I mean that surely it was not as bloody as 20th-century warfare as in hands and bits of flesh and shrapnel flying everywhere but I was just wondering, how bloody/gory it was
Well you thought wrong, dumbass!
5 TIMES DUDES GOT REKT IN NAPOLEONIC WARFARE (#4 WILL SHOCK YOU!)
#1 These Colors Don't Run!
So during the Waterloo campaign, this British battalion had to stand in the open under French cannon fire. This colors sergeant, will brass balls, can see one pointed straight at him; he even sees the shot flying straight for him. He thought about ducking for a moment, but decided not to, and held the colors high, standing tall. As it happened, the shot didn't kill him, but it did decapitate the four men of the file on his right.
#2 Eye Popping!
At the Battle of Auerstadt, Napoleon's badass-in-chief Marshal Davout was leading his isolated corps against the main force of the Prussian army, the same guys who had trounced the French in the Seven Years War. But, they just throw one isolated division at Davout after another, with all the impact of those wet toilet paper balls high school kids try to plaster the bathroom ceilings with. At one point, the Prussian leader, the Duke of Brunswick, tries to lead a regiment of grenadiers into the shit, but he gets shot in the head and loses both his eyes for it! What's worse, it takes almost a month for him to die this agonizing death! Ouch!
#3 Good thing he had his armor!
The French cavalry of the Napoleonic Wars had a long tradition of beating the shit out of people, and the best of the best were their heavy cavalry, and the best of the best of the best were their carabiniers a cheval. These guys rode the biggest horses, and in an age of muskets and cannon, wore honest-to-god breastplates as part of their uniform. However, one poor carabinier, François Antoine Fauveau, discovered exactly why heavy armor had fallen out of fashion with the rise of gunpowder. It doesn't take much imagination to picture what the poor guy looked like after the cannonball's astute instruction.
#4 The boy stood on the burning deck...
So while Napoleon was off making the Mamelukes his bitches under the fuckin pyramids and cucking one of his men, turns out Nelson was about to make Napoleon his bitch! You see, Egypt is across the ocean from France, and Napoleon had to take a boat to get there. At this time, the British had what we call a Badass Navy (which they used to find a letter from Napoleon's wife admitting to cucking him -karma!); they let Napoleon slip past them to get to Egypt, but there was no way they were going to let him out. They jumped the French fleet in Abukir bay, and basically prison shanked them. The biggest and baddest boat in the French fleet, l'Orient, caught fire, and when the fire got to the gunpowder, it went off like a firecracker. Here's where it gets fucking badass. Y'see, boats are full of seamen (teehee), and when they explode, the seamen go with it. Not only were British boats set on fire from all the flaming wreckage, they got pelted with raining body parts from all the French who got blown up! Badass!
#5 Waterloo again!
At Waterloo, the British were led by Certified Grade A Badass the Duke of Welligton, who had for his cavalry commander the Earl of Uxbridge. During the battle, a cannonball struck his leg and all but tore it off. The man exclaimed to his commander, "By God sir, I've lost my leg!" Wellington replied, "By God sir, so you have!"
Lastly, I'll just let these pictures speak for themselves; these are sketches by one Sir Charles Bell, depicting the wounded soldiers of Waterloo [caution, not safe for work].
http://blog.europeana.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Soldier-suffering-from-head-wound.jpg
http://blog.europeana.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Sabre-wound-to-abdomen.jpg
