The Battle of Quatre Bras, between Wellington's Anglo-allied army and the
left wing of the Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney, was fought near the
strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815, two days before the Battle
of Waterloo. Prelude
The crossroads of Quatre-Bras was of strategic importance because the side
which controlled it could move south-eastward along the Nivelles-Namur
road towards the French and Prussian armies at the Battle of Ligny. If
Wellington's Anglo-allied army could combine with the Prussians, the combined
force would be larger than Napoleon's. Napoleon's strategy had been to cross
the border into what is now Belgium and was then part of the United Kingdom of
the Netherlands without alerting the Coalition and drive a wedge between
their forces and subsequently to defeat the Prussians before turning on the
Anglo-allied army. Although the coalition commanders did have an
overview of French pre-war movements, Napoleon's strategy was initially very
successful. Wellington's instructions at the start
of the campaign were to defend Brussels from the French, but he did not know
what route Napoleon might take and had received reports of a flanking manoeuvre
through Mons, to the southwest. He first heard of the outbreak of hostilities at
around 15:00 on the 15 June from the Prince of Orange, and further
confirmation of the French engaging the Prussian I Corps outposts under
Lieutenant-General Graf von Zieten at 04:30 at Thuin arrived within the next
three hours. It was 18:00 that Wellington drafted initial orders to
concentrate his army. However, he was still uncertain precisely where to
concentrate his army, and it was not until he heard that the front near Mons
was clear - around midnight - that he ordered his army to move towards the
Prussians. This nine-hour delay meant it was too
late for him to move his army in sufficient strength to eventually
provide Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher with the support he needed on 16
June at the battle of Ligny. Wellington did not order his entire army
to Quatre Bras on 16 June either, still suspecting a flanking manoeuvre through
Mons. The headquarters of William, Prince of Orange, however decided to
ignore Wellington's order to assemble Dutch forces in and around Nivelles and
instead took the initiative to defend Quatre Bras, where they received
substantial aid from the Brunswickers and Nassauers.
Napoleon's original plan for 16 June was based on the assumption that the
Coalition forces, who had been caught napping, would not attempt a risky
forward concentration; he intended therefore to push an advanced guard as
far as Gembloux, for the purpose of feeling for and warding off Blücher. To
assist this operation the reserve would move at first to Fleurus to reinforce
Grouchy, should he need assistance in driving back Blücher's troops; but, once
in possession of Sombreffe, Napoleon would swing the reserve westwards and
join Ney, who, it was supposed, would have in the meantime mastered Quatre
Bras. In pursuance of this object Ney, to whom III Cavalry Corps was now
attached, was to mass at Quatre Bras and push an advanced guard 10 kilometres
northward of that place, with a connecting division at Marbais to link
him with Grouchy. The centre and left wing together would then make a
night-march toward Brussels. The Coalition forces would thus be
irremediably sundered, and all that remained would be to destroy them in
detail. Napoleon now awaited further information from his wing commanders at
Charleroi, where he massed the VI Corps, to save it, if possible, from a
harassing countermarch, as it appeared likely that it would only be wanted for
the march to Brussels. On 15 June as the Prussian I Corps
withdrew towards Ligny, there was a danger for the Coalition forces that Ney
would be able to advance through Quatre Bras and take his objectives with little
or no Coalition opposition. At the Dutch headquarters at Genappe from Quatre
Bras), Major-General Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque, chief of staff to the
Prince of Orange, realising the danger ordered Lieutenant-General Hendrik
George de Perponcher Sedlnitsky, the commander of the 2nd Dutch Division, to
dispatch his 2nd Brigade to occupy Quatre Bras. The brigade, consisting of
two regiments from Nassau, arrived at about 14:00 on 15 June. Prince Bernhard
deployed before the first French scouts, lancers of the Guard Light Cavalry
Division, as they approached Quatre Bras. The lancers were interdicted at
Frasnes after which the Nassauers retreated to the Bois de Bossu, a thick
patch of forest near Quatre Bras. General Lefebvre-Desnouëtte requested
infantry support, but as night was approaching, and his infantry was strung
out along Brussels-Charleroi road Ney declined the request deciding to camp
for the night and approach Quatre Bras in force the following day. Early on the
evening of 15 June instead of obeying Wellington's order to concentrate the I
Corps at Nivelles, Rebecque ordered 1st Brigade of the 2nd Dutch Division to
reinforce Prince Bernhard's 2nd Brigade. Ney spent the morning of 16 June in
massing his I and II corps, and in reconnoitering the enemy at Quatre Bras,
who, as he was informed, had been reinforced. But up till noon he took no
serious step to capture the cross-roads, which then lay at his mercy. Grouchy
meantime reported from Fleurus that Prussians were coming up from Namur, but
Napoleon does not appear to have attached much importance to this report.
