Dear Bernard,

I’ve just finished your excellent account of Waterloo and would like to praise you for another wonderful oeuvre. I’ve read several accounts of this/these battle(s) and yours is the clearest and best at explaining the whys and wherefores. I especially appreciated your explanations of the importance of the road networks, the concerns the allies had that affected their positioning pre-Quatre Bras and the rock, paper, scissors aspects of the timing of column, line, square, cavalry, artillery, as well as the clarity of the chronology of events. One issue that you didn’t mention, however, was whether or not Napoleon was ill in the midst of the battle and how much this may have affected his decision making – not least his delegation of much of the battle management to Ney. The 1970 film has a passage where Napoleon is incapacitated through stomach cramps and returns to the battle to find Ney has committed the cavalry unsupported against the Anglo/Dutch squares and I’ve read this alleged episode reported in some accounts but not in all. What is your view? Could this explain some of Napoleon’s apparent shortcomings on the day or is there no evidence to support it?

Thanks again for a wonderful read.

Paul Waide