The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 786: Chapter 370: The Military Flag of Britain_3

Arthur listened with interest and replied, “Hearing you talk like this, I suddenly don’t find war that frightening. It seems there are many intriguing things here.”

Upon hearing this, Plunkett’s expression changed. He waved his hands repeatedly and said, “No, Sir, you mustn’t think that way. You find it interesting only because I have chosen only the interesting parts to tell you. Actually, when our 95th regiment was at Waterloo, two-thirds of the officers and more than half of the brothers had fallen in the Battle of Quatre Bras.”

The 42nd regiment next to us was covered by French artillery fire from the first day of the Battle of Quatre Bras. In the morning, they had 526 men, but by evening only 238 remained. You should know the nickname of the 42nd regiment, right? The Black Guard, a Scottish Highland infantry unit— even they suffered so badly, not to mention other regiments. At that time, we were barely holding on, and Old Nosey realized we needed support, so he quickly sent support from Lincolnshire’s 69th regiment.”

But unfortunately, despite Old Nosey having foresight, the guy responsible for leading our right wing was a fool, that slim Prince of Orange, ‘Slender Billy.’ At that time, he was only 23 years old, just a naive kid who knew nothing. He ordered several of our regiments to form in line to face the enemy. Several battalion commanders from our 95th regiment seriously protested against his command, but this guy was still stubbornly adhering to his own views.”

And when the order to form in line reached the units, Kleman’s cuirassiers were charging back and forth between our units. The change in formation suddenly exposed our weaknesses, and they took advantage of this to launch an attack. The 73rd regiment, being close enough to Bosu Forest, hastily retreated into the thick bushes for cover. The 33rd regiment barely managed to form a square for defense, but the 69th regiment was tragic; they were trapped in the middle of the battlefield and suffered a brutal cavalry charge.”

The chaotic transition of formation caused the 69th to be annihilated on the spot, and their regimental flag was also captured by the French, with only a few managing to escape to a nearby allied square. You might not know, but losing a regimental flag is an enormous disgrace for us soldiers. The regimental flag almost has an occult significance, and to defend it, soldiers could fight like demons.”

When the 69th regiment realized they had lost their flag, they indeed went mad. The 69th’s flagbearer, Christopher Clark, realized he had lost the flag, instantly saw red, and charged back into the encirclement alone, killing three French cuirassiers. When he came out with the 69th’s flag, my God! I could hardly believe my eyes.”

He had been slashed 22 times, hardly a part of his body was unmarred, and blood was spurting from wounds all over. But by God’s grace, this fellow was very tenacious, perhaps even God thought he was a fine specimen, so he eventually survived and later joined the 42nd Scottish Highland infantry to continue serving.”

Arthur, hearing this, suddenly raised his hand to signal Plunkett to stop, “Wait… Thomas, the flagbearer Christopher Clark you mentioned? Could he possibly be the same Clark, the Police Superintendent responsible for interrogations here?”

Plunkett nodded slightly and said, “Exactly, that’s him. Sir, you should now understand why there isn’t a single person in the department who dares challenge Police Superintendent Clark? Even Rowan, the department head, and Sir Mayne usually show great respect towards him.”

Upon saying this, Plunkett still seemed unsure; he held his glass hesitantly for a while before adding, “Your Excellency, people like Police Superintendent Clark or myself, would never raise a hand against the Duke of Wellington. To us soldiers, he is like the entire British Army’s flag, and if anyone touches him, our eyes would blaze.”