Gentlemen,
I found this video filmed by a member of the 8eme de Ligne at the 2015 re-enactment of Ligny and Waterloo. Obviously it's from a foot soldiers point of view, while standing in the ranks. No overview of the battle, no real idea of where you are, or what's going on, just marching where you're told, pointing your flintlock, and firing.
It runs about 1hr 40min, and provides a great insight into a number of things, from camp life, to seeing an army on the march, and the great confusion of battle.
The first 45mins is around the bivouac. Not terribly exciting, but to see men sitting around, getting fed by the camp followers, sharing jokes, rolling dice, or playing cards on top of drums, to singing around a campfire, you could well imagine the men of 1815 doing similar things, though probably not with the orderly rows of tents.
The last hour of the video is predominantly the army in action. While the discipline and level of drill isn't all that you'd expect, you get a real sense of the sort of chaos and confusion of the battlefield. The lack of vision due to smoke and the natural terrain, cavalry appearing out of nowhere, marching around in circles because no one is sure where you should be.
There's a number of interesting scenes, volley fire against the enemy, defending against a cavalry charge, charging and being charged by the enemy, guns being manhandled across the field, the French army on the march to the field.
There's one scene with the men lying in the fields resting, while others march around them. I was stuck by the thought of similar formations of men lying injured or dead instead, and just how ghastly that must have been.
How even the best officers were able to keep their formations co-ordinated in such an environment is mind boggling. It's no wonder it took a long time to organise anyone to do anything.
It's not the most exciting video you'll ever see, but it's certainly given me a different perspective of battles back in the day, and just how poorly the games we play represent the real thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv_o2s5LRYk
NWC
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