“Unhappily, whether by orders, or by the instinct of the soldier, the Guard deploys, in order to reply to the musketry which decimates it from moment to moment; and, by this movement, it masks the two batteries which have followed it, which have taken position on the crest of the plateau, and whose fire has, up to this instant, protected its flanks.” But what the leading battalions of the Guard needed at the moment when they were being destroyed by the superior fire of the brigade of English guards was not so much the continued effect of the fire of artillery upon the brigade as the prompt advance of cavalry, which would have compelled Maitland to throw his regiments into squares. Failing this, the best thing for the Guard would have been a flank attack on Maitland’s brigade by troops of the 1st Corps; but this was averted by the gallant and skilful conduct of Sir Colin Halkett and Colonel Elphinstone in bringing the remains of Halkett’s brigade, which had suffered terribly during the past hour, to the left of the English guards, and thus protecting them in their contest with the Imperial Guard.[745] In fact the attack on Halkett’s brigade by Donzelot’s troops at this time was very sharp, and at one time caused great confusion. It was a critical moment; for, if Halkett had been beaten, Donzelot’s troops would have flanked Maitland’s brigade, and, attacked as it then would have been, on front and flank, it would have been forced to retire, and perhaps even routed. Donzelot’s troops did their best to gain a foothold on the plateau; they did gain a temporary success; they knew the importance of the task assigned to them, and gallantly strove to support the charge of the Guard. On the other hand, the intelligent appreciation of the emergency on the part of Halkett and his subordinates, and their obstinate and courageous maintenance of their exposed position deserve the highest commendation. If this attack of the Imperial Guard had been supported on the right by cavalry, this resistance on the part of Halkett’s and Maitland’s commands could not have been encountered.