Hougoumont

At Waterloo, Wellington had little choice but to occupy Hougoumont, for it would prevent the French from gaining the heart of the British position along the ridgeline. In fact, Wellington came close to losing the battle by under garrisoning Hougoumont. …

1815-06-18

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At Waterloo, Wellington had little choice but to occupy Hougoumont, for it would prevent the French from gaining the heart of the British position along the ridgeline. In fact, Wellington came close to losing the battle by under garrisoning Hougoumont. Opposite Hougoumont stood General Foy and Jerome Bonaparte with three divisions of the French II Corps. The initial attack began around 11:30 AM. The first assault met Resistance, but the French infantry forced their way into the woods. As they came out on the other side, they were forced to fall back from the intense fire from the buildings and walled garden. The second assault gained a small lodgement, but the attackers again were driven back. A third attack breached the gate of the walled farm, and only the heroics of local Guards commander MacDonell and a small force succeeded in closing the gate and wiping out the attackers. Despite the success of the defenders, the crisis was not over yet, for Foy’s Division joined the attack around 1 PM and gained the orchard. The Scots Guards then counter attacked from the ridge and drove the French out of the orchard. The orchard was attacked again in the late afternoon, but the British had reinforced the position and the attack again failed. The battle for Hougoumont was all but over by 7 PM.

Hougoumont, Belgium

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in Belgium, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: A British-led coalition consisting of units from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, referred to by many authors as the Anglo-allied army or Wellington's army, and a Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal von Blücher, referred also as Blücher's army. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Wikipedia: Battle of Waterloo

French

Portuguese/British

Seventh Coalition