Special Trust and Confidence

U.S. Air Force photo

Pilots trust that the people who designed and built their aircraft knew what they were doing. Greater still is the level of trust that pilots place upon the skill and competence of the folks who maintain the aircraft.

The people who bought the aircraft, that's us, the taxpayers, also trust that the nation will choose wisely those who are allowed to fly and fight in those aircraft we paid for.

What happens when that trust is misplaced?

U.S. Air Force photo

Sometimes the result of a failure of trust is a smoking hole in the ground.

Crying children and spouses, the emptiness which comes when you get up one day and realize that the future you had envisioned is gone. Never to be recovered.

Lost due to a failure of trust.

Perhaps the aircrew placed too much trust in the maintainers.

Perhaps the service placed too much trust in those who designed and built the aircraft.

Perhaps the pilot placed too much trust in their own abilities.

Perhaps those who represent the nation chose badly in the person upon whom they pinned those wings.

Not everyday does a failure of trust result in death and destruction.

What happens when you place your trust in someone to do the right thing, to uphold the oaths they've sworn, the promises they've made and then that person betrays that trust.

What happens then?

For one thing, that person never looks the same to you again.

That carefully nurtured and maintained relationship is now dented and stained. Perhaps it can be repaired but can it be restored to its former luster?

I don't know, but I would guess no. It's never the same as it was, it may be good again, but it will never be as right as it was before.

Upon being commissioned as either a Second Lieutenant or Ensign in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, the young officer is presented with a document with the following text (actual names and dates filled in, of course):

The President of the United States of America

To all who shall see these presents, greeting:

Know Ye that, reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities of .................., I do appoint ["him" or "her"] a ["Second Lieutenant" or "Ensign"] in the [name of service] to rank as such from the .... day of ........ ...... This Officer will therefore carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the office to which appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto belonging.

And I do strictly charge and require those Officers and other personnel of lesser rank to render such obedience as is due an officer of this grade and position. And this Officer is to observe and follow such orders and directives, from time to time, as may be given by me, or the future President of the United States of America, or other Superior Officers acting in accordance with the laws of the United States of America.

This commission is to continue in force during the pleasure of the President of the United States of America for the time being, under the provisions of those Public Laws relating to Officers of the Armed Forces of the United States of America and the component thereof in which this appointment is made.

Done at the City of Washington, this .... day of ........ in the year of our Lord ................ and of the Independence of the United States of America the ..........

By the President:

One phrase in this text particularly impressed me.

"...reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities..."

Patriotism...

Valor...

Fidelity...

Without those, what are we? Who are we?

Barbarians.

That's what.

That's who.

Old AF Sarge sends...

The Art of the Call Sign

I realize that MilBlog posts about call signs are plentiful.  In fact, I've probably covered it on these very pages in the past, but that’s what I was thinking about this past weekend.  The possibly overdone topic came to mind as I sat in my recliner on Father’s Day, watching my newly installed, and first of its kind (in my house at least) 55 inch flat screen ultraHD father’s day gift.  In my state as a just-past middle aged man, I've been squinting some, and turning up the volume a lot recently as I watched my 13 year old 27 inch Sony Trinitron tube TV, which Just. Wouldn't. Die.  Hence the "gift," one we were going to buy anyway, but why ruin a good Holiday?

        


Hmm, Just-past middle age.  What do you call a 47 year old guy anyway?  I think that passing away in my sleep at 85 is probably a nice round number to shoot for, and that would be 42.5 years young for a truly middle-aged man, so I’m sticking with just-past for now.  Over the hill might be something the Minnow and Teenangster would call me, but I’ll never use the term, unless I'm talking about Sarge of course.  

Speaking of my kids, the daughter was quick to acknowledge my day, but the son didn't mention it until very late in the day when I held up the card he signed for me the day prior (that his mom bought) and asked him what it was.  "Oh yeah, Happy Father's Day" he said sheepishly.   Nevertheless, it was a good Father’s Day as days-for-fathers go, which in my house are just like Mother’s Day, but with less presents and fanfare.  What I wanted to do was absolutely nothing.  So, I was sitting comfortably in my recliner, binge-watching a bit of House of Cards on Netflix before the season premiere of “The Last Ship” came on.  Sort of a guilty pleasure that one- a decent series as shows about the Navy go.  

