The Battle of Wavre and Grouchy's Retreat / A study of an Obscure Part of the Waterloo Campaign

by William Hyde Kelly

The First and Second Corps spent the night of the 16th between Mellery, Tilly and Gentinnes, on the two roads which lead towards Wavre, and join at Mont St Guibert. Thielemann remained upon the field of battle until 3 A.M., when he began his retreat upon Gembloux. It was only after the First and Second Corps had reached Tilly and Gentinnes in the middle of the night that Wavre was chosen as the rallying point. It is most probable that Gneisenau’s immediate object was to move the shattered Corps clear of the battlefield under the firm protection of Thielemann’s men, before he cast about for a point of assembly. To ensure an orderly retreat and the soonest possible revival of the defeated troops was the first thing to be aimed at. And Gneisenau, who is credited with initiating the brilliant strategy of the retreat to Wavre, took care first of all to rally his men; for he must have feared a vigorous pursuit by the French, who, he supposed, would soon force Thielemann to withdraw.

The retreat of a defeated army in face of the enemy is one of the most difficult and delicate operations in war. The two chief causes of the success of the Prussian retreat from Ligny were the favourable darkness and Thielemann’s firm behaviour at Sombreffe.

It is not necessary to enter here into the details of the retreat of Zieten and Pirch I., except in so far as they bear upon the subject of Thielemann’s withdrawal, but a brief description of their movements may be given. The two Corps retreated by the roads Tilly-Mont St Guibert and Gentinnes-Mont St Guibert. Pirch’s Corps, arriving second, remained at Mont St Guibert for a time as rear-guard, to protect the cross-roads, and still further to steady the men; for the best troops are unsteadied by retreat. Zieten pushed on to Wavre, arriving at noon, and took his troops across the Dyle, halting at Bierges, about a mile south-west of the town. Pirch followed, but did not cross the Dyle; he halted between Aisemont and St Anne, two villages a mile and two miles south-east of Wavre.

Gneisenau had given Thielemann the choice of retreating upon Tilly or Gembloux, a point which could only be decided according to circumstances. Both of these places were on roads converging upon Wavre, and at Gembloux there were no less than four alternative routes. When Thielemann made preparations for his retreat, he considered carefully the respective advantages of these two points. If he chose Tilly, he would have to make a flank march along the Namur road to Marbais and strike northwards from there. He would then be following the road taken by Pirch I. and Zieten; but this very fact was an objection, because there were sure to be disabled waggons, broken-down guns, and hundreds of stragglers to hinder his passage. He could only use one road, too. But was it safe to expose himself to an attack on his flank by the French, while he was marching on Marbais? Certainly not; for he could not possibly slip by in the darkness; it would be daylight before his rear had cleared Sombreffe. He turned to Gembloux. The road from Sombreffe to that village was direct. He would not expose either flank by marching along that road. It was not encumbered with the remnants of a retreating force; and his troops were already in an easy position to withdraw. At Gembloux, he might expect to meet Bulow’s Corps; and if so, the two could unite and use any of the four roads from thence towards Wavre. It would save a great deal of time if he could employ more than one road for his march, but he would have to make ample provision for guarding the rear of his columns, and it would be more difficult to protect three columns than one. He expected to be closely pursued the moment he began to retreat, but he would leave a strong rear-guard to cover him.

But it must be remembered that Thielemann, at this time, did not know whither the retreat was ordered, beyond Gembloux. He guessed that it was in the direction of Wavre on account of the route taken by the First and Second Corps.

He therefore decided to retire upon Gembloux. During the night, he drew in all his outposts, and collected his somewhat scattered battalions. In the battle, battalions from one division had become mingled with battalions from another, and the Reserve Cavalry Division now consisted only of Lottum’s Brigade; Marwitz’s Brigade had retired with Zieten by Gentinnes. General Borcke, with the Ninth Division, and General Hobe with Lottum’s Cavalry Brigade, were left as rear-guard, drawn up along the Namur road, between Sombreffe and Point du Jour. At 2 A.M. the head of the Corps, consisting of the Reserve Artillery, moved off, and by 4 A.M., after sunrise, the rear-guard started. Two hours’ marching brought the main body to Gembloux. Here Thielemann, having found out that Bulow with the Fourth Corps had reached Baudeset, on the old Roman road, about 3 miles behind Gembloux, called a halt to rest his troops. It was a hazardous step, so far as he knew, for the French might be upon him at any moment; but it must be remembered that he had had no further instructions as to his future movements, beyond the bare fact that he was to join Bulow and together they were to unite with the main army. But where were the First and Second Corps?

