"The best-selling author of The Battle, Alessandro Barbero, was asked which action saved Wellington at Waterloo prior to the arrival of the Prussians. He replied: "If I should indulge in that game, I'd say the cavalry charge which effectively broke d'Erlon's attack." The greatest contributor to that charge was the King's Dragoon Guards (KDG), which fielded nearly half of the Household Brigade's sabers. This book tells the remarkable story of the KDG before, during, and after the battle of Waterloo, drawing on private, unpublished archive material. It concludes with their link to the Queen's Dragoon Guards. HRH The Prince of Wales is Colonel-in-Chief 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards."--Amazon.com.

On 18 June 1815, Napoleon and Wellington took to the fields of Waterloo for one final, decisive battle – a battle that would put an end to over two decades of warfare and determine the fate of Europe. Yet, little is known about the significant contribution made by the 1st or King's Dragoon Guards who, ultimately, helped deny Napoleon victory. As a regiment, the KDG was the greatest contributor to the charge, made by the British heavy cavalry, fielding nearly half of the Household Brigade's sabres, but it also made the biggest sacrifice. In successfully repelling the main French assault of the day it paid a heavy price: of the 540 men who bravely fought, only thirteen of its number were still standing at the close of the battle. With the regiment severely depleted at the end of the fighting, it did not make sense for the officers and sergeants to dine separately, as was the custom. So they ate together, a tradition that continues to this day, every 18 June, with the KDG's descendant regiment 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards. Here, Richard Goldsbrough tells the remarkable story of the KDG before, during and after the Battle of Waterloo.

June 18, 1815. Find out why this date will live in infamy in Battle of Waterloo. Get to know key historical figures, including French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Commander of the Allies (Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and commander of the Prussian army, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Trace Napoleon's life from birth to declaring himself emperor, the Napoleonic Wars, the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and his defeat at Waterloo, which was his final bid for power across Europe. Put yourself on the battlefield as you learn about military strategy and resulting casualties. Learn what weapons and tactics were used, including cavalry, square formations, bayonets, muskets, and cannons. Finally, discover the aftermath of this pivotal conflict, including several decades of peace across Europe. Black and white and color photographs, illuminating quotations, maps, charts, a glossary, an index, and book links round out this exciting and informative title. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Abdo & Daughters is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

During October 2016 Paul Dawson visited French archives in Paris to continue his research surrounding the events of the Napoleonic Wars. Some of the material he examined had never been accessed by researchers or historians before, the files involved having been sealed in 1816. These seals remained unbroken until Paul was given permission to break them to read the contents.Forget what you have read about the battle on the Mont St Jean on 18 June 1815; it did not happen that way. The start of the battle was delayed because of the state of the ground not so. Marshal Ney destroyed the French cavalry in his reckless charges against the Allied infantry squares wrong. The stubborn defense of Hougoumont, the key to Wellingtons victory, where a plucky little garrison of British Guards held the farmhouse against the overwhelming force of Jerome Bonapartes division and the rest of II Corps not true. Did the Union Brigade really destroy dErlons Corps, did the Scots Greys actually attack a massed French battery, did La Haie Sainte hold out until late in the afternoon?All these and many more of the accepted stories concerning the battle are analysed through accounts (some 200 in all) previously unpublished, mainly derived through French sources, with startling conclusions. Most significantly of all is the revelation of exactly how, and why, Napoleon was defeated.Waterloo, The Truth at Last demonstrates, through details never made available to the general public before, how so much of what we think we know about the battle simply did not occur in the manner or to the degree previously believed. This book has been described as a game changer, and is certain to generate enormous interest, and will alter our previously-held perceptions forever.

In 1812 two mighty armies manoeuvred across the Spanish plains. They were finely balanced, under skilful leaders. Each struggled to gain an advantage. Wellington knew that if he defeated the French, he could turn the tide of the war. Good intelligence was paramount, but the French were using a code of unrivalled complexity - the 'Great Paris Cipher'. It was an unprecedented challenge, and Wellington looked to one man to break the code: Major George Scovell. Using a network of Spanish guerrillas, Scovell amassed a stack of coded French messages, and set to work decrypting them. As a man of low birth, Scovell - even with his genius for languages, and bravery on a dozen battlefields - struggled for advancement amongst Wellington's inner circle of wealthier, better connected officers. Mark Urban draws on a wealth of original sources, including many cyphers and code-tables, to restore Scovell to his rightful place in history as the man who was the brains behind the intelligence battle against Napoleon's army and a forerunner of the great code-breakers of the 20th Century.