Based on the popular novel of the same name by author William Brinkley, the story behind "The Last Ship" focuses on the crew of a lone surviving naval destroyer as they struggle to find a cure to a virus that has wiped out 80% of the world's population.  Source

It obviously has the Navy’s support, which is probably why it’s better than the shows that don’t have it.  The technical advisors are doing a good job at keeping it as accurate as it could be in a fictional world.  In last-night’s episode, the CO is out doing all sorts of action-hero stuff with an M-4 and wearing those oh-so-cool digital cammies, which I fortunately never had to wear.    

The producers must know that the Navy's uniform-du-jour, while not quite universally panned, is far from the best uni our Sailors have worn. So, they spiced him up with a leather flight jacket.  Now this isn't the first time I'd seen a Surface Warfare Officer CO wearing a flight jacket, but it is the first time with the leather version.  The green Nomex one goes quite well with khakis, but when matched with the blueberries? Probably not so much. So, the wardrobe folks gave him a ultra-cool aviators jacket which looks just ok with the cammies, but still not that great.  

Source

So I was thinking about what a SWO's callsign would be if he found himself in a ready-room wearing a flight jacket.  Today, it might be something like "NOA" (Not an Aviator), or "Cefus" (CFS- Can't Fly Shit), or even something a little more topical like "Caitlyn," pretending to be something he's not.

I found a fun site a while back.  It was probably something my Aunt sent me, as she's always sending me links to Naval Aviation stories or those emails that list funny things pilots say, or the one I've received probably 150 million times- the one with the pilot maintenance gripes:   

Pilot: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement. 

Maintenance Chief: Almost replaced left inside main tire. 

Anyway,  it's a call sign generator, but this one throws in a reference to one of the less-than technically correct movies about the Navy (but one I still watch periodically)-  Top Gun. Check it out here if you're so inclined- the call sign thing, not the movie.  Click "Generator" at the top if you want your own.  By the way, it changes every time you click submit, which is how I got such gems as Tom "Starfish" Davis (sorta close to Tuna) and "Barracuda" (also kinda close).  For extra fun I tried out our esteemed host's name and it gave me "Stoner." Well, he did grow up in the 70s.

I know how the Navy doles out call signs, but I knew nothing about the USAF's effort until I did some research for today's post.  Apparently, it's a bit more formal than how a Navy squadron does it.  

U.S. Air Force fighter call signs are given at naming ceremonies or "namings." They are usually based on how badly you've screwed something up, a play on your name, your personality, or just the whims of the drunken mob of pilots. Usually once a pilot flies with a call sign in combat, they get to keep it for their career. But pilots may face a "hostile renaming" under certain circumstances.

The plot begins with the squadron social chairman announcing the need for a naming ceremony. it usually happens after the squadron has accumulated six to nine FNGs (F'ing New Guys/Girls) who need call signs. FNGs are the traditional call sign of all new arrivals to the squadron, even those who have been previously been given call signs. Your past call sign means nothing to your new squadron-mates. You will go through the ceremony with all the new arrivals. Woe be it to the insolent fighter pilot who shows up at the new squadron introducing himself with his previous call sign. That's a good way to mark yourself for special attention. Your bribe will need to be extra special.    Source

Huh?  "Your past call sign means nothing to your new squadron-mates."  WTF?  Of all the strange things I've heard about the USAF, that one ranks right up there with flaring to land. Juvat- how many call signs did you have?  But I digress.  In Naval Aviation, names are derived from the same types of things- screw ups (Skid- braking on the cat-shot), your real name (Dan Undra Cheever), some physical characteristic (Intake - huge schnoz), or maybe even some sexual prowess (Gretzky- for a guy's hat-trick).

While not quite as formal of a ceremony like the pilots in my sister service, a carrier squadron might just spontaneously bring it up at an AOM (All-Officers'-Meeting) in the ready room, or the CO/XO/OPSO might just announce it in the ready room upon returning from a particularly eventful flight which earned the young aviator his new nom de guerre.  

