“Cavalrymen and their mounts tended to get caught up in the excitement of a charge and often overran the enemy lines significantly reducing their effectiveness on the field of battle.”

By Tom Williams

BY THE END of the 18th century, the primary role of cavalry was to pursue and destroy a fleeing army. It also provided a mobile force that could be quickly moved across the field to support infantry in moments of crisis.

At the Battle of Waterloo, as was the case in other battles of the Napoleonic era, the cavalry was often positioned behind the infantry where it could be used to turn back friendly units that were trying to flee the field – not a noble role, but an important one nonetheless.

The British cavalry was famous for its bravery and the quality of its horses. It stood as a powerful force capable of inflicting significant damage on an opponent, but it was prone to getting, literally, carried away in the heat of battle. Cavalrymen and their mounts tended to get caught up in the excitement of a charge and often rode down the enemy long after they’d scattered, significantly reducing their own effectiveness on the field of battle. Because of this, the Duke of Wellington was famously suspicious of his cavalry.

“[There is] a trick our officers of cavalry have acquired of galloping at everything, and then galloping back as fast as they gallop on the enemy. They never … think of manoeuvring before an enemy – so little that one would think they cannot manoeuvre, excepting on Wimbledon Common; and when they use their arm as it ought to be, viz. offensively, they never keep… a reserve. All cavalry should charge in two lines, of which one should be in reserve.”

At Waterloo, Wellington generally held his cavalry back. When they did charge, the result was (as we shall see) impressive, but sometimes doubtfully effective.

For their part, the French cavalry were well trained and equipped as well, but probably less well mounted than the British. At Waterloo, the commander of French forces on the ground was Marshal Ney. A cavalryman himself, he was happy to personally lead charges himself.

The conditions at Waterloo were not favourable for horses. Heavy rain on the eve of the battle had left the ground soft and muddy. The British forces were positioned at the top of a slight rise, which, given the condition of the ground, would substantially slow any charge. The lower ground between the two armies was very muddy indeed. From a 21st-century viewpoint, it’s not difficult to grasp how mud can hamper an attack. What’s more easily forgotten however is that sloppy conditions quickly sap horses of their strength. Soft ground may slow a tank assault, but armoured vehicles never drop from exhaustion. They may advance slowly, but they will continue to advance, so long as they have fuel. Not so with horses. As the day wore on at Waterloo, fatigue wore the animals out rendering them less effective.

Given the conditions that fateful day, the role of cavalry was likely to be limited, but the impact of the lancers and dragoons was further undermined by French and British commanders who failed to deploy their horses with maximum effect.

In the French assaults on the Allied-controlled strongholds of Hougoumont and La Haye-Sainte, Napoleon’s infantry was repeatedly repulsed and cavalry was ordered into support. Mounted troops are almost always ineffective against fortifications, and so their assaults were costly failures. The lives of men and animals were thrown away for no reason whatsoever.

Nearly five hours into the battle, and with French infantry unable to make significant progress against the Allied lines, Ney opted to launch an assault with his cavalry. Just before 4 p.m., 40 squadrons (more than 8,000 mounts) rode directly to the British lines, taking substantial casualties from Allied artillery but continuing until they reached Wellington’s positions. At this stage all the Allied battalions famously formed squares, front ranks kneeling, bayonets fixed, with the men in the second rank ready to fire.

It’s virtually impossible for cavalry to break a well-disciplined infantry square without support from artillery or friendly infantry. Ney attacked with neither. All the French cavalry could do was circle the Allied formations. Indeed, the continual fire from the redcoats decimated the assault. One eyewitness to the carnage, George Robert Gleig, would write about it later.

“Round and round these impenetrable masses the French horsemen rode, individuals closing here and there upon the bayonets, and cutting at the men. But not a square was broken; and a body of cavalry which, had it been wisely handled, might have come up at the close of day to good purpose, suffered, ere the proper time for using it had arrived, virtual annihilation.”

