Lord ZeN
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Battle of Quatre Bras - Conflict & Date:
The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought June 16, 1815, during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).
Battle of Quatre Bras - Background:
Having crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte commenced a decade of campaigning which saw him triumph at places such as Austerlitz, Wagram, and Borodino. Finally beaten and forced to abdicate in April 1814, he went into exile on Elba under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau. With the emperor's defeat, the European powers opened the Congress of Vienna to define the postwar world. Unhappy on Elba, Napoleon escaped and landed in France on March 1, 1815. Riding to Paris, he constructed an army as he traveled with soldiers flocking to his banner. Declared an outlaw by the Congress of Vienna, Napoleon endeavored to consolidate power as Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia came together in the Seventh Coalition to prevent his return.
Battle of Quatre Bras - Napoleon's Plan:
Analyzing the strategic situation, Napoleon concluded that a swift victory was necessary before the Seventh Coalition could fully mobilize its armies against him. To achieve this, he sought to crush the Duke of Wellington's coalition army south of Brussels before swinging east to defeat Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher's approaching Prussian army. Moving north, Napoleon split his Armee du Nord (Army of the North) in three giving command of the left wing to Marshal Michel Ney, the right wing to Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy, while retaining personal command of a reserve force. Knowing that if Wellington and Blücher united they would have the power to destroy him, he crossed the border at Charleroi on June 15 with the goal of defeating the two coalition armies in detail. That same day, Wellington began directing his forces to move towards Quatre Bras while Blücher concentrated at Sombreffe
Determining the Prussians to pose a more immediate threat, Napoleon directed Ney to seize Quatre Bras while he moved with the reserves to reinforce Grouchy. With both coalition armies defeated, the road to Brussels would be open. To accomplish this mission, Ney advanced north with General Honoré Charles Reille's II Corps in the lead with General Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon's I Corps and General François Étienne de Kellermann's III Cavalry Corps in support. On July 15, Prince William of Orange, leading the Allied I Corps, recognized the danger that the loss of Quatre Bras would pose and ignored Wellington's orders to concentrate near Nivelles. He instead dispatched General Hendrik George de Perponcher Sedlnitsky's 2nd Dutch Division to the village.
Brunswickers during the Battle of Quatre-Bras.
Battle of Quatre Bras - Opening Actions:
Assuming a position south of Quatre Bras, Allied forces drove off French cavalry scouts that afternoon and reinforced their line that evening. This saw Perponcher place the bulk of his men west of Quatre Bras, some on the Charleroi-Brussels Road at Gemioncourt, and a reserve in the village. Additional light forces were detailed to defend farms at Pierrepoint and Piramont . Meeting with Napoleon that night, Ney received orders to take Quatre Bras and be ready to pivot east to support Grouchy against the Prussians if the situation dictated. Waiting until 2:00 PM, Ney finally commenced his advance north.
Nearing Quatre Bras, Reille attacked with General Maximilien Sebastien Foy's division on the left and General Gilbert Bachelu's on the right. Additional support was provided byGeneral Hippolyte-Marie-Guillaume de Rosnyvinen, Comte de Piré's cavalry division. Massing a battery of 22 guns, Ney began pounding the Allied lines as his men advanced. Pressing their attack, the French succeeded in pushing the outnumbered Allied forces back. By 3:00 PM, Ney had moved to a line extending from Pierrepoint to Gemioncourt to Piramont. Those Allied forces west of the Charleroi-Brussels Road established a new position in a thick wood known as the Bois de Bossu.
Battle of Quatre Bras - The Fighting Intensifies:
Under extreme pressure, the Allied position was bolstered a short time later when badly needed reinforcements arrived. These included Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton's 5th British Infantry Division, Baron von Merlen's 3rd Dutch Cavalry Brigade, as well as Wellington himself who arrived on the scene to take command. To the south, Ney augmented his forces by bringing up General Prince Jérôme Bonaparte's division. Extending the Allied line east of Quatre Bras, Picton's men succeeded in halting the French advance. Around 3:30 PM, in an effort to take pressure off his infantry, William led a cavalry charge forward against the French but was repulsed. Despite this setback, Allied fortunes continued to improve as the Duke of Brunswick arrived with additional men.
Having received orders from Napoleon to press his attacks, Ney sent Reille forward again around 4:15 PM. While Bonaparte's men were to attack via Pierrepoint and sweep through the Bois de Bossu, Foy was to push up the Charleroi-Brussels Road, and Bachelu was move up the Namur Road. As his men advanced, Ney dispatched an aide to order d'Erlon to bring his corps into the fight. Much to Ney's dismay, his aide found that I Corps had turned east and was moving to aid Napoleon in the Battle of Ligny. On the French left, Bonaparte's men succeeded in capturing the Bois de Bossu and were driving on Quatre Bras. To the east, Picton's men, though hard pressed, succeeded in holding their position despite a damaging charge by Piré's horsemen.
Battle of Quatre Bras - A Bloody Stalemate:
With the situation increasingly desperate, Wellington received additional reinforcements in the form of Lieutenant General Sir Charles Alten's division which was arriving from Nivelles. Immediately fed into the line, these troops restored the Allies numerical advantage and stabilized the situation. At 4:30 PM, Ney received another order from Napoleon directing him to take Quatre Bras and turn east against the Prussians. Unable to accomplish these objectives without I Corps, he sent another request urging d'Erlon to return. In an effort to keep pressure on Wellington, Ney ordered Kellermann, who was arriving with his lead brigade, to mount a charge against the Allied lines.
Recognizing that a charge without infantry support would be foolhardy, Kellermann initially resisted Ney's orders. Pressured by his commander, he reluctantly led his men forward. Charging down on the British lines, Kellermann's cuirassiers mauled the 69th and 33rd Regiments of Foot and pressed on toward Quatre Bras. Nearing the crossroads, they were driven back by Allied infantry and artillery. Further reinforced by Major General George Cooke's division, Wellington switched to the offensive. Pressing south, Cooke's men reclaimed the Bois de Bossu from Bonaparte but were halted by French resistance south of the woods. Fighting continued until around 9:00 PM and saw the Allies reclaim Gemioncourt.
Battle of Quatre Bras - Aftermath:
In the fighting at Quatre Bras, Ney suffered around 4,200 casualties while the Allies incurred approximately 4,800. An inconclusive engagement on many levels, the battle prevented Wellington from joining with the Prussians and Ney from combining with Napoleon. Had d'Erlon's I Corps been committed either at Quatre Bras or Ligny, it is likely that the French could have won a decisive victory at one of the battles. As this failed to occur, the Prussians were able to escape annihilation at Ligny while Wellington's forces remained intact and able to withdraw north. Assuming a new defensive position, the Allies engaged Napoleon two days later at the Battle of Waterloo. After fighting a defensive battle for most of the day, Wellington was able to crush Napoleon following the arrival of Blücher's army.
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