Download The Battle of Waterloo and research on John Lambert, OC

The Battle of Waterloo and research on John Lambert, OC
by Christopher Tsang (S) and Koh Ishikawa (V)
Contents Background of the Battle of Waterloo – Page 3 to 4
 How Napoleon rose to power
 Napoleonic Wars
 The downfall of Napoleon
 The return of Napoleon
The Battle of Waterloo – Page 4 to 6
 Preparation for the Battle
 The Battle Day
 The Final Attack
 The Result
Research on John Lambert, OC – Page 6 to 7
 Family
 Education and Hobbies
 Life in the Army
 During the Battle of Waterloo
 Retirement from the Army and Death
Bibliography – Page 8
Acknowledgements – Page 8
Background of the Battle of Waterloo –
How Napoleon rose to power:
The French Revolution began in 1785, and the revolutionaries had overthrown
the monarchy and set up a French republic in 1792. Napoleon Bonaparte, who
joined an artillery regiment of the French army during the French revolution,
was quickly promoted and proved that he was a talented leader. Napoleon
crowned himself emperor in 1804 and became the new leader of France.
Napoleonic Wars:
After Napoleon came into power, he tried to defend France from other
European countries’ attacks, thus set out to conquer Europe. Napoleon was
famous for his battlefield victories and tactics. He fought 60 battles and lost only
seven of them. France defeated the first and second coalitions during the French
Revolutionary Wars and
Napoleon led his army
to defeat the third,
fourth and fifth
coalitions. It seems that
France, under the rule
of Napoleon, was
undefeatable and
French empire had
expanded across much
of western and central
continental Europe.
The downfall of Napoleon:
In the winter of 1812, Napoleon decided to invade Russia. He led 650,000 men
and charged to Moscow. Russia used scorched-earth tactics to destroy anything
that might be useful to the French army. When Napoleon finally entered Moscow
on 14th September, the Russians had evacuated from Moscow and they even
burnt the city and released criminals from prisons to inconvenience the French
army. Napoleon therefore had to retreat from Russia, but due to blocked supply
lines and horrible weather, the French army suffered massive casualties and only
27,000 soldiers survived. The morale and strength of the French army was
hugely affected. In 1813, Austrian, Prussian, Russian and Swedish troops joined
together, led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, defeated Napoleon,
which is known as the Battle of Nations (or Battle of Leipzig). Napoleon retreated
to France but the Coalition kept their momentum and invaded France in March
1814. On 6th of April 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate the throne and was
exiled to the island of Elba, which was a Mediterranean island off the coast of
Italy, with the treaty of Fontainebleau.
The return of Napoleon:
Napoleon escaped the island of Elba and returned to Paris in March 1815. He
declared war on Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria and he raised a new army to
try to defeat the allied forces individually before they could launch an untied
attack against him. In June, Napoleon invaded Belgium, hoping to capture
Brussels. He sent troops to fight Wellington, the British commander and the
Prussian troops led by General Blucher. The Prussian troops retreated but the
British weren’t defeated. On 18th of June, Napoleon led his 72,000 men against
68,000 British troops, which had taken up an area at the south of Brussels near
the village of Waterloo. The Battle of Waterloo is the last battle Napoleon fought
and it is also the final, decisive battle.
The Battle of Waterloo –
Preparation for the Battle
The battle took place in 18th of June 1815. The French Army led by Napoleon
Bonaparte and his best general Michel Ney, consisted of 50,700 infantry, 14,390
calvary, 8,050 artillery and 252 guns. In total Napoleon had 72,000 troops while
the British Army, led by The Duke of Wellington, had 68,000 troops with
Prussian ally Gebhard von Blucher of 50,000 troops. Britain itself was
outnumbered but with the help of Blucher, both sides seemed to have the same
chance to win the battle.
The Battle Day
Wellington knew he was outnumbered so he decided to
place his men in front of the city of Brussels. He decided
to use three garrisoned farms for protection for the
soldiers: Hougoumont farm on his right, La Haye Sainte in
the centre and Papelpotte farm on his left. He made this
decision as he wanted to hold the advacne of the French
Army until his ally Prussians arrived.
The rain had aroused the battle terrain and Napoleon
decided not to launch a major attack until the ground was
dry. This was a risky decision as Napoleon gave the
Prussians more time to arrive. Napoleon launched his
first attack on the 18th of June. He sent 5000 troops
towards Hougoumont farm. This was Wellington’s most
protected farm. Wellington had placed 1500 British
troops in Hougoumont. Even the French had more troops,
they were not able to break through the defence. There
was a breach through the gates but the British troops
quickly closed the gate and captured 40 French men. The
French troops that were captured were all killed during
hand-to-hand combat except for one person who was an
11-year-old drummer boy.
While the attack was still going on, Napoleon sent
18,000 infantry along the road to Brussels. Papelpotte
and Hougoumont were soon captured and Napoleon
Instruction given by
Duke of Wellington
about the defense of
Hougoumont.
was ready to make his final
major attack on La Haye Sainte.
He had a high chance of victory
now as La Haye Sainte was the
only garrisoned farm left.
However, Napoleon saw some
movements in the fields to the
east and ordered some cavalry
men to investigate the area.
Wellington desperately needed
La Haye Sainte so he sent some
Napoleon’s troops advanced on
cavalry to push the French
army
Hougoumont and made territorial
back. The French infantry
gains around La Haye Sainte
closed in but the British
cavalry seized the moment and
charged at the French infantry. The infantry were slaughtered. However
Wellington’s right flank was beginning to fall and he had to make the right
decisions now. The Prussians joined the battle and they attacked the French
troops with a blow. As a result, Napoleon had to send more troops to fight the
Prussians. Even though Blucher didn’t get to join Wellington, the French were
under pressure. This meant that it was easier for Wellington to destroy the
French infantry in the battle.
