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200 Years After Waterloo, Napoleon Still Wins by Losing 200 Years After Waterloo, Napoleon Still Wins by Losing
(about 11 hours later)
LIGNY, Belgium — Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Frank Samson, a pudgy Paris lawyer who likes wearing gold braided uniforms and a black bicorne hat, won his last battle on Sunday in southern Belgium. LIGNY, Belgium — Napoleon Bonaparte, also known as Frank Samson, a pudgy Paris lawyer who likes wearing gold braided uniforms and a black bicorne hat, won his last battle on Sunday in southern Belgium.
Feting the “glorious performance” of French troops in a field of thigh-high wheat, rented for the day from a farmer for a mock showdown between the armies of France and Prussia, he predicted that whatever the outcome of a forthcoming confrontation with the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo this week, he had already won the war. Feting the “glorious performance” of French troops in a field of thigh-high wheat, rented for the day from a farmer for a mock showdown between the armies of France and Prussia, he predicted that whatever the outcome of a coming confrontation with the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo this week, he had already won the war.
“In terms of glory and of history, it is Napoleon who stays in people’s minds, not Wellington,” said Mr. Samson, relishing cries of “Long Live the Emperor” as he dismounted from his white horse after a restaging of Napoleon’s triumphant last day in the sun on June 16, 1815.“In terms of glory and of history, it is Napoleon who stays in people’s minds, not Wellington,” said Mr. Samson, relishing cries of “Long Live the Emperor” as he dismounted from his white horse after a restaging of Napoleon’s triumphant last day in the sun on June 16, 1815.
The re-enactment of the Battle of Ligny, a picturesque French-speaking village south of Brussels, marked the start of a weeklong series of events to commemorate Napoleon’s ultimate defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. But while Britain and its victorious allies remember Waterloo as a decisive triumph that reshaped Europe in their favor, Mr. Samson and other, mostly French, fans of the defeated emperor instead celebrate the enduring celebrity and allure of their routed hero. The re-enactment of the Battle of Ligny, a picturesque French-speaking village south of Brussels, opened a weeklong series of events to commemorate Napoleon’s ultimate defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815. But while Britain and its victorious allies remember Waterloo as a decisive triumph that reshaped Europe in their favor, Mr. Samson and other, mostly French, fans of the defeated emperor instead celebrate the enduring celebrity and allure of their routed hero.
In the case of Napoleon, losers, not victors, have managed to write much of the history.In the case of Napoleon, losers, not victors, have managed to write much of the history.
“Napoleon, without a shadow of doubt, won the postwar publicity and PR campaign. This was where Wellington fell flat on his face,” said Alasdair White, a British expert on the period and author of books on the 1815 struggle between France and a British-led alliance. “Napoleon, without a shadow of doubt, won the postwar publicity and PR campaign,” said Alasdair White, a British expert on the period and author of books on the 1815 struggle between France and a British-led alliance. “This was where Wellington fell flat on his face.”
In Ligny over the weekend, stalls set up near the battlefield were filled with tributes to Napoleon — statues, busts, books, death masks as well as T-shirts, posters and knickknacks all bearing his image. Wellington was nowhere to be seen. In Ligny over the weekend, stalls set up near the battlefield were filled with tributes to Napoleon — statues, busts, books and death masks, as well as T-shirts, posters and knickknacks all bearing his image. Wellington was nowhere to be seen.
A Franco-Belgian company hawked a book titled, “The French Victory at Waterloo,” a study of a little known battle fought in 1794. That battle had nothing to do with Napoleon but still cheers the spirits of fans for whom Waterloo is a place usually associated with French ignominy. A Franco-Belgian company hawked a book titled “The French Victory at Waterloo,” a study of a little known battle fought in 1794. That battle had nothing to do with Napoleon but still cheers the spirits of fans for whom Waterloo is a place usually associated with French ignominy.
Eager to revive memories of how, for a time, it looked as if France could win in 1815, Mr. Samson rode off the battlefield here on Sunday and declared that defeating Wellington would be a “picnic” after the slaughter at Ligny, a gruesome battle that left around 20,000 French and Prussian soldiers dead or wounded.Eager to revive memories of how, for a time, it looked as if France could win in 1815, Mr. Samson rode off the battlefield here on Sunday and declared that defeating Wellington would be a “picnic” after the slaughter at Ligny, a gruesome battle that left around 20,000 French and Prussian soldiers dead or wounded.