Sometimes names just don't stick.  We had a guy who just didn't fit any category for how a name is earned.  Not that he never did anything wrong or stupid, but I suppose nothing was memorable enough or could be described with a call sign.  His first name was Cory, so his tag became Cory, Call Sign Cory, Kenmon.  Another guy inexplicably left a shoe on the Co-Pilot console, but Cindy was just never really used, even after the Maintenance Master-Chief hilariously stormed into the ready room asking "Which one of you princesses left their slipper in the cockpit?"

Actually, the Hornet guys sometimes do make it a little more of a ceremony.  During my Department Head tour, all the senior Officers in the squadron went up to Lemoore for a local version of the Strike Leader Attack Training Syllabus (SLATS) course taught by NSAWC.  That first night we made our way to the O'Club where we found one of our CAG-11 squadrons welcoming a couple new pilots who had just finished the FRS that day.   They had two paper bags containing several potential starter call signs.  One of the pilots was huge.  He had even been drafted by the NY Jets before being cut in training camp, later heading to OCS and Flight School. When sitting in the cockpit, he looked like a kid in a toy car.

He reached into the bag and pulled out his slip of paper, handing it over to the squadron CO for the announcement.  The room exploded in laughter as the Skipper said "Buttercup."  He later became Tiny which is just lamely ironic, and not at all creative.

Sometimes call signs have a little more creativity put into them- the "Art" as I suggested in my title.  Some purists don't like them since you can make up a cute sentence that fits, without finding a single word, but I find that some of the funniest ones  are acronyms.


We had an ATIS in my first squadron. Great guy, but he could talk continuously and wouldn't shut up.  So ATIS he was dubbed. That got changed to OTIS when he checked in to tower stating the painful "Our Tanker Is Sour," although the aircraft wasn't even configured for tanking. We never wanted to make that call to tower as that could cause all sorts of hateful calls to our ready room.  As the only tanker-capable squadron in CAG-5 at the time, flight ops would have to be canceled if we couldn't get gas into the air for the recovery.

Some other artistic acronyms I like:

TULSA

Total Utter Lack of Situational Awareness

NADS

Female Marine Hornet backseater went to hang with guys in a "gentleman's club" while in a foreign country. She decided she was more athletic than any of the girls on stage. Got up on stage, swung around the pole, promptly lost her grip, flew off stage and went headfirst into a chair, resulting in a Harry Potter like scar on her forehead and a new callsign - NADS for "Not A Decent Stripper"

NAG

Not A Guy - First Marine Corps F/A-18 female Weapon Systems Officer (WSO)

SNAG

Second Marine Corps female WSO assigned to the same squadron as the first - Still Not A Guy

Nutsbe

Last name Chaffin...think about it

MOTO

Master of the obvious

CLAP

FNG fresh from the other coast FRS checks into his squadron on a Monday afternoon.  He tells his boss that his household goods arrive tomorrow so he'll be in late.  He comes in before lunch to find out that he was supposed to report in at 0600 for Squadron Duty Officer turnover. The ready room board is already filled in with potential call signs including the winning tag- CLAP. He and the Senior Watch Officer get called into the Skipper's office to explain why he missed his duty day.  He accepts the blame for not checking the flight schedule, but the CO chews out the SWO because JOPA should have covered for him and the Skipper should have never known about it.  The FNG never complained, but was forever stuck with a call sign he never earned- CLAP - Cries Like a Pussy.

Some other non-acronym favorites of mine:

John Mawhinny - C/S Lick
Abe Bush - C/S Jeter
LT Leggeman - C/S Spreader
Steve "Whip" Blasch
"Semi" - short for Semi-colon.  Given to an E-2 guy who had 2 feet of his colon removed.

Well, that's enough for your Tuesday entertainment.  If you need more, check out a google groups site that includes some of these, and even yours truly.  Not sure how I got on there, but have at it.

