Baring sent back to their respective Regiments the remains of the reinforcements he had received; and, with the few men that were left of his own Battalion, he attached himself to two Companies of the 1st Light Battalion of the King's German Legion, which were then posted in the hollow way close to the right of the high road.
The surrender of La Haye Sainte, under the circumstances which have been described, was as purely honourable, as its defence against an overwhelming and furious host had been heroically brave. A thorough conviction that further resistance must have been marked by the sacrifice of the entire remnant of his courageous band at once suggested to the mind of a Commander like Baring, gifted with the requisite discernment and forethought of a true soldier, the reservation of such gallant spirits for some other part of the great contest; in which they might yet face their enemies, if not on equal terms, at least in a manner that would render their bravery and devotion not altogether unavailable in the general struggle for victory.
Loud and reiterated shouts of triumph having announced to the French Emperor the capture of La Haye Sainte; he immediately ordered it to be followed up by a vigorous attack upon the Centre of the Anglo-Allied Line, and by a simultaneous renewal of the assault upon Hougomont.
It was quite evident to Ney, that without an additional force of Infantry, it would be impossible for him to follow up, with effect, the advantage which he anticipated from the capture of La Haye Sainte. The Cavalry, which Napoleon had placed at his disposal, had been nearly annihilated in the course of its numerous attacks upon the Anglo-Allied Line,—attacks executed throughout with the greatest gallantry, but unproductive of any solid or decisive result upon a single point of that Line. If this Arm, comprising the flower of the chivalric Cavalry of France, had failed him when it sallied forth, gaily exulting in the freshness of its vigour, proudly conscious of the imposing attitude of its masses, and unrestrainedly impatient for the onslaught which was to exalt still more its already high renown; how could he calculate upon its efficacy, now that it was comparatively paralyzed?
The state to which his Infantry was reduced presented a prospect almost as cheerless. D'Erlon's Corps, severely crippled by its signally unsuccessful attack upon the Anglo-Allied Left Wing and Centre, had still further exhausted its force by repeated assaults against La Haye Sainte, on its left; and, since the arrival of Bülow, it had been compelled to resort to active precautionary measures on its right. On the other hand, Reille's Corps had suffered immense losses in its incessant, yet unavailing, efforts to gain possession of the important Post of Hougomont.
But Ney, le plus brave des braves, in whose character resolution and perseverance were pre-eminent, was not to be deterred by this discouraging aspect, from fulfilling, to the best of his abilities, the task imposed upon him by his Imperial Master. There can be but little doubt that at the time he made his urgent demand upon the Emperor for a fresh supply of Infantry, he had projected an assault upon the Anglo-Allied Right Wing, in accordance with that prominent feature in the tactics of the Empire,—the Column of Attack in mass of Battalions—to be supported by his Cavalry, whilst this Arm still continued vigorous and effective. Now, however, his exhausted means precluded the execution of such a plan of attack; and he therefore had recourse, as far as was practicable with his reduced extent of force, to another system, which had been attended with so much success in the time of the Republic, and which had always found great favour with the French soldiery—the grand attack en Tirailleurs. In this way he would be better enabled to conceal the weakened condition of his troops; and he might also succeed in making such an impression upon some important point of the Allied Line, as would induce the Emperor to seize upon the advantage gained, and, launching forth his Reserve, strike the decisive blow.
The whole of Donzelot's Division, supported by a part of Alix's Division, as also a considerable body of Cuirassiers, forming the gallant remnants of entire Regiments, were put in motion against the Centre of the Anglo-Allied Line; whilst fresh reinforcements were poured down from Reille's Corps into the Hougomont inclosures.
The first disposition made by the captors of La Haye Sainte, was to avail themselves of the advantage which the possession of the Farm House, the Garden, and the adjacent high bank, afforded them for pouring a commanding fire upon the two Companies of the 95th British Rifles which occupied the Knoll by the Sand Pit on the opposite side of the road; when these, being at the same time pressed in front, finding their Post no longer tenable, retreated upon their main body in the Wavre road.