Description: Waterloo: 18 June 1815: one of the greatest and most studied battles in history, now remarkably reassessed to reveal new intrigue, mystery, deceit, lies and error compounded over 175 years. How can this be so and for this book to claim such unique qualities when the event took place so long ago and is the subject of thousands of books? It is possible to make such a claim, and justifiably so. Waterloo had so many political and military implications that barely had the smoke of battle cleared than historians were examining every detail of the conflict. Prominent among these was Captain William Siborne who, while not at the battle, decided to create the definitive model of it. He thus obtained many hundreds of first-hand accounts of the action and movements on the day from the regiments involved. But, in receiving and circulating correspondence to so many people, he quickly exhausted the funds available and sought sponsorship from regiments involved. From that moment on, this "official" model became fatally corrupted. Those providing funds could also ensure their presence on the model and in any position desired, accurate, corroborated or otherwise. When the Siborne letters were published, only 180 were used. Unsurprisingly, they were only those supporting the positions of the troops on the model as laid out by Siborne, those funding Siborne and - worse yet - only from British officers, thus creating a fantastic historical fake. From the mid-nineteenth century to date, scholars have written theses and detailed studies, and built reputations on the basis of the dubious and imbalanced published letters. Although all remaining Siborne letters have long been open to study, no one until now hasundertaken the comparative work required to provide the complete picture which Siborne could have created but never did. David Hamilton-Williams is the first historian to complete a comprehensive evaluation of all the Siborne letters. This and other original research has provided verifiable supported evidence for widespread, top-level cover-ups by the British military and political establishment; previously unknown movements and events on the battlefield; inherited errors in previous studies of the battle; whole inaccuracies on the Siborne model and works based on the Siborne letters; Wellington's own assessment that the model was inaccurate; the fact that British forces at Waterloo could only have had a limited view and impact because of the true nature of their disposition and that of their Allies; and the fateful political intrigue that clouded the battle, the moves leading to it and the military strategy used. This is the most studied battle in history, yet many have come to their knowledge through inaccurate and error-ridden information. For the first time it is now possible to assess and discover the true role of Dutch, Belgian and German forces at Waterloo, all accurately recorded as clearly as the devious British foreign policy that ignored them. Experienced historians, academics and scholars will surely decry and refute the powerful revelations in this book; enthusiasts at all levels will be amazed and intrigued. But everything is fully documented, referenced and verified by the premier Napoleonic historians in Europe. The work here presented must rank as one of the greatest examples of pure historical detective research yet published, and will render every model, map, book,pamphlet, article and role-playing game open to serious reassessment and doubt.

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