— Draws on newly discovered eyewitness accounts from Prussian sources to present new insights into the battle and new areas of combat

— Studies the battle from the unexplored perspective of General Drouet d’Erlon, one of Napoleon’s key subordinates

— Focuses on the lesser-known engagements between the French and Prussians, for which new archaeological evidence has been discovered

— Examines death certificates issued for French officers and men on the day of the battle to suggest it was not the ‘bloodbath’ it is often thought to have been

— The result of twenty years of research in archives in France and German

Historians have sought reasons why Napoleon lost the great battle at Waterloo, seen by many as the most famous conflict of the nineteenth century.

Waterloo Casualties presents the litany of failures by one of Napoleon’s key subordinates, General Drouet d’Erlon, which ultimately led to defeat, and explores for the first time what really happened at Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, and on the French right wing as the Prussians closed in. The actions between Papelotte and Frichermont were critical in the story of the battle, but have, so far, been seldom studied as no red-coated soldiers fought there. They come under scrutiny in Dawson’s meticulous analysis.