3

Advance to Contact

Wellington and Blücher were convinced that Napoleon was not going to wait for France to be invaded. They believed that the Emperor would try to seize the initiative, something that Wellington in particular wished to prevent, by attacking first. Just how close Wellington was to opening hostilities can be seen from a letter sent by the British Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, to George Canning, who had been Foreign Secretary but who was at the time Ambassador to Portugal, on 13 June:

We may now be in daily expectation of hearing that the Allied armies have entered France. The operations will probably begin on the upper Rhine, as the most distant point from Paris; but we know that the Duke of Wellington and Blücher are ready to move; and fortunately there subsists between them the most perfect union and cordiality.¹

Napoleon, though, was already on the move, as documents named later as ‘French Movements and previous Arrangements to the Battles of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and I8th of June’, which were subsequently found in Napoleon’s portfolio, reveal:

June 11.—Monsieur Count Lavellette,—As I said in my speech this day, that I should depart this night, I wish you would look to it, that no post-horses be taken from the road by which I travel: that particular attention be paid to the persons to whom horses are given on the neighbouring roads, and that no courier, or estaffette, be sent off.

Other letters, written this day, request Marshal Massena to take the command of the third and fourth divisions, and say, ‘let Ney come if he wishes to be present at the first battle: he must be at Avesnes by the 13th, where my head quarters will be.’

Acquaint Marshal Suchct, that hostilities will commence on the l6th, and on that day to make himself master of Montmeillan.

I may be without anxiety about the city of Paris …

June 11.—To the Minister of Marine.—I suppose that you have broken off all communication by sea, and that no person or packet boat dare to pass any more, under any pretence.

June 12.—Set off from Paris and slept at Laon.

June 13.—Slept at Avesnes …

June 14th.—Slept at Beaumont. I shall advance to Charleroi, where the Prussian army is, which will occasion a battle, or the retreat of the enemy. The army is fine, and the weather pretty fair; the country perfectly well disposed. I shall write this evening, if the communications are to be made on the l6th, meantime we must prepare …

To the Minister at War. — I hope to pass the Sambre to-morrow, the l6th. If the Prussians do not evacuate, we shall have a battle.²

Napoleon writes here about Marshal Ney, whose relationship with the Emperor had been ambivalent for some time. It had been Ney that had demanded Napoleon’s abdication the previous year, informing Napoleon that the army would no longer fight. ‘The army will obey me,’ declared Ney. ‘The army will not march.’ Napoleon saw Ney’s actions as nothing but betrayal and, since his return from exile, Napoleon had not involved Ney in any of his planning nor had he included his name in any of the despatches he had issued since the start of operations.

As it transpired Ney would soon join Napoleon and be given a position of considerable importance. It is also interesting to observe how accurate Napoleon was with regard to his prediction of a battle with the Prussians on the 16th.

The following ‘Orders of March for l’armée du Nord’ were issued from Beaumont, ‘By Order of the Emperor, Marshal of the Empire and Major-General, Duke of Dalmatia’, on 14 June 1815:

To-morrow, the 15th, at 2.30 a.m. General Vandamme’s Light Cavalry Division will advance along the Charleroi road. Patrols will be sent out in every direction to reconnoitre the country, and to capture the enemy’s advanced posts; each patrol will consist of not less than fifty men. Before marching off General Vandamme will make sure that the cavalry are provided with small-arms ammunition …

At the same time Lieut.-General Pajol will parade the 1st Cavalry Corps, and will follow the advance of General Demon’s Division; the latter is placed under General Pajol’s orders. The divisions of the 1st Cavalry Corps will furnish no detachments, the 3rd Division will furnish such as are necessary. General Demon’s Horse Battery will follow, marching immediately behind the leading battalion of the III Infantry Corps, and consequently will come under General Vandamme’s orders …

The Emperor will accompany the Advanced Guard on the Charleroi road. The Lieut.-Generals will take care to keep His Majesty informed of their various movements, and to transmit all information which they happen to collect.

They are warned that His Majesty intends to have passed the Sambre before noon, and to cross the whole army over to the left bank of that river.

The bridging train will be divided into two sections, the first section being subdivided into three parts, each consisting of 5 pontoons and 5 Advanced Guard boats, so as to throw 3 bridges over the Sambre. There will be a company of pontoon personnel accompanying each of these subdivisions. The first section will follow in rear of the Engineer Park, and after the III Corps. The second section will remain with the Artillery Reserve Park, in the baggage column, it will have with it the fourth company of the bridging train [personnel].

The Emperor’s baggage, and that of the Headquarter Staff, will be collected and marched off at 10 a.m.; as soon as they have defiled, the Director-General of Transport will put in motion that of the Imperial Guard, followed in succession by that of the III and VI Corps; at the same time he will send orders to the baggage columns of the Cavalry Reserve to proceed in the direction already taken by the Cavalry.

The ambulances of the army will follow the Headquarters, and will march ahead of the baggage; but, in no case, will the baggage, or the Artillery Reserve Park, or the second section of the bridging train equipment, approach within 3 leagues of the army, without express orders from the Major-General, and they will only cross the Sambre when specially ordered to do so.

The Director-General of Transport will subdivide the baggage into divisions, each to be placed under an officer, so that anything required by Headquarters, or for the use of officers, can be detached.

The Commissariat-General will have collected in this column all the administrative baggage and transport vehicles, and their precise places in the column will be assigned.

Carriages which are delayed will go to the left, and will only be able to leave their allotted place under orders from the Director- General of Transport.

The Emperor commands that all transport vehicles found in Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery columns are to be burned, as well as the vehicles in the baggage column which leave their allotted place and thus change the order of march, unless they have previously obtained special permission to do so from the Director-General of Transport.

