The Battle of Waterloo with Gordon Corrigan 

Napoleon was a smart man he must have known this ........ why did he underestimate the enemy so much? This is a legitimate question. Something that never made sense to me was the charge of the Imperial Guard as described. They seemed to have changed overnight from the most feared warriors of the time to an old folks' home. In a German publication the charge is also described: They came up the slope decimating the British forces until Zieten arrived. Zieten had received notice from a Prussian liaison officer in Wellington's camp that collapse was imminent. British and Dutch deserters, on their way to Antwerp, were telling that Wellington had been killed. Zieten ignored orders from Gneisenau and came to the rescue. The arrival came as a complete surprise: "They promised us Grouchy and give us Prussians". This was the reason for the retreat, not in a panic, but in an orderly fashion down the slope, starting 08.30PM. The British charge never took place and is myth nor were the famous words (La Garde meurt ... ) ever spoken (at least not there); instead the word "Merde" was definitely heard frequently by Prussians and Hanoverians who were present. The British version of events at Waterloo is dominant! Read this German publication from 1915: ISBN/EAN 9783747702055 and you will never look at Waterloo the same again.

Fascinating. Prof Corrigan is a captivating guest -Good speaker & scholar.