C means Cavalry A means Artillery For example, 1/21/III is the 1st Brigade, 21st Division, 3rd Corps. Select the individual elements of the schematic to view details of the units and their commander. A window will open up showing the smaller portrait. Click on the smaller portrait to access detailed information about the individual unit. This includes: Commander Portrait Name of Unit Troop Type Status Troops (Number) Strength (as a percentage) Comprising (elements of) Commanders of individual units Historical Background Battle Honours Small up/down arrows on the lower left/right of the screen allow you to scroll through the information (if necessary) The Crossed Swords Select the Crossed Swords icon to go to (or return to) the battlefield or Main Menu (if accessing Database). Upon returning to the battlefield, the selected commander/unit will flash for several seconds to indicate where that individual or brigade are. Battlefield Weapons ------------------- The Cannon A long barrelled artillery gun classified by weight of iron ball fired. A cannon was smooth bored and loaded from the muzzle. The heaviest guns made for field warfare were 12 pounders. All cannon fire was direct; indirect fire over the heads of your own units was impossible. A round shot could be propelled a maximum of 1200 yards but 'bounced' much further (1800 yards). Close range artillery fired point blank with canister caused devastating damage on target units and could stop an assault dead in its tracks. The Howitzer A shorter barrelled gun that fired fused shells, designed for high angle fire and classified by its bore diameter (for instance '6 inch howitzer'). Like all guns of the time it was loaded through the muzzle. The Limber The limber was a two wheeled carriage made out of wood and framed by iron that the gun could be attached to and moved around the battlefield by teams of horses. Projectiles Roundshot An iron ball, employed for ricochet fire; bouncing and carving through units of troops until it lost its momentum. Canister Fired at close range, a caster was a tin case full of lead balls that scattered upon leaving the barrel like shotgun pellets. The Common Shell Explosive material held together in an iron sphere that had a fuse which was set off by the action of firing. This was used in a Howitzer and fired at a high angle over fortifications or friendly troops onto the enemy. The Musket Usually carried by the infantryman, the musket was a smooth bore weapon with a flintlock (a small device to produce a spark) to ignite the powder. The charge and projectile were both inserted through the muzzle. The musket was made up of an iron tube attached to a wooden stock. A tiny 'touch-hole' was bored on the right side of the tube that allowed a spark made by the flintlock to ignite the propellant. The musket fired a one ounce lead ball in a prepared cartridge which included powder and ball. The musket was not accurate beyond 100 yards but it was usually fired at lines of men not individuals. The Rifle Rifled muskets worked along the same lines as the smooth bore muskets, but the barrel had internal spiralling grooves that gave the ball spin thereby allowing greater accuracy. The Carbine A short barrelled and light form of the musket carried by most cavalry; used when skirmishing and fired from horseback or on foot. It had a limited range and accuracy. French cavalry often carried a longer barrelled version known as a dragoon musket. The Pistol Carried by cavalry in their saddle holsters, pistols were practically ineffective in active conflict. Pistol range was such that it was easier to use a sabre in close engagement. The fact that pistols needed a different calibre of ammunition from the carbine was also an additional encumbrance. The Sabre and Sword The main weapon of the cavalry and used in two distinct ways; the slash, using the edge of the sabre and the thrust, using the point of a sword. The thrust requires a thinner blade with a sharp point. French medium and heavy cavalry used the narrow straight bladed sabre while the light cavalry from most of Europe were equipped with the curved bladed sabre. The Lance One of the oldest cavalry weapons, the lance was enjoying a resurgence of popularity in most European armies. Its strength was that, against cavlary, a well ordered lancer formation could prevent opponents from closing in to sabre range. The lance was also very effective against infantry or in a skirmishing, reconnaissance role. The Bayonet A triangular sectioned blade with a socket that could fit over the muzzle of a musket; locking into place over the weapons front sight. All troops with muskets had bayonets which effectively made their weapons into pikes. The socket allowed the musket to be fired with the bayonet in position. The bayonet was almost a psychological weapon; once the enemy were shattered by volleys of musket fire a bayonet charge would often result in the wavering troops breaking ranks and running. The Army Commanders ------------------- Napolean Bonaparte - 1769-1821 One of the greatest military careers ever known began when Napoleon was commissioned into the artillery after military school. Intensive study of tactics paid dividends in 1793 when, as commander of the artillery in the French Republican Army, he helped to recapture Toulon from the British. He was made a brigadier general and eventually found favour with Barras, the leader of the Directory. Napoleon was made commander of the army in Italy and Egypt. Huge military success was the springboard for his coup d'etat in 1799 and his assumption of the Imperial Throne in 1804. His military skills were based on a profound knowledge of tactics, speed and mathematical precision in manoeuvres and a flair for finding the enemy's weakness and punishing it. Napoleon's main characteristic was his energy; as he bustled between points of battle action making tactical sense out of the chaos of a battlefield. His leadership qualities, enhanced by the devotion shown to him by patriotic Frenchmen, was only marred by his failure to trust subordinate generals with the independence they required. His charismatic personality, encapsulated in his personal relationship with many of his troops inspired the French nation for many decades to come. Wellington - 1769-1852 Arthur Wellesley rose through a series of minor commissions to command the 33rd Foot in 1793, but it was not until the war against France that he exhibited his military talent and knack of winning battles. He commanded the army in India and then in the Peninsula War and his military style contrasts with that of Napoleon; cautious of rash action he had an excellent eye for defence but could also lead vigorous attacks such as at Salamanca and Vittoria. A stern disciplinarian and meticulous organiser, his bravery at the heart of the battlefield won him the respect of his troops. Though only of medium build, Wellington had a charismatic presence when he appeared at key points during a battle. He was almost seen as a mascot for success to the British troops. His success over Napoleon contributed to his later becoming Prime Minister. Blucher - 1742-1819 Blucher first served with the Swedish army but was captured by the Prussians in 1760 and made a Hussar officer. He left the army for fifteen years and his career did not take off until the battles against the Revolutionary French. At Ratkau in 1806, he fought on after the Prussian army collapsed and was only compelled to surrender by lack of ammunition. Blucher was an inveterate enemy of Napoleon. In the 'War of Liberation' 1813, he commanded the Army of Silesia which maintained intense pressure on Napoleon and pushed home the advantage at Leipzig. Blucher was trapped under his fallen horse at the battle of Ligny and command passed to Gniesenau who was in favour of a defensive reorganization in the Wavre area. After Blucher narrowly escaped capture by the French he overturned his second in commands decision and marched to Wellington's assistance at Waterloo. He also led the pursuit of the French to Paris, The Opposing Armies ------------------- The French Army The vast majority of the troops in Napoleon's army of 1815 were volunteers, predominantly with an intense devotion to the Emperor. Many of the line troops had fought in previous campaigns, and the army was based almost entirely on French nationals in contrast to some of the earlier armies, which had included substantial proportions of sometimes half-hearted allies. Many of the troops saw themselyes as fighting to protect their homeland from invasion once more and this must have been a significant boost to the motivation of even the newest conscript soldiers. This army may have been smaller, hastily trained and ill equipped; but in terms of overall quality it was probably one of the better armies that Napoleon had commanded and certainly one of the most homogeneous. The only real question mark hung over those troops who until recently had been members of the French army under the Bourbons. These formed part of the right wing under Grouchy's command and were treated with utmost suspicion and near contempt by their peers during the Hundred Days. So, amazing as it now seems, from leaving Elba with almost nothing, Napoleon managed to put 128,000 good- quality men into the field in a matter of months. With essential military equipment either improvised or scraped together from all available sources, Napoleon crossed the Belgian frontier early on 15 June with his 'Armee du Nord' to take on the Allies who had so recently forced his abdication. He was convinced that he would soon make short work of the Prussians and would show the world that Wellington's reputation was seriously over-rated. The Prussian Army The Prussians were spread over a very wide area in four Corps occupying the area between Wavre, Charleroi, Dinant and Liege/Maastricht. Lines of communication passed through Liege and back to the Rhine - in almost exactly the opposite direction to those of Wellington. Thus if Napoleon could force either or both armies back along their lines of communication (see glossary), he would split them apart, and could take on and probably defeat either of the two in detail. With the added benefits of surprise, he might catch at least one of the armies concentrating (see glossary) and then Brussels would be open. Wellington had 107,000 men and 216 guns available to him; Blucher had 128,000 infantry and 312 guns. Both forces were very mixed in quality. This compared with the 128,000 men and 366 guns of Napoleon, all volunteers and mostly experienced. If the Allies could operate together in a major action, Napoleon would be outnumbered and outgunned; but in the case of independent action, the odds were almost certainly in favour of the French, whose force had a strong superiority in heavy battle cavalry and a huge and devoted Imperial Guard. The Prussian and Anglo Allied armies, being dispersed in a wide arc around and to the south of Brussels in order to ease the strain of forage and supply, would have to be concentrated before they could be used in the field. Their strength as a united force was thus initially diluted. If Napoleon could strike quickly and with surprise, the chances of catching them individually and in isolation were very good. Given the very wide Prussian dispositions, in the face of a French advance, Napoleon expected Blucher to fall immediately back on his lines of communication and to concentrate towards his headquarters at Namur - in which case it would be left to Wellington to meet the full force of the Armee du Nord, even as he was himself concentrating before Brussels. The Anglo-Allied Army Of the two Allied armies, the Anglo-Allied army was the least homogeneous. Described by Wellington as an 'infamous' army, it consisted of a polyglot of British, German, Hanoverian, Brunswick, Nassau and Dutch Belgian troops. Of these the British and King's German Legion were the most dependable, but many of Wellington's veteran troops were away fighting in America, leaving well trained but untried and unproven troops in their place. The Anglo-Allies were deployed in the area between Brussels, Mons, Ypres and Ghent, with lines of communication going back to Ostend and the Channel ports. Thus a French sweep towards the coast could give Wellington severe supply problems. In fact, Wellington was particularly sensitive, perhaps excessively so, to a possible threat to his communications. He was to keep substantial parts of his army placed at Mons to cover his communications until almost the last minute. The Battles ----------- The Fields of Glory Fictional Battles Nivelles The battle of Nivelles is based upon Napoleon deciding to crush the Anglo-Allied Army and grab Brussels before the Prussians could move to intervene. To this end the main