At this moment, Ney's prospects were bright enough to justify his hopes of success, and he hailed the captured Colour, presented to him by the Cuirassier Lami of the 8th Regiment, as the harbinger of victory. In fact, on whatever point of his line Ney now directed his view, his operations were full of promise as to the result.
It was certainly a most anxious moment to the British Chief: but frightfully crippled as were his resources by the failure and hasty retreat of the great bulk of the Dutch-Belgian Infantry, by the evident inferiority and utter helplessness of his Cavalry, and by the dreadfully severe losses already inflicted upon his British Regiments, he calmly surveyed the field of slaughter, and deliberately calculated upon the extent to which the heroic valour and admirable spirit so unequivocally displayed by the British and German Infantry would enable him to bear up against the storm that now spread its fury along his whole line, until his eagle glance might detect some favourable opening, seize some critical moment, to deal the stroke that, by a combination as sudden as the launching of the thunderbolt of the storm itself, should avert its fury, or oppose to it a barrier that might exhaust its strength.
The arrival of Lloyd's British, and Cleeves's German, Batteries, attached to Alten's Division, had already made a most important addition to the Duke's Artillery force; the former took post in front of Quatre Bras on the right, the latter on the left, of the Charleroi road.
Almost immediately afterwards, Major Kuhlmann's Battery of Horse Artillery of the King's German Legion, belonging to the First Division, which it had preceded on the Nivelles road, reached the Field, and moved rapidly to the point of intersection of the Brussels and Nivelles road, where it came into action, at the very moment the Cuirassiers who had fallen upon Halkett's Brigade were advancing in mass along the former road towards Quatre Bras. Two guns under Lieutenant Speckmann were posted so as to bear directly upon the French Column, and completely to enfilade the road; and as the Cuirassiers approached with the undaunted bearing that betokened the steadiness of veterans, and with the imposing display that usually distinguishes mailed Cavalry, a remarkably well directed fire was opened upon them: in an instant the whole mass appeared in irretrievable confusion; the road was literally strewed with corses of these steel clad warriors and their gallant steeds; Kellermann himself was dismounted, and compelled like many of his followers to retire on foot.
It was at this moment that Colonel Laurent, who had been despatched from the Imperial Head Quarters, reached Ney, with a pencilled note requiring the Marshal to detach the First Corps towards St Amand. Having fallen in with the head of the Column of that Corps, he had taken upon himself to alter the direction of its march; and, on coming up with Count d'Erlon, who had preceded his Corps, and was then in front of Frasne, he showed him the note, and explained to him where he would find the head of his Column. Shortly afterwards, General d'Elcambre, Chief of the Staff to the First Corps, arrived to report the movement which was in course of execution.
Ney now saw clearly that at the very moment he required the aid of d'Erlon's Corps, not only to counterbalance the arrival of reinforcements which had joined Wellington, but to give an efficient support to the renewed general attack he had projected, that Corps had been placed beyond his reach, and that he must, in all probability, continue to fight the battle without any addition to the force he had already in the Field. Nevertheless, he did not allow the circumstance to suspend the execution of his operations; and, with the hope of yet securing the assistance of the First Corps, he sent back General d'Elcambre, with a peremptory Order for its return towards Quatre Bras.
It was soon after this that Ney received another despatch from Napoleon, dated at two o'clock. From its general tenor it was evidently written previously to the departure of Colonel Laurent with the Order for the flank movement of d'Erlon's Corps, and therefore the bearer of it must have taken longer time than was necessary in conveying it to the Marshal. It announced that the Prussians were posted between Sombref and Bry, and that at half past two Grouchy was to attack them with the Third and Fourth Corps d'Armée, and expressed the Emperor's wish that Ney should also attack whatever Enemy might be in his front, and, after having repulsed the latter, fall back in the direction of Ligny, to assist in enveloping the Prussians. At the same time it stated, that should Napoleon succeed in defeating the latter beforehand, he would then manœuvre in Ney's direction, to support in like manner the Marshal's operations. It concluded by requesting information both as to Ney's own dispositions and those of the Enemy in his front. This despatch reached Ney at a moment when he was most seriously engaged, when the issue of the battle was extremely doubtful, and the probability of his being enabled to afford the support required by Napoleon most questionable.
Upon the extreme Left of the Anglo-Allied forces, the advance of the French Light Troops from Piermont and its vicinity was met in a most determined and gallant manner by the head of Kielmansegge's Hanoverian Brigade (which after having moved along the Nivelles road, exposed to the continued fire from the Batteries on the French Heights, had just reached that part of the field), in conjunction with the 1st Battalion 95th British Rifles, and the 2nd Brunswick Light Battalion. The most determined efforts were made by the Enemy to turn the Anglo-Allied Flank. The French Infantry had already gained the high road, and were boldly pressing forward, when the British Rifles, the Brunswick Light Infantry, and the Hanoverian Field Battalion Lüneburg (under Lieutenant Colonel Klencke) dashed in amongst them. The contest was obstinate and severe; but the Allied Light Troops having been reinforced by the Hanoverian Field Battalion Grubenhagen (under Lieutenant Colonel Wurmb), gradually obtained the ascendancy, and, dislodging their opponents from one inclosure after another, continued steadily advancing, and gaining ground.