Had it not been for Vandamme’s delay, and had Grouchy attacked the Prussians at once at Gilly, the latter could have pushed his enemy as far as Sombreffe that night, which it was Napoleon’s intention that he should have done. But Vandamme’s slowness prevented Grouchy from advancing further than Fleurus that evening.
On the Left, matters had not, by nightfall, progressed as far as Napoleon wished. Reille, in accordance with his instructions, had marched with his Corps, the Second, from Leers at 3 A.M., and pushed on to Marchienne, everywhere driving back the enemy’s outposts. He was then ordered to march on Gosselies, where it was reported that a body of Prussians were in position. He therefore pushed on his troops along the Charleroi-Brussels road; and finding Jumet occupied by a Prussian rearguard, he drove out the enemy, and reached Gosselies at about 5 P.M. Marshal Ney now arrived on the scene, and, having just come from the Emperor, from whom he received his orders, took over the command of the Left Wing. Ney pushed on to Frasnes with Piré’s Cavalry and Bachelu’s Infantry Division: Girard’s Division was sent to pursue the Prussians, who had retreated from Gosselies towards Fleurus: the remaining divisions of Reille’s Corps—Jerome’s and Foy’s—stayed at Gosselies. Ney drove back Saxe-Weimar’s Brigade from Frasnes at 6.30 P.M.; the brigade retiring on Quatre-Bras. Lefebvre-Desnouette’s Division of Light Cavalry of the Guard had arrived with Ney, and was now moved in support of his infantry at Frasnes.
Thus Ney, at 6.30 P.M., while there were still nearly three hours of daylight left, had with him two light cavalry divisions, and one infantry division, at Frasnes. The distance to Quatre-Bras was 2½ miles. In less than an hour he could have reached the cross-roads and attacked Saxe-Weimar’s Brigade. But he merely pushed his cavalry forward, reconnoitred the position, and then withdrew his men to Frasnes, himself returning to Gosselies at about 8.30 P.M.
Now it has been fiercely contested that Ney received verbal orders from Napoleon to occupy Quatre-Bras on the night of the 15th. Whether he did or did not is a point still undecided by the authorities on the campaign, but it matters little, for Napoleon, in his written orders to Ney on the 16th, expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the night before, and did not blame Ney for his failure to occupy the cross-roads. As a matter of fact, Saxe-Weimar made such a bold show of resistance to the reconnaissance sent by Ney, that the latter was entirely deceived as to his enemy’s numbers: he believed that the English were in great force there. Had Ney attacked Quatre-Bras that night, he would have driven back Saxe-Weimar’s Brigade of Nassauers, the only troops in occupation, and seized the most important point in the theatre of war. But, viewing the question from what must have been Ney’s own point of view, he was acting on sound strategical principles by not pushing ahead too far. He had only just arrived on the ground, and was not acquainted with any of his Staff, or his divisional generals, or even with the strength of his troops. He believed that a strong English force held Quatre-Bras, and that, by attacking, he would be overwhelmed by the whole of Wellington’s army; that Napoleon’s Left Wing would be crushed. He therefore adopted more cautious methods, and awaited the arrival of d’Erlon’s Corps, and news of the progress of the Centre and Right Wing.
Prince Bernard of Saxe-Weimar may be credited with having saved the situation for the Allies. Had he adhered rigidly to the principles of strategy, he would have fallen back from Quatre-Bras; but instead, his fine courage prompted him to hold on until supports should arrive, and his boldness triumphed over Ney’s prudence. If Ney had seized Quatre-Bras that night, and if the succeeding events had taken place as they did take place, the battle of Waterloo would never have been fought, for Wellington could not have risked a battle without hope of Prussian assistance. But there were many little risks and chances which might have changed the whole result of the campaign!
To return to d’Erlon. By starting an hour and a half later than he was ordered to do, he lost most valuable time; and throughout the day he took no pains to make up for the delay, although he actually received an order from Soult, late in the afternoon, to the effect that he was to join Reille at Gosselies that evening. Instead of this, by nightfall his leading division, Durutte’s, was at Jumet, 1½ miles in rear of Gosselies, and his Headquarters at Marchienne, 6 miles in rear! Matters had not progressed at all satisfactorily on the Left Wing.
The 15th of June on the side of the Allies.
