Dear Bernard,

I’m a bit confused about something in the 1970 film ‘Waterloo’. I understand that, after Quatre Bras, Ney was eager to learn from his mistake in not pursuing the retreating Anglo-Dutch force. Perhaps Wellington knew this and so goaded him beyond the ridge to fall upon deployed square formations. However, my real question is why did Ney position his cavalry for attack in the first place? Did he really hope to ‘copy’ what the Scots Greys had done to French artillery? Or was it all originally part of a more co-ordinated cavalry/infantry/artillery strategy (before Wellington’s feint had roused the hot-headed general to a more rash course of action)? Or, did Ney hope to simply charge the Allied lines in an attempt to sweep them off the ridge? Did Wellington spot a possible co-ordinated attack and pulled his troops back to relative safety of behind the ridge, with some cover from enemy artillery, thus fooling Ney into thinking that it was a headlong retreat? If this is what really happened, then something must have spurred Ney to a grievous mistake. I understand that while Ney was a competent general regarding certain battles, he also made some costly errors. Also, for the record, I feel his execution wasn’t right, he deserved better than that – whatever his crime.

Robert Douglas