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If the French had been able to attack in the early hours they could have swept the British from the field before the arrival of their Prussian allies. Then there was Napoleon’s mistake in organizing the first attack on the British centre. The formation of the First French Corps was not suitable for a swift attack and this meant that it was relatively ineffective. According to an official French investigation into the battle the ‘inconceivable formation of the first corps, in masses very much too deep for the first grand attack.’<ref> Comte d'Erlon, Jean-Baptiste Drouet (1815), Drouet's account of Waterloo to the French Parliament, p. 3</ref>

Then there was the superiority of the British cavalry. Because of the constant wars, the European armies could not access good horses. The British were able to secure excellent horses from England and especially Ireland and this meant that they were more effective at Waterloo. On the other hand, the French cavalry horses were not as good and this was a real disadvantage.<ref>Adkin, p. 212</ref> The charge of the British Heavy Brigade was particularly important at a most dangerous stage in the battle for the British and when they seemed on the verge of defeat. The superior horses of the British gave them an ‘important advantage on the battlefield.’<ref> Fletcher, Ian , <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811707032/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0811707032&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=be1e5cee696a739afca24453fc1f9afd Galloping at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsula and at Waterloo 1808–15]</i>, (Staplehurst, Spellmount, 1999), 201</ref>