Battle of Quatre Bras

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Quatre Bras (Black Watch at Bay) by James B. Wollen

Date	June 16, 1815
Location	Quatre Bras, Belgium
Result	Tactical draw, French strategic victory

Combatants

France

Anglo-Allies<ref>The Anglo-Allied army consisted of troops from Britain, Brunswick, Hanover, Nassau and the Netherlands, see Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign</ref>

Commanders

Michel Ney

Duke of Wellington

William II of the Netherlands

Strength

18,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 32 guns (a total of 24,000 troops by the end of the battle)

20,000 by the end of the battle

Casualties

4,000

4,800

Waterloo Campaign
Quatre Bras – Ligny – Waterloo – Wavre

The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought between contingents of the Anglo-Dutch army and the left wing of the French Army on June 16 1815, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras, in modern day Belgium (then part of United Kingdom of the Netherlands).

1 Prelude
2 The ground
3 The combatants
4 The battle
- 4.1 The battle begins
- 4.2 The battle continues
5 Conclusion
6 Further reading
7 Footnotes

[edit] Prelude

"Napoleon has humbugged me, he has gained twenty-four hours march on me" – the Duke of Wellington

Wellington's grave mistake at the outbreak of the Waterloo Campaign was to fail to react to the arrival of news of the outbreak of hostilities on the morning of 15 June. It appears that Napoleon may have duped Wellington into believing that his attack on the Prussian outposts under General von Ziethen at 04:30 at Thuin near Charleroi was a feint and that the main thrust would come later via Mons.

The first report of the outbreak of hostilities arrived in Brussels at 09:00, but Wellington did not react. The Prince of Orange confirmed the news on his arrival in Brussels about 15:00, as did Blücher, this news arriving at 17:00. Only when the third confirmation, coming from Major-General Dörnberg via Braine-le-Comte, arrived at 18:00 did Wellington issue any orders - nine hours after he had received the first news. That meant it was too late for him to move his army that day and eventually provide Gebhard von Blücher with the support he needed on 16 June. However, that is not what he told Blücher. He gave the Prussians the impression that he would be able to keep his promises of coming to their support in force the next day.

Wellington also failed to order his entire army to Quatre Bras on 16 June, although he was later to claim that he did do so - the orders issued and received do not correspond with that claim. He was extremely lucky that the Prince of Orange's headquarters took the initiative and decided to ignore Wellington's order to assemble Dutch forces in and around Nivelles and instead decided to guard and defend Quatre Bras where they received substantial aid against the attacking forces of Marshal Ney from the Brunswickers and Nassauers, long before any British troops started to intervene. This decision to make a stand at Quatre Bras would in part make up for Wellington's late orders.

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 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.

[edit] The ground

The battle was fought around the crossroads of Quatre-Bras, a small hamlet with only four houses. This crossroads marked the junction between the Charleroi-Brussels Road and the Nivelles-Namur Road.

To the South-West of the junction was the Bossu wood. South of the wood were the farms Petit- and Grand-Pierrepoint. South of the crossroads the ground fell away to the Gemioncourt farm, which lay next to a small stream in the valley. The ground then rose again to the south. North of Quatre-Bras the ground dropped into a reverse slope.

[edit] The combatants

see Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

At the beginning of the battle Marshal Michel Ney, with the left wing of the Armee du Nord, faced a force of some 8,000 Dutch infantry and 16 guns, under the command of the Prince of Orange, thinly deployed south of the crossroads of Quatre Bras. They received substantial aid from the Nassau and Brunswick contingents, the latter led by the Duke of Brunswick, who would not survive the day.

As the battle continued Anglo-Allied troop numbers finally increased as more units converged on Quatre Bras. Also at 1500 hours the Duke of Wellington appeared on the field. The French force numbered 18,000 including 2,000 cavalry and 32 guns. During the day the French force would grow to 24,000.

[edit] The battle

[edit] The battle begins

The French attack began around 1200 hours. Ney formed a massed battery of 22 guns and started bombarding the coalition positions. Swarms of skirmishers preceded the French columns as they attacked. The Dutch picket line greeted them with musketvolleys, but was outnumbered and forced to retreat. The Nassauers of Saxe-Weimar retreated to Grand-Pierrepont farm and Dutch troops of van Bylandt to Gemioncourt.

After a while the fresh division of Jérôme Bonaparte arrived on the scene. They 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 to slow the French advance. At Gemioncourt the Dutch troops were a thorn in the eyes of the French. One of the defending battalions, the 5th militia, lost 62% of its original strength that day. The Dutch lost and retook the farm twice, but eventually lost it again.

Around 1400 hours, Ney started his assault on Quatre-Bras. Using a combined assault of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, Ney was able to push the Dutch troops all the way back to Quatre-Bras. The situation became desperate for the Dutch 2nd division; the pressure of three infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade was too much.

Thankfully for the coalition, at 1500, reinforcements came in: Picton's 5th British infantry division and Van Merlen's 2nd Dutch Light cavalry brigade. The duke of Wellington came back from his meeting with Blücher. Van Merlen's brigade charged the French cavalry but were thrown back. However, this gave the battered Dutch infantry time to regroup. British infantry was also ordered to form a line. However, 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.

At 1600 hours, Ney received Napoleon's order to attack vigorously. He sent an order to his II Corps, under the command of Honoré Reille to attack with more force; and for his I Corps under the command of Count d'Erlon to join him as he was now engaged in the larger Battle of Ligny. Ney also was reinforced by Kellermann's heavy cavalry.

[edit] The battle continues

Unfortunately for Ney, his requested infantry reinforcements, the I Corps, were marching towards Napoleon at Ligny, and Ney was left without the infantry needed to punch through the Anglo-Allied line. At 1615 hours, French mixed forces advanced almost all the way to the crossroads. The British 42nd, 44th and 92nd regiments held up against the infantry - and then they were mauled by Kellermann's cuirassiers before these were driven back by Anglo-Allied musketry and cavalry. Another front was more successful for Ney. Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's youngest brother, drove the allies out of the Bossu Wood. Just then, three Anglo-Allied brigades came and drove the French back south and to the original positions. It is notable that the 1st regiment of the British Guard was caught by surprise by Piré's French lancers just near Pierrepont and lost 500 men before retiring into the wood.

Due to indecision by d'Erlon on whether to follow the orders issued by Marshal Ney, his direct superior, or those of his Emperor, the I Corps wound up marching to and from Ligny without fighting in either battle.

[edit] Conclusion

The battle cost Ney 4000 men to Wellington's 4800. Although a tactical victory for the Coalition, it was a strategic victory for the French because the allies had been unable to send forces 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 of 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 his destiny at Waterloo.