After Napoleon entered Paris and started the Hundred Days campaign, King William II of Prussia recalled Blücher from his retirement in Silesia and set him the task of facing down the upstart Frenchman. He was placed in command of the Army of the Lower Rhine and quickly marched west to join the Anglo-Dutch allies, hoping to consolidate their forces.
Unfortunately, the Prussian army was hastily assembled and pressed into the field ill-equipped. Over a third of the force was Landwehr (militia), some of which marched barefoot to war. At the Battle of Ligny, the Prussian army faced Napoleon directly and was roundly beaten, Blücher himself being trapped and injured under his dead horse for hours. The Battle of Waterloo provided a chance at redemption.
A considerable amount of praise must be heaped upon the Prussians at Waterloo. Blücher kept his promise to Wellington and through sheer determination ensured that Prussian forces arrived to swing the balance in the favour of Britain and her allies.
As with the French and British starter army boxes, the Blücher’s Prussian Army starter box is absolutely stuffed with well over 1,000 model soldiers, and a tremendous Windmill MDF scenery piece with which to dress your battlefield.