French attack is launched further east through Mons. Grouchy's Right Wing is advancing parallel and to the right of the main French thrust under Napoleon when it meets a rearguard of the Anglo Allied Army under the Prince of Orange. Wagnees Continues with the premise that Napoleon has attacked the Anglo Allies first, this battle is a result of the Prussian attempt to manoeuvre behind Napoleon's forces. In doing so, they encounter the French Right Wing under Grouchy. This battle is different to the others in that it places the French on the defensive. The Real Battles: What Actually Happened? The Marquess of Anglesey at Waterloo; "By God Sir, I've lost my leg!" Wellington; "By God, Sir, so you have!" The Battle of Quatre Bras: 16th June Background: The crossroads at Quatre-Bras is where the roads from Brussels (Wellington's HQ), Namur (the centre of the area in which Blucher was concentrating his forces) and Charleroi (the place where Napoleon had crossed the River Sambre) all met. It was therefore a key area for both sides. If the Anglo Allies could hold it they would be able to maintain close links with the Prussians While if the French held it they would achieve part of Napoleon's plan of splitting their enemies forces. The Battle: Reille, the commander of the French 2nd Corps had encountered British troops in the Peninsula War. He knew of Wellington's methods of hiding large parts of his army until the last minute; so, noting that the undulating terrain around Quatre Bras provided plenty of scope for concealment in the tall rye and that Bossu Wood was a perfect position for a flank ambush, he advanced with extreme caution. The 2nd Dutch-Belgian Division commander Perponcher, under the Prince of Orange, commander of the Anglo Allied 1st Corps, had covered his entire front with the 27th Jagers in a line that stretched for almost a mile. Behind and to the west of the road stood his remaining battalions - some lining the Bossu Wood - and with the 5th Militia occupying the Gemioncourt farm. To the east of the road, the French 5th Division under Bachelu advanced behind a strong skirmish line and soon pressed against Gemioncourt. The opposing skirmishers fell back to the farm. The French 6th Division commanded by Jerome, arriving late, advanced to the west of the road and pressed up towards Bossu Wood. Within an hour, with the support of artillery, the outposts of Pireaumont and Gemioncourt had finally been taken, and Jerome was moving steadily through Bossu Wood as the weight of numbers told on Bijlandt's thin line, which was retiring in good order and in expectation of reinforcements from Sir Thomas Picton, commander of the British 5th infantry Division. Suddenly, a cavalry charge was hurled against the 17th Dutch Light infantry. The Dutch fragmented before it, some rushing headlong to the rear, others remaining in isolated groups fighting to the last. The line had been breached, Pire's French lancers of the 2nd Cavalry Division breaking through the centre in a spirited charge routed Merlen's lighter Dutch cavalry. Had Reille started to exploit the break in the Allied line, the battle would have now been over almost before it had started; but now Picton's division arrived at Quatre Bras with Wellington to check the French advance. The advancing French infantry stopped when they unexpectedly met fresh troops, then withdrew; but the lancers came on, some breaking off to surround pockets of Dutch troops, others heading straight for the Highlanders who formed squares to repulse the attack. Under Wellington, the British brigades now lined the hedged Namur Road to the east of the crossroads, the 95th Rifles occupying the wood just to the north of Lac Materne, where they engaged and just held Bachelu's advancing infantry, occupying the buildings at the crossroads itself. The Hanoverians were placed behind them and to the north of the Namur road, and the arrival of Brunswick to the west of Quatre Bras completing the line in time to meet the next French attack. Bijlandt's line was by now almost totally in ruins having faced a well organized combined-arms attack. Many of his troops had headed for the comparative safety of Bossu Wood. The French artillery now turned its full force on to Picton's units, who were ordered by Wellington to lie down in the shelter of the ditches and the partly sunken road. This sunken road and its thick hedges provided cover to Picton's men, as they sheltered from the 38-gun French bombardment that now opened up in anticipation of the renewed assault, the French columns being organized by Marshal Ney in person. He formed four columns, each of brigade strength to break the Allied lines. As the four French columns of infantry advanced, screening their cannon, the bombardment subsided, and Wellington ordered Picton's troops over the hedges, to stand beside the Brunswick infantry to their right, near the wood. The French came on with cries of 'On to victory!' 'Give them the bayonet!' and 'Vive l'Empereur!' All along the British line musket volleys smashed into the heads of the advancing columns. To the east of the main Brussels road, the heads of the splendid blue columns of infantry had become a reeling, confused mass of dying and wounded men. Screams of agony burst from the collapsed and maimed, the once reassuring mass of the column now working against it as following ranks of their comrades stumbled over the mangled remains at their feet and, moving onwards, themselves became victims. The front now halted in total confusion, trying to deploy to return fire, the rear of the column still pressing them forward over the bloody mess beneath their feet. With confusion and disorder in the columns at its height, through the smoke came Picton's Highlanders. The shattered columns fled. Against the Brunswickers to the west of the road, however, Jerome was having significantly more success. Jerome's men swept through BossuWood. French cavalry were coming up to exploit the opening, and the Duke of Brunswick's 'Death's Head' Hussars were decimated by French musketry and routed on contact by Pire's cavalry. The Duke of Brunswick himself fell a casualty, as the French cavalry chased the now broken Hussars. The counter attack had cost heavy losses, including six cannon; but it had stopped what might have developed into a rout and given the infantry some respite in which to fall back and try to regroup beyond the wood. Successful on his left but checked on his right, Ney called up d'Erlon to help his drive for the vital crossroads. But to his consternation he found no sign of I Corps behind him. It was by then around 4 pm, still with a numerical advantage, when Ney received an order from Napoleon (timed 2 pm), instructing him to take the crossroads and then fall on the Prussian right and rear. With Reille's corps already fully committed, Ney bade d'Erlon hasten to deliver what he thought was the coup de grace, for already his cavalry were roaming freely through Wellington's right and centre. Pire had hurled his chasseurs and lancers once more at the Allied centre in a surprise attack that took them almost to the crossroads itself, Wellington himself having had to leap the (prone) ranks of the 92nd to evade the French charge. The cavalry was by now somewhat disordered, as it circled round behind the hastily formed square of the 92nd, before swinging south to take the adjacent 42nd and 44th - still formed in line - in the rear. The undulating terrain and remaining corn concealed the charge until the last minute and took the British troops by surprise. The 42nd Highlanders, caught in the rear in the act of forming a square, managed to complete the square with some of the lancers trapped inside. The French cavalry, by now totally disordered, retired to the French lines, and the respite allowed Wellington to redeploy some of his troops to stop the rot on his right flank. The attack now settled down to a close-range slogging match, where the firepower of the British troops to the centre and east of the battlefield slowly began to take its toll despite being partly still in square against the possibility of enemy cavalry in the area. Two more cavalry charges to the east of the Brussels road routed a Hanoverian battalion but otherwise made no impact on Wellington's steady squares. The initiative was slipping from Ney's grasp. Its delicate balance was now tilting towards the Allies. They had held against the best that Ney could throw against them, and fresh reinforcements in the form of Halkett's and Kielmansegge's brigades from Alten's division were arriving to bolster Wellington's strength. The French right was actually starting to fall back. Ney's tired army was losing its superiority of numbers. Worse still for Ney, it was at this point that he learned of the true whereabouts of d'Erlon. Some time earlier, d'Erlon's corps been ordered to Ligny by an aide, General de la Bedoyere. Far from his arrival being imminent at Quatre Bras, d'Erlon was actually already well on his way to Ligny, every minute taking him farther from Ney. To save time, de la Bedoyere had not consulted Ney before ordering the corps to Ligny in the name of the Emperor. Meanwhile, Wellington was not a commander to sit idly by in such circumstances. A sweeping counter attack by Alten's troops on the French right made the situation critical for the French, and the impetuous Ney immediately decided that he should recall d'Erlon. Not pausing to consider how long it would take for the order to reach him, nor how long it would be before that corps would appear at Quatre Bras, Ney's almost reflex reaction effectively took this force out of both the Ligny and Quatre Bras engagements. Then at 5 pm, finally outnumbered by Wellington, under pressure on his right, with that flank actually retiring, with no reserves, he received a 'hurry up' message from the Emperor. It was the last straw. Not only had the previously promised Emperor's troops never arrived, but he had also been robbed of troops critical to the success of his operations. Napoleon clearly had no appreciation of the fact that Ney was hard pressed and now facing most of Wellington's army. With no reserves, he needed time to stabilize his line and reform his right. There was only one thing left to throw at the Allies, and in a fit of desperation Ney ordered the recently arrived cavalry of Kellermann to make an almost suicidal charge into the Allied lines - a brigade of cavalry against an entire army Kellermann questioned the order, for only part of his brigade had reached the field, namely Guiton's brigade of 750 men of the 8th aud 11th Cuirassier Regiments. Ney would have none of it. Promising him support from the depleted ranks of Pire's cavalry. Ney dismissed him with, 'Go! But go now!' Kellermann's regiments moved up beneath the crest of Gemioncourt ridge, out of sight of the British infantry beyond. The 42nd Highlanders and the 2/44th were still in square to the east of the Charleroi road, having already been mauled by Pire's lancers. The 92nd Highlanders were in a square that actually straddled the Charleroi road, and Wellington himself was still sheltering there. The cavalry deployed silently into line below the crest. The clear notes of the trumpet finally signalled the charge, and Kellermann unleashed the brigade forward, straight into charge speed dispensing with the customary build up via walk/trot/canter. The brigade thundered towards the British squares, scattering the remnants of the Brunswick and Belgian cavalry in their path. The squares held firm, offering a fire that broke up the charge and caused the horsemen to flow around the leading squares, thundering on towards Halkett's Brigade. A few minutes previously, as Kellermann's units were preparing to charge, Colin Halkett - in Alten's 3rd Division, in the Prince of Orange's I Corps - was leading his fresh brigade up in Picton's adjacent division, Pack's brigade had been under serious pressure for some two hours; casualties were mounting and ammunition was running low. With the arrival of the fresh troops, the second battalion of the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment was ordered to Pack to bolster his position. Halkett therefore moved up, handed the unit over to him and went back to bring up the remainder of his brigade. Pack ordered the 69th to form square before moving farther along his brigade. The Prince of Orange, however, not understanding what was happening, found the 69th in the act of forming square. Being perhaps somewhat piqued that an officer from another corps was messing about with 'his' battalion he ordered them back into line again. There were protests. The Prince insisted, and it was while the infantry were in the middle of this manoeuvre that Kellermann's cuirassiers, now emerging past the leading British