Waterloo

Waterloo - Ferraris (18th Century)

The Battlefield (Craan)

W1815
© U&P Games

Waterloo - From the game Le Retour de l'Empereur
© Pratzen Éditions

Waterloo - From the game Waterloo
© The Avalon Hill Game Company

Our Route

We start our day parking just off the R0, near Hougoumont. Pull off the road, crossing the bridge, and turn right. Find somewhere convenient to pull up and park (1). Carry on in the same direction and you will soon arrive at (Hou) Goumont.

Hougoumont pre-restoration

Hougoumont's south gate with additional building demolished

Hougoumont and surrounding area
From the game La Bataille de Mont Saint Jean
Artist: Rick Barber

© 1993, Clash of Arms Games a division of
Theatre Of the Mind Enterprises, Inc.

Hougomont and the surrounding area
From the game Waterloo 1815, Fallen Eagles
Artist: Sébastien Brunel
© Hexasim

HougoumontFrom the game Waterloo 200
Artist:Emanuele Santandrea
© VentoNuovo Games

The farm is undergoing tremendous renovation ready for the bi-centenary; from re-pointing the walls and replacing roofs, to re-opening up loopholes in the south wall and even demolishing post-battle buildings and excavating the foundations to the Chateau which was destroyed on the 18 June.

Foundations of the Chateau destroyed in the battle.

Model showing the original Chateau
(Note the incorrectly place wall by the south gate).

Another model - this gives a good impression of the chateau's full boundaries.

Hougoumont - from the game Hougoumont
© Command Magazine

We were extremely fortunate to visit on a Sunday when no one was about and so were able to enter the officially closed site.

We stumbled across this large stone, dedicated to John Lucie Blackman, sitting on the path.

Stone dedicated to J.L. Blackman

Post-visit research reveals that John Lucie Blackman was the 16 year old son of a director of the Bank of England when he joined the Coldstream Guards as an ensign in 1810. He had to be one of the most prolific letter writers in Wellington's Army. His letter to Thomas Maynard, an assistant surgeon in the same regiment, provide a continuous record of almost three years, from 1812 to 1815, on the spot observations of life on board transport ships, in bivouac, and on campaign. Unlike many memoirs and letters of the time, John Blackman wrote not only about his daily life, but also about his military duties. John Blackman was killed in the final hours of the battle of Waterloo, shot in the head while urging his men on.

The remnants of Hougoumont Wood

While you are here, note the large dead trees that stand like sentinels marking the edge of the now gone Hougoumont Wood (and be aware that the wooded area to the north of the farm was not there in 1815).

The walk around and into the farm took us 35 minutes at (as with our entire day) a leisurely pace.

Waterloo - From L'Armée du Nord Game
Artist: Rick Barber

© 1993, Clash of Arms Games a division of
Theatre Of the Mind Enterprises, Inc.

From Goumont, trace your path back and continue north past the bridge you drove over earlier. This route will take you to the Butte de Lion, the Panorama and the Visitor Centre (2) and took us another 30 minutes. En-route look to the east to see the terrain over which the French cavalry charges occurred.

Mercer Monument

You will pass a monument showing the final position of Captain Mercer’s RHA battery (Mercer’s memoirs are an important primary source for the battle) and looking NW you will get your first impressions of the reverse slopes that were a major factor in Wellington’s decision to make his stand here at Waterloo.

We grabbed a coffee at the Wellington Café and then headed to the crossroads on the main Brussels road, and took a slight detour to see La Haie Sainte (3). Be careful along this stretch of road; you are actually best to cross to the other side at the crossroads, walk down until opposite the farm, and then crossover for a better look. Note the glazed loopholes in the wall. Allow 25 minutes to walk from the café, to La Haie Sainte, and back to the crossroads.

Views of La Haie Sainte

La Haie Sainte (and sand pit)
From the game La Bataille de Mont Saint Jean Artist: Rick Barber

© 1993, Clash of Arms Games a division of
Theatre Of the Mind Enterprises, Inc.