The Serapis Flag

So, There I was….* Driving home from work last Monday, and passing a small non-denominational Church, I notice they’ve got the Flag flying.  Remembering that it was Flag Day, I give a quick “Good on ‘em” thought as I notice another flag flying beside it.  White with a green tree on it and the words “An Appeal to Heaven” on it.  Ok, well it IS a church, so I file that away in my brain under church fundraising.  

I’m at lunch a couple of days later and I see a guy wearing a tee shirt with a number of different Revolutionary War Flags on it.  I recognized the Gadsden Flag and a couple of others, but the “Appeal to Heaven” Flag was also on it. 

Having an interest in Military History, (Not a Sarge level interest mind you, but then again, who does?) I decided to pull up my old pal Google and see what there is to see.  Having done that, I discovered this site  and there went the rest of my Saturday.

 

That sounds kinda tragic, but actually, it was fairly warm and very humid with periods of torrential downpours.  Working outside was pretty much a waste of time.  Did I mention mosquitos also?

Digression warning “Stay on Target…Use the Force Luke Juvat! These words are not the words you’re looking for” (My son is playing a Star Wars game on his tablet with the volume turned up, I have no Idea where that came from.)

So, the Appeal to Heaven Flag was also known as Washington’s Cruiser Flag and was flown over six ships commissioned, supposedly by Washington personally, as the beginning of a Navy.  Source 

Google also pointed me to this article  and this one which shed a little light on why a church might be flying that flag now.

 

Hmmm…

But as I scrolled through the flag site, I came to one that had an interesting blurb that expanded my knowledge  on an incident I knew a little about.  In the days of my Ute, I remember reading about John Paul Jones and his famous quote “I have not yet begun to fight!” from the battle between the CNS Bon Homme Richard and HMS Serapis. 

Source: Wikipedia

Time for a Juvat pop quiz.  What does CNS stand for? 

1. Central Nervous System

2. Catholic News Service 

3. Continental Navy Ship 

4. Chicken Noodle Soup

Answer: Yes.

Anyhow, back to the fight.  The Navy’s website is a little tame in the description of the fight.  This one, however, has a much more Sarge-like rendition of the fight.

A 1781 painting of John Paul Jones by Charles Willson Peale.

"In late September, 1779, Jones was in the North Sea in the Bonhomme Richard in command of a commerce raiding squadron consisting of the corvette Alliance, with 36 guns, the French frigate Pallas, 32 guns, the brigantine Vengeance, 12 guns, and the Bonhomme Richard, with 40 guns. After six weeks at sea his ships had seized a few enemy prizes but Jones was hungry for significant action. On September 22 he assembled his squadron off Flamborough Head on England’s east coast hoping to snag merchant ships coming and going from local ports. At about 2 PM on September 23 the Richard’s lookouts spotted the sails of a 41-ship British convoy to the northeast and its Royal Navy escorts, the frigate H.M.S. Serapis, 44 guns, and the armed sloop Countess of Scarborough, 22 guns. “That is the very fleet which I have been so long cruising for,” Jones told his officers on the quarterdeck. He signaled his ships to intercept the convoy. The Richard and Serapis closed on each other at about 7:00 PM. The skies were darkening, the wind was light and the sea was calm. For various reasons, possibly tactics, miscommunication, or animosity with Jones, the Alliance and Pallas took differing courses. Jones sailed the Richard to “within pistol shot” of the Serapis, intending to get the ships as close as possible before opening fire. Capt. Pearson realized that the ship nearing him was American, and broadsides ripped from both ships.“The battle being thus begun was continued with unremitting fury” Jones recalled. After about an hour and much maneuvering the ships were side by side, actually lashed together “so close fore and aft, that the muzzles of our guns touched,” wrote Capt. Pearson, and still blasting away at each other. Both ships were on fire but with several holes beneath the waterline and its hull shattered, the Richard took the worst of it." 

So, Jones has his ship lashed to the enemy, has holes below the waterline and leads a boarding party over to the Serapis.  A crewman manages to throw a grenade near enough to some powder storage to start a fire on board the British ship and the Captain surrenders.

The Bon Homme Richard subsequently sinks.  Jones sails his prize to the neutral Dutch port of Texel.  The British raised a diplomatic stink over the ships, wanting the crews tried as Pirates since the ship flew no recognized flag.  