squares, fell upon them from the flank. For the 2/69th, it was too late to reform into square. Two companies only were able to turn to face the onslaught before they were isolated from the main body and charged down. It was a desperate situation for the 69th. Garavaque's troops thrust into the very heart of the unformed battalion, aiming for the colours (the capture of which qualified for a bounty). With nothing capable of stopping the charge, the 69th made for the shelter of Bossu Wood. Unchecked, Kellermann drove forward, and headed on towards the nearby 33rd, who were also unformed. Shaken by the fate of their comrades of the 69th, they too fled towards the wood, where they could reform in safety. Next in the line of charge, the 2/30th had just been able to form square in time and had easily repulsed the 11th Cuirassiers. Wherever friendly troops cleared the British lines, French artillery remorselessly pounded the dense targets of the British infantry squares, and Ney had throw in all the infantry support he could scrape together. But it was not enough. The supporting attacks were slowly grinding to a halt. Elements of Pire's tired and reformed division had by now also come up, as Kellermann pushed forward almost to the crossroads itself. There blown from the charge, deep in Wellington's lines, disordered by the melees and with no local infantry support, the cavalry came under a murderous cross-fire from the 30th, 73rd and a battery of the KGL as Kellermann tried to reorganize his command. The French infantry supporting attacks were now being firmly repulsed, the heavy cavalrymen who had done so much damage were now in considerable disorder. Parties of Highlanders were able to range the field relatively safely in active pursuit of Kellermann's cuirassiers. Meanwhile, at the crossroads the remains of Kellermann's blown charge was being shot to pieces. In a hail of fire from Wellington's battered ranks, the decimated cavalry fled in disorder to the safety of the French lines. Kellermann himself had his horse shot from beneath him and only managed to return safely from the charge by clinging to the stirrups of two of his men. For no significant gain, the charge had cost him more than a third of his magnificent brigade. Even as the cavalry retired to the safety of the French lines, Wellington was being further reinforced by the 5,000 troops of the British Guards Division, who stormed into Bossu Wood. There was no longer any question of Ney taking Quatre Bras, only the possibility of holding Wellington at bay. There was nothing he could do when, at around 6.30, in typical form, Wellington realized that the French had shot their bolt and ordered a large scale counter-attack across his entire front. By 7.30 pm. Bossu Wood was back in Allied hands, the Allies had taken Pireaumont, and advanced to Gemioncourt brook. By 9 pm, in the rapidly fading light, the battle was over. Ney had been pushed back to his starting positions, and the battle had ended in a tactical draw. As dusk turned to night, Wellington's British cavalry and Horse Artillery reinforced his position. Strategically, Wellington had at last managed to get his army together. He now had confidence in many of his previously unproven troops. Further, his lines of communications were untouched, and he had control of a road network that could take him in any direction he wanted: forward to link with the Prussians (if they had won at Ligny), north to cover Brussels, or back towards the Channel ports. Losses in the battle were about 4,300 for the French, while Wellington had lost 2,275 British, 369 Hanoverians, and 819 Brunswickers, but substantial numbers of the wounded on both sides appear to have been able to return to the ranks within 24 hours or so. No separate return could be made for the Dutch-Belgian troops, a great many of whom had headed for the relative security of Bossu Wood. As the day closed, and having fought the French to a standstill, Wellingtons next move would depend on the Prussians at Ligny. The Battle of Ligny: 16th June Background: On hearing of Napoleon's advance through Charleroi, Blucher decided to move his forces to Ligny, a mid point between Namur (the centre of the area in which he was concentrating his forces), and Quatre Bras (a vital crossroads on the road linking him to Wellington in Brussels). Ligny provided a reasonable defensive position with a range of hills overlooking a stream which the French forces would need to cross. The Battle: The unexpected forward deployment of Blucher's army lining up on the morning of the 16th awaiting his assault made this very much an opportunist battle for Napoleon. The Prussians had based their defence along the Ligny, a small but marshy stream that was difficult to cross except at its four bridges. Ten villages and hamlets had been prepared and incorporated into the defence line, which helped to cover all four of the bridging points and thereby deny them to Napoleon. Rising ground to the rear made an advantageous position for the supporting Prussian columns. There were flaws in the position, however. By following the Ligny stream, Blucher's line formed a salient that was open to flanking artillery fire; by the same token, troops placed on the forward slopes of the hills would be exposed to massed artillery fire without being able to advance across the Ligny to engage. Napoleon's plan was simple. He would use his cavalry to keep the Prussian left flank busy, while with his superior numbers he engaged in a frontal assault on the Prussian centre and right. After a massive artillery bombardment and attrition by his infantry, part of Ney's forces would be ready to appear on the Prussian right wing. As this force enveloped their right, Napoleon would smash through their centre with his Guard, to destroy almost all of the Prussian army at a stroke. There had been no sound of gunfire from Quatre Bras during the morning, so Napoleon assumed Ney had occupied the crossroads without a hitch, and was probably already on his way to Ligny. In three hours' time the campaign will be decided. If Ney carries out his orders thoroughly not a gun of the Prussian army will get away.' At approximately 2.30 pm the battle started. In the excitement and heat of combat, however, the 10,000 men of Lobau's VI Corps at Charleroi had been completely forgotten, and Napoleon's staff had also forgotten to inform Marshal Ney that his presence would be required at Ligny at his earliest convenience. Later in the day Napoleon was to wish dearly that he had access to even one of these two forces. The fighting was hard from the very start, and by engaging across Blucher's whole front Napoleon stopped him being able to redeploy troops in his forward line. Even in the early stages of the battle, although Blucher had numerical superiority, he had to make good losses from his reserves. These in their turn were subjected to a heavy bombardment as they waited on the forward slopes of the hills. The western end of the battlefield was particularly important to each side, enabling as it did communication and possible reinforcement for both parties with their friendly troops - Ney for the French, and Wellington for the Prussians. The fighting here was particularly vicious and with no quarter given or asked for Prussians and Frenchmen tore at each other in hand-to-hand combat, eyery shattered, burning building in the villages contested right to the very end. Prisoners taken were ruthlessly slain. Around the villages of Ligny and St. Amand losses were very heavy on both sides. The fighting for Ligny village was particularly bloody, but after five attempts involving very intense hand to hand action, the surviving French forces finally succeeded in prising part of it from the Prussian grip. Losses of up to 60 per cent were reported by the French units at Ligny itself. By 3.15 pm, shattered by artillery fire from the flanks, and seeing the French pouring into Ligny, the Prussian salient began collapsing. The majority of Blucher's force was now committed to prop up his line and fill the huge gaps scythed by the artillery bombardment. Now was the time for Napoleon to send in his Guard in conjunction with d'Erlon's flanking manoeuvre. But where was d'Erlon? As he ordered the Guard forward to form up, Napoleon sent an urgent appeal to Ney to hasten to his aid: 'The fate of France is in your hands... do not hesitate even for a moment to... direct your advance on the heights of St. Amand.' Ney had received his message at 5 pm. Unable to wait any longer for Ney or d'Erlon Napoleon formed up his Guard to smash through the crumbling Prussian centre. But at 5.30, just as the assault was about to roll forward, an alarm spread along the lines. A long column of troops was appearing behind the French left flank. Scouts reported it as hostile. Had Wellington broken through? It could not be d'Erlon - it was in the wrong place. Clearly Napoleon could not risk committing the Guard at such a time, and the attack was postponed while aides galloped to the column to determine its status. It was, in fact, d'Erlon. A poorly written order had ordered him to conduct his march on 'Wagnee' instead 'Wagnele'; hence his arrival at completely the wrong place. In addition, he had failed to push out advance orderlies to warn friendly troops of his arrival. So the resultant surprise had not only delayed a critical attack but had caused the French left (under Vandamme) to become decidedly nervous,so that the Young Guard had to be deployed to bolster them, and at one stage General Lefol had been forced to turn his own artillery on to his panic stricken men as they deserted the line. It was only by about 6.30 pm that the true situation was made clear, and the Guard could roll forward. In that respite Blucher had consolidated his line and had even pressed the wavering French left with a scratch force to retake part of St. Amand. With the almost incredible irony, even as the Guard formation was being re assembled, the news came that d'Erlon's corps, now clearly in sight of the Prussains, had just turned around to march back to Quatre Bras with almost all of its troops. Ney's order of recall had arrived. Nevertheless, for the Prussians the final act had begun The Young Guard threw them out of St. Amand, and by 7.30 pm the grand assault was ready to be launched into the very heart of the reformed Prussian positions. More than two hundred guns opened up on the desperately thin Prussian centre. Then at 7.45, as a thunder storm broke over the battlefield, more than six thousand men of the Guard marched forward in a combined arms assault that swept back into Ligny and smashed into the Prussian lines. The 21st Prussian Regiment charged the advancing grenadiers, but were intercepted by the accompanying French cuirassiers and thoroughly mauled. Two squadrons of the 1st Westphalian Landwehr cavalry were sacrificed as they charged the disciplined ranks of the Guard to absolutely no avail as the French swept on and through the village. Nothing could save the battle for the Prussians now, but Blucher could still have his army from the worst horrors of pursuit if he could just buy some time. Blucher positioned himself at the head of Roder's cavalry and hurled it at the advancing French Guard. It was a forlorn hope. The Guard's squares easily beat off the attack, Lutzow himself falling wounded at the head of the shattered 6th Uhians now down to only 300 men. A further charge was launched at the squares by two more regiments of Prussian cavalry, but suddenly from the Bank came a charge by the supporting French cuirassiers, which smashed into the reeling Prussian attack. A succession of piecemeal cavalry charges was similarly repulsed as the squares of the Guard coolly met the attacking Prussians with measured volleys before the remnants of the broken cavalry were scooped up by the onmi present French cuirassiers. Blucher himself had fallen in one of the charges as his horse was shot. He lay there, pinned for some time as French cuirassiers repeatedly swept by, over terrain packed with bodies where he and many others had fallen during the day. It was well after dark before a faithful aide finally managed to drag him out and take him to the rear, where liberal applications of gin and garlic revived him enough to rejoin his army. Meanwhile, the Prussians were in a state of confusion with no leader and an army retiring in disarray looking to put time and distance between it and the inevitable French pursuit. The general staff had to agree quickly among themselves where to go to regroup, for they had already been pushed back from the main routes to Namur, their principal line of communication. And so, in poor light at the drizzly roadside, Gneisenau and the corps commanders met to decide an alternative route for the