Quatre Bras
16th June 1815
Wellington at Quatre Bras
by Leon Parte
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General de Perponcher, who commanded the 2nd DutchBelgian Division, arrived at Quatre Bras at 3 A.M. on June 16th, and by 6am had occupied the southern end of the Bossu wood and the farm of Pierrepont. The Prince of Orange, who was in command of the 1st Corps of Wellington’s army, arrived between 6 and 7 A.M., and, having endorsed Perponcher’s aggressive attitude, sent forward two batteries of artillery up to the ridge south of the Gemioncourt stream. At 10am the Duke of Wellington arrived at Quatre Bras; but, seeing no sign of movement by the enemy, rode over to the Prussian position, some seven miles distant. Near Bry he met Blücher who strongly urged the Duke to move, so soon as he had concentrated his forces, and support the right rear of the Prussian army. Wellington did not, however, approve this plan, because such a movement would leave open the Charleroi-Brussels road. Finally however, the Duke reluctantly yielded to his colleague’s importunity, remarking as he rode away, “ at any rate, I will come if I am not attacked myself.” But he was attacked. Indeed, the attack began before Wellington got back to Quatre Bras, and at 2.30 PM when he arrived there, he found that Perponcher’s advanced troops were falling back before the French, and that the artillery had already retired with the loss of two guns. Before three o’clock, Ney had gained possession of the south edge of the Bois de Bossu, Piermont, and all the ground up to Gemioncourt. The situation of the allied army, therefore, at Quatre Bras was for a short time critical. But reinforcements were hastening to the battlefield from the direction of Brussels, and by 3.30 P.m. Picton’s division had arrived, and had taken up a position on the Nivelles-Namur road in time to cheek further French advances. Wellington had now 18000 infantry and 2000 Continental cavalry in hand. The positions taken up by his troops were as follows: Perponcher’s men held the Bossu wood to within 100 yards of the stream; the Duke of Brunswick, who had arrived, with 3000 infantry and 1000 horse, soon after Picton, was in the open on the west of the road about 600 yards south of Quatre Bras, where stood the 92nd (2nd Gordon Highlanders) Regiment (of Pack’s brigade). Between the Namur Road and the Charleroi-Brussels road was Picton’s division brigades of Pack and Kempt, the former being on the right, the latter on the left; and in support stood Best’s Hanoverian Militia Brigade. The wood lying between Quatre Bras and Sart a Avelines was held by the 95th Regiment (Rifle Brigade) of Kempt’s brigade. Ney’s extreme left (Foy’s division) held the Bossu wood up to the stream, his centre (Bachelu’s division) was firmly established at Gemioncourt, and his right (Prince Jerome’s division) at Piermont. The French guns were massed on the ridge to the South of Gemioncourt, whence they were able to play with great effect on the Allied artillery, and with still more deadly effect on the infantry as it came into position, the Duke of Brunswick’s men being within 700 yards’ and Picton’s troops within 1,200 yards’ range. More Quatre Bras 16th June 1815
Wellington at Quatre Bras The Brunswickers’ Severe Trial The Arrival of the Guard The Flight of the French Large Map (slow: 207K) Jumbo Map (very slow: 285K) Related Netherlands Victory Quatre Bras 1815 [FE60] Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #59 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |