After the main army had fled the field at Waterloo, a few squares of the Old Guard stood their ground in the dusk, firing as they were surrounded. The British brought up guns and poured in canister at close range, and an officer called on the Guard to surrender. The reply that came back — attributed to General Cambronne — was "La Garde meurt mais ne se rend pas," the Guard dies but does not surrender. (Cambronne was said to have used a shorter, blunter word.) The squares were torn apart but did not break. It was the last organized resistance of Napoleon's army, and it closed the wars that had run for more than twenty years.

The figure is the front-rank kneeler of a firing line — musket levelled and firing, the full-dress uniform of white breeches and black gaiters, dark blue coat with red facings, bearskin with red plume. In the three-deep line he is the foundation: the kneeling rank that lets the men behind fire over him without wasting frontage. Stand a French Imperial Guard 2nd Rank Standing Firing directly behind him, deepen it with a French Imperial Guard 3rd Rank, and bring the next volley up with a French Imperial Guard Standing Make Ready.

W. Britain model 36178. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.