The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times., 1917-10-25

times. With its ending was dccrccd
that never again should Napoleon
Bonaparte. immense somnamhullst "
shattered dream. menace the fu'
ture OF kings and continents, with
nations and peoples as mere pnwns
upon the chess board of his gigantic
ambition. IL requires a rare Hight
OF mind to imagine what might have
been the state OF Europe and the
rest Of the world today hsd Napo-
leon. at the climax OF his Belgian cam
paign. overthrown his enemies and cs-
tablished himself and his dynasty firm.
ly In power. History as II was writ.
ten up To the evening NJ his dNnm
has failed to indicate any limits for his
possible sway.
Waterloo was battle " 'ttS"
Such an authority as Lieutenant
Colonel Shuttleworth. I. :. A as
scrts that II Napoleon had enjoyed
the advantage of small runaNout
motorcnr he would have iriumphcd
most certainly. II Grouchy had come
up instead ot Blucher the day must
have belonged 10 France. II Ncy had
displayed more military acumen In
the preliminary fight AZ Qua,re Bras
the backbone Of the English resistance
might have been broken. Napoleon
himself contended that II somebody
had not, without authority, ordered the
unsupported charge Of his splendid
cavalry, he would have won. The III"
is everywhere In every story Of Wa
terloo.
Before the main battle Napoleon
had beaten the Prussians at Llgny
and had dispatched Grouchy with
10000 troops TO prevent the defeated
army from marching TO wellington's
aid. In this mission Grouchy failed
and the emperor ever after censured
him bitterly for the failure. Ney,
meanwhile. attacked the English at
ouatre Bras. but while he kept them
from aiding Blucher and his Prus-
SLAMS he yet failed 10 break or demor.
allze them. Wellington, retreating.
took up positions on the plateau Of
Mt. ST. Jean, or Waterloo. Blucher,
at Wavre. left Thielman to be over
whelmed by Grouchy while with his
main army he marched TO Wellington's
assistance. Thus. In the language OF
Greasy. "he risked detachment and
won a campaign accordingly
There Is some variation In the es.
tlmate Of the strength Of the oppos-
ing forces. Greasy gives Napoleon
81
cher something over 10000, only
part Of whom, of course, were ON
plOyed on the main field. Captain
Bccke and Colonel Hmc give Napo-
leon TiOOO. agreeing in substance
with Crea = as To the number com
OF British troops, however, yelling
ton had but $4,000. The balance Of
his forces comprised Dutch, Bel.
ginns, Hanoverians, Brunswickcrs,
Nassauers and the like. whose loyalty
and effectiveness was in more or less
doubt. on the morning of June ls
1O2 years ago, the two armies We're
drawn up opposite each other, with
valley between. The Prusslans were
at Wavre. IN miles away.
Here aH4, enters the az" The
night Of the 18th had been stormy.
The ground was soft. Finding the
movement Of artillery difficult Ma
poleon delayed the start OF the
action until nearly noon. II he
had been able to begin at daybreak he
might have demolished Wellington be-
fore Blucher could have reached him
with aid.
Napoleon's first assault was agelnst
the farm OF Hougoumont. on the
right Of the British position. Col.
umn after column was hurled upon
this post, which a detachment Of the
British guards, fighting with the most
desperate valor, held throughout the
day. At one time, indeed. Foy's at
tacking regiments forced the stockade.
but ut the gate Colonel Macdonnell ran
through French infantrymen with his
sword, and Colonel Macklnnon dashed
up under heavy fire with the Grena-
diers to the relief.
At one o'clock, with every cannon
on both sides laundering. Napoleon
launched his first grand attack against
the British left center. For this
he selected 1900 infantry, support
ed by Kellerman's horse and led by
Ney, "the bravest Of the brave" The
Dutch-Belginns In the first line fled In
terror before the furious onslaught Of
these veterans, but the British lnfan.
try behind held firA. Plncton, com
manding the thin red English line, only
5000 strong, took advantage Of the
French moment Of deployment to loose
n devastating volley, after which the
British cavalry charged, sending the
French reeling back.
At three o'clock Welllngton's forces
having suffered severely from the
bombardment, and fresh troops appear
Ing on the horizon (these were the
Prusslans coming up. although Napo-
leon insisted they were Grouchy's
men). the emperor tried a charge of
his magnificent heavy cavalry against
the British right and center. So ter
rife was the rush OF these helmeted