about noon
After he had passed , the shouts continued along our right farther and farther away , and we all thought the battle would begin in twenty minutes . But we were obliged to wait a long time and we grew impatient . The conscripts in d'Erlon 's corps , who were not in battle the day before , began to shout `` Forward ! '' At last , about noon , the cannon thundered on the left and were followed by the fire from the battalion and then the file . We could see nothing , for it was on the other side of the road . The attack had commenced on Hougoumont . Immediately shouts of `` Vive l'Empereur ! ''