Battle of Wavre - Background

Background

Following defeat at the Battle of Ligny two days earlier, the Prussian army retreated north in some disorder, exposing the eastern flank of Wellington's allied force at Quatre Bras, who also retreated northwards, to a defensive position at Waterloo. Napoleon moved the bulk of his army off in pursuit of Wellington, and sent Grouchy in pursuit of the retreating Prussians with the right wing (aile droite) of the Army of the North (L'Armée du Nord), a force consisting of 33,000 men and 80 guns.

The French units in the order of battle were:

• III Corps (General Dominique Vandamme)
  • 17,099 infantry – 38 guns
• IV Corps (General Étienne Maurice Gérard)
  • 15,013 infantry – 38 guns
• II Cavalry Corps (General Remy Exelmans)
  • 3,392 infantry – 12 guns
• IV (Hussars) Cavalry Division (General Pierre Soult)
  • 1,485 infantry – 8 guns detached from the I Cavalry Corps
  • 5,000 cavalry from the Reserve Army

Grouchy was slow in taking up the pursuit after Ligny, which allowed Blücher to fall back largely unmolested to Wavre, regroup his army, and then execute a flank march with three of his four corps to join up with Wellington's Anglo-Allied army at Waterloo. The remaining corps, Thielmann's III Prussian Corps of 17,000 men and 48 guns, was left at Wavre as a rearguard. Thielmann's main force occupied Wavre and Bierges while a small flank guard occupied Limal.