On March 13th, 1815 while Napoleon Bonaparte was still seven days away from his triumphant return to Paris, the Coalition Congress of Vienna was in session. To say the least, they were alarmed regarding Napoleon's return from exile. They declared him an outlaw, and began to take immediate steps to ensure that his new reign would be a short one.
The coalition included Great Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia. They each committed to putting 150,000 troops apiece into the field to defeat Napoleon. But as of yet, only Britain and Prussia had troops near enough to France (They were in Belgium). The invasion of France was to begin on July 1st, when it was thought that all four armies would be together to form an irresistible and unbeatable force.
But Great Britain was also in no position to put 150,000 troops on the continent of Europe to fight Bonaparte. The war of 1812 was being fought in Canada and America, and many of Britain's best and most experienced troops were there. As a consequence, most of her troops were second-line.
So, this British army, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, was fleshed out by contingents of troops from Hanover, Brunswick, and Nassau. They were centered around Brussels, Belgium. Wellington only had around 68,000 men.
The Prussians were to the east, under the command of Marshal Gebhard von Blucher. Blucher had 84,000 men.
Once Napoleon reached Paris, he pondered his choices. By the end of May he was able to put 128,000 troops in the field for his northern army. He could sit and wait for the coalition to attack him, or he could take the initiative.
He decided to attack the British and Prussians before the Austrians and the Russians arrived. At the time, the British and Prussian armies were separated. If he moved quickly and with surprise, he could defeat each army in turn before they were able to join up. If he was able to accomplish this, perhaps the coalition would give him favorable peace terms.
Wellington was expecting Bonaparte to swing around to the west of Brussels cutting his army off from his supplies, a tactic that Napoleon himself encouraged Wellington to believe.
But Napoleon's plan was to insert his army between the British and the Prussians allowing him to defeat each in detail. He moved his army up to the town of Charleroi on the border between France and Belgium on June 15th.
Wellington was not able to confirm Napoleon's intentions until that evening. He mobilized what he could of his forces and sent them south to Quatre-Bras in an effort to cooperate with the Prussians.
Blucher's intelligence, on the other hand, was better than Wellington's. He was able to concentrate most of his army around Ligny.
But Napoleon had established his favored "central position". Wellington was to his northwest, and Blucher to his northeast. If he moved quickly, Wellington and Blucher would not be able to unite their forces.
He ordered Marshal Ney with the left wing of the army to occupy Quatre-Bras while he himself would deal with what he deemed to be the greater danger -- the Prussian army.
The Prussians had 82,700 troops on hand while the French had 60,800 available troops on the right wing.
The Ligny battlefield is on a watershed between the Scheldt and the Meuse rivers. The Ligny stream runs basically northeast through Ligny itself. It is only a few meters wide but has steep banks and marshy approaches. There are also many trees and wooded areas that could be used to screen or hide troop movements.
Napoleon opened the battle with a tremendous artillery barrage at 2:30 in the afternoon on June 16th once he heard Ney's guns open up at Quatre-Bras. He then sent an infantry corps forward to take the hamlet of Saint-Amand-la-Haye. Bitter fighting erupted, and the town switched hands several times during the afternoon and evening.
Another French corps attacked Ligny at 3:00pm. Vicious hand-to-hand fighting ensued around the Ligny Church and many buildings were set aflame.
The battle was a constant back-and-forth affair, and Blucher on one occasion personally led a Prussian cavalry charge.
As the evening approached, Blucher had two problems.
The first, was that one of his corps, under Bulow, had not yet reached the battlefield. This corps was coming up from the southeast, and if a timely arrival could be effected, it would fall on the French right flank. But so far, no Bulow.
Much worse for Blucher, was the news that Wellington had engaged the French at Quatre-Bras to the west. This prevented (as Napoleon had planned), a link up of British and Prussian forces.
Blucher was on his own.
At 7:45 in the evening following a local Prussian retreat, Napoleon sent in his Old Guard for what he figured would be the coup de grace against the now exhausted Prussian defenders.
During a Prussian counterattack, the 72 year old Blucher, ever leading from the front, had his horse shot out from under him. Dazed and wounded, he was taken from the field.
The Prussian center crumbled under the weight of the attacks from the Old Guard and other French infantry. General Gneisenau, in command in Blucher's absence, ordered a general retreat north towards Wavre ending the battle.
But the equally exhausted French were unable to press the advantage as of yet.
But it was noted by Napoleon that the Prussians did not retreat to the east along their lines of communication, but northward in an obvious attempt to stay in contact with Wellington.
Everything now depended on Ney. Was he able to draw Wellington into a decisive conflict at Quatre-Bras? Failing that, would he be able to beat the British forces there and then stay on their tail and prevent any kind of favorable British deployment and subsequent link-up with the Prussians?
Napoleon was soon to find out.
