The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo

It gave me an insight of the KGL why it was started and the battle itself, how it help the allies defeat the Napoleon.

The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself. - - Abba Why read yet another "history" about the Battle of Waterloo? Well, Abba's wail repeats like an old scratched vinyl record stuck in a groove. History is different. Amost every history book is new because instead of repeating the same old tunes, every writer sifts through old papers to uncover new ideas to affirm the new author's original brilliance. For example, consider Wellington's asssertion that the Battle of Waterloo was "the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life." Simms concisely proves Wellington's comment. In most battles between matched forces, the outcome is due to a crucial tipping point. Bunker Hill in the American War of Independence "taught" the British to be so unduly cautious that they lost the war; the Plains of Abraham and Lundy's Lane shaped Canada; Little Round Top was the crucial U.S. Civil War battle; Bastogne was the rock that broke the last gasp of the Wehrmacht. At Waterloo, the only major battle ever fought by a de facto 'NATO' army (long before NATO was formed), the crucial hinge was La Haye Sainte farm held by the 2nd Light Battalion of the King's German Legion, a regular British army force formed by German volunteers who fled Napoleon's tyranny. Wellington's main force of 73,200 men was 36 percent British (i.e. English, Scots, Welsh and Irish), 10 percent King's German Legion, 10 percent Nassauers, 8 percent Brunswickers, 17 percent Hanoverian, 13 percent Dutch and 6 percent Belgian. It's how the British preferred to fight land battles, by hiring others to handle actual combat. In 1815, Germans had much more at stake in defeating the 77,500 soldiers of Napoleon's main force than Hessians had in beating Yankees in the 1770s. The 368 men of the 2nd Light Battalion, sent to La Haye Sainte farm on the road from Quatre Bras to Brussels, blocked the French advance through the center olf the British line. The battalion had 40 percent casualties; the French lost at least 2,000 men in and around La Haye Sainte. At the end of the day, Blucher's Prussians arrived and Napoleon's last dream of conquest collapsed as his army fled. As at Bastogne almost 130 years later, La Sainte Haye was a rock that could not be moved. This well told story is how a handful of men who fought for honour and freedom changed the coarse of history. From Thermopylae on, it reminds us of what people motivated by love of country and freedom can accomplish. An excellent book, even though it suffers from the lack of detailed maps of La Sainte Haye area.

Highly recommended not just for students of history but to those who like a good historical action-adventure novel. This wonderful book reads like a movie script, the narrative is so well-written. Rather than starting out with the background history of this unique unit comprised mostly of displaced Hanoverian Germans in the British Army, the action begins the night prior to the battle, to suck you into the narrative. Author Brendan Simms then introduces just enough background to appreciate the action taking place. Easily read and understood, the events of that long afternoon at Waterloo are both remarkable and thrilling. Simms then concludes with a mature, balanced ending which thankfully includes what happened to his protagonists as they either perished or lived out the rest of their lives in history. Never dull, every paragraph on point, this is one of the best books I have read in a long time, and the quality of the writing reminds me of Shelby Foote's magnificent The Civil War: A Narrative. I sincerely wish someone would make a movie of it like the 1964 film Zulu (although that movie has some historical flaws) or with the high quality of the fictional 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Alas, the movie industry is interested in other topics now...If I have one critique, it is the length versus the price. This is very short book at only 128 pages or so of reading material. The fact that it's such a great read of a fascinating subject however more than makes up for the length. Well worth your time and money.

There is an old saying that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton. The battle was really won in the muck and the mud surrounding La Haye Sainte and Hougoumont, two strongholds on the battlefield which stymied the French attack, delaying it long enough to allow the Prussian army to arrive and take Napoleon in the flank.This book is the story of the 400 men of the King's German Legion who held La Haye Sainte against repeated assaults by thousands of Napoleon's soldiers. I would rank their gallant defense on a par with the more famous defenses of Thermopylae, the Alamo, and Rorke's Drift.The King's German Legion were expatriate Hanoverian soldiers who fled their country for England when Napoleon was rampaging through Eastern Europe. They fought in the service of England throughout the Napoleonic Wars and acquitted themselves with distinction throughout. The assault on La Haye Sainte was probably their finest hour.

A stirring account of the defense of Le Haye Sainte at the battle of Waterloo. A must read for anyone interested in Napoleonic warfare.

A strong effort about the defense of La Haye Sainte. I have read many books on Waterloo and the battles within the battles but this is easily the most detailed and devoted I've seen to La Haye Sainte.I have seen people irate that Waterloo has been treated as an English victory or as a French loss, but the German effort is an afterthought. That is not the case here, as the book gives excellent detail to the King's Legion and their resolve to hold the farmhouse against overwhelming odds.It's a quick read, but a lot of ground is covered. It combines the big picture of the battle while painting a picture of the men who were fighting at La Haye Sainte, and how they survived or died.

I ordered the book 2 days ago, and it said it would come on the 7th. I just got it today!!😁😁😁 10/10 quality and the price was so low!

Was able to live the life of an early 19th century foot soldier and their officers in the days before and including the Battle of Waterloo. We travelled through Nivelles and Genappe, arriving at a crucial point at the battle at Quatre Bras and was able to help to shore up the defensive action there which held up the French advance under Marshall Ney, allowing the allied army to retreat in relatively good order to the ridge at Mont St. Jean. Following the dreadful trudge through the storm on the night of the 17th the troops, rather than being able to put down their knapsacks and catch up on sleep, were told that our responsibility was to defend the army's right flank at Hougoumont. I then felt every long minute of the 18th as if I actually stood at Macdonnell's shoulder. The bravery of both officers and men is nothing short of unbelievable. But for their courage and determination to hold Hougoumont and therefore not to let down the rest of the allied army, the battle could surely have been lost. I am in awe of what they did for 8 hours or so. Churchill's words " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" must surely apply to this band of brothers!!

I read reviews of this book before purchasing as I already have a fairly extensive collection of books about Waterloo. This book seemed to offer a more detailed account of a very specific area of the battle - La Haye Sainte and promised first hand accounts of those who were there. It is a relatively small book and therefore not a daunting read. However the detail and the manner in which the book is written makes it very easy and very enjoyable to read whilst at the same time providing a lot of detail. The style in which it is written makes the reader feel as if they are actually in La Haye Sainte on 18th June 1815. I could not put the book down and thoroughly enjoyed reading it in one day. SInce then I have dipped into it regularly and again it lends itself to this means of reading also. I am so glad I bought the book and fully commend the author.

An excellent little book, which barely contains 100 pages in which the story is told, plus 30 pages of notes and index, plus 12 EMPTY pages...Apart from that a great story about 400 GERMAN soldiers who played a vital part in the fighting around La Haye Sainte. Great maps, great info, but a subject worth more pages. But definitely worth the money and a valuable addition to anyone's library on the battle of Waterloo.

It's okay, but better off with '24 hours at Waterloo'.

Anyone interested in military history should read this and consider how a key .6% in the right place, with the right drive and professionalism can dramatically shift the outcome for the other 99.4%