La Haie Sainte (and gravel pit)From the game Waterloo 200
Artist:Emanuele Santandrea
© VentoNuovo Games

Next we took the road opposite that leading to the Butte de Lion, and headed east across the ridge behind which the Allied centre was formed (and before which the Bijlandt’s brigade was formed; presumably to exhaust French ammunition!).

View south from the Allied Centre

As you walk along here, take note of the rolling terrain towards the French lines. The ridge on which and behind which D’Erlon's I Corps formed, is clearly visible; as is the nearer ridge upon which the French Grande Battery would later form. Much has been made of the fact the Allies were hidden behind their ridges, but imagine being an Allied infantryman with your own view blocked as you hear the tramp and the martial music of the approaching French! When we reached the Frishermont Convent (built 1929), we took the left fork to continue to follow the Allied lines. Eventually we reach a road leading down to Papelotte.

Sunken Road

This route gives you a good impression of what the sunken road (destroyed during the construction of the Butte du Lion) must have looked like and the impassable obstacle it would have presented to cavalry.

The courtyard of Papelotte Farm

Papelotte Farm and surrounding area
From the game Waterloo 200
Artist:Emanuele Santandrea
© VentoNuovo Games

At the first ‘T’ junction in Papelotte we went straight on. At the second we turned right and then right again to visit the C (4) (now a Pony Club). The walk here from the Brussel’s road took us 45 minutes with another 10 minutes for the visit to the farm. We could also have visited the farm of La Haye whilst in this vicinity, but chose not to. Instead we returned to the crossroads near Papelotte Farm and crossed directly over, striking right at the first fork we came to.

View north from the French centre

Follow this path to see the views experienced by D’Erlon’s I Corps as they deployed and to see the ground they, and later the Allied cavalry, would advance over. Also picture the Jacquinot’s counter-charge, from the east, that so decimated the blown Allied cavalry after they had hit the Grande Battery. As you walk along this trail, picture it being used for the initial deployment of the French forces, and note the quickly changing levels of visibility of the battlefield the troops in different positions would have been afforded.

A more unusual view of La Belle Alliance - the courtyard

La Belle Alliance
From the game La Bataille de Mont Saint Jean Artist: Rick Barber

© 1993, Clash of Arms Games a division of
Theatre Of the Mind Enterprises, Inc.

Eventually (40 minutes after leaving Papelotte) we reached La Belle Alliance (5); Napoleon’s HQ and the meeting place, post battle, of Wellington and Blucher. A slight detour south along the Brussels road will take you to the monument of The Wounded Eagle (6) which commemorates the last stand of the Imperial Guard; note how far back from the Allied lines this is.

The Fallen Eagle - Monument to the Guard

Journeying back to La Belle Alliance, we struck West crossing the route of Ney’s massed cavalry charges and, 30 minutes later, reached the path that took us back towards the Hougoumont and the car.

With the 15 minute coffee break, this tour of the vast majority of the accessible battlefield had taken a little over 4 hours.

To complete the day’s tour, we jumped in the car and headed for Plancenoit. We parked by the church and walked around the graveyard (7) - the centre of much of the back and forth fighting.

Plancenoit Centre - viewed from the church

Plancenoit
From the La Bataille de Mont St Jean

© 1993, Clash of Arms Games a division of
Theatre Of the Mind Enterprises, Inc.

Plancenoit - From the game Waterloo 200
Artist:Emanuele Santandrea
© VentoNuovo Games

Plancenoit - Le Retour de l'Empereur
Artist:Didier Rouy
© Pratzen Editions

The walls around the Church and graveyard range in height from the sublime to the ridiculous making one wonder how much of an aid they were to the defenders. Striking ahead and to the right as we left the front of the church we took a circuitous route that led clock-wise past the Prussian Monument (8) and then in the general direction of the Bois de Paris (the direction from which the Prussians advanced). Heading across fields we walked back in the general direction of the church entering the village along the path assaulting Prussians would have taken. 40 minutes was enough for this tour of Plancenoit.

Heading back to Brussels we took the opportunity to stop off at Mont Saint Jean farm (9) - an Allied hospital during the battle and a site from which the Butte du Lion crossroads are clearly visible.

Tour de Waterloo - en français

Een tour van Waterloo. With dankzij Eddy Claes

Tour de Waterloo - en Español