Battle Of Waterloo Research Paper

There are many Irish connections to the Battle of Waterloo from the leading generals down to the ordinary soldiers however the Irish contribution to the battle was largely forgotten about afterward. Most Irish people involved in the battle were in the British army under the 1st Duke of Wellington who was himself Irish. The Battle of Waterloo itself was one of the most important battles of European history. It involved the armies of France, Britain and Prussia and determined the fate of European history.

Napoleon invaded Belgium on June 15th and launched an attack on the British and Prussian armies after he was declared an outlaw upon his return from exile. On 16 June, two battles at Ligny and Quatre Bras occurred. At Ligny, Prussia’s army was defeated and at the crossroads of Quatre Bras, Wellington fought an …show more content…
They covered Wellington's retreat up the road towards Waterloo by keeping off the French and were also involved at Waterloo. They were involved in one of the best known events of the battle - the charge of the British heavy cavalry or The Charge of the Union Brigade as it became known (because there was three regiments involved and the other two were English and Scottish). The Irish Major General Sir William Ponsoby was in charge of the cavalry. This charge occurred when a French infantry attack was threatening the center of Wellington's line. The heavy cavalry, including the Dragoons, were ordered forward to deal with them and hundreds of French infantry were killed or captured. However after this the cavalry became reckless and continued their charge onwards to the main French position. They ignored the recall and continued on to suffer huge losses when the French cavalry counter attacked. All cavalry groups including the Iniskilling Dragoons suffered severe losses. Sir William Ponsoby died during the charge and command was passed to the leader of the