Fascinating lecture. Back in 1995 I had the great privilege of being invited on a private tour of the battlefield led by David Howarth who wrote for my money what is one of the definitive books on the battle. Apart from being given a great and detailed perspective on the battle the trip was memorable for who was in the group. There were several people who were direct descendants of officers and men who fought on the day. In particular there was a little old lady who I noticed was wearing a Coldstream guards brooch in diamonds. When I asked her what her connection with the battle was she said her name was MacDonnell and it was her great, great grandfather who helped close the north gate. He subsequently emigrated to Canada where she had travelled from for the tour. Also rather late in the afternoon a very charming German general by the name of Blucher arrived to join the group from NATO HQ in Brussels. Needless to say there was much humour about late arrivals on the battlefield. Incidentally, in the officers mess of the Coldstream guards at Wellington barracks in London they have the brick that was used to jam the timber in place to hold the north gate shut.

Thank you - a super presentation. I have over 50 books on Waterloo and still continue to learn more about the battle. I have just finished reading Robert Burnham's and Ron Mcguigan's book 'Wellington's Foot Guards at Waterloo' which focuses on the defence of Hougoumont by the British and German troops. I look forward to the next presentation about Hougoumont. By the way I love your model of the Farm although the larger version looks so much more impressive. Thanks again.

It is because of Waterloo Uncovered that I have an interest in the battle for the first time since I was a teenager, thank you.

Went there when the farmer still lived in the farm. Rather grumpy fellow but quite happy to let us wander around his property.

Excellent presentation , thanks Tony . I suppose that it shouldn't be underestimated what a pinch point that central archway must have been. Not just for any French who may have got that far, but for the defenders who would have been rushing around inside the courtyards too.

Thank you for this latest lecture. I am really enjoying them and learning so much about a period of history I need to learn more about.

I remember seeing the imperial eagle and standard captured by Sergeant Charles Ewart of the Scots Greys at Edinburgh Castle. I was dumb struck to behold such a piece of amazing history. If these artifacts could talk!

Fascinating, thank you.

Have been fascinated by this battle since ..-Thank you for these update lectures-it’s amazing how these excavations have changed and expanded the knowledge available.

This was fascinating thank you. Heading off to the website. So much desperate fighting in such small spaces.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. You really brought the battle to life. Keep up the great work!

Lovely series.

Excellent presentation, carry on the good work.

i am really enjoying the Waterloo series . very interesting informative and well presented

Loving these waterloo vids! I’m so excited about how much myth they are sorting through to find the true facts of the reality of the battle! Thx for sharing!

Great lecture Tony 👍🏼

Really interesting! Great!

thank you very much

The Hanoverian Kings German Legion had virtually the same uniforms as the British. The Nassau soldiers had their own dark green uniforms and the Brunswick soldiers wore black with a scull and crossbones on their shakos.

A great insight Tony on the defence of Hougoumont and the attempts to enter by the French. If Col McDonnell was given command to defend the chateau and surrounding gardens etc and had time to position troops around the outer perimeter then he must have had some plan of defence in mind. But did he have a plan for the actual buildings and interiors, and if so was there a fall back building where the defenders would head for and make a last stand (thinking of Chard and Rourke's Drift here)? after all there were plenty of choke points. Visited the battle site two years ago but due to road traffic we were late and missed out on the chateau visit, really must go there again with more time....

Very interesting, thanks!

GREAT GREAT GREAT THANK YOU SO MUCH

The hand to hand fighting after the gates were closed must have been hell on Earth

I visited Hougomont for the first time this week. What doesn’t make sense to me, seeing the models and maps, is how the North Gate was closed in the way that is often represented. That is, that it was closed “behind” the French who got in and that THEN they were cut down. Because, with the buildings so close on either side of the gate and such a small space how could there be British soldiers to the side capable of closing the door without being in amongst the French. I could understand if the French were killed and THEN the gates were shut with, perhaps, a lull in the numbers pushing through. Or even if a group of French passed through into the courtyard but didn’t have many colleagues behind and then the defenders got behind them and closed the gates. The point is that with buildings on either side of the gate there’s no room for defenders to get around a group of attackers numbering 30-40. The only option I can think of, if the accounts are accurate, is if a few defenders were pushed back by the gates opening and trapped behind, not really seen by the French pushing in, who were engaged to their front, and then there being a gap in attackers that allowed them to get the doors closed as the attackers moved inside

It was Sous Ltn. Legros 'L'Enfonceur' a giant of a man (at that time) who was well over 6 feet tall, with a strong build and I think from memroy with men of his 2nd Leger (Light Infantry) that got through the North Gate and into the courtyard. He smashed through the shot-riddled double gate panels with a pioneers axe and apparently he got as far as the South Courtyard, where I think it was also him who cut off the hand of an Allied officer who attempted to access a door, perhaps even as far as the Famrers House. All 30-40 of the French were systematically shot, bayoneted or bludgeoned to death in desperate, hand to hand fighting in the North courtyard, as you say. Only a young French drummer boy survived, who was aapparently tied to a cartwheel for the rest of the day.