In reality, the Battle of Ligny, re-enacted by Mr. Samson and around 1,500 other history enthusiasts dressed in period costumes, marked the final spasm of French military pride before a catastrophic fall at Waterloo that put an end to all French hopes of hegemony in Europe, and led to Napoleon’s banishment to St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic. In reality, the Battle of Ligny, re-enacted by Mr. Samson and around 1,500 other history enthusiasts dressed in period costumes, was the final spasm of French military pride before a catastrophic fall at Waterloo that put an end to all French hopes of hegemony in Europe and led to Napoleon’s banishment to St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic.
For a day, however, a 47-year-old lawyer dressed up as Napoleon — and bearing a striking resemblance to the real thing — and fans of the Corsica-born soldier who declared himself emperor and turned France into the superpower of his day savored their hero’s final day of glory. For a day, however, a 47-year-old lawyer dressed up as Napoleon — and bearing a striking resemblance to the real thing — and fans of the Corsican-born soldier who declared himself emperor and turned France into the superpower of his day savored their hero’s final day of glory.
“We won today and we are going to win again,” Mr. Samson said in his role as Napoleon. Speaking as himself, after hours racing across a wheat field on a horse in the sun, he said: “What I really want now is a cold beer.” “We won today, and we are going to win again,” Mr. Samson said in his role as Napoleon. Speaking as himself, after hours racing across a wheat field on a horse in the sun, he said: “What I really want now is a cold beer.”
With a touch of melancholy, he added that he would not try to rewrite history and would accept whatever fate awaits him at Waterloo, where he and more than 5,000 war re-enactors and 300 horses will, on Friday and Saturday, restage the climactic battle, an event billed as the biggest re-enactment ever staged in Europe. With a touch of melancholy, he added that he would not try to rewrite history and would accept whatever fate awaited him at Waterloo. There, he and more than 5,000 war re-enactors and 300 horses will, on Friday and Saturday, restage the climactic battle, an event billed as the biggest re-enactment ever held in Europe.
The defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, was so calamitous for France’s ambitions to implant the goals of the 1789 French Revolution across Europe that the 19th-century writer Victor Hugo said it “wasn’t a battle. It was a change of direction in the universe.” Hugo blamed God, or at least the heavens, for Napoleon’s defeat, complaining that heavy rain the night before made it difficult for Napoleon to maneuver his artillery and tilted the conflict unfairly Wellington’s way. The defeat at Waterloo on June 18, 1815, was so calamitous for France’s ambitions to implant the goals of the 1789 French Revolution across Europe that the 19th-century writer Victor Hugo said it “wasn’t a battle.”
“It was a change of direction in the universe,” he wrote.
Hugo blamed God, or at least the heavens, for Napoleon’s defeat, complaining that heavy rain the night before made it difficult for Napoleon to maneuver his artillery and tilted the conflict unfairly Wellington’s way.
Other Frenchmen have insisted that Napoleon actually won. “This defeat shimmers with an aura of victory,” former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wrote in an admiring book about Napoleon.Other Frenchmen have insisted that Napoleon actually won. “This defeat shimmers with an aura of victory,” former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin wrote in an admiring book about Napoleon.
Claudine Coulon, a resident of Ligny, once part of Napoleon’s empire but part of Belgium for nearly 200 years, hoisted a French flag outside her home to show whose side her family was on during the mock battle taking place on the wheat field across the road. “I am so happy. This is a big win for Napoleon,” she said. Claudine Coulon, a resident of Ligny, once part of Napoleon’s empire but part of Belgium for nearly 200 years, hoisted a French flag outside her home to show whose side her family was on during the mock battle taking place on the wheat field across the road. “I am so happy,” she said. “This is a big win for Napoleon.”
She also put out pots planted with what she had hoped would be flowers in the colors of France — blue, white and red — but which turned out to be purple, white and brown.She also put out pots planted with what she had hoped would be flowers in the colors of France — blue, white and red — but which turned out to be purple, white and brown.
Napoleon, she said, should have stayed put in Ligny, where he defeated a Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, instead of marching north to confront Wellington at Waterloo. “It would have turned out better if he had just stayed here,” Ms. Coulon said.Napoleon, she said, should have stayed put in Ligny, where he defeated a Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, instead of marching north to confront Wellington at Waterloo. “It would have turned out better if he had just stayed here,” Ms. Coulon said.
The French government has shown no interest in the events this week to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat.The French government has shown no interest in the events this week to mark the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat.
