Gaeilgeoirí of Waterloo

Fifteen kilometres south of Brussels, just beyond the Forêt de Soignes, or Sonian Forest, which dominates the south of the city, the road opens on to an expanse of land that played a central role in European history. Two hundred years ago next week the Battle of Waterloo took place here, as Napoleon made a last, ill-fated attempt to conquer Europe.

Today the area around the battlefield brims with tour buses and visitors. For decades Waterloo has been a Mecca for British schoolchildren and history buffs. The site is dominated by a 50m-high mound topped by an iron-cast lion, magisterially surveying the landscape where tens of thousands of soldiers once lay dead. The striking visual symbol of victory seems oddly incongruous in a country where, farther north, the commemorative spirit of the battlefields of Flanders is one of quiet understatement.

On Thursday Belgium and the UK will mark the 200th anniversary of the battle. The cornerstone of the celebrations is a huge re-enactment, involving 5,000 volunteers, 300 horses and 100 cannons, which aims to re-create the events of Sunday, June 18th, 1815. Across the water the UK will hold a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, in London.

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Controversial: the €2.50 coin commemorating Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. Belgium has issued it despite France’s objections. Photograph: New York Times

The bicentenary is not just an opportunity for displays of gratuitous patriotism; it is also an opportunity to reassess a battle that had huge ramifications for Europe but these days is perhaps best known merely as an inspiration for Abba’s Eurovision-winning song, from 1974. Surprisingly little is known in Ireland about the Battle of Waterloo, despite heavy Irish involvement and the duke of Wellington’s Irish roots.

Although the battle took place over a single day, Waterloo is part of a much broader historical narrative. The story of Waterloo begins much earlier, and is bound up with the history of the man who dominated Europe in the early 19th century.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power in France in the tumultuous years following the French Revolution, becoming emperor in 1804. His genius as a military strategist and commander was underpinned by a strong imperialist ideology. By 1811 he had conquered swathes of Europe, as France was pitted against Britain and other European powers in the conflicts that became known as the Napoleonic Wars.

But Napoleon's strategy began to falter once he reached Moscow, in 1812. The retreat from the city – recounted in Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, and foreshadowing the Germans' deadly retreat in 1941 – saw Napoleon pushed back to France. He abdicated, after further defeats, in April 1814 and was banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba.

With Napoleon in exile the main European powers – Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia – intensified their efforts to forge a new era of European co-operation and peace, culminating in the Congress of Vienna. But those peace plans were disrupted by Napoleon’s dramatic return.

On February 27th, 1815, Napoleon set sail for the French mainland. Arriving near Cannes, he then staged his improbable comeback, taking his enemies by surprise by choosing a circuitous route to Paris, over the French Alps, and amassing volunteers along the way.

News of the emperor’s return emboldened the allied nations – known as the seventh coalition – to move against Napoleon. But he planned to attack before his adversaries had time to mobilise, targeting the allied troops in the Low Countries.

Napoleon’s army left Paris on June 11th. Four days later his troops had crossed the Belgian border – an advance whose speed shocked the duke of Wellington when he heard about it at a ball in Brussels.

Combat soon erupted in the villages of Quatre Bras and Ligny. Then came the battle itself – which was relatively quick and decisive. The French fought from the south; Wellington’s troops approached from the north, reinforced by the Prussian army of Gen Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.

The Anglo-Prussian forces both outnumbered the French and had the upper hand tactically. Wellington’s innovative use of infantry squares, for example – in which more than 500 soldiers, in at least two rows, surrounded the enemy and fired in turns – meant the French cavalry was unable to break through the allied formation.

A series of incidents, including heavy rain that forced Napoleon to delay battle for several hours, also worked against the French. By early evening, after the arrival of the Prussian army, their defeat was beyond doubt. Napoleon fled. Up to 50,000 soldiers lay dead or wounded on the battlefield.

Bicentenary controversy

As Belgium prepares its ambitious programme of events, the Waterloo bicentenary has also sparked controversy. As well as the familiar accusations that re-enactments sanitise and glorify warfare, the commemorations have touched on diplomatic sensitivities.

A minor storm erupted earlier this year when France complained about plans to mint a €2 coin to commemorate Waterloo. The Belgian finance ministry dropped the plan, scrapping 180,000 coins it had already struck – but then went ahead this week by instead issuing €2.50 coins, under euro-zone rules that allow countries to issue coins unilaterally if they are in irregular denominations.

The bicentenary also opens complex questions for Ireland. The duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, was born in Dublin and spent much of his childhood around Trim, Co Meath, where a towering monument to the Iron Duke still stands.

Trim honoured his links with the town in a series of events last month attended by the current duke, Charles Wellesley, and by the British ambassador, Dominick Chilcott. Some locals complained about the marking of Wellington’s successes, given that the Battle of Waterloo took place just a few years after the 1798 Rebellion and the ensuing Act of Union.

The complex politics of commemoration, which surfaced last year during the first World War centenary, arise once again for Ireland with the Battle of Waterloo, not least because of the many Irish troops who fought in it: up to a third of the soldiers on the field that day may have been from Ireland.

The Republic will have a formal involvement in next week’s commemorations in Belgium, with the Embassy hosting a ceremony at the battlefield on Friday. The current duke and the British ambassador to Belgium, Alison Rose, are due to attend. Ireland’s Ambassador to Belgium, Eamonn Mac Aodha, will also represent the government at a Belgian federal event on Thursday.

Irish re-enactors

About 50 Irish people, from north and south of the Border, are taking part in the main battle re-enactment, complete with uniforms, equipment and fife-and-drum band. The Irish contingent will consist of two infantry regiments, the 27th Inniskilling and the 86th (Leinster). The former, consisting of between 700 and 1,000 men mainly from the Enniskillen area, suffered heavy casualties at Waterloo.

Barry Walsh, from Monasterevin, Co Kildare, is one of the organisers of the Irish involvement in the Waterloo commemorations. His interest in re-enactments was sparked by his involvement in a 1798 event at Charles Fort, in Kinsale, a decade or so ago. Since then he has taken part in events across Europe, from portraying a royal marine aboard a tall ship at Battle of Trafalgar commemorations in Portsmouth to landing in amphibious vehicles on the beach at Veere, in the Netherlands.

Walsh says it is important to remember the Irish who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. “Approximately 48 per cent of the British army around that time were Irish, and between 10,000 and 12,000 are believed to have fought at the Battle of Waterloo.”

As someone who has taken part in re-enactments of both Irish rebellions and British victories, Barry sees no contradiction in remembering all sides of history. “There were Irish fighting on all sides at Waterloo. Many of the men of 1798 joined Napoleon’s Légion Irlandaise or the British army to avoid deportation or jail. I think there is more of a willingness by Irish people over the last decade to explore these aspects of Irish history and re-evaluate the past in a more dispassionate way.”

Ambassador Eamonn Mac Aodha also believes it is correct to commemorate Irish involvement at Waterloo. “The Irish were there, probably in their thousands, and from all over the island. Some people spoke Irish on the battlefield; many fought gallantly and had senior roles. It is absolutely right to remember their part in this key moment of European history.”

[ waterloo2015.org/en ]