Blucher had decided upon a concentration of his whole army at Sombreffe, in the event of Napoleon attacking by Charleroi. Therefore, on the evening of the 14th, he ordered the Second, Third, and Fourth Corps to concentrate on Sombreffe, while the First Corps was to make a stout resistance, and fall back slowly on Fleurus, which Zieten was to hold, in order to gain time for the concentration. These arrangements were made without any definite agreement between Wellington and Blucher, as to the Duke’s movements under these circumstances. It was understood that each should give the other all the assistance in his power, in the event of a French attack; but no formal undertaking for definite action was entered into. Besides, Blucher, when he ordered his concentration, believed that Wellington’s troops were too scattered to allow of their concentration within two days. He could not therefore have expected much actual support from Wellington. There was also the possibility that Wellington himself was confronted with a strong force.
In the concentration of the Prussian Corps, another defect in the transmission and execution of orders from Headquarters must be mentioned. Gneisenau, the chief of Blucher’s Staff, sent instructions to Bulow, commanding the Fourth Corps, on the 14th, to the effect that he was so to dispose his Corps that his troops might reach Hannut in one march. The order was indefinite, and contained no statement that Napoleon was about to attack; there was no mention of the disposition of the other Prussian Corps; no mention of Blucher’s intentions, or of the general situation. This was culpable negligence on the part of the chief of the Staff. It was his duty under the circumstances to transmit all such important information to all the Corps commanders; and because Bulow’s Corps was some distance in rear, is no reason why such a necessary step should have been omitted. The result was a serious delay on the part of the Fourth Corps. At midnight on the 14th, a second despatch from Gneisenau was sent to Bulow, ordering a concentration of his Corps on Hannut. The first despatch reached Bulow at 5 A.M. on the 15th, when he was at Liège. The instructions contained in it were at once acted upon, and Bulow sent a report to this effect to Headquarters. While these instructions were being carried out, the second despatch arrived towards midday (on the 15th). Its contents seemed to Bulow to be impossible to act upon until the next day, for most of his troops were by this time so far in their movement that the new order could not reach them in time to be carried out that night; also there would be no quarters prepared for those troops which were still within reach of the new instructions. Furthermore, this second despatch was also indefinite. It contained no positive order that Bulow was to move his headquarters to Hannut; it merely suggested that Hannut appeared suitable. There was no mention of the commencement of hostilities. Bulow therefore decided to postpone the execution of this order until the 16th, and he sent a report to this effect to Blucher, promising to be in Hannut by noon next day (16th). The officer sent with this report reached Namur at 9 P.M., expecting to find Blucher there, but he discovered that Headquarters had been removed to Sombreffe. Meanwhile, a third despatch was sent off at 11 A.M. on the 15th from Namur, instructing Bulow to move the Fourth Corps, after a rest at Hannut, on Gembloux, starting at daybreak on the 16th. The orderly carrying this message naturally went to Hannut, where he expected to find Bulow. At Hannut he found Gneisenau’s second despatch lying unopened, awaiting Bulow’s arrival. He then started off at all speed with both despatches to Liège, where he arrived at daybreak on the 16th. But by this time Gneisenau’s instructions were impracticable. Thus Bulow, through no fault of his own, was prevented from reaching the field of Ligny with his Corps, when his arrival on the right flank of the French might have had the same effect that the arrival of the Prussian army had at the great battle two days later.
While the concentration of the Second and Third Corps was rapidly progressing behind him, Zieten was occupied with his retreat on Fleurus. At half-past three in the morning of the 15th, the Prussian picquets in front of Lobbes, a village on the Sambre, were driven in by the advanced guard of the French Left Column (this was the head of Reille’s Corps advancing). An hour later, the French opened with artillery on Maladrie, a hamlet about a mile in front of Thuin. It was this cannonade which was heard by the troops of Steinmetz’s Division in Fontaine l’Evêque, and even Zieten at Charleroi heard it. He therefore lost no time in sending reports to both Blucher and Wellington that fighting had actually commenced. His report to Wellington gave the Duke definite news that an attack on Charleroi was imminent, but it did not induce him to alter his plans in any way. For Wellington was still apprehensive of an attack by way of Mons, and he judged that his army was in the best position to meet such an attack. He was unwilling to engage himself in a move eastwards while there was a chance of the French attacking from the westwards. With such a belief, it is clear that Wellington, by concentrating prematurely at Quatre-Bras, which it was his intention to do if Napoleon’s attack should eventually be by the Charleroi-Brussels road, would merely carry out the very move which his enemy would wish. Therefore he awaited more definite news of the French attack on Zieten.