IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF NAPOLEON
PHOTOS BY JAMES EVANS-WHITE
TEXT BY KEVIN ZUCKER
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for the 1999 Tour!
The following shows you several of the sites we visited in 1991. We
will follow this same itinerary in our August 1999 Tour.
[Originally published in MOVES Magazine Number 67,
December-January 1992.]
This summer a group of gamers toured the battlefields of the Waterloo
Campaign. Landing first in Paris, we spent a beautiful afternoon at Les Invalides.
Originally home to old soldiers, it now houses several military museums and the tomb
of Napoleon. The second day we headed south to Napoleon's Palace of Fontainebleau,
then turned north to Compiegne. The following day we had lunch in Chimay to sample
the brew of the Trappist Monks, then followed the path of the French Army from its
assembly area around Beaumont to the bridge over the Sambre at Thuin. We met the
owners of Gemioncourt, and were given permission to walk through the battlefields
surrounding the farm. Later that afternoon, what began as a search for the ruins
of the windmill of Bussy led us to a local historian who gave us a vivid walking
tour of Ligny.
Left: Patrick Maes, Association Belge Napoleonienne.
The next morning we followed the Prussian road toward Watwerloo. Crossing
the Dyle at Limale, we lost our way at Lasne, where the Prussians emerged from the
woods and into view of the French. Before we reached Waterloo, we met members of
the Belgian wargaming club, "Scots Grays," who donned their Old Guard uniforms
for the occasion. We spent the evening in Brussels and devoted the next afternoon
to following the battles of Craonne and Laon, from the 1814 campaign. On our last
day we visited the museum of Malmaison, where Napoleon and Josephine experienced
their happiest days. Next year we will tour the battlefields of the Italian Campaign.
Ligny
La Ferme d'En Haut, in the center of town; the last bastion of Prussian resistance
on June 16th, 1815.
Quatre-Bras
The estaminet at the cross-roads, scene of repeated French cavalry charges.
The Lion Mound
Affording an unforgettable view over the battlefields of Waterloo, the hike to the
top takes 226 steps. Looking west, the crest behind which the British Guards were
concealed is at right-center.
La Belle Alliance
The site of the meeting between Wellington and Blücher after their victory
of the 18th.
Hougoumont Scene of the most crucial fighting of the whole campaign. Six thousand
Frenchmen died attempting to get through these gates.
Genappe A Young Guard band performed in a ceremony honoring General Duhesme,
who died of wounds here after the battle.
La Haie Sainte View of the Lion Mound through the hotly contested gate.
The fields beyond were traversed by Ney's massed squadrons and then by the Imperial
Guard.
Thanks to participants on the '91 Tour: Ed Wimble, designer and publisher; James
L. Evans-White, water engineer, Sonoma, CA; Hans Neld, M.D., Sweden; Kevin Zucker,
game designer and tour organizer; Dan Beattie, historian and game store owner, Charlottesville,
VA. Not pictured: Sergio Laliscia from Bologna, Italy; and Fabrice Cuvelier, interpreter-scheduler.