The Longest Afternoon – The 400 men who decided the Battle of Waterloo, Brendan Simms, Penguin, 85 pages

Brendan Simms, a Cambridge professor, has written a surprising and fascinating book about just how close the Battle of Waterloo was in 1815, and how a small group of men – no more than four hundred – were crucial in the outcome of the battle. It is a valuable addition to knowledge of the events for English-language readers.

The revelation is actually that it wasn’t the Thin Red Line of British soldiers that turned the tide against the Napoleonic French – it was a small group of Hanoverians who were part of the King’s German Legion.

Simms asserts that the farmhouse at La Haye-Sainte, which was at a crossroads in the middle of the battlefield, was crucial to success or failure. It was held all day by the Hanoverians, and only lost when the vital support of the Prussians had arrived on the battlefield. Of the four hundred that started the battle that morning, when roll was called at the end only forty-two were able to account for themselves. It is a story of epic bravery, amazingly skilled soldier-craft, and considerable luck. The force was held together by an indomitable Hanoverian called Georg Baring. He lived to tell his tale. His companion, Colonel Ompteda, was less fortunate. Ordered at the end of the day to chase down French skirmishers and attempt to re-take the farmhouse, he perished.

In a short book – little more than an extended essay - the author manages to give a real idea of the colour of the battle, the sacrifice, the importance of the stronghold, and how it really was the turning point. Had the French been able to shift the Hanoverians from the farmhouse earlier in the day, Napoleon could have set up his big guns close enough to the British to annihilate Wellington. He would have won the battle, continued to dominate Europe, and may even have attempted an invasion of England to remove them from the alliance. You are welcome to explore the ‘what ifs’ of that scenario.

Brendan Simms also manages to describe the political aftermath of the victory, and how it shaped Europe for years to come. There are a few interesting passages at the end about how awkward the hundredth anniversary was in 1915, and of how French diplomatic pressure prevented the Queen laying a wreath in 1965.

His main point politically is how the allied army was a truly international force, and a sort of proto-NATO. It wasn’t just The Iron Duke against Old Bony. Von Blucher was just as important, and his late arrival saved the day. Had the brave Hanoverians not stood their ground at La Haye-Sainte, however, there would have been nobody left saving.

It really was a close as the historians have always said.