battered force. The only name on the maps clearly visible to all was Wavre, somewhat to the north of Ligny. So it was that Wavre was chosen as a first stage before retiring eastward towards Liege. By almost pure accident it was the one place Napoleon did not expect, and the one direction that would allow the Prussians the slightest option of joining up with Wellington before Brussels. Not that Gneisenau had any intention of moving to join Wellington; not only was he highly suspicious of his allies, almost to the point of Anglophobia in fact, but he was fully expecting the French pursuit to keep him fully occupied as he fell back. But - amazingly - as the Prussian army withdrew from the battlefield, the anticipated French pursuit did not materialize. Although deserters fled in droves, the majority of the army was able to maintain cohesion and retire unmolested on Wavre. The pursuit was actually late in coming at the direct order and responsibility of the Emperor. After the battle he made Ligny his headquarters and hoping and believing the Prussians to be totally crushed, he refused to allow a rigorous pursuit that night. Perhaps here again we can see the evidence of the over-optimism and missing energy that only a few years before would have galvanized his cavalry into immediate and aggressive pursuit. After Jena, for example, the French pursuit was so vigorous that it lasted almost to the Baltic and ended the entire campaign. The Battle of Wavre: June 18th-19th Background: Wavre was chosen almost by accident as the location to which the Prussians were to regroup following their withdrawal after the battle of Ligny, Wavre turned out to be little more than a rear guard action with Thielman's Corps holding off the French while the remainder of the Prussian army under Blucher headed for the battlefield at Waterloo. Had Grouchy attacked more strongly, or earlier, he may have prevented one or more of the Prussian Corps from arriving at Waterloo where they turned the tide against Napoleon. The Battle: Wavre nestles in a lightly wooded valley, spanning the River Dyle by the two strong stone bridges that link the two halves of the town, the valley rising on either side to provide commanding artillery positions in the event of a defence. It was here that the main part of the Prussian army had finally halted, grateful of the reprieve from pursuit that had allowed it to elude the French grasp. Grouchy had indeed been late starting his pursuit on the 17th, Napoleon only releasing him at lunchtime. Even then, contact having been lost with the Prussians the night before, the leisurely pursuit had initially headed north east from the battlefield towards Gembloux, not north towards Wavre. By nightfall Grouchy's main force was camped around Gembloux itself, just seven miles north east of the Ligny battlefield, with his advance cavalry strung out a few miles farther along the road, all heading north-east. He was already slightly east of the Prussian army, which was consolidating some twelve miles north and west of him behind the untouched IV Corps. Sloppy French reconnaissance had also completely missed a reinforced Prussian cavalry regiment positioned at Mont St. Gilbert, just six miles away to the north west, and slightly behind his left, and it was only at 10 pm that night that the true location of the Prussian army at Wavre became known. The axis of pursuit was pivoted northwards the following day; Vandamme was ordered to begin the march north at 6 am the next morning, Gerard following some two hours later. Tired after the fighting and marching of the previous days, the army was slow to start, giving the Prussians an extra two hours grace to begin their manoeuvres, time that was not to be wasted by Bluchers 'kinder' who by 8 am were already widening the gap between the two forces. The Prussian IV Corps under von Bulow was still intact, not having been engaged at Ligny. This fresh corps at least could be sent to Wellington's aid at Mont St. Jean and Blucher was insistent that he would not break his word to Wellington to support him with at least two corps if the French gave him enough breathing space, von Bulows corps was at Dion le Mont, two miles south-east of Wavre itself, and it was ordered to move at 4 am through II Corps (which was still south of the Dyle) through Wavre to Chapelle St. Lambert, and if the battle at Mont St. Jean had begun but not otherwise he was to attack the French right flank. By the time the French columns started out on the 18th, von Bulow was well on his way, reaching St. Lambert with his advance guard at around 10 am. But moving more or less through the remainder of the army, along a single road and through a crowded town, was at best a recipe for confusion and congestion. Even worse, a serious fire in Wavre slowed down the main body of IV Corps and it was not until after midday that the main body arrived at St. Lambert. As von Bulow was struggling through the chaos of Wavre and the Prussian II Corps, Grouchy was unconcernedly getting ready to sit down to a late breakfast. It was 11.25 am. In the distance could be heard the rolling thunder of the first cannon fire from Napoleon's Grand Battery to the west and Gerard and some other senior officers recommended that Grouchy should march to the sound of the guns and join the Emperor. It became a very heated discussion, and Gerard put his point in such a tactless and insulting manner that Grouchy took offence and insisted on keeping to his latest orders from the Emperor. These were rather poorly written and somewhat ambivalent, but they had clearly indicated the need to take possession of Wavre. He had no intention of invoking the notorious fury of the Corsican for disobeying orders, as Ney had already done in this campaign. Had Grouchy marched west at this point, he would almost certainly have intercepted the Prussian IV Corps under Bulow before it reached the field of Waterloo. However, Grouchy had reasonable cause to be cautious about moving westward. He had actually sent a dispatch from Gembloux the previous night to appraise Napoleon of the Prussian threat, but no new orders had come. In point of fact his dispatch had reached the Emporer at around 2 am, where it was either forgotten or ignored, for it was not until 10 am that Napoleon chose to issue orders to Grouchy and these clearly indicated that his presence at Waterloo was not required. In any event these orders were not to reach him until it was far too late for him to intervene at Waterloo. Meanwhile, Prussian reconnaissance had put Grouchy's strength at about 20,000, mainly cavalry (it was in fact, 33,000 including two infantry corps). Seeing that no attack was immediately developing, Pirch's II Corps was dispatched at about noon, and Ziethen's Corps shortly after, adding to the total congestion and leaving just 15,000 men of Thielemann's III Corps to face Grouchy at the Dyle. Even these would have moved towards Waterloo if the congestion on the roads had not prevented it. The unenthusiastic von Bulow had assembled his corps around St Lambert by about 3 pm Inexplicably he did not move to engage the French right flank as he had been ordered, but remained passively in full view of the battlefield below him. Perhaps he was resting his men before joining the battle, or expecting to be attacked as he moved through the nearby Bois de Paris: perhaps he was just waiting for II Corps to come up from the chaos behind him on the road: perhaps he was expecting hard pressed Wellington to break before he could deploy. Whatever the reason, only the personal intervention and bullying of Blucher got him to move his leading brigade through the Bois de Paris to engage the French right, and when at 4 pm von Bulow heard Grouchy's opening cannon fire to the east, he very nearly turned around again. Back in Wavre, Grouchy opened the attack with a frontal assault by Vandamme on Wavre itself, which cleared the southern part of the town but which was frustrated at the bridges themselves. A similar attempt by Hulot's brigade on a mill slightly south of the two was also beaten back and, in an effort to secure a crossing of the Dyle, Grouchy diverted the remainder of Gerard's corps to Limale, two miles to the south west, while the assault was renewed on the mill at Bierges. It was 5 pm. At Limale, Grouchy found a detachment of Ziethen's corps under Stengel - possibly left there by accident - defending the single bridge across the Dyle. The terrain favoured defence, but the superiority of numbers soon told, and the French had poured across the bridge and on to the high ground before darkness brought an end to the day's fighting. During the night a confused counter-attack was launched by Stulpnagel, but this was beaten off. Meanwhile Thielemann's appeals for help during the day had brought no reinforcements (indeed, during the night Stengel marched off quite without orders to rejoin his estranged corps). That night Thielemann received news as to the outcome of the fighting at Waterloo; but no such news reached Grouchy, and on the 19th the battle recommenced with the Prussians very thin on the ground. By 10 am, Thielemann had abandoned Wavre and retreated before overwhelming odds, the Prussian III Corps having tied down more than twice its own number for some 48 hours. But Grouchy's victory was short-lived, and at 10.30 the news from Waterloo reached him. Hearing that Pirch Prussian II Corps was on its way to intercept him, he broke off and pulled back, eventually to France. Tactically he had been the victor, but strategically he was beaten by a mixture of lethargy in his commanders ambivalent orders and an over-cautious lack of initiative on his own part. Once contact had been lost with the Prussians on the 17th, time was always going to be against the french, but even on the 18th a more vigorous thrust towards St. Lambert rather than Wavre would have reduced the number of Prussian corps available to aid Wellington and could have clinched the battle for Napoleon at Waterloo. In view of the events farther to the west, it is interesting to speculate what might have happened at both Waterloo and Wavre if the commanders of the two wings had been reversed, with the impulsive Ney following up the Prussians and the cautious but tactically precise Grouchy meeting Wellington. The Battle of Waterloo: June 18th Background: Following the Prussian withdrawal from Ligny, the Anglo- Allies were forced to avoid being cut off by Napoleon's advancing forces. The area of Mont St. Jean and Waterloo provided a good defensive position from which to protect Brussels and at the same time maintain links with the Prussians who were concentrating in the area of Wavre. Waterloo Dawn: It was 2 am before Napoleon received the dispatch that Grouchy, commander of the French Right Wing, had written at 10 pm the previous night. It stated that the Prussians appeared to have divided into three columns and that he would infer from his current information that one portion of the army was moving on Wavre, presumably to join Wellington: one was heading to Liege, with Blucher himself and a third including the artillety was enroute for Namur. He had sent out a cavalry probe to determine precisely where the bulk of the Prussians were heading. If the mass of the Prussian army were making for Wavre, Grouchy intended to follow them, then act to keep them from Brussels and prevent them joining Wellington. On the information he had available Grouchy must have thought that a drive towards Wavre would push the remains of the shattered Prussian army north and east, away from Brussels, and keep them from their allies. Unfortunately for the French, Grouchy was at Gembloux when he wrote this, already slightly east of the Prussians, and as a result of the delay in starting his pursuit from Ligny, the Prussian army before him was far from the broken army Napoleon expected him to find. Even as he was writing his dispatch, the Prussians were actually completing the concentration of all four corps around Wavre. Given that the Prussians had now regrouped Grouchy's more easterly location and the various delays in his setting out on the 18th, it is doubtful with hindsight whether Grouchy really had much chance of intercepting the Prussians as he intended. With the benefit of perfect knowledge however, on the morning of the 18th Grouchy headed north to Wavre. It had turned 8 am when he started, by which time the Prussians were already on their way to Wellington's aid. As Grouchy's forces moved out, some miles away at Le Caillou, about a mile south of La Belle Alliance, Napoleon and his generals were sitting down to breakfast. The Emperor was in ebullient mood, and was counting on dinner in Brussels. He gave Soult short shrift when he tried to bring a note of realism into the after breakfast meeting by suggesting that Napoleon should waste no time recalling at least part of Grouchy's 34,000 men to help against Wellington. 