Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington | Life Story
Channel: Generals in History
Date: 2022-08-03

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman. He is one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain. 

Wellesley rose to prominence as a general during the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke of Wellington commanded the British army which defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He is regarded as one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time. He was twice British prime minister, serving as a Tory leader from 1828 to 1830 and a little less than a month in 1834.

Wellesley was born into an aristocratic Anglo-Irish family. He was the sixth of nine children born to the Earl and Countess of Mornington. His siblings included Richard, Viscount Wellesley, 2nd Marquess Wellesley, and William Wellesley-Pole.

The Duke of Wellington was born on 1 May 1769, the day before he was baptized in St Peters Church, Dublin. He was most likely born at his parents' townhouse, 24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, according to biographers.

Arthur Wellesley studied at Eton and Brown's School from 1781 to 1784. He disliked Eton, and it is unlikely that he actually said "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton", a quotation often attributed to him.

Wesley Wellesley was sent to India in 1797 by his elder brother Richard, now known as Lord Mornington, to become the new Governor-General of India. In 1798 he changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley"; up to this time he was still known as Wesley, which his eldest brother considered the proper and ancient and proper spelling.

Wellington commanded an Anglo-Dutch-German army that consisted of approximately 73,000 troops, 26,000 of whom were British; 30 percent of that army was Irish. The Battle of Waterloo was fought between Napoleon's French and Wellington's Anglo-Allied army at a site he had noted as favorable for a battle the previous year. On 17 June 1815, torrential rain severely hampered movement, and the next day, 18 June, the battle was fought in heavy fighting over a valley near Brussels.

The Battle of Waterloo began with a diversionary attack on Hougoumont by a division of French soldiers. After a barrage of 80 cannons, the first French infantry attack was launched by Comte D'Erlon's I Corps. Allied troops in front of the ridge retreated in disorder through the main position. During this struggle Lord Uxbridge launched two of his cavalry brigades at the enemy, catching them off guard and capturing two French Imperial Eagles. The French cavalry attacked the British infantry squares many times, each at a heavy cost to the French but with few British casualties.

Ney himself was displaced from his horse four times during the fighting. Eventually, Napoleon resorted to a combined-arms attack, using Bachelu's division and Tissot's regiment of Foy's division from Reille's II Corps. Napoleon ordered Ney to capture La Haye Sainte at whatever cost. Ney then moved horse artillery up towards Wellington's center and began to attack the infantry squares at short range with canisters. This all but destroyed the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment, and the 30th and 73rd Regiments suffered such heavy losses that they had to combine to form a viable square.

Wellington was now wide open to an attack from the French. Luckily for Wellington, Pirch I's and Zieten's corps of the Prussian Army were now at hand. 1,500 British Foot Guards under Maitland devastated two battalions of Chasseurs with point-blank volleys before breaking them up in a bayonet charge. Mass panic ensued through the French lines as news spread: La Garde recule. Sauve qui peut!

(The Guard is retreating. Every man for himself!). Wellington then stood up in Copenhagen's stirrups and waved his hat in the air to signal an advance of the Allied line just as the Russians were overrunning the French positions to the east. What remained of the French army then abandoned the field in disorder.

Video source: Histories and Conspiracies
----
#history #historyfacts  #generals #generalknowledge #general_knowledge   #ArthurWellesley 
Data sources: https://en.wikipedia.org
See more books on Arthur Wellesley: https://amzn.to/3Slr3Fm