Thielemann sent word to Bulow to ask him if he had had any instructions as to their movements, and telling him that he had not yet been followed by the French. Bulow could give no information; but at 9.30 A.M., an aide-de-camp from Blucher arrived with orders for the Fourth Corps to march on Dion-le-Mont, a village 3 miles east of Wavre, viâ Walhain and Corbaix. The orders further stated that Bulow was to post his rear-guard (the Fourteenth Division, under Ryssel—9 battalions, or 6,953 infantry) at Vieux Sart at the end of the march, so as to give notice of the approach of the French; and to send a force consisting of 1 cavalry regiment, 2 battalions of infantry, and 2 guns of horse artillery, to Mont St Guibert, to support Colonel Sohr, who was at Tilly with a cavalry brigade and 4 guns acting as rear-guard to the First and Second Corps. When Sohr fell back, the detachment from Bulow’s Corps was to remain at Mont St Guibert as rear-guard on the Tilly road. Bulow therefore detached Colonel Ledebur with the 10th Hussars, the Fusilier battalions of the 11th regiment of the line and the 1st Pomeranian Landwehr, and 2 guns of No. 12 Battery Horse Artillery, to Mont St Guibert, while the remainder of his Corps marched upon Dion-le-Mont. The movement was painfully slow, and not until 10.30 P.M. were the troops in position.

Thielemann, meanwhile, who had received orders to continue his march on Wavre, made preparations to resume his road. At 2 P.M., his troops having gained a sound and well-earned rest, secure, strange to say, from pursuit—for not a Frenchman had been seen—he again advanced, and passed by Ernage, Nil Perrieux, Corbaix, and La Baraque. He reached Wavre with his main body at 8 P.M., having covered the 15 miles in six hours, and passed through to La Bavette, a mile north of Wavre, where he halted for the night. His rear-guard (the Ninth Division and Lottum’s Cavalry Brigade) did not reach the Dyle until midnight; they bivouacked on the right bank. Marwitz, with his Cavalry Brigade, which had retired by Gentinnes with Zieten, now rejoined the Third Corps, and the troops which had been detached two days before to Dinant (a battalion of the 3rd Kurmark Landwehr, belonging to the Eleventh Division, and two squadrons of the 6th Kurmark Landwehr Cavalry, belonging to Lottum’s Brigade) also arrived. Thus the retreat of the Third Corps was accomplished in security, and accompanied by none of the disastrous effects of a defeat.

Defeat at the hands of so great a master of war as Napoleon usually meant annihilation. To follow up his victory, to pursue the retreating force, and to leave no vestige of fighting power in the vanquished, is the aim and object of every general who wins a battle. When the Prussians were defeated at Ligny, the advantage of vigorous pursuit with all the available cavalry and Lobau’s Corps would have been enormous. The whole aim of Napoleon’s strategy had been to crush the Prussians, and to prevent them from interfering with his attack on Wellington. He had found Blucher ready to fight at Ligny, and he had beaten him. To allow Blucher to retreat with fighting power left in his army was the very result to be avoided at all cost. Then why did not Napoleon follow up his victory? What are the facts?

The battle was over at about 9 P.M., on the 16th, the broken centre of Blucher’s line retreating by Bry. Darkness covered the field. Vandamme’s Third Corps, Gérard’s Fourth Corps, and Milhaud’s Cuirassiers had well-nigh exhausted themselves in their vigorous attacks, but Excelmans, Pajol, with their two Cavalry Corps, and Lobau with the Sixth Corps, were available for the pursuit. Their troops were comparatively fresh; Lobau had only arrived on the field towards the end of the day. But no attempt was made to hinder the retreat of Zieten and Pirch I. Thielemann maintained a firm hold on Sombreffe, but he did not cover Bry or the roads to Tilly.