Editing Battle of Waterloo (section)

===Charge of the British heavy cavalry===
{{blockquote|Our officers of cavalry have acquired a trick of galloping at everything. They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy, and never keep back or provide a reserve.|Wellington.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=140–142}}}}
[[File:Scotland Forever!.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|''Scotland Forever!'', the charge of the Royal Scots Greys at Waterloo painted by [[Elizabeth Thompson]]]]
At this crucial juncture, Uxbridge ordered his two brigades of British heavy cavalry—formed unseen behind the ridge—to charge in support of the hard-pressed infantry. The [[1st Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Brigade]], known as the Household Brigade, commanded by Major-General [[Lord Edward Somerset]], consisted of guards regiments: the [[1st Regiment of Life Guards|1st]] and [[2nd Regiment of Life Guards|2nd Life Guards]], the [[Royal Horse Guards]] (the Blues), and the [[1st King's Dragoon Guards|1st (King's) Dragoon Guards]]. The [[2nd Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|2nd Brigade]], also known as the Union Brigade, commanded by Major-General [[William Ponsonby (British Army officer)|Sir William Ponsonby]], was so called as it consisted of an English (the [[1st The Royal Dragoons|1st or The Royals]]), a Scottish ([[Royal Scots Greys|2nd Scots Greys]]), and an Irish ([[6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons|6th or Inniskilling]]) regiment of heavy dragoons.{{sfn|Adkin|2001|p=217}}{{sfn|Anglesey|1990|p=125}}

[[File:Knötel IV, 04.jpg|left|thumb|upright|British Household Cavalry charging]]

More than 20&nbsp;years of warfare had eroded the numbers of suitable cavalry mounts available on the European continent; this resulted in the British heavy cavalry entering the 1815 campaign with the finest horses of any contemporary cavalry arm. British cavalry troopers also received excellent mounted swordsmanship training. They were, however, inferior to the French in manoeuvring in large formations, were cavalier in attitude, and, unlike the infantry, some units had scant experience of warfare.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=140–142}}

The Scots Greys, for example, had not been in action since 1795.{{sfn|Grant|1972|p=17}} According to Wellington, though they were superior individual horsemen, they were inflexible and lacked tactical ability.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=140–142}} "I considered one squadron a match for two French, I didn't like to see four British opposed to four French: and as the numbers increased and order, of course, became more necessary I was the more unwilling to risk our men without having a superiority in numbers."{{sfn|Oman|Hall|1902|p=119}}

The two brigades had a combined field strength of about 2,000 (2,651 official strength); they charged with the 47-year-old Uxbridge leading them and a very inadequate number of squadrons held in reserve.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=188}}{{efn|The Royal Horse Guards (2 squadrons) were in reserve for the Household Brigade (9 or 10 squadrons strong) but the Union Brigade (9 squadrons) had no reserve (''Letter 5'', {{harvnb|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|pp=7–10}}; ''Letter 16'' {{harvnb|Glover|2004}}). The total may have been 18&nbsp;squadrons as there is an uncertainty in the sources as to whether the King's Dragoon Guards fielded three or four squadrons. Uxbridge implies 4 squadrons (''Letter 5'' {{harvnb|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|pp=7–10}}), however, Capt. Naylor of the King's implies 3 when he states he commanded the centre squadron of the regiment (''Letter 21'', {{harvnb|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|pp=46–47}}).}} There is evidence that Uxbridge gave an order, the morning of the battle, to all cavalry brigade commanders to commit their commands on their own initiative, as direct orders from himself might not always be forthcoming, and to "support movements to their front".{{sfn|Glover|2004|p=''Letter 16: Frederick Stovin (ADC to Sir Thomas Picton)''}} It appears that Uxbridge expected the brigades of [[Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur]], [[Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian|Hussey Vivian]], and the Dutch cavalry to provide support to the British heavies. Uxbridge later regretted leading the charge in person, saying "I committed a great mistake", when he should have been organising an adequate reserve to move forward in support.{{sfn|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|loc=''Letter 5'', pp. 7–10}}

[[File:Richard Ansdell — The Fight For The Standard.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Charles Ewart|Sergeant Ewart]] of the Scots Greys capturing the eagle of the ''45e Ligne'' in ''[[The Fight for the Standard]]'' by [[Richard Ansdell]]]]

The Household Brigade crossed the crest of the Anglo-allied position and charged downhill. The cuirassiers guarding d'Erlon's left flank were still dispersed, and so were swept over the deeply sunken main road and then routed.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=426, note 18}}{{efn|An episode famously used later by [[Victor Hugo]] in ''[[Les Misérables]]''. The sunken lane acted as a trap, funnelling the flight of the French cavalry to their own right and away from the British cavalry. Some of the cuirassiers then found themselves hemmed in by the steep sides of the sunken lane, with a confused mass of their own infantry in front of them, the 95th Rifles firing at them from the north side of the lane, and Somerset's heavy cavalry still pressing them from behind.{{sfn|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|pp=410–411}} The novelty of fighting armoured foes impressed the British cavalrymen, as was recorded by the commander of the Household Brigade.}}

{{blockquote|The blows of the sabres on the cuirasses sounded like braziers at work.|Lord Edward Somerset.{{sfn|Houssaye|1900|p=182}}}}

Sir [[Walter Scott]], in ''Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk'', described the following scene:<blockquote>Sir [[John Elley]], who led the charge of the heavy brigade, was [...] at one time surrounded by several of the cuirassiers; but, being a tall and uncommonly powerful man, completely master of his sword and horse, he cut his way out, leaving several of his assailants on the ground, marked with wounds, indicating the unusual strength of the arm which inflicted them. Indeed, had not the ghastly evidence remained on the field, many of the blows dealt upon this occasion would have seemed borrowed from the annals of knight-errantry [...]</blockquote>Continuing their attack, the squadrons on the left of the Household Brigade then destroyed Aulard's brigade. Despite attempts to recall them, they continued past La Haye Sainte and found themselves at the bottom of the hill on blown horses facing Schmitz's brigade [[Infantry square|formed in squares]].{{sfn|Barbero|2013|p=160}}

To their left, the Union Brigade suddenly swept through the infantry lines, giving rise to the legend that some of the [[92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|92nd Gordon Highland Regiment]] clung onto their stirrups and accompanied them into the charge.{{efn|The tale was related, in old age, by a [[Sergeant Major]] Dickinson of the Scots Greys, the last British survivor of the charge {{harv|Low|1911|pp=137, 143}}.}} From the centre leftwards, the Royal Dragoons destroyed Bourgeois' brigade, capturing the eagle of the ''105e Ligne''. The Inniskillings routed the other brigade of Quoit's division, and the Scots Greys came upon the lead French regiment, ''45e Ligne'', as it was still reforming after having crossed the sunken road and broken through the hedge row in pursuit of the British infantry. The Greys captured the eagle of the ''45e Ligne''{{sfn|Barbero|2005|pp=198–204}} and overwhelmed Grenier's brigade. These would be the only two [[French Imperial Eagle|French eagles]] captured by the British during the battle.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=155}} On Wellington's extreme left, Durutte's division had time to form squares and fend off groups of Greys.

[[File:Napoleon French Lancer by Bellange.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Private of the Chevau-légers of the line (lancers) who routed the Union Brigade]]

As with the Household Cavalry, the officers of the Royals and Inniskillings found it very difficult to rein back their troops, who lost all cohesion. Having taken casualties, and still trying to reorder themselves, the Scots Greys and the rest of the Union Brigade found themselves before the main French lines.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1994|p=304}} Their horses were blown, and they were still in disorder without any idea of what their next collective objective was. Some attacked nearby gun batteries of the Grande Battery.{{sfn|Wooten|1993|p=42}} Although the Greys had neither the time nor means to disable the cannon or carry them off, they put very many out of action as the gun crews were killed or fled the battlefield.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|p=211}} Sergeant Major Dickinson of the Greys stated that his regiment was rallied before going on to attack the French artillery: Hamilton, the regimental commander, rather than holding them back cried out to his men "Charge, charge the guns!"{{sfn|Fletcher|1999|p=252}}

Napoleon promptly responded by ordering a counter-attack by the cuirassier brigades of Farine and Travers and Jaquinot's two [[Chevau-léger]] (lancer) regiments in the I Corps [[light cavalry]] division. Disorganized and milling about the bottom of the valley between Hougoumont and La Belle Alliance, the Scots Greys and the rest of the British heavy cavalry were taken by surprise by the countercharge of [[Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud|Milhaud]]'s cuirassiers, joined by lancers from Baron Jaquinot's 1st Cavalry Division.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1994|pp=303–304}}

[[File:Alphonse+Lalauze-P.+Eugene+Of.jpg|thumb|Dutch Belgian carabiniers at Waterloo]]

As Ponsonby tried to rally his men against the French cuirassers, he was attacked by Jaquinot's lancers and captured. A nearby party of Scots Greys saw the capture and attempted to rescue their brigade commander. The French lancer who had captured Ponsonby killed him and then used his lance to kill three of the Scots Greys who had attempted the rescue.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1994|p=304}}

By the time Ponsonby died, the momentum had entirely returned in favour of the French. Milhaud's and Jaquinot's cavalrymen drove the Union Brigade from the valley. The result was very heavy losses for the British cavalry.{{sfn|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|pp=425–426}}{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=86}} A countercharge, by British light dragoons under Major-General Vandeleur and Dutch–Belgian light dragoons and [[hussar]]s under Major-General [[Charles Étienne de Ghigny|Ghigny]] on the left wing, and Dutch–Belgian ''[[carabinier]]s'' under Major-General [[Albert Dominicus Trip van Zoudtlandt|Trip]] in the centre, repelled the French cavalry.{{sfn|Barbero|2005|pp=219–223}}

All figures quoted for the losses of the cavalry brigades as a result of this charge are estimates, as casualties were only noted down after the day of the battle and were for the battle as a whole.<ref>For initial strengths {{Harv|Adkin|2001|p=217}}.</ref>{{efn|Losses are ultimately from the official returns taken the day after the battle: Household Brigade, initial strength 1,319, killed&nbsp;–&nbsp;95, wounded&nbsp;–&nbsp;248, missing&nbsp;–&nbsp;250, totals&nbsp;–&nbsp;593, horses lost&nbsp;–&nbsp;672.<br />
Union Brigade, initial strength 1,332, killed&nbsp;–&nbsp;264, wounded&nbsp;–&nbsp;310, missing&nbsp;–&nbsp;38, totals&nbsp;–&nbsp;612, horses lost&nbsp;–&nbsp;631 {{harv|Smith|1998|p=544}}.}} Some historians, Barbero for example,{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=142–143}} believe the official rolls tend to overestimate the number of cavalrymen present in their squadrons on the field of battle and that the proportionate losses were, as a result, considerably higher than the numbers on paper might suggest.{{efn|This view appears to have arisen from a comment by Captain Clark-Kennedy of the 1st Dragoons 'Royals', in a letter in [[H. T. Siborne]]'s book, he makes an estimate of around 900&nbsp;men actually in line within the Union Brigade before its first charge {{harv|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|loc=''Letter 35'', p. 69}}. Clark-Kennedy does not, however, explain how his estimate was arrived at. The shortfall of 432&nbsp;men (the equivalent of a whole regiment) from the paper strength of the brigade is large. However, another officer of the brigade, John Mills of the 2nd Dragoons, says that the effective strength of the brigade did not "exceed 1,200" {{harv|Glover|2007|p=59}}.}}

The Union Brigade lost heavily in both officers and men killed (including its commander, William Ponsonby, and Colonel Hamilton of the Scots Greys) and wounded. The 2nd Life Guards and the King's Dragoon Guards of the Household Brigade also lost heavily (with Colonel Fuller, commander of the King's DG, killed). However, the 1st Life Guards, on the extreme right of the charge, and the Blues, who formed a reserve, had kept their cohesion and consequently suffered significantly fewer casualties.<ref>{{harvnb|Siborne<!--W-->|1895|pp=329, 349}} (composition of brigades); pp. 422–424 (actions of brigades).</ref>{{efn|[[William Siborne]] was in possession of a number of eyewitness accounts from generals, such as Uxbridge, down to cavalry cornets and infantry ensigns. This makes his history particularly useful (though only from the British and KGL perspective); some of these eyewitness letters were later published by his son, a British Major General (H. T. Siborne). Parts of William Siborne's account were, and are, highly controversial. The very negative light shed by Siborne on the conduct of the Dutch–Belgian troops during the battle, which it should be said was a reasonably accurate reflection of the opinions of his British informants, prompted a semi-official rebuttal by Dutch historian Captain [[Willem Jan Knoop]] in his ''"Beschouwingen over Siborne's Geschiedenis van den oorlog van 1815 in Frankrijk en de Nederlanden" en wederlegging van de in dat werk voorkomende beschuldigingen tegen het Nederlandsche leger''. Breda 1846; 2nd printing 1847. Knoop based his rebuttal on the official Dutch after-battle reports, drawn up within days of the battle, not on twenty-year-old recollections of veterans, as Siborne did. Siborne rejected the rebuttal.}} On the rolls the official, or paper strength, for both Brigades is given as 2,651 while Barbero and others estimate the actual strength at around 2,000{{sfn|Barbero|2006|pp=142–143}}{{efn|Barbero points out that in April the minister informed Wellington that cavalry regiments could allow themselves no more than 360 horses. The text of this memorandum from Torrens to Wellington Barbero refers to is available in Hamilton-Williams, p.75.}} and the official recorded losses for the two heavy cavalry brigades during the battle was 1,205 troopers and 1,303 horses.{{sfn|Adkin|2001|p=217}}{{efn|Losses are ultimately from the official returns taken the day after the battle: Household Brigade, initial strength 1,319, killed&nbsp;–&nbsp;95, wounded&nbsp;–&nbsp;248, missing&nbsp;–&nbsp;250, totals&nbsp;–&nbsp;593, horses lost&nbsp;–&nbsp;672.
Union Brigade, initial strength 1,332, killed&nbsp;–&nbsp;264, wounded&nbsp;–&nbsp;310, missing&nbsp;–&nbsp;38, totals&nbsp;–&nbsp;612, horses lost&nbsp;–&nbsp;631 {{harv|Smith|1998|p=544}}.}}