Now Napoleon decided to attack Wellington’s central garrisoned farm, La Haye
Sainte. Napoleon sent waves of his heavy armoured cavalry into the garrisoned
farm. Wellington decided to change the formation of his men by this point and
did well to defend the waves of French troops. However this formation that
Wellington chose was not the best idea as the British troops were vulnerable
from artillery fire.
After many hours of Napoleon’s wave attacks, La Haye Sainte fell at last. This
was disastrous for Wellington as this garrisoned farm was very important to
him. Napoleon could now bring all his troops and artillery towards Wellington.
Wellington could only defend the ridge and wait for the Prussians to come and
help.
The Final Attack
Napoleon knew that Wellington
was desperate for help and took
the opportunity to attack the
British. Napoleon sent 6000 men
to the ridge where the British
troops were guarding. Although
Napoleon had secured La Haye
Sainte, when he sent the troops
marching between La Haye Sainte
and Hougoumont, that was still a
chance for British to shoot at them as they marched through. However the
French army got to the ridge without too many casualties.
As Napoleon and his troops made it to the ridge, Wellington ordered his men to
stand and fire. This order was very effective as many French troops were
slaughtered and forced to fall back. The Prussians joined Wellington’s left wing
finally making it harder for Napoleon and his troops. At one point Wellington had
a chance to kill Napoleon but ordered his men to seize fire. Napoleon fled with
his troops protecting him.
The Result
The Battle of Waterloo ended. Wellington stopped Napoleon’s domination of
Europe and secured peace. Napoleon was sent away to the island of St Helena,
where he died in 1821. Wellington was known as a hero. He made peace with
France and became Prime Minister of England.
Research on John Lambert, OC
(28 April 1772–14 September 1847) –
Family
Sir John Lambert was the son of Captain Robert Lambert and Katherine
Byndloss. He was the younger brother of Rear Admiral Robert Lambert, and
older brother of Captain Henry Lambert, Major General Samuel Lambert and
Admiral Sir George Lambert. On 19th of October of 1816, John Lambert, aged 44,
married to Mary Morant, aged 27, in St. George Hanover Square, England. They
gave birth to Robert Lambert in Cumbray, France in 1819, Mary Jane Lambert in
Cork Ireland in 1822, Elizabeth Lambert in Cork Ireland in 1823 and Harriet
Frances Lambert in Marylebone, London, England in 1827.
Education and Hobbies
He was educated in London Charterhouse during 1803 to 1811 and was in
Stewart’s House. He was also an amateur cricketer. He made 12 appearances in
major cricket matches between 1794 to 1810. He was mainly associated with
Marylebone Cricket Club, which is based at Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's
Wood, London NW8.
Life in the Army
John Lambert joined the British Army, in the 1st Foot Guards, on 27th of January
1791 aged 18. He was made lieutenant and captain in 1793. In the campaign of
1794 he was the adjutant of the third battalion. He was promoted captain and
lieutenant-colonel in 1801. In 1809 he commanded the light companies of the
guards in the Walcheren expedition. He was made colonel in the army in 1810
and commanded the third battalion in Cadiz in 1811. On 4th of June 1813 he was
promoted to major-general and was made commander of the 6th division
brigade. He had commanded at the battles of Nivelle, the Nive, Orthez, Toulouse
and as a result he was awarded the Army Gold Cross. He was also made a Knight
Commander (KCB). These awards both took place on January 1815. He went to
America to command at the battle of New Orleans with the 7th and 43rd
regiments. In the unsuccessful attack on American trenches, he commanded the
reserve. As some of the British commanders were killed or wounded, Lambert
was relied on by the chief command. He made some tactical decisions and the
next day news arrived that peace had been signed. After his service in the battle
of Waterloo he received the order of St.Vladimir and that of Military Order of
Maz Joseph (the commander). He was given the colonelcy of the 10th regiment in
January 1824. He was promoted to lieutenant-general on 27th of May 1825. He
received the Grand Cross of the Bath on July 1838. Finally he was made general
on the 23rd of November 1841.
During the Battle of Waterloo
After his service in the battle of New Orleans, he returned to Europe just in time
to command the 10th Brigade of the British infantry at the Battle of Waterloo. His
brigade joined the army from Ghent only on the morning of 18th of June. After
3pm the brigade was sent up to the front line to back up the fifth division and the
27th regiment that lost most of its men. Lambert was mentioned in Wellington’s
dispatch after the battle.
Retirement from the Army and Death
In 1841, John Lambert, aged 69, quitted the army and lived in Thames Ditton,
Surrey, England with his wife and two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth Lambert.
John Lambert lived in that house for 6 years till his death on 14th September
1847 in Weston Green, Surrey. He was buried in Claygate, Holy Trinity, Surrey,
England, and aged 75.
Death certificate of John Lambert
Bibliography 1) Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo)
2) BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zwtf34j)
3) The Guardian
(http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/15/battlewaterloo-news-aggregation-journalism-brian-cathcart)
4) British History (http://www.history.com/topics/britishhistory/battle-of-waterloo)
5) Waterloo 200 (http://www.nam.ac.uk/waterloo200/)
6) The Battle of Waterloo Experience by Peter and Dan Snow
Acknowledgements –
We would like to thank Mrs. C. Smith for her help in sorting out all of the
relevant information and giving us the opportunity to study Lambert. Also,
thanks to the CEO of Waterloo 200 for telling us more about the battle itself and
about the organization of Waterloo 200. Last but not least, we need to thank Mr.
McCombes for his help and comments throughout the process.
This has been a wonderful experience, thank you all for your help!