'You think because Wellington defeated you that he must be a great general. I tell you he is a bad general, that the English are poor troops, and that this affair will be no more serious than eating one's breakfast.' In his turn. Reille suggested that the British infantry were difficult to attack from the front and believed that manoeuvre was the key Napoleon liked this even less and broke up the meeting. Clearly an expensive frontal hammering in a bloody battle of attrition was to be ordered with no time for the finesse of manoeuvre. As will be seen, both Soult and Reille gave advice that would probably have heralded victory later in the day, but in the unfounded optimism of Napoleon such experience was ignored. Once more in contrast to the Napoleon of earlier years, he was content to postpone the attack on the Allied lines for four hours to allow the ground to dry out a little even though he had received several reports that the Prussians were conming to Wellington's aid. It would certainly make manoeuvring easier and quicker, especially for his artillery, which would also appreciate the firmer ground to increase the ricochet effects of their solid round shot projectiles. This was actually a somewhat spurious argument, however, due to the fact that Wellington had clearly hidden most of his troops behind a ridge, out of artillery line of fire, which in turn negated the ricochet effect that the drier ground could offer. Perhaps Napoleon was merely rationalizing his delay in starting the battle, for his troops were well behind in their schedule for a 9 am start - a situation unthinkable only a few years previously, as he himself had once said: 'Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less chary of the latter than of the former; space we can recover, but time, never may lose a battle, but I shall never lose a minute.' Later events were to prove the four- hour delay a critical factor in the French defeat, with almost no compensating advantage to the French. After scouting the battlefield and observing Wellington's visible dispositions, Napoleon went to Rossomme farm, about half a mile from La Belle Alliance, where at 10 am he dictated his orders for the day and a dispatch to Grouchy that must have left him in no doubt that his presence at the field of Waterloo was not required, Grouchy actually being instructed to direct his movements on Wavre. Napoleons Battle plan was simple and uncomplicated. A frontal assault was to be made against Wellington's left centre by d'Erlon's I Corps, still totally intact from its lack of action on the 16th and keen to prove itself in the eyes of the Emperor. Napoleon was not to involve himself in the battle directly but left the fine detail of the plan - and effective control to a battle commander, Marshal Ney. Even at this hour, before the battle had started Napoleon had unwittingly sown the seeds of his own defeat. His relinquishing effective control of the battle to the rash Marshal Ney, his underestimation of the enemy in the face of experienced advice, his refusal to accept the possibility of Prussian reinforcement, his failure to recall Grouchy and his waste of a further four hours of the day were all to prove far reaching and instrumental in his downfall. As we shall see, if just one of these factors had been changed, the fate of Wellington at Waterloo could well have been scaled. All would have been unthinkable of Napoleon in his prime. The Battle Opens; d'Erlon's Assault: At about 11.25 am the twenty four 12 pounder cannon of the French batteries in front of d'Erlon's Corps thundered out against the Allied positions. Most of Wellington's infantry were behind the ridge, and the French cannon would have had to focus exclusively on thinning out the valuable and outnumbered Allied artillery opposite had not Bylandt's brigade been left exposed on the forward slopes, presumably accidentally. Simultaneously, an attack was launched by Jerome against Hougoumont, initially intended to be diversionary but in the event destined to last all day. Some 13,000 French were to be committed against 2,000 British Guardsmen, who successfully beat off all attacks. By 1 pm, the guns in front of d'Erlon had been joined by a further forty 6-pounders from I Corps, and another twenty four 12 pounders from the Guard, making a massed battery of some 88 guns. These tore into the heart of Bylandt's exposed brigade, which was spared only the ricochet effect of near-misses in the still soggy ground. At 1.30, even as the main attack began, a captured Prussian hussar was presented to the Emperor, and he confirmed that some 30,000 Prussians were on their way to support Wellington. To secure the French right, Lobau's corps was ordered to form a protective defence to the east of the main road, along with the cavalry of Domont and Subervie. D'Erlon's I Corps advanced with the cuirassiers of Travers on its left, just east of the road, and those of Duois to the west of the main road. The four divisions advanced in echelon, leading from the left, so that Allix's infantry would tie up the Allied centre in the area of La Haye Sainte while the main body of the attack swept past and up the hill, with Donzelot's troops then leading the assault. However, in the confusion so typical of war, the two central infantry divisions were drawn up in divisional column, rather than column of divisions. The former was a very unwieldy formation of 8 or 9 battalions drawn up densely with a full battalion frontage (200 files x 27 ranks); the latter were the more usual and far more flexible battalion columns, each with a frontage of two companies (70 men x 9 ranks) drawn up so as to leave room between battalions to allow deployment into line. As such, for most of the force involved in the main attack, there was room neither to deploy nor to manoeuvre when they reached their objectives, or in the event of a setback. Few can have expected any setbacks after such a bombardment and initially all went well for the French assault. The remaining Netherlanders broke before the advancing mass of more than 18,000 French infantry Allix took the garden and orchard of La Haye Sainte, drove out the 95th from the gravel pit and pressed hard at Major Baring's Germans in the farmhouse itself. Travers cuirassiers broke one of Ompteda's battalions sent to Baring's aid, and the reminder of the French swept past and advanced up the rapidly emptying slope. But the congestion in the French ranks was rapidly becoming unbearable as the uneven ground and the gradient pressed the files and ranks together into one amorphous mass. Donzelot's division, now leading the assault, halted below the crest in order to try and deploy from his crowded formation. Bylandt's Belgians may have bolted to the rear, but Picton's division was ready. They had been lying down sheltering from the French bombardment in the cover of the sunken road and the broken hedges at the top of the reverse slope. To Picton's cry of 'Rise up!', the 3,000 men of his division stood up to meet the anticipated assault Then, as Donzelot tried to organize his mass of troops Picton led Kempt's brigade forward to the crest, clearing a slight re- entrant in the ridge and sweeping the French tirailleur skirmishers before them. A fusillade from the brigade tore into the deploying column from less than 40 yards. The hail of bullets scythed down the leading ranks. The French infantry wavered then, with a 'Charge! Hurrah!', Picton ordered the brigade forward with the bayonet to sweep the French from the hill. They were his final words. As Kempt's brigade swept down the hill he fell, shot through the temple as the charge successfully threw back the whole of Donzelot's division. Meanwhile Marcognet, catching up with Donzelot's deploying troops, did not stop below the crest to deploy but, sensing victory within his grasp, swept on over it in column with enthusiastic cries of 'Vive l'Empereur!'. It was to be short-lived elation. They rushed over the crest to find Pack's extended lines far overlapping the head of the column. On command the British let loose close-range volleys that stopped the advancing column in its tracks. On the crest, Marcognet had been halted but not routed. Farther down the hill Travers cavalry started to move forward against Kempt's now exposed brigade, picking their way through the throng, ready to press the British into squares for the infantry to finish off as they rallied, or else to ride them into the ground where they stood. Durutte's fresh division was also coming up on Marcognet's right. Outnumbered by nearly four to one fully committed, with no reserves behind them, and with Picton himself dead, the Fifth Division was only minutes away from disaster. In the very nick of time, the cavalry came to the rescue. Uxbridge had brought up the two brigades of British heavy cavalry. Somerset's brigade insisted of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoon Guards. The other, led by Ponsonby, consisted of the of the 1st Royal Dragoons, the 6th Dragoons, and the 2nd Dragoons; the grey horses of the latter had earned the regiment the nickname of 'The Greys'. With a perfect sense of timing Uxbridge led his heavy cavalry against the French. Somerset's brigade went to the west of the main road, Ponsonby's to the east. Somerset's cavalry met Dubois' cuirassiers just west of La Haye Sainte, the eastern most squadron of these cuirassiers being partly disordered in crossing the sunken road. The British routed them on contact, along with Allix's infantry that was pressing around the farm. However (and not for the first time) elements of the British cavalry got out of hand, failed to raily behind the reserve squadrons, and took their charge right on to the French Grand Battery. Ponsonby attacked Donzelot and Marcognet in two lines - the Royals and Inniskillings in the first line and the Scots Greys in reserve to their left and rear. The latter soon forgot their supporting role, however, and swept into Marcognet's flanks to complete the total rout of the Division. Supporting charges by Vandeleur's light brigade pressed Durutte back in rather better order than the rest of the Corps to complete a charge across the whole sector that was unstoppable. The French lost some 5,000 men and two eagles and only on the extreme right at Papelotte and Frischermont did they meet with any measure of success at all. But the Greys also ignored the call to rally and swept up amongst the French battery. However, together with Somerset's remnants they were flung back with heavy losses by fresh cuirassiers and lancers. Only prompt action by Vandeleur's light horse cavalry allowed them the cover they needed in their escape. It was now 3 pm. A lull descended on the battle as both sides paused to regroup. The French attack had been broken up, but at a loss of some 40 per cent of Wellington's entire cavalry and nearly all of it the heavy cavalry that would have been invaluable against the assaults that must surely follow. And follow they did. Napoleon, perhaps suspicious that he might have made a mistake in giving Ney so much control, now gave him a direct and categoric order that he must immediately take La Haye Sainte. The French Cavalry Attack: A little before 4 pm Ney took Quiot's and Donzelot's brigades from the rallied remainder of I Corps against La Haye Sainte but found that Baring's position had been reinforced. The attack was repulsed in just a few minutes but, while at the front, Ney saw some British battalions still returning to the cover of the reverse slopes and further 'columns' of wounded heading back towards Mont St. Jean, Taking these to be retreating troops, he immediately ordered up a brigade of Milhaud's cuirassiers to press the perceived retreat into a rout. Somehow the attack escalated in all the excitement, and instead of just a brigade of cuirassiers, some 5,000 French cavalry of all types - many without orders were suddenly moving against the Allied right centre. On the ridge Wellington and his staff were amazed that such a mistake could have been made. Wellington ordered his troops into square and advanced. Some of the squares to just behind the Allied cannon lining the crest, so that the gunners could run back into the shelter of the squares at the last minute and then quickly return to the guns in the expectation that the unsupported cavalry would be beaten back. The French cavalry advanced spectacularly, en echelon from the right. Funnelled into the gap between La Haye Sainte and Hougounmont, charging uphill, through high corn and over soggy ground, it is not surprising that the attack was delivered barely at a trot, and the Allied gunners lost no time in taking