I,ve read that it was not Ney at all that started those failed cavalry attacks but jumpy junior officers seeing the british retire to the other side of the slop of the hill to take cover from an artillary bombardment and the jumpy officers mistaking this for a british retreat started their troops forward.
Ney never had the chance to tell his side of the story having been shot shortly after the battle by a firing squad and spent munch of the time between then tring to get out of france and even after he was captured his guards offered to let him go twice but, he refused having given his word that he would not try and escape. Ney WAS the bravest of the brave and in those waterloo cavalry attacks he led from the front and had 5 horses shot from under him just in those attacks never mind getting into his heroic rearguard defence of the retreat from russia.
As for the attacks, If ney had not planned them he would have not had infantry and artillary support ready for an attack that he did not know was about to happen but the follow up attacks should have been better organized and some of the latter attacks did have artillary support and very many british died from it. After the battle you could still see where the squares were from all the dead bodies still lying in the sqaure formations.
As for what louis suggested about just bringing up cavalry with horse artillary and then just pounding the square with artillary after the cavalry back off,and just keep doing this supper simple tactic. This was done in the napoleonic era and thats why you hold reserves in war and not commit all your troops at once!!! and when this does happen the british would just bring in there cavalry reserve and chace off the french cavalry and also cut up the gunners while they were at it!!!
If it were that simple i,m sure it would have been done by both sides.