He was still at Charleroi when, between 09:00 and 10:00, further news reached
him from the left that considerable hostile forces were visible at Quatre
Bras. He at once wrote to Ney saying that these could only be some of
Wellington's troops, and that Ney was to concentrate his force and crush what was
in front of him, adding that he was to send all reports to Fleurus. Then,
keeping Lobau provisionally at Charleroi, Napoleon hastened to Fleurus,
arriving about 11:00. Combatants
At the beginning of the battle the left wing of the Armee du Nord, with 18,000
men under Marshal Michel Ney, faced 8,000 infantry and 16 guns, under the
command of William, Prince of Orange. The Dutch were thinly deployed south of
the crossroads of Quatre Bras. Fresh allied troops started to arrive two
hours later, along with Wellington, who took over command of the allied forces.
As the day wore on, fresh Dutch, British and Brunswickers arrived faster than
fresh French troops. Battle
Fighting started late in the afternoon on 15 June, when the Elba squadron, a
small Polish lancer unit consisting of only 109 men and officers, tried to
attack the allied forces from the direction of Frasnes. These forces
consisted of the II/2nd Nassau regiment and Bijlevelds horse artillery. The
Dutch and Nassau commanders had taken precaution however, and the Lancers were
greeted by canister and volley fire, losing some men and horses before
retiring to Frasnes. Patrols were sent out and the positions were kept until
the next morning. From 5 AM on June 16, there were
continuous skirmishes between Allied and French forces, in which neither side
managed to get an advantage. Some Prussian hussars, cut off from their
main body, skirmished with the Red Lancers, but they disengaged after
Bijleveld's artillery once again drove the lancers back. Two companies of
Nassau infantry advanced towards Frasnes, but this time the French pushed
them back. Some time after 6 AM, after the Prince of Orange arrived, the
skirmishes stopped. The real battle began with the French
attack around 14:00 hours. Ney massed a battery of 22 guns and started
bombarding the Coalition positions. Swarms of skirmishers preceded the
French columns as they attacked. The Dutch picket line of the 2nd Division
greeted them with musket volleys, but it was outnumbered and those east of the
Brussels highway were at once forced back by the mass of men moved against
them. The Nassauers of 2nd Brigade retreated to Grand-Pierrepont farm and
Dutch troops of the 1st Brigade to Gemioncourt, but the allies managed,
however, to hold the wood. Facing three infantry divisions and a cavalry
brigade, the situation became desperate for the 2nd Division.
At around 15:00 the 5th British Infantry Division and the 3rd Dutch Light Cavalry
Brigade arrived. The Duke of Wellington came back from his meeting with Blücher
and took command. He deployed Picton's Division on the allied left flank where
it stopped the French advance to the east of the road. The fresh French 6th
Division arrived on the scene. A fierce fight now broke out all along the line.
Picton, showing a dauntless front, maintained his position, while the
French 6th Division were sent against Grand-Pierrepont. The Nassauers were
forced to abandon the farm and were driven into the Bossu wood. There they
fought from tree to tree, slowing the French advance. At Gemioncourt the Dutch
troops were a thorn in the side of the French.
The defending battalion of Gemincourt Farm, the 5th National Militia, lost 62%
of its original strength that day. It was driven out by the 4th light and
100th Line regiments, but regrouped north of the farm when the Dutchmen saw
the 28th British Foot come to their aid. But this regiment thought the farmhouse
was lost and retreated, while the 5th Militia, thinking they were going to get
reinforced, charged the Farmhouse again and drove the French regiments from the
surroundings of the farm, but were unable to take the farm itself. The 5th
managed to take up position south of the farm, where their Prince joined them.
With artillery support, they repulsed the 6th Chasseurs-Au-Cheval and a lancer
regiment. The Dutch lost and retook the farm another time, but eventually lost
it. By 15:00, the French formed a line
between Pierrepoint through Gemioncourt to Piraumont. At 15:30 the Dutch 3rd
Light Cavalry Brigade, led by the Prince of Orange, charged the French line;
although they were met by French cavalry and were thrown back, this gave the
battered Dutch infantry time to regroup. When the Dutch cavalry brigade
disengaged and retired to friendly lines they were shot at by Scottish infantry
because their uniforms looked like the French uniforms of the chasseurs à
cheval. The Brunswick Corps, under the Duke of Brunswick, now reached the
field, but their commander received a mortal wound while leading a charge and
the attack failed. At 16:15 Ney received Napoleon's order,, to attack vigorously.
