Battle of Quatre Bras - Battle

Battle

The French attack began around 14:00 hours. Ney massed a battery of 22 guns and started bombarding the Coalition positions. Swarms of skirmishers preceded the French columns as they attacked. The Dutch picket line of the 2nd Division (Sedlnitsky) greeted them with musket volleys, but was outnumbered and those east of the Brussels highway were at once forced back by the mass of men moved against them. The Nassauers of 2nd Brigade (Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar) retreated to Grand-Pierrepont farm and Dutch troops of the 1st Brigade (Bylandt) to Gemioncourt, but the allies managed, however, to hold the wood. Facing three infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade, the situation became desperate for the 2nd Division.

At around 15:00 the 5th British Infantry Division (Picton) and the 3rd Dutch Light Cavalry Brigade (Baron van Merlen) arrived. The Duke of Wellington came back from his meeting with Blücher and took command. He deployed Picton's Division on the allied left flank where it stopped the French advance to the east of the road. The fresh French 6th Division (Prince Jérôme Bonaparte) arrived on the scene. A fierce fight now broke out all along the line. Picton showing a dauntless front maintained his position, while the French 6th Division 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, slowing the French advance. At Gemioncourt the Dutch troops were a thorn in the side 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.

By 15:00, the French formed a line between Pierrepoint through Gemioncourt to Piraumont. At 15:30 the Dutch 3rd Light Cavalry Brigade (Merlen), led by the Prince of Orange, charged the French line, but were met by French cavalry and were thrown back, but this gave the battered Dutch infantry time to regroup. 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. The Brunswick Corps (Duke of Brunswick) now reached the field, but their commander whilst leading a charge received a mortal wound and the attack failed. At 16:15 Ney received Napoleon's order, (despatched at 14:00), to attack vigorously. He sent an order to his II Corps (Honoré Reille) to attack with more force.

On Ney's left, Prince Jérôme drove the allies out of the Bossu Wood. French mixed forces advanced almost all the way to the crossroads. Regiments of the British 9th Brigade (Pack) — 42nd ("Black Watch", Macara), 44th ("East Essex", Hamerton) and 92nd ("Gordon Highlanders", John Cameron) — held up against the infantry. French of the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division (Piré) counter-attacked and severely mauled the 42nd and 44th before they were driven off.

At 17:00 the timely arrival of the British 3rd Division (Alten), coming in from Nivelles, tipped the numerical balance back in favour of the allies. At quarter past the hour Ney heard that the French I Corps (d'Erlon), without his direct order or knowledge, had moved eastwards to assist in the battle of Ligny. Fifteen minutes later at 17:30 he received an unclear order from Napoleon to seize Quatre Bras and then turn eastwards to crush Blucher, who was caught at Ligny. Due to the arrival of allied reinforcements Ney realized that he could only capture and hold Quatre Bras with the support of the I Corps and he sent imperative orders to d'Erlon to return at once. To keep the pressure on Wellington, immediately after sending for d'Erlon, Ney ordered Kellermann to lead his one available cuirassier brigade and break through Wellington's line.

Kellermann's cuirassiers caught the British 5th Brigade (Halkett) — 33rd ("West Riding", Knight) 69th ("South Lincolnshire", Morice) and the 73rd (Harris) — in line formation. The 69th were badly mauled losing their King's colour, (the only battalion under Wellington's direct command to do so); the 33rd and the 73rd were saved from a similar fate by running for the safety of Bossu Wood where they rallied quickly. The cuirassiers reached the crossroads but were driven back by close range artillery and musket fire.

The arrival of the British 1st Infantry Division (Guards Division, Cooke) gave Wellington sufficient strength to counter-attack and Jérôme, whose skirmishers were now west of Quatre Bras, was forced to retreat and give up possession of Bossu wood to the British Guards. When the Guards and other allied units emerged from the wood, they were met with heavy fire from French infantry and an attack by 6th Lancer Regiment (and possibly the 1st Chasseurs) of the 2nd Cavalry Division (Piré), the Guards were caught in line and forced to flee back into the wood. This cavalry attack and taking the Bossu wood caused high casualties among the British Guards. There was some further skirmishing between allied light companies and the French voltigeurs and cavalry screen, but the battle was over. By 21:00, when the fighting stopped, the French had been forced to give up all of their territorial gains.