[[File:De Slag bij Waterloo Rijksmuseum SK-A-1115.jpeg|right|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Jan Willem Pieneman]]'s ''[[The Battle of Waterloo (Pieneman painting)|The Battle of Waterloo]]'' (1824). Duke of Wellington, centre, flanked on his left by Lord Uxbridge in hussar uniform. On the image's far left, Cpl. Styles of the Royal Dragoons flourishes the eagle of the ''105e Ligne''. The wounded Prince of Orange is carried from the field in the foreground.]]

Some historians, such as Chandler, Weller, Uffindell, and Corum, assert that the British heavy cavalry were destroyed as a viable force following their first, epic charge.{{sfn|Weller|2010|p=104}}{{sfn|Uffindell|Corum|2002|p=82}} Barbero states that the Scots Greys were practically wiped out and that the other two regiments of the Union Brigade suffered comparable losses.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=164}} Other historians, such as Clark-Kennedy and Wood, citing British eyewitness accounts, describe the continuing role of the heavy cavalry after their charge. The heavy brigades, far from being ineffective, continued to provide valuable services. They countercharged French cavalry numerous times (both brigades),{{sfn|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|loc=Letters: 18, 26, 104}}{{sfn|Clark-Kennedy|1975|p=111}}{{sfn|Fletcher|2001|pp=142–143}}{{sfn|Wood|1895|pp=164, 171}} halted a combined cavalry and infantry attack (Household Brigade only),{{sfn|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|p=38}}{{sfn|Anglesey|1990|p=144}}{{sfn|Cotton|1849|pp=90–91}} were used to bolster the morale of those units in their vicinity at times of crisis, and filled gaps in the Anglo-allied line caused by high casualties in infantry formations (both brigades).{{sfn|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|loc=Letters 9, 18, 36}}{{sfn|Anglesey|1990|p=146}}{{sfn|Clark-Kennedy|1975|pp=110–111}}{{sfn|Wood|1895|p=177}}{{sfn|Fletcher|1999|pp=270–271}}

This service was rendered at a very high cost, as close combat with French cavalry, carbine fire, infantry musketry, and—more deadly than all of these—artillery fire steadily eroded the number of effectives in the two brigades.{{efn|In a cavalry unit an "effective" was an unwounded trooper mounted on a sound horse. The military term "effective" describes a soldier, piece of equipment (e.g. a tank or aircraft) or military unit capable of fighting or carrying out its intended purpose.}} At 6 o'clock in the afternoon the whole Union Brigade could field only three squadrons, though these countercharged French cavalry, losing half their number in the process.{{sfn|Clark-Kennedy|1975|p=111}} At the end of the fighting, the two brigades, by this time combined, could muster one squadron.{{sfn|Clark-Kennedy|1975|p=111}}{{sfn|Wood|1895|p=177}}{{sfn|Siborne<!--HT-->|1891|p=39}}

Fourteen thousand French troops of d'Erlon's I Corps had been committed to this attack. The I Corps had been driven in rout back across the valley, costing Napoleon 3,000 casualties{{sfn|Esposito|Elting|1999|p=354, Map 166}} including over 2,000&nbsp;prisoners taken.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=156}} Also some valuable time was lost, as the charge had dispersed numerous units and it would take until 16:00 for d'Erlon's shaken corps to reform. And although elements of the Prussians now began to appear on the field to his right, Napoleon had already ordered Lobau's VI corps to move to the right flank to hold them back before d'Erlon's attack began.