Waterloo; The Fine Point of the Bayonet, The Fight for Plancenoit cont'd (2 Viewers)

[7th OVI]

The Old Guard Grenadiers, outnumbered almost 5 to 1, continuously fought to hold off the Prussian advance for the next 30 minutes. The intense fighting cost both the Grenadiers and Prussians severely. The Grenadiers would fall back to a last line of defense in St. Catherine’s Catholic church in the center of town. They would use church pews from inside the church as a way to fire over the 6-foot-tall walls as well as barricades where the wall ended that were put in place earlier in the day by Prussian defenders. The church yard and cemetery were littered with the bodies of French troops and a few pieces of artillery. It is now about 9 o’clock PM with the sun setting, the only light is now only being provided by the fires burning in the church and surrounding buildings. It is the last minutes of the French defense of Plancenoit. Here is the description by French General Pelet of the final moments, “My major told me that everyone had made off and that the enemy already had cavalry at the entrance to the village that we were out flanked on all sides and in particular by the wood (Chantelet Wood previously held by the Grenadiers) on the side of the (river) Lasne. I then gave the order to rally everyone who could be found. I ran through the whole village, where the enemy was on all sides. I had the drums beat the rally and retired with what remained of the battalion (Old Guard Chasseurs) and a company of Grenadiers, about half of my men (Old Guard Chasseurs) by the road that ran from Plancenoit to the Caillou farm.” The diorama depicts those final moments of the French defense of Plancenoit. It shows the remaining Old Guard Grenadiers have reformed into a single company or platoon with fixed bayonets, loading their muskets with their last ammunition, manning the walls and barricades and waiting for the advancing Prussians with a strong determination of veteran troops. The Grenadiers have massed the battalion drummers to beat the “rally call” per General Pelet’s orders. The Grenadiers are preparing to fight their way out of Plancenoit the same way they fought their way in; on the “fine point of the bayonet”. The battle of Waterloo has proven very costly for the Old Guard 2nd Grenadier Regiment, before the battle the regiment mustered 1,090 men of all ranks and then on June 26th, the regiment mustered only 374 men of all ranks showing a loss of 716 men or about 66%. Most of the casualties of the 2nd Grenadiers were in the 2nd Battalion and were lost in the fighting around Plancenoit on Sunday, June 18th, 1815.

Side note and background on village: ” Plancenoit is located in Belgium 1.3 miles North West of Waterloo and it was a key strategic point during the battle of Waterloo, as it was the main focal point of the Prussians’ flank attack on Napoleon’s army on the 18th June. The village of 1815 had around 500 inhabitants and they had all fled their homes the day before the battle. In the middle of the northern part of the village lying on a gentle slope, stood an 13th century church called St Catherine made of white stone it had a church yard surrounded by a low stone wall. St Catherine’s was severely damaged during the battle and it was demolished but rebuilt in 1857 and was designed by an architect called Coulon. The southern side was mainly flat with most of its buildings made of wooden like huts with straw roofs. Plancenoit had a main cobblestone street which ran from east to west and was divided by a stream.” As always, let me know what you think. Thx Chris

 

[villagehorse]

Always like churches, so versatile fitting in over many centuries and this one is a beauty Chris. Robin.

 

[mestell]

Beautiful! The illuminated church windows greatly add to the evening atmosphere. Artistic genius at work.
Mike

 

[Horus]

Very impressive Chris, your Old Guard look determined to hold firm.