War Medals and Their HistorySteward, William Augustus
History
War Medals and Their History
Steward, William Augustus
Great Britain. Army -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.
=Great Regimental Losses.=--The loss in individual regiments was awful.
Four hundred men of the 27th were mowed down in square without drawing
a trigger (their medals in fine condition have fetched as many pounds
as the number of the regiment represents). The 92nd, reduced to 200
men, made a daring attack upon a French column 2,000 strong, and with
the aid of their countrymen, the Scots Greys, routed it. The 33rd,
reduced to a skeleton, asked for support, and the commanding officer
was told to "stand or fall where he was," and of the 28th and 73rd
it is related that Wellington asked, pointing to a mass of killed
and wounded men of these regiments, "What square is that so far in
advance!" But the impoverishment of the regiments by incessant attacks
and murderous artillery could not break the indomitable tenacity
of the British; in vain had Milhaud's Cuirassiers, forty squadrons
strong, thrice attacked the British squares. In vain did the remnants
of these valorous squadrons, assisted by Kellerman and Guyot--making
a total of seventy-seven squadrons, make a desperate effort to pierce
those stubborn and thinning squares of British infantry. In vain did
Ney repeat his attack upon the centre, even though he annihilated
what remained of the German Legion, which had with such admirable
courage held the farm of La Haye Sainte, and broke the formation of
the British troops, causing Wellington to ask the question relating
to the 28th and 73rd. In vain did the ten battalions of the Imperial
Guard, led by Marshal Ney, push their way up the slopes between
Hougomont and La Haye Sainte, for the Foot Guards--with the 52nd,
71st, and 92nd Regiments--offered such a murderous reception that "the
Guard turned and fled." No wonder Napoleon ejaculated, "_A present
c'est fini--sauvons nous!_" for, Wellington ordering the whole line to
advance, the weary, hungry, and even wounded soldiers rushed forward
with a joyous cheer and forced the retreat, which, as the British
leader, with the 42nd and 95th, threw himself on Ney's flank, and the
allied cavalry charged the enemy's columns, became an utter rout.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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