Editing Battle of Waterloo (section)

==Armies==
{{main|Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign}}
{{multiple image
|align = middle
|direction = vertical
|image1 = Marechal Ney.jpg
|width1 = 180
|caption1 =Marshal [[Michel Ney]], who exercised tactical control of the greater part of the French forces for most of the battle
|alt1 =French Marshal Michel Ney
|image2 = YoungwilliamII.jpg
|width2 = 180
|caption2 =[[William II of the Netherlands|William, Prince of Orange]], commander of the Anglo-allied [[Order of battle of the Waterloo campaign#I Corps 2|I Corps]]
|alt2 =William II of the Netherlands
|footer =
}}
Three armies participated in the battle: Napoleon's ''Armée du Nord'', a multinational army under Wellington, and a Prussian army under General Blücher.

The French army of around 74,500 consisted of 54,014 infantry, 15,830 cavalry, and 8,775 artilleries with 254 guns.<ref>{{harvnb|Hofschröer|1999|p=68}} gives 73,000.</ref><ref>Bowden, in Armies at Waterloo gives 74,500 men and 254 guns. Pag 134</ref> Napoleon had used conscription to fill the ranks of the French army throughout his rule, but he did not conscript men for the 1815 campaign. His troops were mainly veterans with considerable experience and a fierce devotion to their Emperor.{{sfn|Glover|2014|page=30}} The cavalry in particular was both numerous and formidable, and included fourteen regiments of armoured [[heavy cavalry]], and seven of highly versatile [[lancers]] who were armed with lances, sabres and firearms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elite Units and Shock Tactics: How Napoleon (Almost) Conquered Europe |url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/elite-units-and-shock-tactics-how-napoleon-almost-conquered-europe-123346 |last=T.S. Allen |date=14 February 2020 |publisher=National Interest |access-date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215171052/https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/elite-units-and-shock-tactics-how-napoleon-almost-conquered-europe-123346 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=L'Armée du Nord |url=http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/Waterloo_OB/French.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717034251/http://www.napoleonic-literature.com/Waterloo_OB/French.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2012 |publisher=web archive |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Sib">{{cite book |last=Siborne |first=William |author-link=William Siborne |title=The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxQazrQnHSkC |publisher=E. Arber |year=1848 |page=55}}</ref>

However, as the army took shape, French officers were allocated to units as they presented themselves for duty, so that many units were commanded by officers the soldiers did not know, and often did not trust. Crucially, some of these officers had little experience in working together as a unified force, so that support for other units was often not given.<ref name="emo">{{cite web |title=The Causes of Napoleon Bonaparte's Loss at Waterloo 1815 – p. 170-178 |url=http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume5/gunpowder-age-v-huh.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume5/gunpowder-age-v-huh.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |last=Eric Huh |publisher=Emory Endeavors |access-date=17 April 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Roberts|2001|p=133}}

The French were forced to march through rain and black coal-dust mud to reach Waterloo, and then to contend with mud and rain as they slept in the open.{{sfn|Simms|2014|p=29}} Little food was available, but nevertheless the veteran soldiers were fiercely loyal to Napoleon.<ref name=emo/>{{sfn|Simms|2014|p=58}}

In December 1814, the British Army had been reduced by 47,000 men.{{sfn|Fortescue|2004|p=228}} This was largely achieved by the disbandment of the second battalion of 22 infantry regiments.<ref>{{cite journal |last=MacArthur |first=Roderick |title=British Army establishments during the Napoleonic Wars (Part 1) |journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |volume=87 |year=2009 |issue=350 |pages=150–172|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44232822 |url-access=subscription |jstor=44232822}}</ref> Wellington later said that he had "an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced [[Staff (military)|Staff]]".{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=485}} His troops consisted of 74,326 men: 53,607 infantry, 13,400 cavalry, and 5,596 artillery with 156 guns plus engineers and staff.<ref>Bowden, Scott. Armies at Waterloo. pag.272</ref> Of these, 27,985 (38%) were British, with another 7,686 (10%) from the [[King's German Legion]] (KGL). All of the [[British Army]] troops were regular soldiers, and the majority of them had served in the Peninsula. Of the 23 British line infantry regiments in action, only four (the 14th, 33rd, 69th, and 73rd Foot) had ''not'' served in the Peninsula, and a similar level of experience was to be found in the British cavalry and artillery.  {{Citation needed|date=May 2024|reason=statement contradicts the prior text sourced from Longford}} Chandler asserts that most of the British veterans of the [[Peninsular War]] were being transported to North America to fight in the [[War of 1812]].{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=1093}} In addition, there were 21,035 (28.3%) Dutch-Belgian and Nassauer troops, 11,496 (15.5%) from [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanover]] and 6,124 (8.2%) from [[Brunswick-Lüneburg#Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Brunswick]].<ref>Bowden, Scott. Armies at Waterloo. pag 272</ref>