full advantage of the target before them. Whole files were destroyed by the crashing roundshot flying through the crowded mass of horses and riders, while repeated charges of shell and shrapnell emptied many saddles in the rear ranks. Then it was down to canister range, where whole ranks would disappear at a stroke, the following horses stumbling over the broken carnage that was once some of the finest cavalry in Europe. And still they came on. Disordered by the mounds of corpses and wreckage, the sunken road and the ceaseless fire of steady infantry, wave after wave of this magnificent arm broke itself against the squares, to be thrown back down the hill, where reforming with others similarly repulsed, they would again launch their charge into the very mouths of the re manned cannon they had just passed and to the infantry behind. No less than four assaults took place on the Allied squares by this cavalry, in some places supported by horse batteries, but otherwise without any support or co- ordination. Advancing French infantry could have approached unmolested by artillery fire as the Allied gunners sheltered within the squares from the milling horsemen, but the opportunity was missed. That premature movement may have a fatal effect on the fortunes of the day. It is too early by an hour,' grumbled Napoleon to Soult 'He has compromised us, as he did at Jena, came the reply. By 5 pm fully 10,000 horsemen had been fed into the maelstrom in an attempt to help the first, blown assaults yet still no infantry had come up in support, nor any spiking equipment to silence the Allied guns. Altlhough casualties mounted within the British squares, they were able to stand firm while there was no threat from the French infantry, and some charges by the Allied light cavalry and the remnant of the heavy cavalry helped to clear the now tiring French horsemen from the hill. All had been relpulsed when, at last, at 5.30 pm, 8,000 infantry from Reille's Corps finally arrived in support. It was too late for the tired horsemen now regrouping in the lee of the ridge. Lord Hill's infantry swung out on the Allied right towards Hougoumont to allow converging fire on the French infantry as they came up on the slope. In view of the presence of cavalry still in the area, Wellington's infantry had formed reinforced (four-deep) lines to meet the threat but still gave such a volume of fire that within ten minutes they had broken the attack and inflicted more than 20 per cent losses on the columns. The second major assault on the Allied lines had been broken. And now at least the Prussians were making their presence felt on the French right. The Prussians Arrive: Wellington had expected the two Prussian Corps dispatched from Wavre to reinforce his right wing by lunch time, and he had left space in his deployment behind Picton to allow for their arrival. But muddles in Prussian staff work caused confusion on the march as the long columns converged, and the sticky mud slowed progress to a crawl. As a result, the first corps to arrive, von Bulow's IV Corps, only came into action shortly after 4 pm. The first brigades had emerged from the Bois de Paris on the far right of the French, and behind d'Erlon's corps, while the remainder of the column was strung out way to the rear because of the long march over difficult ground. As the Prussians came out of the wood, they met Lobau's corps formed up at right angles to the French main line, linking up with Durutte on the French right Lobau attacked before the Prussians could deploy fully, pushing von Bulow back on the wood, but a Prussian thrust towards Plancenoit threatened to turn Lobau's right and recovered the situation. By 5 pm, with the arrival of Pirch's II Corps on von Bulow's left, Plancenoit was threatened from three sides and Lobau's corps was in definite difficulties. Vicious fighting broke out on the edge of the village, where the Prussians retained a foothold, and Prussian reserves were coming up to exploit it against the beleaguered French. A division of the Young Guard came to their aid and briefly secured Plancenoit before fresh waves of Prussian assaults wrested it from their grasp in a bloody hand to hand struggle. The Young Guard was repulsed and Lobau's thinking and tired lines were being relentlessly pressed back. If only Grouchy had been there. Things were looking decidedly tight for Napoleon by now and with his front line engaged all along its length there was only the Guard left to reinforce his wavering right. If Plancenoit was not retaken, his entire flank could collapse. He sent two battalions of the Old Guard to take Plancenoit itself and lined up the remaining eleven battalions along the main road, facing east. Lobau's hard pressed corps in turn shortened its lines and moved north east of Plancetnoit. The demonstration and threat of the Old Guard was in itself nearly enough. The two battalions stormed through Plancenoit in a brilliant counterattack which flung a full fourteen battalions of Prussians back from the immediate area of the village and bolstered the sagging morale of the French right wing. Within the hour, the line had been stabilized; each side paused to regroup forces and recover strength. Bringing most of the Old Guard back into the central reserve at around 7 pm, Napoleon must have felt that victory was still within his grasp, for, while he had been preoccupied on his right with the Prussians, Ney had remained highly active in the centre. Wellington's Crisis: Still determined to take La Haye Sainte, the key to the battle, Ney had set up a third assault on the Allied centre. Launched a little before 6 pm, this time the attack was set up properly, using combined arms of infantry, cavalry and artillery in the assault. Many of the Allied troops were forced into square by the presence of the enemy cavalry, seriously reducing the number of muskets that could bear on the approaching French infantry. Worse, supporting French artillery cut large holes in the densely packed formations, who could only close ranks in the face of the combined arms assault. The pressure on Wellington's army was now almost intolerable. Although the line had held all afternoon casualties had not been light, and streams of wounded had flooded back to the rear. Desertion was not unknown and some units such as the Duke of Cumberland's Hussars had left the field en mass. The staying power of some of the Allied troops was very questionable by now, and Brialmont described the road to Brussels as being so crowded with fugitives that Wellington had no choice but to hold his ground. Wellington's centre was rapidly thinning under the intense pressure of Ney's third attack. General Ompteda fell dead near the high road; Sir William Delancey received a mortal wound from a cannonball as he rode next to Wellington; Sir Alexander Gordon received his death wound nearby; farther to the right, the Prince of Orange and general Alten were struck down. Kielmansegge's tough King's German Legion were at last pushed back in the centre, leaving a yawning gap in the Allied line. Worse still, by being locked up in squares for most of the afternoon during the French cavalry attack, command control over most of the battlefield had been severed, with the result that the garrison of La Haye Sainte had been neither reinforced nor re supplied Baring's men there, heavily depleted and having fired their last rounds, had no alternative but to fight their way out and rejoin the main lines. Of the original 400 defenders of the farm, only 42 got out. Taking La Haye Sainte at last, Ney wasted no time in positioning an artillery battery there, which enfiladed the Allied troops at less than 300 yards range. All Wellington could do was to call in his last reserves from the extreme left and extreme right to plug the rapidly widening gap in the centre. 'Le centre est ouvert! Vive l'Empereur!': Now was the time for Ney to launch one last assault to break through Wellington's decimated centre. But what with? His own force was stretched, engaged all along the front, and like Wellington he had no reserves in the immediate area. He needed reinforcements, perhaps from the Guard. He sent Colonel Heymes to ask the Emperor for more troops When he arrived at the Emperor's observation post Napoleon was himself under pressure on the right and was still preoccupied with his problems at Plancenoit. The Guard was strung out along the right flank in support of Lobau, and nothing more could be released to this wasteful Marshal. 'More troops!' raged Napoleon: 'Where am I to get them? Does he expect me to make them?' Ney's reinforcements were not to come. The timing would have been critical, before Wellington's final reserves came up. The wavering line held as Chasse arrived from the far right, Wincke from the far left, and Wellington himself brought up the raw and uncertain Brunswickers from the reserve to fill the gap. To keep the Brunswickers in place he lined up behind them Somerset and Ponsonby's cavalry brigades - brigades in name only, for between them they were barely two squadrons strong. His last reserves had been committed, the French had been checked for the time being, but where were the promised Prussians? 'Give me Blucher... or give me night...' was his quiet prayer. Had he but known it, in diverting Napoleon's final reserve the Prussian attacks on Plancenoit had probably already saved his army. It was 7 pm. The Assault by The Imperial Guard: Shortly after 7 pm the French right wing had been propped up sufficiently to pull most of the Old Guard back into reserve. The French position looked strong from La Belle Alliance. To the far right, Durutte held La Haye and Papelotte, with skirmishers thrown forward to the crest of the ridge; the rest of I Corps was busily engaged well forward on the slopes to the right of La Haye Sainte and at the farm itself the French cannon and sharpshooters were raking the Allied lines to the right and left. Ney had breasted the ridge to the left of the road, and Wellington's lines showed considerable gaps. Wellington had clearly committed all his reserves and since Ney's appeals half an hour before he must be even weaker. A supreme effort all along the front was called for, with an attack by the Imperial Guard to smash right through the centre and roll up the line and there could still be enough time to tackle the Prussians before dark. But even as the attack was being prepared, it became clear the vision of success before him was illusory, for to the French right the blue uniforms of the Prussian I Corps could now be distinguished in the distance as they belatedly arrived at Smohain and Frischermont to link the two armies. Signs of panic were already starting to be seen on the French right as they speculated on the disaster that would follow. Only a supreme effort could save the day. Ever ready to take a risk, as the Guard advanced Napoleon deliberately spread the news that the blue uniforms in the distance belonged to Grouchy's force. It gave his weary lines the strength to make a final effort, and, at last, here was the Guard, marching steadily on to break Wellington's line. Its use had always heralded the victorious end to a battle - victory was near: success was certain: the Guard had never been defeated. 