The disposition made by Colonel the Prince Bernhard of Saxe Weimar at this point, on the night of the 15th, with the Second Brigade of Perponcher's Dutch-Belgian Division, has already been described. Soon after ten o'clock on that evening, Major Count Limburg Stirum, Dutch Aide de Camp to the Prince of Orange, left Braine le Comte for Nivelles, with a Verbal Order from the Dutch-Belgian Quartermaster General, enjoining General Perponcher to hold his ground to the last extremity, to support his Second Brigade by the First, and even to ask for aid from the Third Anglo-Allied Division, and from the Dutch-Belgian Cavalry Division; and, at all events, to send an Officer to acquaint the Commanders of these Divisions with the state of affairs. This message appears to have reached Nivelles about midnight.
Previously to this, that is, between nine and ten o'clock in the evening, Captain Crassier's Company of the 27th Battalion of Chasseurs moved out from Nivelles towards Quatre Bras en reconnaissance. About two o'clock in the morning, Perponcher himself followed with the remainder of the Chasseurs, which body reached Quatre Bras at four o'clock. General Bylandt, who commanded the First Brigade, ordered the remaining Battalions of the latter, and his Artillery, to commence their march from Nivelles at five o'clock. The 7th Dutch Line Battalion was directed to remain at Nivelles until relieved by Alten's Division.
At three o'clock in the morning, Perponcher arrived at Quatre Bras, and after having reconnoitred the position, immediately commenced operations for recovering the ground lost on the previous evening. Just at this time a detachment of about fifty Prussian Hussars of the 2nd Silesian Regiment, under Lieutenant Zehelin, who, on the previous day, had been driven back from near Gosselies, and had retreated towards Hautain le Val, gallantly advanced to the front, attacked the Enemy's Outposts, forced them to retire, and then formed a chain of Vedettes. As soon as the Dutch-Belgian troops had advanced to within a short distance of these Prussian Hussars, the latter moved off by their left towards Sombref.
Prince Bernhard of Saxe Weimar's Brigade penetrated deeper into the Wood of Bossu, and secured the entrances into it from the French side.
Perponcher directed the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of Nassau to take post on an eminence in advance towards Frasne, and stationed the 3rd Battalion of this Regiment more to the left. The latter, however, was soon relieved by the 27th Chasseurs, which Battalion, on reaching Quatre Bras, at four o'clock in the morning, had detached two Companies to the left. These moved steadily forward in extended order towards the Wood of Delhutte, outside of which the Enemy showed his Light Troops. They succeeded in forcing back the French into a hollow way bordering the Wood, where the latter maintained themselves for some little time, and then retired into the Wood itself. Taking advantage of the cover afforded by the edge of the Wood, the French now poured a deadly fire upon their assailants, who retreated to some favourable ground a little in advance of their Battalion.
The Prince of Orange arrived at Quatre Bras about six o'clock, and immediately reconnoitred the position of the Enemy, and that occupied by his own troops. Having expressed his perfect satisfaction with all the arrangements and dispositions which had been made, both on the previous evening and on that morning, he ordered the troops then present to take up a position more in advance, for the purpose of imposing upon the Enemy; enjoining at the same time, all unnecessary firing, it being desirable under then existing circumstances, to avoid bringing on prematurely an attack by the Enemy.
Ney, having quitted Charleroi at a very early hour in the morning, returned to Gosselies, where he communicated with Reille, whom he ordered to assemble the force then with him, consisting of two Infantry Divisions and their Artillery, and to advance upon Frasne: to which point the Marshal repaired in person. Here he collected all the information which the Generals and other Officers had been able to obtain respecting the Enemy; and being naturally anxious to make himself acquainted with the details of the force placed so suddenly under his orders, he desired Colonel Heymès, his first Aide de Camp, to repair to every Regiment, and note down their strength and the names of the Commanding Officers; after the performance of which duty, Colonel Heymès laid before the Marshal a return of the troops in the Field.
The uncertainty in which Ney was placed as to the amount of force concentrated by the Allies during the night in rear of Quatre Bras, and the conviction which he had reason to entertain that the Prussians were in strong force at no very great distance on his right, and that therefore any check experienced by the Main Column under Napoleon, would endanger his Right Flank and even his line of communication, rendered him cautious in attacking a point so considerably in advance of the Emperor's Left, without ample means at hand to enable him, in case of disaster, to maintain that line, or, in the event of success, to effectually establish himself at Quatre Bras, and derive every possible advantage from its possession, by checking, if not defeating in detail, any body of troops that might be approaching it as a point of concentration from either Nivelles or Brussels.