Many of the troops in the Coalition armies were inexperienced.{{efn|Captain [[Cavalié Mercer]] [[Royal Horse Artillery|RHA]], thought the Brunswickers "...perfect children. None of the privates, perhaps were over eighteen years of age" {{harv|Mercer|1891|p=218}}.}}{{efn|On 13 June, the commandant at [[Ath]] requested powder and cartridges as members of a Hanoverian reserve regiment there had never yet fired a shot {{harv|Longford|1971|p=486}}.}} The Dutch army had been re-established in 1815, following the earlier defeat of Napoleon. With the exception of the British and some men from Hanover and Brunswick who had fought with the British army in Spain, many of the professional soldiers in the Coalition armies had spent some of their time in the French army or in armies allied to the Napoleonic regime. The historian [[Alessandro Barbero]] states that in this heterogeneous army the difference between British and foreign troops did not prove significant under fire.{{sfn|Barbero|2006|p=19}}

Wellington was also acutely short of heavy cavalry, having only seven British and three Dutch regiments. The [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]] imposed many of his staff officers on Wellington, including his second-in-command, the [[Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey|Earl of Uxbridge]]. Uxbridge commanded the cavalry and had [[Blank cheque|''carte blanche'']] from Wellington to commit these forces at his discretion. Wellington stationed a further 17,000 troops at [[Halle, Belgium|Halle]], {{convert|8|mi|km}} away to the west. They were mostly composed of Dutch troops under the Prince of Orange's younger brother, [[Prince Frederick of the Netherlands]]. They were placed as a guard against a wide flanking movement and also to act as a rearguard if Wellington was forced to retreat towards Antwerp and the coast.{{sfn|Hamilton-Williams|1993|pp=239–240}}{{efn|The straight-line distance from Halle to Braine-l'Alleud, Wellington's far right flank is nearly the same as the straight-line distance from Wavre to [[Frichermont]], Wellington's far left flank, around {{convert|8|mi|km}}.}}

The Prussian army was in the throes of reorganisation. In 1815, the former Reserve regiments, Legions, and ''Freikorps'' volunteer formations from the wars of 1813–1814 were in the process of being absorbed into the line, along with many ''[[Landwehr]]'' (militia) regiments. The ''Landwehr'' were mostly untrained and unequipped when they arrived in Belgium. The Prussian cavalry were in a similar state.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|p=59}} Its artillery was also reorganising and did not give its best performance—guns and equipment continued to arrive during and after the battle.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|pp=60–62}}

Offsetting these handicaps, the Prussian army had excellent and professional leadership in its [[German General Staff|general staff]]. These officers came from four schools developed for this purpose and thus worked to a common standard of training. This system was in marked contrast to the conflicting, vague orders issued by the French army. This staff system ensured that before Ligny, three-quarters of the Prussian army had concentrated for battle with 24 hours' notice.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|pp=60–62}}

After Ligny, the Prussian army, although defeated, was able to realign its supply train, reorganise itself, and intervene decisively on the Waterloo battlefield within 48 hours.{{sfn|Hofschröer|2005|pp=60–62}} Two-and-a-half Prussian army corps, or 48,000 men, were engaged at Waterloo; two brigades under Bülow, commander of IV Corps, attacked [[Georges Mouton|Lobau]] at 16:30, while [[Hans Ernst Karl, Graf von Zieten|Zieten]]'s I Corps and parts of [[Pirch I]]'s II Corps engaged at about 18:00.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Prussian March |url=https://www.waterlooassociation.org.uk/2018/06/04/prussian-advance/ |website=Waterloo Association |date=4 June 2018 |access-date=9 December 2019 |archive-date=9 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209204251/https://www.waterlooassociation.org.uk/2018/06/04/prussian-advance/ |url-status=live }}</ref>