Waterloo Netherlands Correspondence: Letters and Reports from Manuscript Sources: v. 1 (Waterloo 1815) - Softcover

Waterloo: Netherlands Correspondence Letters and Reports from Manuscript Sources John Franklin for 1815 Ltd, £20. It seems hard to credit, because I can t think where I stored them all, but I once sold a collection of over 200 volumes of Napoleonic memoirs. I remember being off the period, so I decided that they had to go while the uniform books and general histories survived. Mostly I am okay with that decision; on some days I regret it deeply, particularly when I am researching movements and timing on the battlefield, or deciding which tree a commander might have been under at 3pm. Underlying all this is that nagging doubt that memoirs and correspondence are not all that reliable, especially when they have been put together ten, or fifty, years after the event with a view to raising the author s profile. Or worse, covering up mistakes! Nevertheless, they are fascinating books to read and give a real sense of the period, language, order phrasing and the confusion of battle. Not least, where the detail is clearly not sensationalised, it can be very useful to know that Unit A was to the right of Battery B, or that the jaegers managed to pass through both woods and friendly troops in a short period of time. This latest offering is a quality paperback that starts a planned series of 1815 focussed books and accompanying web resources. John Franklin, the author, runs 1815 Ltd, and 1815.ltd.uk, which is packed with even more material which I hope to review next issue. With the battle s major anniversary just five years away, I think this type of product will ride the growing wave in timely and stylish fashion. As a fan of the Waterloo Campaign myself, I am really looking forward to the next few years in terms of publications, research, uniforms, figures and commemorative games. So, what do we have here? In short, 176 pages packed solid with letters, orders and recollections from the Netherlands general staff, infantry, cavalry and artillery officers. Some are contemporary, others written or researched some decades later. Whatever, I read through the book in one fascinated sitting, and then went through again making notes. There is some really good stuff here. I will single out Detmers, Chasse, the lengthy contribution by Prince Bernhard of Sachsen-Weimar, and best of all that by Constant Rebecque who as you know was a key figure in the battle of Quatre Bras. Almost invariably, memoirs are dry tomes with perhaps the odd map or dusty portrait. Not so here. To finish off the book, or perhaps the highlight for some, there are colour maps and ten new watercolour plates by Gerry Embleton showing the Dutch troops in action. The latter are excellent, and essentially worth the price of admission. Add to this quality paper and considered layout, edited by Martin Windrow, and we clearly have a team, and a publisher, who know and care. I think for the money this is an excellent book and I recommend it highly. I look forward to subsequent volumes. Mike Siggins --Mr. Mike Siggins

Waterloo: Netherlands Correspondence (Volume One) Letters and Reports from Manuscript Sources, by John Franklin published in March 2010 by 1815 Limited. Review by Dr. John Rickard History of War Organisation. This is a valuable collection of previously unpublished documents relating to the Netherlands army, covering the General Staff, 2nd and 3rd Netherlands Infantry Division and the Netherlands Cavalry Division, all of which played a part on the Waterloo campaign. The collection includes a number of contemporary reports, letters sent during and immediately after the campaign, and a series of letters written during the 1840s in response to requests for information about the battle. The Netherlands army made up about a quarter of Wellington's army at Waterloo, and was effectively a separate army with its own commander in chief, the Prince of Orange. These docu --Mr. Anthony Broughton

Waterloo: Netherlands Correspondence (Volume One) Letters and Reports from Manuscript Sources, by John Franklin published in March 2010 by 1815 Limited. Review by Dr. John Rickard History of War Organisation. This is a valuable collection of previously unpublished documents relating to the Netherlands army, covering the General Staff, 2nd and 3rd Netherlands Infantry Division and the Netherlands Cavalry Division, all of which played a part on the Waterloo campaign. The collection includes a number of contemporary reports, letters sent during and immediately after the campaign, and a series of letters written during the 1840s in response to requests for information about the battle. The Netherlands army made up about a quarter of Wellington's army at Waterloo, and was effectively a separate army with its own commander in chief, the Prince of Orange. These documents give us some useful insights on the difficulties this posed to Wellington and the nature of his contacts with the Netherlands army. That army also had problems, having only recently been formed after the forced merger of Belgium and the Netherlands as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in the aftermath of Napoleon's first abdication - this shows in the frequent mentions of troops marching into battle for 'King and Country', somewhat unconvincingly given the short history of the new kingdom! Overall this is a very useful volume for anyone interested in the Waterloo campaign, shedding light on an often neglected aspect of the battle, and of the Allied army. --Dr. John Rickard

Waterloo: Netherlands Correspondence Volume One Letters and Reports from Manuscript Sources 176 pages with 4 colour maps and 10 colour plates by Gerry Embleton --Mr. Anthony Broughton

This highly detailed new book is the first of two concerned with the role of the Netherlands troops during the Waterloo campaign, and forms part of an exciting new series on the events of June 1815. Drawn exclusively from contemporary manuscript sources, the book contains a wealth of previously unpublished material written by officers and men who served with the Netherlands contingent within the Allied army commanded by the Duke of Wellington, all of which has been professionally translated into English. The details contained within the letters and reports provides significant new information on many of the most critical moments in the campaign, including the communication with the Duke of Wellington and his staff on the 15th June, following confirmation of the French advance; the role of the Netherlands troops during the early stages of the fighting at Les Quatre Bras, and the part played by the 3rd Netherlands Division during the attack by the Imperial Guard at the climax of the battle of Waterloo. The extraordinary text is supplemented by colour contour maps and ten pages of full colour illustrations by Gerry Embleton, making the book is an essential addition to every Waterloo collection.