Battle of Quatre Bras

The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought between contingents of the Anglo-allied army and the left wing of the French Army on June 16 1815 near the crossroads of Quatre Bras, in Belgium.

Prelude

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

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 commanded by Gebhard von Blücher the combined force would be larger than Napoleon's. If one or more of Ney's French army corps could strike the Prussians in the flank while Napoleon attacked them frontally, they could be not just defeated but anihilated. Napoleon's strategy had been to cross the border into Belgium without alerting the allies and to defeat the Prussians before turning on the Anglo-allied army. He was initially very successful in this move.

The Fighters

At the beginning of the battle Marshal Michel Ney, with the left wing of the Armee du Nord, faced a force of less than 10,000 Anglo-allied troops under the command of The Duke of Wellington, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras. As the day continued Anglo-allied troop numbers increased as more units converged on Quatre Bras.

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.

The Battle

The Battle Starts

At 1400 hours, Ney started his assault on Quatre-Bras. Kellerman had advised him to attack cautiously (Kellerman had fought the Duke of Wellington before). Using a combined assault of infantry, artillery, and cavalary, Ney was on the verge of cracking the allied line. The Belgians on Wellington's right broke, but the steady British lines on the left managed to break the French massed coloumns with steady volleys. With French Lancers riding around freely the allied centre due to the gap formed when the Belgians broke, the day was looking to be near a loss for Wellington. Thankfully for the allies at 1500, reinforcements came in: Picton's and Merlen's forces. The French formed a long line to brace themselves.

At 1530 hours the Prince of Orange tried to form a cavalry counterattack but ended with the French lancers butchering them. At 1600 hours, Ney received Napoleon's order to attack vigourously. He sent an order to his II corps to attack with more force and for his I corps to hurry up.

The Battle Continues

Unfortunatley for Ney, his requested re-inforcements (I corps) were marching towards Napoleon now engaged at the Battle of Ligny, and Ney was left without the men needed to punch through the 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 were mauled by the cavalry. Another front was more successful for Ney. Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's youngest brother, drove the Allies out of the Bossu Wood. Just then, three Allied brigades came, and drove the French back south and to the orignal positions. Due to confusion on the part of its commander as to which battle to join, Ney's I corps wound up fighting in neither.

Conclusion

The battle cost Ney 4000 men to Wellington's 4800. Although a tactical victory for the Anglo-allies, it was a strategic deadlock because neither side was able to send forces to affect the outcome between the French and Prussian forces at the Battle of Ligny. Wellington's Anglo-allied army, upon learning of the Prussian defeat, was forced to retreat northward but parallel to the retreating Prussians. Napoleon chose to follow Wellington with the bulk of his forces and two days later met his destiny at Waterloo.