napoleonic war late french line infantry 1812 1815En avant! The cry went up in hundreds of French throats as the blue columns marched forward on the battlefields across Europe. The all conquering French line infantry Les Bleus used a combination of massed columns, fast manoeuvre, and firepower to shatter the armies of Prussia, Austria, Spain and Russia, culminating in a death struggle against Wellington and Bluchers alliance at Waterloo in 1815. Well led and confident of victory, the average French