Waterloo Day

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Waterloo Day
Observed byregiments of the British Army
Date 18 June
Next time18 June 2024 (2024-06-18)
Frequencyannual

Waterloo Day is 18 June, the date of the Battle of Waterloo, in 1815. It is remembered and celebrated each year by certain regiments of the British Army, [1] in the same way that the Royal Navy celebrates Trafalgar Day (21 October).


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The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras and was contested between elements of the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-allied army and the left wing of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney. The battle was a tactical victory for Wellington, but because Ney prevented him going to the aid of Blucher's Prussians who were fighting a larger French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte at Ligny it was a strategic victory for the French.

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The Waterloo campaign was fought between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussian army. Initially the French army had been commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, but he left for Paris after the French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Command then rested on Marshals Soult and Grouchy, who were in turn replaced by Marshal Davout, who took command at the request of the French Provisional Government. The Anglo-allied army was commanded by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army by Field Marshall Graf von Blücher.

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James Graham (1791–1845) was an Irish non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars, recognised as the "bravest man in the army" by the Duke of Wellington. Serving in the Coldstream Guards, he was commended for his gallantry during the defence of Hougoumont, at Waterloo. Graham saved the life of an officer, and his own brother, and was among the small group responsible for closing the North Gate at Hougoumont after a French attack – an act which won the Duke of Wellington's encomium. He was rewarded with a specially cast gallantry medal and an annuity. After later serving in the 12th Royal Lancers, Graham was discharged in 1830 for ill health, and died at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in 1845.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterloo Medal</span> British Army decoration, 1816

The Waterloo Medal is a military decoration that was conferred upon every officer, non-commissioned officer and soldier of the British Army who took part in one or more of the following battles: Ligny, Quatre Bras and Waterloo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavalié Mercer</span> English painter

Alexander Cavalié Mercer was a British artillery officer. Although he rose to the rank of general, his fame is as commander of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery in the thick of the fighting at the Battle of Waterloo, and as author of Journal of the Waterloo Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Rocheserviere</span> Rebellion during Hundred Days

The Battle of Rocheserviere was fought at Rocheservière on the 20 June 1815, between Vendéan Royalists, who had remained loyal to King Louis XVIII during the Hundred Days, and Napoleon's Army of the West, commanded by General Jean Maximilien Lamarque. The battle ended with the defeat of the Royalist forces. Five days later the Treaty of Cholet was signed, ending the hostilities.

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William II was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrik Detmers</span> Dutch military commander

Hendrik Detmers, was a Dutch general who played an important part in the Battle of Waterloo as a colonel, commanding a brigade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invasion of Guadeloupe (1815)</span>

The Invasion of Guadeloupe was the last conflict between French and British forces during the Napoleonic Wars, and took place after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.

References

  1. "Waterloo Day - 18th June 1815" (PDF). The British Army. Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2014.