Ooops wrong section

[EdwardTheGreat]

Battle Honours: Historical: - Cape of Good Hope 1806 - Talavera - Busaco - Cidudad Rodriguo - Badajoz - Salamanca - Vittoria - Nivelle - Orthez - Toulouse - Peninsula Fictional: 1v1 Results

Napoleonic Wars History 1801 The French revolution began in 1789 and from then on set the whole of Europe alight with conflict. Under the genius of Napoleon Bonaparte the French had won battles against nearly every major nation and now dominated the European mainland. She now turned her attention outward towards Great Britain and Her overseas possessions. France had sent an expeditionary force to Egypt with a view to the invasion of India. The 28th were sent as part of a British force under General Sir Ralph Abercromby to counter that threat. They made an amphibious landing near Alexandria on the 8th of March. The French General Menou advanced towards the British who were camped about four miles to the east of Alexandria. He had the advantage of 1400 cavalry and superior artillery. He made a feint towards the British left but made his main thrust at the British right which included the ground the 28th were holding which was an old ruined fort on the Mediterranean coast. The fighting was very fierce and whilst under heavy attack to the front and flanks French cavalry was thrown at the 28th's rear. Lieutenant Colonel Chambers who had assumed command when Colonel Paget was seriously wounded was undaunted by this alarming turn of events and gave the order ' 28th, rear rank only, right about face, and although assailed from both sides the regiment calmly repelled all attacks in fierce hand to hand fighting. By 10.00 am the French were in full retreat along their entire line. In honour of the 28th's conduct on that day they were granted the unique distinction of wearing a badge on the back of their head dress as well as at the front. This badge takes the form of a sphinx with the word 'Egypt' beneath.   1808 An expedition under sir John Moore including the 28th was sent to Spain to link up with the Spanish army and drive the French out of the country. However General Moore soon realised that the Spanish army was not going to stand against the French. He also learned that the French were moving to isolate and destroy his force leaving him with no choice but to withdraw the 240 miles to the port of Corunna. The withdrawal began on Christmas Eve, and was carried out in terrible weather conditions over snow covered mountains. The 28th formed part of the rear guard under their own General Paget, now recovered from his wound and Divisional Commander under General Moore. Throughout this gruelling retreat the 28th had been in almost constant contact with the French and had fought many holding and delaying actions. The army reached Corunna on the 11th January and were able to regroup, get some much needed sleep and food, and be issued with arms and ammunition. They then fought the French again just outside of Corunna and succeeded in beating them before being successfully taken off by the Royal Navy. A precursor of Dunkirk? Although the main part of the regiment left the Peninsula it left a detachment behind in Lisbon which as part of a composite battalion under the Duke of Wellington took part in the battle of Talavera. Many more famous battles were fought before the final push in 1813 which saw the defeat of the French at the battle of Toulouse in 1814 and the abdication and exile of Napoleon to the island of Elba.   1815 In March of this year Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France gathering popular support as he travelled slowly from the coast to Paris. Whole regiments that were sent to intercept and arrest him defected to his cause. An allied army was assembled in Belgium which included the 28th who had hurried across the sea from Ireland where they had been stationed for several years. Napoleon was aware that he had only a short time to obtain a quick victory whilst the allies were still bickering about who should do what and before the allied army grew to an overwhelming size. He therefore marched towards Brussels on the 15th June. He met the Prussian army at Ligny driving them off and nearly destroying them completely. Wellington had decided to stop the French advance at Quatre Bras some 25 miles south of Brussels and on 16th June at the crossroads the battle was joined. The 28th in square against cavalry valiantly resisted every effort to break them and eventually Marshall Ney, the French Commander was forced to withdraw. During the height of the battle Sir James Kempt, the Brigade Commander rode into the 28th's square, doffed his hat and cried 'Bravo 28th, The 28th are still the 28th and your conduct this day shall never be forgotten'. After the battle of Quatre Bras the 28th joined the main army at Waterloo. Wellington had chosen the location for it's suitability to his now well known tactic of hiding the exact number and strength of his force by screening parts of it behind dips and rises in the land. As a bonus this also served to protect some units from direct damage from artillery. He intended to deny the battlefield to the enemy until Blucher's Prussians could recover from their mauling at Ligny and come up to re-enforce him. As he said afterwards, "It was a damned serious business, the nearest thing you ever saw in your life". During the course of the evening Napoleon was informed that the Prussians would shortly arrive, and in desperation he flung in the last of his reserves, the famed Imperial Guard. Unfortunately the ploy failed and the Guard were repulsed with heavy loss. Wellington took of his hat and waved it as a signal for a general advance. The French army was broken and fled the field. Napoleon went into exile once again this time to remain there until his death.

[Gojkov]

A promising start, best of luck!

[Crescent Glow]

Reserved

[EdwardTheGreat]

I made this in the completely wrong section....lol I was trying to post in the BCoF section but obviously made it in the wrong one, Although I might make a new NW regiment.