Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles

the troops divided officers into two classes, the ‘come on’ and the ‘go on’, ‘and with us

That was murder, not warfare, and it enraged the Scots

Legend insists that the Rifles got their revenge by slicing the buttocks from some dead Frenchmen, smoking them and then selling them as hams to the Brunswickers.

‘It’s like a boxing match, the more you punch the better it is.’

Napoleon was nothing if not confident. ‘I will arrive in Paris’, he told his troops, ‘without firing a shot!’

Did he remember that place?
In time he would never forget it.
It was called Waterloo.

to filter out what was unthreatening and to concentrate on what was essential.

We might know how it ends, but like all good stories it bears repetition.
So here it is again, the story of a battle.

most difficult thing is to guess the enemy’s plan

one might wonder why generals make blunders; it