King's German Legion @nline -> Waterloo 1815 (2)

Meeting of Blücher and Wellington

Buonaparte left Paris on the 12th of June, and seeing the importance of attacking the British and Prussian troops before the Russians and Austrians could come to their assistance, marched rapidly upon Flanders, and by the 14th, concentrated upwards of one hundred and twenty-seven thousand men, and three hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, in three large divisions close to the frontier.

But although Napoleon, by wonderful exertions, had been able to bring up this large army to the Flemish frontier, his numbers were unequal to cope with the united forces of Wellington and Blucher, which exceeded the French by more than ninety thousand men and two hundred pieces of cannon; he therefore, determined upon endeavouring to separate the two opposing armies, which would enable him to attack one with his principal force, while the other could be kept in check by a detached corps.

With this view the several army-corps were put in motion for the Sambre at three o’clock on the morning of the 15th, their march being directed upon Marchiennes, Charleroi, and Chatelet. The extent of frontier which the advanced corps of Prussians under general Ziethen had to cover, rendered it impossible for him to offer any effective resistance; he made gallant efforts however, to delay the progress of the enemy, and thus give time to marshal Blucher to assemble his army, but was eventually obliged to retreat upon Fleurus, where he took up a position for the night. Meantime Ney had been directed to move with the first, and three divisions of the second army-corps, and the cavalry of Kellermann and Lefebvre straight upon the Brussels high road, and establish himself at Quatre-bras, where that road is crossed by the one leading from Nivelles to Namur.

A brigade of the army of the Netherlands under the prince of Saxe Weimar was stationed at Frasnes in front of Quatre-bras, and between five and six o’clock in the evening it was attacked and forced back by the enemy’s leading column; but Ney hearing a heavy cannonade on his right flank, where Ziethen was opposing the progress of the French upon Blucher’s position, discontinued his advance, and placed his troops for the night in Frasnes, Marchiennes and Gosselies. (Von Zech, who gives this detached corps at forty-two thousand two hundred and twenty men and eighteen guns.)

The duke of Wellington received notice of the advance of the French in Brussels in the evening of the 15th; and immediately issued orders for all the allied troops to hold themselves in readiness to march, but, expecting an attack in the direction of Mons, the duke did not give his final orders until near midnight, when the reserve was directed to pass the forest of Soignies on the Charleroi road.

Meantime the prince of Orange had collected his corps at Nivelles, and early on the morning of the 16th, reinforced the troops at Quatre-bras by part of the second division of the Netherlands under general Perponcher. The duke of Wellington was himself on the spot by eleven o’clock; he found the enemy weak in the neighbourhood of Frasnes, but received intelligence from prince Blucher stating that considerable masses were moving against him, and that he had taken up a position near Sombref, where he expected to be attacked.

The duke wishing to give every aid to his ally, ordered up the whole army to Nivelles and Quatre-bras, but as they could not arrive before four o’clock, he rode off to consult with marshal Blucher, whom he found at the windmill of Bry, about five miles distant, just as the French had commenced an attack upon the Prussian troops, which appeared to be their main object.

The duke proposed driving in the troops before Quatre-bras, and marching upon Gosselies, but the allied divisions being so far distant this could scarcely be effected in the course of the day, and meantime Blucher ran the risk of being pressed by the whole French army. It was therefore, decided that the army of the Netherlands should advance to the support of the Prussians on the Quatre-bras road.

But meanwhile the French troops at Frasnes had been considerably reinforced, and on the duke’s return to Quatre-bras, about three o’clock, they appeared in considerable masses, which threatened to penetrate between both armies.

The second division of the Netherlands, as has been stated, furnished the first reinforcement to the troops at Quatre-bras, which arriving early in the morning, regained part of the ground that had been lost, and secured the communication between the British and Prussian positions; the fifth English division followed under sir Thomas Picton (The fifth division was composed of the eighth and ninth British brigades under sir James Kempt and sir Denis Pack, and the fifth Hanoverian brigade under colonel Vincke, but owing to some mistake, the fourth Hanoverian brigade under colonel Best held the place of the latter in the fifth division both at Quatre-bras and Waterloo.), together with the greater part of the duke of Brunswick’s corps, which reached the scene of action about three o’clock.

from: History of the King's German Legion, Volume 2, London 1832 - 1837, Pages 324 - 327