'La Garde au feu! Voila Grouchy! Vive l'Empereur!' Details of the actual attack were still slightly confused, with differing sources offering varying interpretations. However, it seems that of the fourteen battalions of the Guard, two were already committed at Plancenoit, which left twelve battalions available to the Emperor. Leaving three near La Belle Alliance, Napoleon himself led the remainder in column along the main Brussels road. The Guard descended into the valley. Keeping three battlelions there with him, Napoleon halted near La Belle Alliance and released the other six to Marshal Ney for the assault on the Allied centre. Most sources reveal that the assault went forward in battalion columns with a two- company wide frontage, but General Petit of the Imperial Guard, who helped Ney organize the attack, insists that a hollow square formation was used. Whatever the truth, it is probable that one of the six battalions was posted at the main road south of La Haye Sainte as the other five ascended the slope en echelon, the Grenadiers of the Middle Guard leading from the right, and with a pair of cannon in each interval. D'Erlons battered I Corps launched a supporting attack to their right, while Reille should have provided some support from his eastern most battalions, but by some error these failed to materialize, leaving the Guard to advance alone, but confident. Had the attack been made just half an hour earlier, the centre would have been open. As it was, the leading battalion - the 1/3rd Grenadiers of the Middle Guard - crested the slope to be met by the Brunswickers and the remains of the British 30th and 73rd. The Grenadiers pushed them back. The Brunswickers breaking and Wellington himself riding to rally them. Chasse, behind them, had brought up van der Smissen's Dutch battery, which had fired on the Guard with good effect, and he then ordered up his two infantry brigades to plug the gap left by the Bruinswickers. D'Aubreme's brigade then left the field in disorder. Ditmer's brigade, however, formed up on the left of the rallying 30th and 73rd British and charged the Grenadiers in fine order to hold the line. Meanwhile the second echelon of the Imperial Guard comprising the single battalion of the 4th Grenadiers came up on the left of the 1/3rd and engaged in hand to hand combat with Colin Halkett's brigade, who were still in four deep line. The line almost broke under the impact but just held, Colin Hikett himself rallying the 33rd by seizing one of the colours, before falling himself. The fate of these two melees still hung in the balance when the third and fourth echelons arrived together in one mass, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 3rd Chasseurs. There was nothing to their front as they neared the road, until Wellington's voice called out clearly above the sounds of battle 'Now Maitland, now's your time!. Then the order, 'Stand up, Guards!' The Duke had ordered all troops to lie down or shelter behind cover when under fire but not actually engaged, and Maitland's brigade of Guards had been lying down in the shelter of the banks of the road. The fifteen hundred Guards rose, it seemed, from the very ground just fifty yards in front of the French. Still in four ranks, they pounded the Chasseurs with rolling volleys that devastated the head of the attack at point blank range The attack wavered in disorder. Almost without pausing for breath, the Guards charged the mass of the Chasseurs and threw them down the hill in rout. Near the bottom of the slope the pursuing and disordered Guards ran into the French fifth echelon comprising the 4th Chasseurs, before breaking off and running back in double-quick time and considerable disorder to the crest between Halkett's and Adams brigades, where they hastened to form up before the advancing Chasseurs. As this was happening, Adams' brigade had not been idle. Colborne had wheeled the 52nd forward to take the last echelon of the Imperial Guard in flank as it came up the slope and halted it suddenly short of the ridge. A fierce fire fight lasted for four minutes and cost 150 casualties in the 52nd alone, perhaps suggesting from the volume of return fire that the Chasseurs were indeed in hollow square formation at the time. Nevertheless the firepower of the British soldiers took its toll on the 4th Chasseurs and ripped the formation apart. The attack had been halted all along the front. In the valley, Napoleon was preparing to bring up a further three battalions of the Guard - 1st Chasseurs, 2nd Grenadiers and 2nd Chasseurs - when, looking up to the crest, his astonishment must have been absolute 'Mais, ils sont melees!' Even as he spoke, the rearward movement of his Guard was evident. The entire attack had been repelled. The perfect formations of just a few minutes before were now a single confused blue mass, highlighted with the glint of slashing steel as Vivian's and Vandeleur's light cavalry hacked within its midst. The impossible had happened. The invincible had been vanquished. A great, incredible sob sped along the French lines - 'La Garde recule! Sauve qni peut!' To the right, the blue coats seen at Smohain were now nearer, their artillery firing on the French lines. Could this be Grouchy firing? There had always been considerable suspicion of the Bourbon troops under his control. Had he defected to the Bourbons? 'Traison!' came the cry 'Nous sommes trahis ! , Soon, even in the deepening gloom of twilight, they were clearly seen as Prussians, not Grouchy's force. The army had indeed been betrayed. Seeing the moment was ripe, Wellington raised his cocked hat forward to signal a general advance. The army descended the slope, as the French army crumbled before it, In the valley, only Reille's corps on the left and the three battalions of the Old Guard at La Belle Alliance held fast to offer a last chance of a rallying point for the fleeing army. It was to no avail. Plancenoit was again taken by the Prussians, driving all before them towards the main road in their pursuit. Only when Napoleon saw that all was lost did he leave the field. The squares of the Guard finally broke up after taking musket fire in the face of overwhelming odds, and their commander, General Cambronne, surrendered to Colonel H. Halkett. At 1O pm Wellington and Blucher met at La Belle Alliance, where Blucher offered to take up the pursuit. This was gratefully accepted by Wellington, whose troops had by then been fighting for more than ten hours. It had indeed been 'a damned near-run thing' Napoleonic Time Line 1792 French Revolution. Napoleon helps overthrow royalist government in Corsica 1793 France declares war on Britain and Spain. Siege of Toulon held by British. Napoleon in charge of French Republican Artillery becomes Brigadier General. 1795 Paris rising. Napoleon made second-in-command, helps suppress rebels 1796-7 Commander of the army in Italy. Victories against the Austrians at Arcola, Rivoli and Mantua. 1798 Conquest of Egypt complete after Battle of the Pyramids. Nelson defeats French Fleet at the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon escapes 1799 Coup d'etat of 18 Brummaire makes Napoleon first of three consuls and virtual ruler of France. Napoleon sets up centralized local government; Code Napoleon; Bank of France; builds roads, bridges and re-equips ports. 1800 Napoleon defeats Austrians at Marengo 1801 Peace with Austria at Luneville 1802 Peace with Britain at Amiens. Wellesley (Wellington) made Major General. Napoleon breaks treaties, takes Piedmont and Switzerland. 1803 Britain declares war on France, Alliance between France and Spain 1804 Napoleon declared Emperor of France. Spain declares war on Britian. 1805 Napoleon crowned king of Italy. Army diverted from invasion of Britian to central Europe against 'Third Coalition' of Austria, Prussia and Russia. Nelson defeats combined French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar. Victory at Austerlitz. 1806 Victory at Jena destroys Prussian Army. 1807 Victory at Friedland. Allied with Russia in Treaty of Tilsit. France declares war on Portugal 1808 Invasion of Spain. Peninsula War begins against British. 1809 War with Austria. Austria defeated at Wagram. 1810 France annexes Holland 1812 Napoleon invades Russia. Retreat from Moscow Grand Army destroys 1813 Napoleon defeated at Leipzig by old coalition of enemies. Loses control of Germany. 1814 Wellington invades France from Spain. Allies enter France from Germany. Napoleon abdicates Becomes ruler of the Italian island Elba. 1815 Congress of Vienna to decide terms of peace. Napoleon escapes back to France. French army and Marshals rally behind him. Napoleon tries to divide and destroy opponents. He is defeated at Waterloo. Exhiled to St. Helena 1821 Napoleon dies. 1840 Napoleon's body returned to France. Fields of Glory - Glossary -------------------------- Battery: A collection of cannon grouped together. Brigade: A unit made up of 3-5 Battalions. Brigade orders are the lowest level of orders that can be given in the game. Prussian Brigades are equivalent to Divisions. Cavalry: Mounted troops divided into light, medium or heavy Chasseur: French light infantry (literally 'hunter') Chasseur a Cheval: French light cavalry. Commander: A general or other level leader who commands an army, wing, corps or division. Concentration: A massing together of elements of an army Corps: The main sub division of any army consisting of two or more divisions. French infantry corps were armies in their own right consisting of infantry, cavalry and artillery. Cavalry corps consist primarily of cavalry with artillery support. Cuirassier: Armoured heavy cavalryman Cuirass was body armour usually breast and back plates. Disorder: A unit that has lost its cohesiveness due to enenmy fire or close combat. Disordered units manoeuvre more slowly and fight less effectively than Formed/Ordered ones. Division: A group of brigades under the control of a divisional commander. See note re Prussian Brigades. Dragoon: Generally medium cavalry in all armies except the British where they are classed as heavy cavalry British light dragoons are, however, medium cavalry. Formation: The way units form up on a battlefield to allow them to fight effectively. Heavy Cavalry: Big men on big horses. Slow moving but capable of defeating other cavalry and riding down enenmy infantry through the shock of their weight. Landwehr: German militia - second line troops. Light Brigade: Brigade comprised solely or mainly light infantry battalions. Light Cavalry: Lighter men mounted on smaller horses. Fast moving but lacking the shock impact of the medium and heavy cavalry. Light Infantry: Faster moving than line infantry and trained to skirmish; light infantry are generally superior to line infantry. Ligny: Battle fought between the French and the Prussians on 16th June 1815 - the same day as Quatre Bras. Limber: Two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage used to tow a cannon. Line Infantry: The standard infantry in all armies. Originally, "infantry of the line of battle". Line of Sight: A straight line along which other troops can be seen a line of sight is blocked by intervening objects such as hills, towns and smoke. Line of Commnnication: The route along which troops travel to a battle. Medium Cavalry: Usually classed as dragoons. Capable of shock impact as well as forming cavalry screens. More effective than light cavalry, but not as tough as heavy cavalry. Mixed Order: A French brigade formation in which middle battalions are in line while flanks are in column. Quatre Bras: A battle fought between the French (Marshall Ney) and Wellington on 16th June 1815 Regiment: A permanent unit of an army usually divided into two or more battalions. Note that a Prussian Regiment is equivalent to a Brigade. Rifle: A musket with spiral grooves carved into the barrel that spin the bullet and give it greater range and accuracy. Rout: A state of affairs where a unit has been so severely defeated that it flees behind its own battle lines, Routed units lose all formation and will not advance until rallied. Skirmish: A loose formation where troops are not densely packed. They are used to harry enemy formations and to shield friendly units from enemy fire, Units in skirmish formation are harder to hit with fire, but vulnerable to cavalry attack. In Fields of Glory only Light Brigades can form Skirmish order, although all units will automatically deploy skirmishers to cover their front. Square: An infantry formation used to defend against cavalry attacks. A square has four sides that all point outwards preventing cavalry from making flank attacks. Squares are vulnerable to enemy fire Unlimber: An order used to detach a cannon from its limber to allow it to be fired. Unlimbered artillery may be moved by man-handling over very short distances. Waterloo: The final battle between Napoleon and Wellington - 18th June 1815. Wavre: The battle between the Prussians and the French (Marshall Grouchy) fought on the same day as Waterloo - 18th June 1815. Wing: Two or more Corps grouped together. This is a French organization only. Bibliography ------------ A Guide to the Battlefields of Europe Editor David Chandler, Patrick Stephens Limited,1989 ISBN 1-85260-203-1 A Near Run Thing, David Howarth, The Literary Guild, 1969 An Encyclopedia of Napoleon's Europe, Alan Palmer, St. Martins Press ISBN 0312-24905-5 Armanmentaria Aflevering 25 1990, Author Various Armamentaria / Stichting 'Vrienden van het Legermuseum', 1990 ISBN 90-70793-08-3 Armies at Waterloo, Scott Bowden, Empire Press 1983 ISBN 0-913037-02-8 The Battle Honours of the British and Indian Armies 1695 - 1914, N.B. Leslie, Leo Cooper ISBN 0850520045 Battle Honours of the British Army C.B.Nornman Pub. John Murray The Battle of Waterloo, B.J. Hurren, William Luscomhe Publisher Ltd, 1975 ISBN 0 86002 057 6 The Campaigns of Napoleon, David G Chandler Publisher Macmillan, 1966 Carl Von Plotho. Publisher unknown Berlin 1818 The Face of Battle, John Keegan, Barrie and Jenkins, 1988 ISBN 0-7126-2120-2 Forward into Battle, Paddy Griffith, The Crowood Press 1981 ISBN 1 85223 075 4 Great Battlefields of the World, John Macdonald, Michael Joseph Ltd., London 1984 Geschichte der Koeniglich Deutschen Legion 1803-1816 Bernard Schwertfger, Publisher unknown Hannover and Leipzig 1907 