William Stanford & Company, Ltd., The Oxford Geographical Institute.
John Murray, Albemarle St., W.
CHAPTER VII
THE BATTLE OF WAVRE
Vandamme’s advanced guard, between three and four o’clock, had driven Borcke’s Division back on Wavre, and Vandamme, eager to burst into activity after the irritable delays on the march, proceeded to attack without waiting for Gérard, or even for Grouchy’s orders. He was afraid that night would come on and allow the Prussians to escape, as they had done from Sombreffe. He only saw in front of him a force waiting to be attacked; he had no thoughts for the general situation. He was a rough-and-ready soldier, and he thought he saw his chance of beating the Prussians single-handed. He longed for the marshal’s bâton; he was jealous, too, of Gérard.
At this time, Excelmans was at Dion-le-Mont with his cavalry, slightly in rear of Vandamme. Gérard was nearing La Baraque, some 4 miles in rear. Pajol, with his cavalry and Teste’s Division, had just reached Tourinnes.
Before Grouchy could reach Vandamme, the latter had launched the whole of his Tenth Division (Habert’s), consisting of the 22nd, 34th, 70th and 88th Regiments of the Line, against the village opposite Wavre. The French, in heavy columns, supported by a furious cannonade from two batteries of twelve-pounders placed to the right of the Brussels road, cleared the few Prussian sharpshooters from the buildings, and pressed on to the main bridge. But here they were met with a terrible fire from their front and on their flanks, from the sharpshooters lining the hedges and buildings on the opposite bank. The Prussian batteries played fiercely on their columns, and on the whole of the ground behind them, where their own guns were placed. In a few minutes, General Habert and 600 men were down. Attempts to force the barricaded bridge were beaten back with frightful loss, and the Division was placed in a very serious position. If they retreated, they came under the heavy fire of the Prussian batteries on the opposite heights; if they remained where they stood, the enemy’s sharpshooters would annihilate them; to advance was impossible. Gradually, they found shelter, company by company, under the walls of the buildings along the bank, whence they had just driven the Prussians. Vandamme was now deeply committed to the fight.
Grouchy, who had by this time arrived on the scene, unaware of the strength of the Prussians at Wavre, and unaware, too, of Blucher’s march on St Lambert, made arrangements to support Vandamme’s attack by two other attacks on either flank. For this purpose, he ordered Excelmans to move his cavalry from Dion-le-Mont to the front of Basse Wavre, and a battalion under Lefol to make an attempt to cross at the Mill of Bierges.
It was now five o’clock, and a message arrived from Napoleon, sent at 1.30 P.M., saying that Bulow’s Corps had just been seen at St Lambert, and ordering Grouchy to lose no time in moving to join the Emperor’s right, when he would crush Bulow in flank. Grouchy, knowing that he could not now disengage Vandamme, sent orders to Pajol to hasten his march on Limale, and ordered Gérard to lead the Fourth Corps towards that village at once. He conceived the idea of assaulting and carrying Wavre with Vandamme’s Corps, aided afterwards by Excelmans’ Cavalry, while he sent the remainder of his army on Chapelle St Lambert viâ Limale. This was a skilful project, and the best under the circumstances, no doubt; for the movement on Limale would have had the double effect of turning Thielemann’s left flank, while it promised to bring a strong reinforcement on Napoleon’s right. But it was now too late. The opportunity had passed much earlier in the day.
Hulot’s Division, of Gérard’s Corps, had now reached the scene of Vandamme’s efforts, and Grouchy ordered it to move to the left and force a passage at the Mill of Bierges. Lefol’s battalion had made several attempts to cross the bridges there, but had each time been beaten back by the Prussian sharpshooters and the batteries in front of Bierges village. Some guns were sent to aid Lefol and endeavour to silence the Prussian artillery opposite, but they were themselves outnumbered and silenced. On Hulot’s arrival, a fresh battalion was sent to relieve Lefol’s detachment, and the whole Division followed. By this time, both banks of the Dyle, from Bierges to Basse Wavre, were lined with skirmishers and sharpshooters, pouring a terrific fire into each other. Hulot’s Division had great difficulty in moving through the swamps and mud to the bridge at Bierges, and suffered severely from the Prussian batteries. The battalion which relieved Lefol’s began at once to make a fresh attempt to force the bridge, but was beaten off with loss.