He sent an order to his II Corps to attack with more force.
On Ney's left, Prince Jérôme drove the allies out of the Bossu Wood. French
mixed forces advanced almost all the way to the crossroads. Regiments of the
British 9th Brigade — 42nd, 44th and 92nd — held up against the infantry.
French of the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division counter-attacked and
severely mauled the 42nd and 44th before they were driven off.
At 17:00 the timely arrival of the British 3rd Division, coming in from
Nivelles, tipped the numerical balance back in favour of the allies. At quarter
past the hour Ney heard that the French I Corps, without his direct order or
knowledge, had moved eastwards to assist in the battle of Ligny. Fifteen minutes
later at 17:30 he received an unclear order from Napoleon to seize Quatre Bras
and then turn eastwards to crush Blücher, who was caught at Ligny. Due to
the arrival of allied reinforcements, Ney realized that he could capture and
hold Quatre Bras only with the support of the I Corps and he sent imperative
orders to d'Erlon to return at once. To keep the pressure on Wellington,
immediately after sending for d'Erlon, Ney ordered Kellermann to lead his one
available cuirassier brigade and break through Wellington's line.
Kellermann's cuirassiers caught the British 5th Brigade — 33rd 69th and the
73rd — in line formation. The 69th were badly mauled, losing their King's
colour; the 33rd and the 73rd were saved from a similar fate by running for the
safety of Bossu Wood where they rallied quickly. The cuirassiers reached the
crossroads but were driven back by close range artillery and musket fire.
The arrival of the British 1st Infantry Division gave Wellington sufficient
strength to counter-attack and Jérôme, whose skirmishers were now west of
Quatre Bras, was forced to retreat and give up possession of Bossu wood to the
British Guards. When the Guards and other allied units emerged from the
wood, they were met with heavy fire from French infantry and an attack by 6th
Lancer Regiment of the 2nd Cavalry Division; the Guards were caught in line
and forced to flee back into the wood. This cavalry attack and taking the Bossu
wood caused high casualties among the British Guards. There was some further
skirmishing between allied light companies and the French voltigeurs and
cavalry screen, but the battle was over. By 21:00, when the fighting stopped, the
French had been forced to give up all of their territorial gains.
Aftermath The battle cost Ney 4,000 men to
Wellington's 4,800. Although the allies had won the field, the French prevented
them from coming to the aid of the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny.
Wellington's Anglo-allied army, upon learning of the Prussian defeat, was
forced to retreat north along the Brussels road further away from the
Prussians, who retreated north-east towards Wavre. There has been much
debate about what would have happened if d'Erlon's I Corps had engaged at either
Ligny or Quatre Bras. As he did not, Napoleon chose to follow Wellington with
the bulk of his forces and two days later met him at Waterloo.
See also Order of battle of the Battle of Quatre
Bras Notes
References Anonymous, "Hundred Days Campaign 1815
and the Combats at Thuin and Gilly, Storming of Charleroi Bridgeand the
Battle of Quatre Bras", Napoleon, His Army and Enemies, retrieved 5 May 2015
This website considers that English language articles over emphasise the
British contribution to the campaign and emphasises other nations contributions.
Becke, Archibald Frank, "Waterloo Campaign", in Chisholm, Hugh,
Encyclopædia Britannica 28, Cambridge University Press, pp. 371–381
Forbes, Archibald, "The inner history of the Waterloo Campaign", Camps, Quarters,
and Casual Places], London: MacMillan & Company, p. 237
Hofschröer, Peter, 1815: The Waterloo Campaign. The German Victory 2, London:
Greenhill Books, ISBN 978-1-85367-368-9 Hofschröer, Peter, Waterloo 1815: Quatre
Bras and Ligny, London: Leo Cooper, ISBN 978-1-84415-168-4
Niderost, Eric, Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Quatre Bras, History Net, p. 2
Wit, Pierre de, "The last Anglo-Netherlands-German reinforcements
and the Anglo-Netherlands-German advance", The campaign of 1815: a study,
Emmen, the Netherlands, p. 3 Further reading
Anonymous. The Battle of Quatre Bras Fletcher, Ian; ‘A Desperate Business’:
Wellington, the British Army and the Waterloo Campaign; Spellmount Publishers
Libert, Alfons. The Battle of Quatre-Bras
Muilwijk, Erwin. Contribution of the Netherlands Mobile Army during the 1815
campaign Gives full account of the Dutch troops that fought at Quatre-Bras, based
on many unknown primary sources. Robinson, Mike. The battle of Quatre
Bras. The History Press 2009. New topographical mapping and personal
accounts Digitized dairy of Chief-of-Staff
Nyevelt [1] External links