FRENCH OFFICIAL ACCOUNT.
“Paris, June 21st, 1815.
“Battle of Mont-St.-Jean.
“At nine in the morning, the rain having somewhat abated, the 1st corps put itself in motion, and placed itself with the left, on the road to Brussels, and opposite the village of Mont-St.-Jean, which appeared the centre of the enemy’s position. The 2d corps leaned its right upon the road to Brussels, and its left upon a small wood, within cannon-shot of the English army. The cuirassiers were in reserve behind, and the guard in reserve upon the heights. The 6th corps, with the cavalry of general Domont, under the order of count de Lobau, was destined to proceed in rear of our right to oppose a Prussian corps, which appeared to have escaped marshal Grouchy, and to intend to fall upon our right flank; an intention which had been made known to us by our reports, and by the letter of a Prussian general, enclosing an order of battle, and which was taken by our light troops.
“The troops were full of ardour. We estimated the force of the English army at eighty thousand men. We supposed that the Prussian corps, which might be in line towards the right, might be fifteen thousand men. The enemy’s force, then, was upwards of ninety thousand men; ours less numerous.
“At noon, all the preparations being terminated, prince Jérôme, commanding a division of the second corps, and destined to form the extreme left of it, advanced upon the wood of which the enemy occupied a part. The cannonade began. The enemy supported, with thirty pieces of cannon, the troops he had sent to keep the wood. We made also on our side dispositions of artillery. At one o’clock, prince Jérôme was master of all the wood, and the whole English army fell back behind a curtain. Count d’Erlon then attacked the village of Mont-St.-Jean, and supported his attack with eighty pieces of cannon, which must have occasioned great loss to the English army. All the efforts were made towards the ridge. A brigade of the 1st division of count d’Erlon took the village of Mont-St.-Jean; a second brigade was charged by a corps of English cavalry, which occasioned it much loss. At the same moment, a division of English cavalry charged the battery of count d’Erlon by its right, and disorganized several pieces; but the cuirassiers of general Milhaut charged that division, three regiments of which were broken and cut up.
“It was three in the afternoon. The Emperor made the guard advance, to place it in the plain upon the ground which the first corps had occupied at the outset of the battle; this corps being already in advance. The Prussian division, whose movement had been foreseen, then engaged with the light troops of count de Lobau, spreading its fire upon our whole right flank. It was expedient, before undertaking anything elsewhere, to wait for the event of his attack. Hence, all the means in reserve were ready to succour count de Lobau, and overwhelm the Prussian corps when it should be advanced.
“This done, the Emperor had the design of leading an attack upon the village of Mont-St.-Jean, from which we expected decisive success; but, by a movement of impatience so frequent in our military annals, and which has often been so fatal to us, the cavalry of reserve having perceived a retrograde movement made by the English to shelter themselves from our batteries, from which they suffered so much, crowned the heights of Mont-St.-Jean, and charged the infantry. This movement, which made in time, and supported by the reserves, must have decided the day, made in an isolated manner and before affairs on the right were terminated, became fatal.
“Having no means of countermanding it, the enemy showing many masses of cavalry and infantry, and our two divisions of cuirassiers being engaged, all our cavalry ran at the same moment to support their comrades. There, for three hours, numerous charges were made, which enabled us to penetrate several squares, and to take six standards of the light infantry, an advantage out of proportion with the loss which our cavalry experienced by the grape-shot and musket-firing. It was impossible to dispose of our reserves of infantry until we had repulsed the flank attack of the Prussian corps. This attack always prolonged itself perpendicularly upon our right flank. The Emperor sent thither general Duhesme with the young guard, and several batteries of reserve. The enemy was kept in check, repulsed, and fell back: he had exhausted his forces, and we had nothing more to fear. It was this moment that was indicated for an attack upon the centre of the enemy. As the cuirassiers suffered by the grape-shot, we sent four battalions of the middle guard to protect the cuirassiers, keep the position, and, if possible, disengage and draw back into the plain a part of our cavalry.
“Two other battalions were sent to keep themselves en potence upon the extreme left of the division which had manœuvred upon our flanks, in order not to have any uneasiness on that side; the rest was disposed in reserve, part to occupy the potence in rear of Mont-St.-Jean, part upon the ridge in rear of the field of battle, which formed our position of retreat.
“In this state of affairs, the battle was gained; we occupied all the positions which the enemy occupied at the outset of the battle: our cavalry having been too soon and ill employed, we could no longer hope for decisive success; but marshal Grouchy, having learned the movement of the Prussian corps, marched upon the rear of that corps, which ensured us a signal success for next day. After eight hours’ fire and charges of infantry and cavalry, all the army saw with joy the battle gained, and the field of battle in our power.
“At half after eight o’clock, the four battalions of the middle guard, who had been sent to the ridge on the other side of Mont-St.-Jean, in order to support the cuirassiers, being greatly annoyed by the grape-shot, endeavoured to carry the batteries with the bayonet. At the end of the day, a charge directed against their flank, by several English squadrons, put them in disorder. The fugitives recrossed the ravine. Several regiments, near at hand, seeing some troops belonging to the guard in confusion, believed it was the old guard, and in consequence were thrown into disorder. Cries of ‘All is lost, the guard is driven back!’ were heard on every side. The soldiers pretend even that on many points ill-disposed persons cried out, ‘Sauve qui peut!’ However this may be, a complete panic at once spread itself throughout the whole field of battle, and they threw themselves in the greatest disorder on the line of communication: soldiers, cannoneers, caissons, all pressed to this point; the old guard, which was in reserve, was infected, and was itself hurried along.
“In an instant, the whole army was nothing but a mass of confusion; all the soldiers, of all arms, were mixed pell-mell, and it was utterly impossible to rally a single corps. The enemy, who perceived this astonishing confusion, immediately attacked with their cavalry, and increased the disorder, and such was the confusion, owing to night coming on, that it was impossible to rally the troops, and point out to them their error. Thus a battle terminated, a day of false manœuvres rectified, the greatest success ensured for the next day: all was lost by a moment of panic terror. Even the squadrons of service, drawn up by the side of the Emperor, were overthrown and disorganized by these tumultuous waves, and there was then nothing else to be done but to follow the torrent. The parks of reserve, the baggage which had not repassed the Sambre, in short everything that was on the field of battle, remained in the power of the enemy. It was impossible to wait for the troops on our right; every one knows what the bravest army in the world is when thus mixed and thrown into confusion, and when its organization no longer exists.
“The Emperor crossed the Sambre at Charleroi, at five o’clock in the morning of the 19th. Philippeville and Avesnes have been given as the points of reunion. Prince Jérôme, general Morand, and other generals have there already rallied a part of the army. Marshal Grouchy, with the corps on the right, is moving on the lower Sambre.
“The loss of the enemy must have been very great, if we may judge from the number of standards we have taken from him, and from the retrograde movements which he made; ours cannot be calculated till after troops shall have been collected. Before the disorder broke out, we had already experienced a very considerable loss, particularly in our cavalry, so fatally, though so bravely engaged. Notwithstanding these losses, this brave cavalry constantly kept the position it had taken from the English, and only abandoned it when the tumult and disorder of the field of battle forced it. In the midst of the night, and the obstacles which encumbered their route, it could not preserve its own organization.
“The artillery has, as usual, covered itself with glory. The carriages belonging to the head-quarters remained in their ordinary position; no retrograde movement being judged necessary. In the course of the night they fell into the enemy’s hands.
“Such has been the issue of the battle of Mont-St.-Jean, glorious for the French armies, and yet so fatal.”