Where is the tree trunk coming McDonald tries to close the gate? The model explains a lot, I must re read what the soldiers of the Nassau battalion did write defending Hougoumont all the time.

You ask the question about which the French used in the battle, cannons or a battering ram to open the south gates, but why not both? Given the mass confusion of the fight, why couldn't they have used hey could have used cannons at one point in the battle, and used a battering ram at another. That could also apply to Colonel McDonald as well. French forces stop attacking one of the gates and start attacking another. Colonel McDonald would certainly have been aware of the change in direction of attack and moved to the other gate. This could have happened several times during the battle, and so your question concerning how they did something under certain circumstances might be misplaced. At one point in the battle, Colonel McDonald could have rushed to the North Gate to help close it under desperate circumstances, and at another point could have rushed to help push the French out of that same gate after yet another attempt by the French to gain the inside of the farm.

The murderous gift shop. Always a choke point

Is captain Mcdonnel and the major the same person? Colonel Wyndham and the two Graham brothers from County Cavan where also at the gate. Its very complicated. Incidently Captain Mcdonnel was from Invergarry in Scotland.

Aha! Now I’ve seen the rest of the video I see he addresses the issue I raised. I agree that either the French were already defeated inside - which rather spoils the story - or like I suggest perhaps there were men trapped behind the gates as they were opened who managed to push back against them after the main rush of attackers had passed through

Not sure why I never noticed this before, but revisiting the videos today I knew something wasn't right. The Siborne quote about the French breaking in through the West door actually refers to La Haye Sainte.

Absolutely marvellous. A great presentation. However, despite the few errors for which I’m not ready to comment, please permit me to help a little concerning Tony’s misconception in relation to Lt. Col. Macdonnell’s activities. (“how did Macdonnell know”?) As Tony is frequently referring to Matthew Clay, let’s use Clay and move back to his musket stoppage. (in Gareth Glover’s ‘Narrative of the Battles of Waterloo; with the Defence of Hougoumont’ by Clay; 1853: Page 19) During Clay’s retreat from the wood, he has a musket stoppage. On bending down, during an exchange, he describes the buttons and badges of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. (as such, a soldier under the command of Lord Saltoun, who is to the EAST of the farm, in, and around the great orchard) So…, how could one of his Guardsmen find himself on the western lane ? Simple really: Following Bull’s howitzer bombardment, Saltoun returns to the orchard with his two Light Companies, in order to push back the French skirmishers from the great orchard. In doing so and probably due to the NE corner of the garden’s wall, he divides the Enemy in two. The majority are pushed back to the northern paddock, while the others move WEST along the northern wall…, and in doing so, they force the North Gate. (the FIRST breach) During this ‘surprise’ breach, (east, instead of west) many French enter the northern courtyard. In the meantime, Macdonnell IS STILL IN THE WOOD, commanding the two assault platoons of the SG and CG. (with Ensigns Gooch and Standen commanding their support platoons) During the breach and due to the obligatory hand-to-hand combat, a squad of French are unable to enter, meaning that they are obliged to take cover by the NW corner. With the GG hot on their heels, the French are then chased up the western lane. During this chase, one Frenchman turns and kills a GG Guardsman. (providing Clay with a WARM musket) This mini skirmish obviously leads to the Officer Commanding the GG platoon to send a runner north, to inform Macdonnell of the infraction. Macdonnell then criminally DESERTS his attacking forces, to return to the farm. In doing so, he ALSO deprives his Mess mates, Lt. Col. Dashwood and Wyndham of their support platoons. Because of it, both men are seriously wounded and all the others are Courts-Martialled for not returning to the farm before the closure of the gate. By this time of course, the GG have already eliminated the French in the farm. As such, the 1st closure of the North Gate was ‘easy-peasy.’ (contradicting all the painters who spiced up the mise-en-scene) Easy…, why ? Simply because Clay describes all the dead Frenchmen plus an Officer, muddied by the North Gate, and more importantly…, he also tells us that Macdonnell had the time (probably following a NAFFI-break) to hunt around for a log, in order to secure the gate’s lock. Lol… In the meantime, it’s the second and last breach that’s an amazing story. (as yet untold) In my book; ‘A Sunday Morning at Hougoumont,’ programmed for December.

Loving the lectures but was there any need to dig when you could have watched the last episode of Sharpe? 😄

Interesting comment regarding how McDonald knew about what was happening at the North gate, one of many mystery's about this battle.

Why didn't the French bring up a cannon to Hougoumont? One must remember the weather on the day of the battle in these considerations. The battle was fought immediately after a large rain storm had occurred in the area and the whole battlefield was a quagmire of mud, especially in the low places and under the trees. Heavy canon would have been almost impossible to move along a narrow road through a wood in such conditions, especially after thousands of troops had turned the roads into an impassable sea of mud?

