The last charge, Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815
Original illustration from British Battles on Land and Sea circa 1880. Info from wiki: Suddenly 1,500 British Foot Guards under Maitland who had been lying down to protect themselves from the French artillery rose and devastated them with point-blank volleys. The chasseurs deployed to answer the fire, but some 300 fell from the first volley. A bayonet charge by the Foot Guards then broke the leaderless squares. The 4th Chasseurs battalion, 800 strong, now came up onto the exposed battalions of British Foot Guards. At the crest the chasseurs came upon the battery that had caused severe casualties on the 1st and 2nd/3rd Chasseurs. They opened fire and swept away the gunners. The left flank of their square now came under fire from a heavy formation of British skirmishers, which the chasseurs drove back. But the skirmishers were replaced by the 52nd Light Infantry, led by John Colborne, which wheeled in line onto the chasseurs' flank and poured a devastating fire into them. The 52nd then charged,[163][164] and under this onslaught, the chasseurs broke.[164] The last of the Guard retreated headlong. A ripple of panic passed through the French lines as the astounding news spread: "La Garde recule. Sauve qui peut!" ("The Guard is retreating. Every man for himself!") Wellington now stood up in Copenhagen's stirrups and waved his hat in the air to signal a general advance. His army rushed forward from the lines and threw themselves upon the retreating French. Chesney 1874, pp. 192, 225. The surviving Imperial Guard rallied on their three reserve battalions (some sources say four) just south of La Haye Sainte for a last stand. It was during this retreat that some of the Guards were invited to surrender, eliciting the famous, if apocryphal,[af] retort "La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas!" ("The Guard dies, it does not surrender!")
Size: 4918px × 3330px
Photo credit: © Historical Images Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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