ivision, while Chasse's Dutch
division on the extreme right occupied the village of Braine l'Alleud.
Somerset's brigade of heavy cavalry and Kruse's Dutch cavalry were
posted behind Alten's division, and Ponsonby's "union brigade,"
consisting of the royal dragoons, Scots greys, and Inniskillings, was
stationed in Picton's rear. The whole line lay on the inner slopes of
the ridge with the exception of Bylandt's Dutch-Belgian brigade which
was posted on the outer slope in front of Picton's division. D'Erlon's
corps was opposite the British left, Reille's opposite the British
right. Squadrons of cavalry covered the outer flank of either of the two
French corps. The magnificent squadrons of French cavalry, 15,000
strong, under Milhaud, Kellermann, and other famous leaders, were in the
second line; the imperial guard, as usual, was massed in the rear.

[Pageheading: _WATERLOO._]

The battle opened about half-past eleven with a furious attack on
Hougoumont. It was defended with desperate gallantry, mainly by the
British guards, who reopened the old loopholes in the garden-walls, and
closed by sheer muscular force the eastern gate of the yard, which had
been forced open by the French. In the fruitless siege of Hougoumont, as
it may be called, the French left wing thus wasted most of its strength,
and incurred enormous loss. Meanwhile, the French right wing under
D'Erlon, advanced to attack the British left, which had been assailed
for an hour and a half by the fire of a battery with seventy-eight guns.
The Dutch and Belgians, who in their exposed position had suffered
severely from the French artillery fire, soon gave way; but Picton's
division, after a single volley, charged with the bayonet and drove
their assailants reeling backward, though Picton himself fell dead on
the field. Without orders from Wellington, Lord Uxbridge, in command of
the British cavalry, seized the opportunity, and launched the union
brigade with other regiments upon the flying masses. This whirlwind of
British horsemen swept all before it, slaughtering many of the French
cavalry in passing, taking 3,000 prisoners, sabring the gunners of Ney's
battery, and spiking fifteen of the guns. But their ardour carried them
too far. By Napoleon's orders a large force of French cuirassiers and
lancers fell upon their flank before they could take breath again, and
their ranks were frightfully thinned in a disorderly retreat. But their
charge had saved the day.