Texel Netherlands

Ben Franklin, the Ambassador to France at the time, was asked to describe the flag for what would become the United States.  Based on that description, a painting of the flag was made and France recognized it.  Copies were distributed and one made its way to Jones.  He had a flag made and sailed back to America under it, avoiding the Piracy charge.  The flag became known as the Serapis Flag (or alternatively the Texel Flag). 

The author postulates that the “not yet begun to fight” quote was added several years after the fact, but IMHO that’s somewhat irrelevant.  Clearly, Jones belongs to the Never Give Up, Never Surrender school of warfare.

That post also described how and why Jones, a Scot, came to be in the budding US Navy.  Evidently, while on Tobago, he ran a man threw with his sword.  The man was fomenting a mutiny on Jones’ ship, so the incident may have some self-defense issues, but Jones fled the island for the colonies and was commissioned in the Continental Navy. I thought the details in the two posts really brought John Paul Jones to life for me.

Plus a classic line from a classic movie!

*SJC

Old School

Hardy Kruger, Red Buttons and John Wayne
Scene from the Paramount Pictures classic, Hatari

Last night I had the chance to watch a film I haven't seen since I was a kid, the John Wayne film Hatari.

Great cast, great story, magnificent cinematography (for which the 1962 film won an Oscar).

I loved it when I was a kid, I loved it all over again last night.

I'm not one of those guys who say that they don't make good movies anymore. They do, they still make some great films these days. They make a lot of crappy ones too.

Truth be told, they had crappy movies back in the day.

Hey, people made mistakes then as they do now. As we've been doing since Genesis.

It's our nature to screw up now and again.

Another thing I remember from back in the day. The actors didn't run around spouting off about their political views. Maybe they did inside Hollywood and around L.A. but it wasn't all over the national "news" like it is now.

Of those three guys in that picture, only Hardy Kruger is still alive. He's 87.

A lot of my favorite actors from when I was a kid have passed on.

Damn, I guess it's something you have to deal with as you get older.

Death, it's a fact of life.

Random Thoughts

So who am I?

Who are you?

Hi, nice to meet you...

So my buddy the Skipper had this up the other day.

Made me think it did. But don't blame him, sometimes I do that on my own.

Think, that is. Cogito ergo sum and all that.

There's folks out there with an agenda, a political "viewpoint" to push. The media likes that, gives them something to fill that never-ending 24 hour "news" cycle with. I try, desperately and not always with a lot of success, to ignore their sorry asses.

It's not about what's good for people, it's not about what's good for the country or for folks overseas that we're friendly with (and there aren't many of them left).

Nah, it ain't about that at all...

It's about money, it's about power.

The people with this agenda don't care about you, they don't care about me. I'm not sure they even care about themselves.

There's a dude who wants to be a lady (queue Aerosmith) and a white lady who wants to be a black lady.

So what?

It's not news. Not really.

As you can see by the opening photo, I'm an old (ish*) white guy. Ain't no thang. I have friends across the spectrum of skin color, religion, sexual preference and political leanings. I don't hold their beliefs against them, they don't hold mine against me. We all manage to get along.

Thing is, we don't throw this stuff in each other's faces. We work together, drink together, laugh together and tell each other the stories of our lives. Yes, we avoid the awkward stuff, it's what you do in polite society. If it comes up, you move on, don't make a stink about it. It is what it is.

I guess there are quite a few folks who didn't learn those things.

It's a shame really.

I don't watch the "news" much anymore, I'll tune in on the radio from time to time on the back and forth to work, I mean I like knowing the weather and traffic, that's still relatively untainted by agendas.

I mean whether or not it might rain tomorrow has nothing to do with anyone's opinion. It will or it won't, there's hard data to give you clues. How you "feel" about it doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

I am who I am and that's all that I am.

Yup, your mileage might vary on that, it's alright. If everyone was the same, the world would be a pretty boring place.

Though shopping for clothes might be easier.

Anyhoo, that's my piece. That's how I roll.

Peace out yo.



(I'll have to ask The WSO if I said that right. I mean c'mon, I am an old (ish) white guy. Street smart and hip I ain't.)



