KillerMongoose
Sergeant Knight
The Iron Waffles
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History
The 7de, part of Bijlandt's Netherlands Infantry Brigade, first saw heavy action at the Battle of Quatre Bras when it arrived at about 2p.m. and immediately found itself in the thick of the fight in the northern part of Bossu Wood to reinforce the thinly spread Nassauers. The 7de along with the rest of Bijlandt's Brigade fought heavily at Quatre Bras to secure Wellington's position and did so successfully despite taking some casualties in the intense fighting. During the fighting at Quatre Bras, French chasseurs a cheval tried to capture the Prince of Orange but several members of the 7de came to the Prince's rescue. The Prince tore a jewelled insignia of an order from his jacket and tossed it to the Belgian soldiers and shouted "There my brave fellows! You have all deserved it!" and with a cheer the soldiers fastened it to their colours. Then at Waterloo, Bijlandt's Brigade was deployed on the forward slope farther ahead than the British Brigades, who were enjoying tea on the reverse slope. During the initial French artillery bombardment, Bijlandt's Brigade bore the full weight of the French artillery might however it still stood fast as the men of the Brigade lied down to lessen the effects. And when the French infantry of d'Erlon's Corps advanced up the slope, they were greeted by Bijlandt's Brigade, who engaged the French in a protracted and effective firefight despite being outnumbered vastly. Lieutenant Hope of the British 92nd Gordon Highlanders wrote "The Belgians were assailed with a terrible fury and returned the fire of the enemy for quite some time with great spirit." Colonel Van Zuylen Van Nyevelt wrote "Having approach us to within 50 paces not a shot had been fired, but now the impatience of the soldiers could do no longer be restrained, and they greeted the enemy with a double row." Bijland'ts Brigade fought fiercely and despite false accounts which claim that they fled in disarray, the brigade was actually deployed further ahead than the rest of the British brigades. Bijlandt's Brigade - seeing that they had no support from other allied brigades - withdrew to the rest of the British lines. The Lieutenant-Colonel of the 7de, Francois-Chretien Vandesande, a veteran of the French army who saw intense action in Northern Italy, Spain, Northern Prussia, and Southern Hungary/Austria, was wounded several times during the course of the battle by both bullets and bayonets but he kept commanding his battalion until he had lost so much blood that he could barely stand. The 7de saw intense fighting with the French infantry, engaging them in a firefight from less than 25 meters apart and several assaults and bayonet charges led by the Prince of Orange. There was a lieutenant from the 7de who was shot by a French officer's pistol, the two lines were so close that some of the paper from the cartridge was still smoldering in the wound. The lieutenant promptly charged across the 25 meter gap and took one giant swing at the officer's face and left his nose hanging down over his lips.
Belgian infantry at the time wore coats of dark blue with white facings, grey pantaloons and the Belgic shako. The facings on the shako varied in color, white for center companies, red for grenadier companies and green for flanquer companies. Netherlands infantry at the time used the British Brown Bess musket except for a few who were equipped with French muskets which would eventually become the standard small arm of Netherlands infantry under the name 'Model 1815.' Men in Grenadier and Flanquer companies had shoulder rolls on their coats but the center companies did not.
One of the best Netherland infantry units was the 7de Bataljon Infanterie Van Linie (7th Line Infantry Battalion). Especially the officers were excellent. Commander Francois-Chretien Vandensande served in the famous French 112th Line Infantry Regiment, and was awarded with Légion d’Honneur for personally bravery at the Battle of Raab. Captain L’Olivier served in the French 7th Line Infantry Regiment as commander of grenadier company. Captain Nieuport served in the French 13th Tirailleur Regiment of Young Guard. Lieutenant Nieulandt served in the 1st Regiment of Honor Guard. Lieutenant Scheltens served in the famous Grenadiers of Old Guard.
Men like Sibourne or Lord General Uxbridge would downplay the role of the Dutch-Belgians, calling them "cowards with no stomach to fight" but in the end the Dutch-Belgians saved the Allied victory. The 2de Belgische Karabiniers, acting on their own initiative, pursued the retreating French cavalry all the way off the field, led personally by their Crown Prince, William II. The 8ste Belgische Huzaren took 65% casualties yet they fought on with "insane gallantry" when they charged into French lancers to cover the retreat of fleeing British heavy cavalry. And the bravery and gutsiness that took place when Major-General Trip's Netherlands Heavy Cavalry Brigade consisting of the 1ste (Dutch) 2de (Belgian) and 3de (Dutch) Karabinier regiments, counter charged the massive French cuirassier attack led by Marshal Ney.
English officer, Captain Batty of the Grenadier Guards, declared that he saw 'a Belgian cavalry regiment fight valiantly with the cuiassiers in a manner never to be forgotten.'
In British reports the words describing the Netherlands and French setbacks of failures are expressive :
- "trashed"
- "mauled"
- "utterly routed"
- "fled in complete panic"
- "fleeing left and right"
- "whole formations broke"
- "...the carnage was awful..." - Jac Weller
- "the terror stricken masses" - Siborne
- and my favorite: "French officers were brought up
from the hollow in great numbers, delivering up their swords."