At 16:40 the South Gate, if an accurate depiction drawn, looks like solid shot and canister were used at the gate?

Why didn't the French use more cannon to demolish the walls? An excellent series of videos.

Thank you. I have been extremely interested in the battle for 50 years and especially the fight for Hougoumont. I’ve also visited the field on a few occasions. I’ve never seen an accurate model of Hougoumont in all that time, although there are plenty of old images available. I am considering making a model myself and would love to see the archeological maps of the foundations. Are they available please? I have a Facebook group entitled ‘Old Waterloo Images’, which is a collation of many old images and photos of the battlefield if anyone is interested. I also own two 2D Ds swords (Scots Greys) used in the battle. I look forward to your next video.

Very interesting! I read the account by Matthew Clay where he seems to refer to the South Gates as the Upper gates and the North Gates as the Lower Gates. All very confusing. In some ways the story would make more sense if they were the other way round with him and his pal entering Hougoumont via the South Gates as they retreated. That would explain why MacDonnell could see the broken (South) gates form his reported position and act to help by carrying the log as reported by Clay. So the South Gates broken first and then the North gates would have been broken down twice - by a make shift battering ram and not canon fire.

In what intervals did the French break in while 2 major buildings where on fire ? Did that become a factor . I have seen that the garden wall has been replaced post battle . So did they use cannon to breach the killing field wall ?

Not sure if your team has seen this following video yet, but it gives the answer to your question using evidence and maps of the period. Basically, it came down to terrain. Hougoumont was in very hollow ground, and slopes were all around it, and the walled garden. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m62ShNV7p6iXcZ8.html

Is it not likely, that when the French broke in, and about 40 to 50 French were trapped inside, it was due to a lack of French outside which may have caused the gate to be closed, so like a cork, those 40 or 50 were all that was around the North Gate, and it really wasn't in danger of falling.

The attack on the Allied right was supposed to be a diversion to pull Wellington's center troops away to the east. But Nappy's left corps, including his idiot brother Jerome, kept piling in more forces. Nappy never brought enough force to bear on Hougoumont, especially of artillery, yet allowed far more infantry to be committed than should have been. What was called for was an all-out attack on the Allied left, without waiting for the ground to dry, as soon as possible. This would have driven in the Allies and away from any hope of Prussian rescue.

A canon without it`s carriage would make a very serviceable ram. If that is what they did then it is just as true that they broke it with a canon as with a ram. Problem solved.

It's no big deal that Clay's account of the south gate and the German serjeant's differ. The obvious explanation is that they occurred at different times. Did the Nassau troops not garrison the buildings prior to the British guards taking over?

Is it possible the South gate received canister from a cannon as the solid shot had been used up ? Solid shot would have gone through door leaf and bar at point blank range,the gunners able to estimate where the bar crossed. The period artist is what we have for image,and that is it. Accuracy ? A combat involving hours,where many of the witnesses died on the spot,I can only say that involved tense situations remembered later are jumbled together. Combat where terse descriptions are all that is left ,did the artist see the very gates or were they so burned or damaged or replaced soon after that conjecture was used ? Even with goodwill on the part of those recollecting,making sense of "what happened?" can be very difficult indeed.

Why do we focus so much on Hougoumont? The critical part of Waterloo battle took place at Plancenoit village and at 'La Haye Sainte". The French could have won the battle even without seizing Hougoumont if the Prussians didn't manage to come to Wellington's aid on time. The French simply passed by Hougoumont and almost broke the allied left flank....they just didn't have enough time to secure their victory before the arrival of Blucher.... that is why they finally lost

Did the French ever consider smashing their way through the actual walls of the buildings on the northside next to the gate?

Ah, you know the model is wrong NOW! That's what Archeology does , mess up all you thought you knew. Modify the model:-)

Can you make a presentation about 'Wellingtons' army...cause as I understand it only 20 percent was actually British...😂 And while you're at it research Chassé...he was the real hero of waterloo but was neglected in Wellingtons reports after the battle cause he used to serve in Napoleon's army...and then you can tell how the British division fled and Chasse saved their skin by retaking their artillery positions and attacking the imperial guard...for this reason Wellington is the most overrated commander ever... The Dutch achievements are heavily underestimated by the English...but then again the Dutch had won five wars against the British and eventually took their throne...so maybe that is why they so desperately needed the credit for the victory....downplaying the Dutch role and even switch the fleeing British for Dutch soldiers in later reports... It was such a slap in the dutchies face they still don't officially recognise the monument and made their own memorial somewhere next to it...

So you want to know how close the French got to taking Hougoument. You end the session with the comment that the French got into trouble because of the configuration of spaces and ended with the French victory at the threshold. Its a pity you didnt end with the bravery of the Scots Guards and the Coldstream Guards who fought off every attack and held Hougoument till the end of the battle.It is quite typical of modern English historians to laud the enemy and explain their inadequacies rather than the brilliant and brave accomplishmnets of the British soldiers who closed the gates and killed every Frenchman inside.