Which unit defended the farm of La Haye Sainte at Waterloo?

The King’s German Legion defended the farm of La Haye Sainte at Waterloo. The key garrison was the Legion’s 2nd Light Battalion, commanded by Major Georg Baring, which occupied the farmhouse compound before the battle began on 18 June 1815.

La Haye Sainte stood beside the main road between Charleroi and Brussels, close to the centre of Wellington’s position. Its walls and buildings offered an important advanced defensive post, but the compound had serious weaknesses: the main gate had been removed for firewood, fortifications were improvised, and the defenders had limited ammunition for their Baker rifles.

The garrison resisted repeated French attacks while facing forces many times its size. The King’s German Legion troops were supported by other Allied units, including the 1st/2nd Nassau Regiment and the light company of the 5th Line Battalion. Their defence helped protect the Allied centre during the crucial middle part of the battle.

Late in the afternoon, the defenders ran out of ammunition. French troops under Marshal Ney finally captured La Haye Sainte at about 6 p.m., but the delay mattered: by then, Prussian forces were arriving and Wellington’s army remained capable of resisting Napoleon’s final attack.