Grosser Generalstab : Das Preussische Heer in den Jahren 1814 und 1815, Publisher unknown Berlin 1914 Historische Rang und Stammliste des deutschen Bredow Wedel, Heeres Berlin 1905 The Illustrated Napoleon, David G Chandler Publisher Greenhill Books, 1991 ISBN 1-85367-086-3 In Flight with the Eagle, Raymond Horricks, Costello ISBN 0710 43040 Der Krieg Des verbnendeten Europa gegen Frankreich im Jahre 1815 Napoleonic Scenarios, Rick Vossman, Buck Surdu, Bill Harting Battles for Empire Publications, 1991 The Napoleonic Source Book, Philip J. Haythornwaite Publisher Arms and Armour Press, 1990 ISBN 0-85368-969-5 Napoleon's Generals Volume 1 , Tony Linck Battle Honours / Castle Books and Publishers, 1991 Napoleon's Generals Volume 2., Tony Linck Battle Honours / Castle Books and Publishers,1991 Napoleon's Marshals, David G, Chandler Macmillan Publishing, 1987 ISBN 0-297-79124-9 Napoleon's Marshals Emir Bukhari, Chris Warner Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1979 ISBN 0-85045-305-4 Napoleons Untergang 1815 Lettow Vorbeck, von, Publisher unknown Berlin 1904 Osprey Men at Arms Series - the entire Napoleonic Period Series Soldatisches Fueinertum, Kurt von Priesdorff, Publisher unknown Hamburg date unknown Swords Around a Throne, John R Elting, Weidenfeld and Nicholson ISBN 0297 79590 2 Waterloo The Hundred Days, David G Chandler Publisher Osprey, 1980 ISBN 0540 01170 3 Wellington's Military Machine, Philip J Haythornwaite Book Club Associates, 1989 Designers Notes --------------- Fields of Glory was conceived as a game that would be visually stunning, fast moving and above all else fun to play. The intention was to create a game that would provide-thrills and excitement, while taxing a player's ability to plan broad strategies and also make fast on the-spot decisions. Although our topic was the last battles of Napoleon, we had no intention of creating just another wargame on computer. I've played games with toy soldiers since infancy. Over the years the games grew more sophisticated. Dice and sets of rules replaced fired matchsticks, hurled rocks, and flicking fingers. It all got more adult, but I'm pleased to say, it always remained as much fun as when I crawled over the kitchen floor yelling "BANG! BANG!" It's the spectacle of seeing ranks of neatly ordered troops, all painted in glorious colours, marching and fighting over the tabletop that continues to attract me to gaming with miniatures. So any attempt to bring wargaming to life on computer would have to have all the above and more. Fields of Glory had to come up with the goods in a major way. Troops had to move and fight. Top down 2 Dimensional counters were not going to be used in this game. Instead, the troop graphics had to look like real soldiers wearing uniforms as accurate as we could make them. The result was the detailed individual soldiers that make up the units. The use of the troop graphics let us add extra visuals to the game. The terrain consists of buildings, hills, rivers and woods that represent the actual battlefields featured in the game. In the battles, clouds of smoke erupt from barrels of cannons and muskets as they fire. Troops are replaced by corpses as they die and formations are reduced in size and effectiveness as casualties are taken. Buildings and bridges are destroyed as cannon balls hit them. The troops also form many different tactical formations as they respond to changing conditions Infantry attacked by cavalry attempt to form a square French troops attack in either column or mixed formation, while the British defend in line. Troops who are routed are clearly visible as a mass of fleeing men. The design of the database also lets us add a further dimension to the game by frustrating all the generals and troops present at the battles. The biographies were provided to bring these characters to life. You can check out their histories and personalities and also recognize them within the game from their pop-up portraits. The database is not just a source of impressive graphics, it also shows who commands which forces, and lets the player find the location of any general on the battlefield quickly and easily. But computers are also useful for other things than just graphics. The battlefield sounds give you the impression of really being there. The roar of the cannons and crackle of the muskets are heard along with the sounds of marching feet, drum rolls trumpet calls and the clash of bayonets and sabres. The music is based on popular marches of the period So when you enter the Prussian database, you are hearing Prussian music of the day. The use of sampled trumpets and drums to relay orders further adds to the spectacle of the game. Orders and Decisions So, with the graphics, sound and music designed, the hard work started. Fields of Glory had to play in real time. It was not to be a turn-based game where the player waits patiently whilst the computer makes it moves. Once the game started and troops were given their orders the game was to have a momentum all of its own. The troops would follow their orders until they were successful or were repulsed by the enemy. The player would have to make on the spot decisions and respond quickly to enemy actions. The armies of the Napoleonic Wars were huge affairs. It was obvious that no one could make all the decisions necessary to make these armies fight effectively. To cut down on the units within the game, we decided to use brigades as the basic unit. But even after deciding to use brigades, it was apparent that there were still too many units for one player to keep track of. The solution was simple, the player had to be placed in the role of Napoleon, Wellington or Blucher. This would involve giving orders to the Corps commanders who would then give orders to their own subordinates. The army commanders would then rely on messages to tell him how well his generals were doing. Napoleonic generals also at various times directed troops personally. While doing so, a commander's ability to issue orders to his Corps commanders would be greatly curtailed. Any general can only do so much at once. The above command restraints are simulated in the game by letting the player give operational orders to his commanders, but also by letting him directly control the activities of divisions, brigades and batteries. When zoomed into the close combat 1 mile view the player cannot see what his other generals are up to. He has to rely on their abilities and the orders he has given them When the view is pulled back to the 4 mile or 8 mile map more of the overall battlefield is revealed along with the positions of the corps commanders, but the details of the battle are not apparent. To play the game effectively the player has to issue overall orders and then take personal control of brigades and batteries at key spots. The result is a fast moving game with plenty of decisions to be made. At higher degrees of realism, the personalities and skills of the player's subordinate commanders have also to be considered to ensure that the player's overall strategy is implemented to its best effect. It's no use expecting a cautious commander to make a fast assault on an enemy position; he's more likely to advance very slowly Similarly a rash commander is more likely to charge advancing enemy than to hold a vital crossroads. It pays to know the capabilities of your generals and to give them orders accordingly. Fields of Glory was designed to be an exciting and fast moving product. All on the team have done their best to make it so, and I hope you have lots of fun playing it. Just two pieces of advice, be sure to keep a reserve, and avoid committing it in the face of enemy artillery. Cannon balls have no regard for the quality of your troops. When I joined the project in March 1992 the initial concept had already been drafted. The idea was to provide a game based around the 100 days Napoleonic Campaign that would appeal, not only to the war gamer market but also to the player who knew nothing about Napoleon or war gaming .This led to the development of three of the major features of the game; the on-screen graphics, the 'point- and-click' movement system and the Database. The on-screen graphics, were to provide an accurate, colourful and visually recognizable representation, of all the troop types and their various formations. In order to make the game accessible to the non expert, we had to get away from the need to learn a whole list of military symbols (a feature of many other computer war games!) The animated sprites provided us with an historical accurate simulation of uniforms and terrain features, as well as a visuallv obvious difference between the infantry, cavalry and artillery and their formations. The 'point and click' system provides the player with a quick method of ordering troops around. This also recreates the structured command system and the use of messengers. The individual commanders interpret instructions and carry them out. This occurs down to brigade level where an Infantry Brigade will attempt to form a Square if charged by cavalry even if you have forgotten to tell them to do so. The ability to order either individual units or an entire Corps, gives the player a greater degree of involvement. If you play at a high level of realism your messages will not arrive instantaneously or may not even arrive. It may even be ignored or amended as the commander's personality will lead him to make an on the spot decision, based on what they can see of the battlefield. The original idea for the database was to provide the historical background and detail to the game, however, as the game developed, it was found that it could also be used as an integral part of the game. The player can use it, not just as an historical reference, but as an in game aid and a quick method for finding troops and commanders on the battlefield. While any table top wargamer will recognize the concept of scaling, this is something that those who have never played this sort of game before should bear in mind. Each figure on the screen is not an individual, but represents several men occupying an area. Each building or tree is an indication of an area of buildings or trees. There is also a warping of scales between the map, the troops and the firing ranges. This is done to produce a good game, which is visually pleasing as well as being an accurate historical simulation of a Napoleonic battle. The database like all good historical works, contains information drawn from a wide range of sources. Many of these disagree with each other and it fell to me to act as editor. I have done my best but inevitably someone out there will disagree. If you check our bibliography you will I hope, find where some of those decisions came from. The uniform portraits have come from standard reference sources although for the Dutch and Belgian uniforms we relied heavily on information from the Dutch Army Museum. The brigade portraits are usually the largest element within the brigade and this is also what the battlefield sprite colours are based on. The brigade battle honours and histories were a nightmare to put together and a sincere apology to anyone whose particular regiment I have inadvertently got wrong. The extensive restructuring of the British Army, including the re-numbering, disbanding, reforming and amalgamating of regiments, made tracing individual histories very difficult, despite several days of research at the British National Army Museum. The extensive restructuring of the Prussian army in 1812, combined with the bombing of the German Army Records during the Second World War, would have made my task impossible were it not for the help of Peter Hofschroer, who dug up copies of several original records. It was on Peter's advice that battle honours for the Prussians are only from 1812 onwards. In the game itself the historical start locations are a combination of several maps and reading texts. The process is complicated by the fact that the game centres on brigade sized units and brigades were often deployed split into their battalions. This is particularly the case with the Dutch Belgian forces at Quatre Bras that initially occupied several buildings over a wide area of the battlefield. In cases like this I have had to take a 'best guess' and place the Brigade in one location. If you disagree, you can always use the Deploy mode to put them somewhere else! Adrian Earle April 1993 ----------------------------------END------------------------------------- · : ¦ . _________ ________ _____________ ._____¦ | · __ / : ___________/ _ \ \ __ _ / | \ |____: : \_/ -A : \______ \ | \_ _: \_/ \_/ | \ ¦ | ¦ \_ ··D_ / / _/ | / |___/ \_ | : : | |_______/ `N· _/ \ \_________/ | \________/ ¦ |_____¦ ¦ | : \__________/ \ ¦ \_ : : \__________| \___________/ . · .