On the morning of the 18th of June 1815, when battle was imminent, the men of the
2nd Light Battalion of the Kings German Legion were sent to take up a defensive
position in and about the farm complex of La Haye Sainte, there to await the
inevitable bloody engagement against Imperial French forces. The ensuing battle
would go down in history as the final and pivotal major engagement of the
Napoleonic Wars, this battle would be forever known as the Battle of Waterloo.
The French bringing up some guns now garrisoned La Haye Sainte. From this
position they fired repeatedly into the 27th (Enniskillin) Regiment who were in
Square and held their ground, the fire from these French guns was so heavy that
after the battle that British battalion was said to be “lying dead in square”. The
French garrison’s action then allowed the Old Guard to advance on into the Allied
lines, when the tied turned again, the Old Guard were offered to surrender but
refused preferring to be destroyed with honour. Now with the Prussians also
arriving in ever greater numbers, this effectively was the end of the Battle of
Waterloo in favour of the allies. Of the original 400 men who had been ordered to
defend La Haye Sainte only 42 were still able to fight.
Dimensions: 115mm x 90mm x 34mm
