| History
Battle of Talavera, July 27-28 1809
In late July, the 3rd Foot Guards took part in the Battle of Talavera, one of the bloodiest and most bitter of engagements during the war. The British were commanded by Lieutenant-General Arthur Wellesley, a man who gained immortal fame in the history of the British Army, and would soon gain the honour Duke of Wellington for Talavera. The British-Spanish Army numbered about 50,000 and the 1st Battalion was part of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division, while the French numbered over 40,000.
The battle that ensued was ferocious, with the British defenders receiving the first attack on the night of the 27 July, an attack that nearly forced the British off the Cerro de Medellin, a hill to the left of the 3rd Foot Guards position, but a counter-attack successfully repulsed the French. In the early hours of the 28th, the French attacked once more, meeting stiff resistance from the British defenders. At the Cerro position, the British poured a relentless and overwhelming fire into the advancing French formations, and repulsed the French, inflicting heavy casualties on them. Further French attacks took place, at one point, the Foot Guards distinguished themselves greatly when they poured a devastating fire into the French ranks, though the Guards advanced after the fleeing French and in doing so became the target of a French artillery battery and French infantry who duly ripped into the Guards, causing hundreds of casualties.
However, despite suffering terribly, the Guards managed to reform and, along with other infantry battalions, commenced yet another professional and overwhelming fire to repulse a large French counter-attack, which caused quite horrific casualties for the French.
The Battle of Talavera was bloody and ended in victory for the British though at a terrible price, with over 5,000 men being killed or wounded, while their French opponents lost over 7,000 men. For their role in the battle, the regiment won its fifth battle honour.
Battle of Waterloo, 18 June 1815
At the climax of the Napoleonic Wars it would now be the turn of the 2nd Battalion to show it's mettle on behalf of the regiment. At Waterloo itself the 2nd Battalion was on the ridge just behind Hougoumont, with its light company in the farm buildings alongside those of the Second Foot Guards and two company's of the First's. For much of the day from eleven in the morning till eight in the evening did the foot guards much frustrate the 30,000 Frenchmen determined to capture the farmhouse.
Just after 11:00am, the battle commenced, with a French division, under the command of Prince Jérôme Bonaparte, beginning the assault on Hougoumont, with the Farm coming under heavy artillery fire. The French assaulted the farm, but the Guards' stout defense repulsed the first French attack. A second attack happened, and during that attack, the French attempted to push through the main gate. Despite the gallant efforts of the British Guardsmen to shut it, a few dozen French troops broke through before the Guardsmen managed to shut the main gate once more. What followed was a fierce hand-to-hand fight between the Guardsmen and French, until eventually all the French, minus a drummer boy who was spared by the Guardsmen, were killed.
The third attack came from the east of the farm, at the orchard. A few companies of the 3rd Guards subsequently confronted the French troops and, after some hard fighting, drove them from the orchard and back into the woods. The fourth attack soon came, this time with the use of a fearsome howitzer, and thus, the Grenadier Company of the 3rd Guards was sent into the woods to destroy the howitzer, but were faced with a superior French force and were forced out of the woods. The 3rd Guards were then sent to repulse the French from the orchard which they duly did, driving the French back into the woods once more.
Further attacks occurred on the farm, and the gallant defenders never wilted in the face of such French attacks, and held the farm against all odds, even when the farm was set ablaze by howitzer fire, the defenders still repulsed all French attacks. The elite Guards had proven their professionalism and valour once more in the field, and contributed greatly to the British and Allied victory at Waterloo, gaining the praise of the Duke of Wellington in the process. The defenders of Hougoumont suffered over 1,000 men killed or wounded during the Battle for Hougoumont, with the 3rd Guards suffering well over 200 men killed or wounded; while the French suffered many thousands of casualties in their numerous attempts to capture the farm. Napoleon was defeated and as before, he was exiled, this time to the British territory of St. Helena, where he would remain until his death in 1821.
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