The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1917-10-11
By CAPT. ROLAND F. ANDREWS

toOpynuh., islr By Mcclure Nsu.pap.r Syndicate,

At three o'clock WellIngton's forces
having suffered severely from the
bOmbardment, and fresh troops appear
ing on the horizon (these we're the
Prussians coming up, although NapO-
leon insisted they were Grouchy'S
men), the emperor tried charge Of
his magnificent heavy cavalry against
the British right and center. So ter
rife was the rush of these helmeted
and cOrseleted horsemen, reins In teeth,
saber and pistol in hands, that they
rode fairly over the British advance
guns, bringing up against the daunt-
less squares of British infantry. II this
success had been heavily supported by
foot troops different might have been
the issue, for the cuirasslers stayed
long on the crest frantically stOrming
at the squares which moved them
down by squadrons. AS 1t fell out,
they were almost totally destroyed by
the fire Of the stubborn squares; and
by counter attack of massed English
horse.
The order for this charge Of the
French hOrse-at least In the form 1t
was delivered-was afterward repudi-
ated by Napoleon, who declared that
Ney "acted like a madman," and that
he "threw the cavalry away" Some
where in the course of this action the
reserve cavalry, the Horse Grenadiers
and the lighter lancers, and Hussars
had been brought In. Whether they
charged by direction of Ney or on the
inspiration of GuyOt, their Immediate
commander, Is not certain. Napoleon
asserted that they had been ordered to
leave him under no circumstances. This
destruction of the whole mounted re-
serve Napoleon told Bourrienne cost
him the day.
In the waning day the intrepid
Ney, gathering the wreck OF
D'Erlon's corps, did carry La Haye
Sainte, on the English left, but 1t
was too late. The Prussians were
already pushing hard. Napoleon was
forced to play his last card. Cavalry
gone, first line corps shattered, he or
dered up the dauntless Imperial Guard.
The emperor and the guard had turned
the day on many a field. The fierce
giants, in their towering bearskins,
seemed almost irresistible. Passing
before him, they hailed him with great
shouts of "Vive TEmpereur," while he,
pointing toward the English line, cried
out: "There is the road to Brussels"
But the guard went to death, and
in the last charge it was ever to make.
With Ney, hatless, covered with mud
and blood, at its head, on foot-fOr his
fifth horse of the day had been killed
under hint climbed the hill in the
face of a furious artillery fire, only to
encounter Maitland's brigade of Eng
lish household troops, to whom the
duke himself is said to have shouted
the order, "Up, guards, and at them "
The fire which followed was too ter
rife for even the veterans of Napo'
Icons eagles In the darkness, for II
was now nearly eight o'clock, they
wavered, reeled and fled, with the Brit
ish cavalry sabering them as they ran
Someone raised the cry of "Sauve qui
peut," and all was lost. Only Cham
bronne's regiment of the guard re
mained compact and defiant, moving
slowly in the welter of blood, sneer
ing at commands to surrender, prefer
ing death to ignOminy-and finding it
Napoleon was swept off the field, tt
become in few weeks an eXiled cap
tive.
The loss of the French was never
known. All records disappeared will
the destruction Of the army. In deat
and wounded Wellington lost $4,000
the Prussians 1000 more. At sucl
cost was purchased the delivery of Eu
rope.