British setbacks are described in either dry or mild words:
- "retiring to safety in an irregular manner" - an NCO, British Foot Guard
- "taking a better position in the rear"
- "falling back rapidly"
- "moved to the rear"
- "tactically out manoeuvred"
- and my favorite: "an advance to the rear in force"
In short, the Dutch and Belgian units who fought at Waterloo showed that they would fight like madmen to protect their country and their freedom but due to a long British-Dutch rivalry and British nationalism, the role of the Dutch and Belgian units was played down to make them appear as cowards but it is entirely untrue.
Belgian infantry at the time wore coats of dark blue with white facings, grey pantaloons and the Belgic shako. The facings on the shako varied in color, white for center companies, red for grenadier companies and green for flanquer companies. Netherlands infantry at the time used the British Brown Bess musket except for a few who were equipped with French muskets which would eventually become the standard small arm of Netherlands infantry under the name 'Model 1815.' Men in Grenadier and Flanquer companies had shoulder rolls on their coats but the center companies did not.
One of the best Netherland infantry units was the 7de Bataljon Infanterie Van Linie (7th Line Infantry Battalion). Especially the officers were excellent. Commander Francois-Chretien Vandensande served in the famous French 112th Line Infantry Regiment, and was awarded with Légion d’Honneur for personally bravery at the Battle of Raab. Captain L’Olivier served in the French 7th Line Infantry Regiment as commander of grenadier company. Captain Nieuport served in the French 13th Tirailleur Regiment of Young Guard. Lieutenant Nieulandt served in the 1st Regiment of Honor Guard. Lieutenant Scheltens served in the famous Grenadiers of Old Guard.
Men like Sibourne or Lord General Uxbridge would downplay the role of the Dutch-Belgians, calling them "cowards with no stomach to fight" but in the end the Dutch-Belgians saved the Allied victory. The 2de Belgische Karabiniers, acting on their own initiative, pursued the retreating French cavalry all the way off the field, led personally by their Crown Prince, William II. The 8ste Belgische Huzaren took 65% casualties yet they fought on with "insane gallantry" when they charged into French lancers to cover the retreat of fleeing British heavy cavalry. And the bravery and gutsiness that took place when Major-General Trip's Netherlands Heavy Cavalry Brigade consisting of the 1ste (Dutch) 2de (Belgian) and 3de (Dutch) Karabinier regiments, counter charged the massive French cuirassier attack led by Marshal Ney.
English officer, Captain Batty of the Grenadier Guards, declared that he saw 'a Belgian cavalry regiment fight valiantly with the cuiassiers in a manner never to be forgotten.'
In British reports the words describing the Netherlands and French setbacks of failures are expressive :
- "trashed"
- "mauled"
- "utterly routed"
- "fled in complete panic"
- "fleeing left and right"
- "whole formations broke"
- "...the carnage was awful..." - Jac Weller
- "the terror stricken masses" - Siborne
- and my favorite: "French officers were brought up
from the hollow in great numbers, delivering up their swords."
British setbacks are described in either dry or mild words:
- "retiring to safety in an irregular manner" - an NCO, British Foot Guard
- "taking a better position in the rear"
- "falling back rapidly"
- "moved to the rear"
- "tactically out manoeuvred"
- and my favorite: "an advance to the rear in force"
In short, the Dutch and Belgian units who fought at Waterloo showed that they would fight like madmen to protect their country and their freedom but due to a long British-Dutch rivalry and British nationalism, the role of the Dutch and Belgian units was played down to make them appear as cowards but it is entirely untrue.
Roster
Officers
| Luitenant-Kolonel Waffleborn | 
|
| Majoor Freakout | 
|
| Kapitein Chargerz |
|
| Kapitein Anthony |
|
|
Sergeant-Majoor Irishaim
Sergeant German Korporaal afvet89 Korporaal Plantroon |
Flankeur Thomas
Flankeur Bumby |
Iron Waffle code of conduct
1) Get along with other regiment members.
2) Do not antagonize or start fights with other regiment members.
3) Don't take away from other other member's fun because you are angry or feeling like a troll.
4) Don't be a douchebag, dickbag, ****bag, homophobe, xenophobe, waffle-hater, ultra-nationalist, ***-stain-on-the-face-of-the-earth, Belgium/Netherlands hater, or a pancake. Serial killers and mental patients welcome.
2) Do not antagonize or start fights with other regiment members.
3) Don't take away from other other member's fun because you are angry or feeling like a troll.
4) Don't be a douchebag, dickbag, ****bag, homophobe, xenophobe, waffle-hater, ultra-nationalist, ***-stain-on-the-face-of-the-earth, Belgium/Netherlands hater, or a pancake. Serial killers and mental patients welcome.
Ranks
Officer
| Luitenant-Kolonel | LtKol |
| Majoor | Maj |
| Kapitein | Kpt |
| Vaandrig | Vaan |
| Sergeant-Majoor | SgtMaj |
| Sergeant | Sgt |
| Grenadier | Gren |
| Flankeur | Flank |
| Korporaal | Kpl |
| Soldaat | Sdt |
| Rekruut | Rkt |
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Best of luck Waffleborn!
And yes it is unforunate, I only hope that people eventually come to at least respect the contributions of the Dutch-Belgian men that fought at Waterloo, willing to give their lives for the freedom of their country.