While Britain and the Netherlands, two of the principal victors in 1815, are sending members of their royal families to Belgium for the Waterloo commemorations, France is sending only its ambassador in Brussels. Germany, heir to Prussia’s share of the Waterloo victory honors, is also staying away aside from its ambassador, wary of celebrating a Prussian military tradition that post-Nazi Germany has worked hard to forget.While Britain and the Netherlands, two of the principal victors in 1815, are sending members of their royal families to Belgium for the Waterloo commemorations, France is sending only its ambassador in Brussels. Germany, heir to Prussia’s share of the Waterloo victory honors, is also staying away aside from its ambassador, wary of celebrating a Prussian military tradition that post-Nazi Germany has worked hard to forget.
“The French are not keen on celebrating Waterloo for obvious reasons,” Robert Tombs, a history professor at the University of Cambridge, said. “It ended a whole phase of European history, one of French predominance which had lasted more than a century, and started a period of British and Russian predominance,” he added. “The French are not keen on celebrating Waterloo for obvious reasons,” Robert Tombs, a history professor at the University of Cambridge, said. “It ended a whole phase of European history, one of French predominance which had lasted more than a century, and started a period of British and Russian predominance.”
So shattering was Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo that many of Napoleon’s fans, past and present, have sought to recast the debacle as a moral triumph or found ways to exculpate the emperor himself from any blame, claiming that he suffered from a painful bout of hemorrhoids that knocked him off his winning stride, and also from treachery within his own command. Many of Napoleon’s fans, past and present, have sought to recast the debacle as a moral triumph or found ways to exculpate the emperor, claiming that he suffered from a painful bout of hemorrhoids that knocked him off his winning stride, and from treachery within his own command.
Mr. Samson said after his victory on Sunday that he was feeling well but did “have some bother in the posterior.”Mr. Samson said after his victory on Sunday that he was feeling well but did “have some bother in the posterior.”
Mr. White, the British expert on the Battle of Waterloo, dismissed the hemorrhoid story as “an absolute myth” invented by French supporters of Napoleon who “cannot believe that the great man lost so there must have been something wrong with him.” Mr. White, the British expert on the Battle of Waterloo, dismissed the hemorrhoid story as “an absolute myth” invented by French supporters of Napoleon who “cannot believe that the great man lost, so there must have been something wrong with him.”
The real reason for his defeat, Mr. White said, was that Napoleon was far past his prime and “was no longer the great military leader he had been in 1805,” when he routed far bigger Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz, and had “not won a major battle since 1812. He was tired and made too many mistakes.” The real reason for his defeat, Mr. White said, was that Napoleon was far past his prime and “was no longer the great military leader he had been in 1805,” when he routed far bigger Russian and Austrian forces at Austerlitz. He had “not won a major battle since 1812,” he said. “He was tired and made too many mistakes.”
Once the battle was over, however, Napoleon quickly got the upper hand in rewriting history.Once the battle was over, however, Napoleon quickly got the upper hand in rewriting history.
While Wellington went into politics, becoming a deeply conservative and highly unpopular prime minister in London, Napoleon used his exile on St. Helena to work on his memoirs with a French historian, a vast self-serving work that became an international best-seller in the 19th century. It cemented Napoleon’s legendary status, presenting him as a servant to the ideals, but not the brutality, of the French Revolution and blaming his failures on disloyal subordinates and plain bad luck. While Wellington went into politics, becoming a deeply conservative and highly unpopular prime minister in London, Napoleon used his exile on St. Helena to work on his memoir with a French historian, a vast self-serving work that became an international best seller. It cemented Napoleon’s status, presenting him as a servant to the ideals, but not the brutality, of the French Revolution and blaming his failures on disloyal subordinates and plain bad luck.
“His version of events is fundamentally wrong but it became the version of events,” Mr. White, the British expert, said. “His version of events is fundamentally wrong, but it became the version of events,” Mr. White said.
Mr. Samson, who has been playing Napoleon for more than 10 years in battle re-enactments around Europe, said he planned to retire from his role as emperor after Waterloo. “I am much better known than Wellington,” Mr. Samson said, speaking for Napoleon. “Wellington won the battle. But I won the war.”Mr. Samson, who has been playing Napoleon for more than 10 years in battle re-enactments around Europe, said he planned to retire from his role as emperor after Waterloo. “I am much better known than Wellington,” Mr. Samson said, speaking for Napoleon. “Wellington won the battle. But I won the war.”