* I refuse to admit that I might be considered a senior citizen. Though I will take the discount if it's offered!

Dedicated To The Ones I Love...

An aircraft handler signals an F/A-18C Hornet, assigned to the Strike Fighter Squadron Two Five (VFA-25), into launch position on the flight deck aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Christopher D. Blachly

An E-2C Hawkeye assigned to the "Bluetails" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron One Two One (VAW-121) launches from flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Christopher Stephens

Dedicated to the men and women who are out there, serving their country. Serving us.

Let's not forget those who wait for them back home. Missing them. Praying for them.

Friends and family members of the Sunliners of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81 await the pilots' arrival during a homecoming celebration at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana. The Sunliners returned to Oceana after a nearly 10-month deployment as part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alysia R. Hernandez

I've been on both sides of that equation.

Being out there can be tough.

Don't let anyone tell you different, waiting at home can be damn hard too!

I miss my kids...

These guys rock.

Act III, Give me night or give me Blücher...

The field of battle - looking towards La Haye Sainte. La Belle Alliance is at the far right.(Google Street View)

The Duke arose early. As he dressed he looked about the room in the small inn at the side of the Brussels-Charleroi road.

"Will I see this place again?" he pondered as he buttoned his cloak.

Passing quickly down to the street, he mounted his horse Copenhagen and, together with his aides, headed south, towards the ridge line where his army had been posted.

South of the field, the Emperor Napoléon awoke in the early hours before dawn.

After checking with the staff for word from Grouchy, he settled down with his senior officers for breakfast. He was confident and cheerful, even when his artillery chief informed him that it would be some time before the ground dried sufficiently to allow the guns to maneuver.

At that point, an officer mentioned the tactics Wellington was famous for in the Peninsula.

Slamming his fork down the Emperor told his senior officers in no uncertain terms, "I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad troops, and this affair is nothing more than eating breakfast."

The remainder of the meal was less than congenial, several generals excused themselves to "see to their units."

To the east, in the vicinity of Wavre, the Prussians were on the move.

Through errors, or perhaps bad staff work, the corps furthest to the east set off first. Two other corps stood ready to move, the fourth was taking up positions to keep the French off of the main body.

A fire had broken out in the village of Wavre, movement was slowed until the fire could be contained.

Although the army was on the move early, it would be hours before they could tie in with Wellington's left flank. There were a lot of country roads to follow, streams to cross and the terrain was sodden from the recent rains.

Not to mention the fact that the troops were exhausted. They had fought a major battle on the 16th, marched all day on the 17th and now they must march again. Towards the French, towards the enemy who had defeated them on Friday.

But today was Sunday and some units sang the old Lutheran hymn as they marched, "Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott!"

Looking north along the main highway to Brussels.
La Haye Sainte is to the left at the dip in the road.
(Google Street View)

I have walked the fields between La Haye Sainte and La Belle Alliance a number of times. Farm fields for the most part as they have been for over 200 years. It looks like many another field in Belgium. This one is different. This one is sacred to the memory of the men who fought and died there.

The amount of blood shed on these fields is staggering.

73,000 French, 25,000 British, 17,000 Netherlanders, 11,000 Hanoverians, 6,000 men of the King's German Legion, 6,000 Brunswickers, 3,000 Nassauers and 50,000 Prussians fought on this field. 118,000 men were in the three armies engaged.

At the end of the day, over 45,000 of those men lay dead or wounded. Alongside them, lay over 10,000 horses dead or wounded.

In the museum at Le Caillou, where the Emperor spent the night before the battle, I was startled to see human remains in a glass case. Startled and appalled.

On the 18th of June in 1815, this man, a French hussar had sat upon his horse with his comrades, awaiting his orders, ready and able to do his duty.

At the end of the day he lay dead, near the last stand of the French Imperial Guard.

Buried on the field in the days after the battle, as were most of the casualties, he lay, with his comrades, undisturbed for many years. Then sometime in the 20th Century his body was accidentally exhumed.

Was he reburied with honor? No, he was placed on display in a museum.

But he is a reminder of the cost of war.