Combining the charge with French infantry, he may have been able to break squares and inflict a decisive blow on Wellington’s army, but he didn’t and the day was lost.

Why exactly Ney, no great strategist but still an experienced soldier, led this charge without support is one of the mysteries of Waterloo.

Some have speculated that the French marshal mistook an orderly redeployment of British troops for a general retreat and ordered his cavalry forward to ride down the fleeing enemy, as per standard doctrine of the time. But as the British saw the enemy advancing and quickly formed squares, it became obvious that the redcoats weren’t in flight. Ney, already fully committed to the charge, was hard pressed to call it off. This may not seem an entirely adequate explanation, however. After all, Ney had to charge his horses through artillery to get at the enemy infantry. As soon as it became clear that, far from fleeing in disorder, the British were forming squares, he could have sounded the retreat without suffering significant casualties. Instead, not only was the attack carried through, but it was continued for an hour, even after must been clear that it was a hopeless effort.

The British, too, threw their cavalry away for no good reason. The famous charge of the Scots Greys made for a good painting, but achieved little, if any strategic effect.

In the fighting around La Haye-Sainte, a Highland regiment had advanced too far forward and found itself facing annihilation at the hands of a much stronger French force. The Royal Scots Greys were ordered forward to prevent the infantry from being overwhelmed.

The horses advanced at a walk (the ground was too uneven for the gallop shown in Lady Butler’s famous painting) and passed through the Highlanders who rallied as the cavalry arrived. Once in front of the infantry, the Royal Scots now fell on the enemy ranks who had no time to form square. According to a French captain of the 45th Line Infantry named Duthilt:

“In vain our poor fellows stood up and stretched out their arms; they could not reach far enough to bayonet these cavalrymen mounted on powerful horses, and the few shots fired in chaotic melee were just as fatal to our own men as to the English. And so we found ourselves defenceless against a relentless enemy who, in the intoxication of battle, sabred even our drummers and fifers without mercy.”

The Greys should have been satisfied with their success and returned to the Allied lines, but having destroyed the enemy, they pressed on down the slope. Pausing only to harass another French regiment that formed up and successfully resisted them, they rode on until they reached the French artillery. Unable to destroy the guns themselves, they contented themselves with killing the crews.

“Such slaughtering! We sabred the gunners, lamed the horses, and cut their traces and harness,” recalled one sergeant.

With the French gunners slain, the Greys milled around uncertain of where to go or what to do next.

Far from the safety of their own lines, mired in the thick mud of the battlefield and exhausted, the regiment was easy prey for enemy cavalry. Lighter and fresh to the fight, the French lancers sped across the muddy ground and fell on the Scots Greys without mercy.

Allied reinforcements were rushed forward to cover the retreat of the Greys, including a mounted Belgian-Dutch brigade. Although British authors claim that they “attempted nothing more than a mere display upon the crest of the position” other accounts suggest that it was the entry of the despised Belgians into the fight that ultimately saved the Scots Greys.

The charge of the Scots Greys did massive damage to the 45th and saved the Highlanders’ bacon. And by drawing French forces away from the La Haye-Sainte, it’s likely that the cavalry charge helped Allied troops holed up in the farmhouse for some hours — an outcome that possibly affected the entire battle. But the cost for the Scots Greys’ charge was enormous. The Union Brigade (Royals, Scots Greys and Inniskillings) suffered approximately 600 dead and wounded out of 1,000 men, (including its commander, William Ponsonby). Looking at just the Scots Greys, of 24 officers who took part in the charge, 16 were killed or wounded.

Author Bio:

Tom Williams is the author of the Burke: His Majesty’s Confidential Agent series of historical novels, including: Burke at Waterloo. For more articles visit, his blog athttp://tomwilliamsauthor.co.uk . You can follow him on Twitter as @TomCW99 or Facebook. ‘Burke at Waterloo’ is published by Endeavour Media and is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. Tom will be a panellist at the Malvern Festival of Military History at the beginning of October.