When the final gun sounds, when the smoke has cleared and the armies have moved on, all that are left are the dead. Their bright uniforms smoke and blood stained, torn as are their bodies.

There is no glory for them or for those that loved them. All that remains are the memories.

On that field there are so many memories.

Near the position of Captain Mercer's battery of the Royal Horse Artillery, looking south.
To the right, beyond the trees, is the Chateau of Hougoumont.
(Google Street View)

In the photo above, the terrain looks almost flat, but that is deceptive.

You can't see the French position from here, not too far to the front the ground dips. On the day of the battle, the French cavalry made upwards of seven charges in this area. As soon as they came up from the dip, Mercer's battery would engage them.

I pictured that, the earth shaking from the hooves of thousands of horse. The drifting powder smoke, the hiss and buzz of musket and cannon rounds in the air. Off to the right, Hougoumont was in flames as the battle between what was essentially a single, under-strength Anglo-Allied regiment (a few companies of British Guardsmen with German troops, mainly Nassauers, in the surrounding woods and gardens) battled the bulk of the French II Corps to a bloody standstill.

In the opening photo are the initial positions of that French corps, in the far distance one can just make out the farm of La-Haye-Sainte where a battalion of the King's German Legion was holding out in a desperate fight against elements of the French I and VI Corps.

They held their position, just below the center of Wellington's line, until nearly nightfall, when, out of ammunition, the French drove them out.

By then the French had few reserves, other than the Guard, to commit.

Ney begged for infantry, thinking of the Guard, but was rejected by the Emperor. Napoléon had seen Ney squander the cavalry in valiant, though futile, attacks, unsupported by either infantry or artillery.

No doubt the Emperor also remembered Ney's startling lack of competence at Quatre-Bras.

Roughly the position of D'Erlon's I Corps. Forward of here the British heavy cavalry routed D'Erlon as he advanced.
The British heavy cavalry were, in their turn, routed by French heavy cavalry and lancers.
The rolling nature of the terrain is evident here.
(Google Street View)

One cannot stand upon the field of Waterloo and not think of the events of that day. One, if he or she has any knowledge of history and a soul, cannot help but think of the dreadful cost of one man's ambition.

I will not regale you with all the details of Waterloo. I have written on this topic before (and no doubt will again) here (2012), here (2013) and here (2014 - one of my favorite posts).

This is the first time I have tried to post on the Waterloo Campaign to cover the major events of five days of war. Late nights, lots of research and having been ill recently (and the ever present paying job does take its toll) has left me exhausted. Nevertheless...

The history of a battle, is not unlike the history of a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the little events of which the great result is the battle won or lost, but no individual can recollect the order in which, or the exact moment at which, they occurred, which makes all the difference as to their value or importance. - The Duke of Wellington

(Google Street View)

As the sun lowered in the west, the Duke looked around him, most of his staff were down, dead or wounded. His reserves were exhausted, La-Haye-Sainte had fallen...

"Dear God, give me night or give me Blücher."

Looking towards Papelotte, where the Prussians were coming into action.
(Google Street View)

As if in answer to that prayer, out on the far left flank, the Prussian army was approaching. Soon their presence would be felt, they were muddy, they were sweaty and dear Lord they were exhausted. But they were exultant, the end to the long misery, the opportunity to crush the hated Bonaparte was at hand.

The Guard will advance!
(Google Street View)

The Emperor made his final cast of the dice, the Guard would advance. Too little, too late, their commitment even an hour earlier could have been decisive. Hindsight.

The orders were given, the troops were formed. Initially the Emperor was at the head of their column. When he moved his horse off the road and raised his hand in salute, the men were surprised. Was the Emperor, Le Tondu, not going to lead them all the way?

Regardless, the Imperial Guard, veterans of many campaigns, tough soldiers all, advanced to meet the foe. It was do or die.

They died.

The Armée du Nord collapsed and fled south.

The campaign was, to all intents and purposes, over.

Erstürmung des Dorfes Planchenois in der Schlacht von Waterloo am 18. Juni 1815.
by Ludwig Elsholtz (Source)

Tout est fini...