For this purpose a detachment of 50 Military Police will be placed under the orders of the Director-General of Transport; and the latter officer is held personally responsible, as well as the officers of the Military Police and also the Military Police themselves, for the due execution of these arrangements on which the success of the campaign may depend.³

Here we have Napoleon’s orders for the movement of his army from their concentration points in France up to and over the border into Belgium. His instructions call for l’armée du Nord to be across the Sambre and into Belgium before midday. It is notable that bridging equipment was provided in case the bridges over the river had been destroyed. Speed was essential if Napoleon was to take the allies by surprise which is why any unauthorised vehicles trying to join the marching columns would be burnt.

It is also of note that Soult, the Duke of Dalmatia, had accepted the position of Major-General under Napoleon. In other words, he had become the chief-of-staff and the man who would put into effect the orders of the Emperor.

Napoleon knew the power of words and that his men were inspired by visions of victory and la gloire. He also knew that his words as well as his deeds would be recorded for posterity. His address to his troops was therefore couched in phrases certain to rouse the men to great efforts whilst also justifying his decision to attack the allied nations. It was issued to his men on 14 June:

Behold the anniversary of Marengo and Friedland which has twice decided the destinies of Europe. It was then, as at Austerlitz, as at Wagram, that we were too generous to an enemy at our feet. We gave our easy faith to the protestations and oaths of those princes to whom we left their thrones. These same princes, having leagued amongst themselves, are now in arms against the independence of France. Let us march to give them the meeting, both they and we are still the same.

Soldiers, at Jena, against these same Prussians, we were one against three; and at Montmirail, one against six.

As many of you as have been prisoners amongst the English, relate to your comrades what you suffered in their prisons and hulks.

The Saxons, Belgians, and Hanoverians, and soldiers of the Confederation of the Rhine, lament that unhappy force which compels them to obey those princes who are the enemies of justice and liberty. They know the insatiable cupidity of this coalition. They know that these princes have already devoured twelve millions of Poles, twelve millions of Italians, a million of Saxons, and six millions of Belgians, and thus all the German states of the second order are their next destined prey.

Madmen! a moment of prosperity has blinded them. The oppression and humiliation of the French people are beyond their power; if they enter France, they will find in it only their grave.

Soldiers, we have marches to make, battles to give, and dangers to incur; but with constancy, discipline, and a resolution to conquer, the victory will be ours; and the glory and liberty of France will be reconquered.

For all Frenchman who have a heart, the moment is come to conquer or to die.4⁴

As planned, l’armée du Nord began its move across the Sambre early on the morning of the 15th. Despite the care which Marshal Soult had taken with his orders of march, things did not go entirely according to plan.

Firstly, the horse of the officer carrying Soult’s instructions to General Vandamme fell and broke its leg. This meant III Corps did not move off on time and in fact did not move until VI Corps, which had set off as arranged, bumped into Vandamme’s men.

The delay that this caused led to Pajol’s and Demon’s (usually given as Domon) cavalry arriving at the River Sambre at Charleroi unsupported. There General von Ziethen’s Prussian I Corps had barricaded the bridge and resisted tenaciously. The comte de la Bédoyère, who had become one of Napoleon’s aides, wrote:

A corps of infantry, under General Ziethen, attempted to dispute the passage of the Sambre, but the fourth corps of chasseurs, supported by the ninth, broke it, sword in hand, and took three hundred prisoners. The sappers and miners of the guard, sent after the enemy, to repair the bridges, did not allow the latter time to destroy them, following as sharp shooters, and penetrating into the great square. The dauntless General Pajole soon arrived with his cavalry, and Charleroy was taken, when the inhabitants, rejoiced on once more seeing the French, saluted them with continued shouts of ‘Long live the Emperor! France for ever!’⁵

II Corps, meanwhile, forced the river at Marchiennes, ‘overthrowing every thing before it,’ continued de la Bédoyère:

The Prussians, however, rallied, and attempted to oppose some resistance; but General Reille broke them with his light cavalry, took two hundred prisoners, and killed or dispersed the rest. Beaten in every direction, they retired to the heights of Fleurus … Napoleon reconnoitred the ground at a glance, and the French rushed on the Prussians at full gallop, when three squares of infantry, supported by several squadrons and artillery, sustained the shock with intrepidity.

Wearied at such resistance, the Emperor ordered General Letort to charge with the dragoons of the guard, at the same moment Excelmans fell upon the left flank of the enemy; while the twentieth dragoons, commanded by Brigueville, rushed on the Prussians on one side, Letort attacking them on the other They were then broken and annihilated; the French, however, paid dearly for that victory, Letort being killed. That affair, though of little importance in its results, as it only cost the enemy five pieces of artillery, and three thousand men, killed and prisoners, produced the happiest effects on the French army.⁶

The crossing of the Sambre was achieved just after midday. Ziethen withdrew, pursued by Grouchy’s Cavalry Corps. Finally the Prussians made a stand at Gilly. This news was relayed to Napoleon who was still at Charleroi, to which place Grouchy went to ask for infantry support. At the same time Ney rode up to Charleroi. Napoleon now had with him the two men to whom he would entrust his army:

Bonjour Ney [said the Emperor]. I want you to take command of I and II Corps. I will give you besides, the light cavalry of my Guard, but do not make use of it. Tomorrow you will be joined by Kellermann’s cuirassiers. Now go and drive away all the enemy along the Brussels road and take up a position at Quatre Bras and await further orders.⁷

Napoleon had decided to divide his army, with Ney pushing up the road to Brussels with I and II Corps, whilst he went with the rest of his force directly towards the Prussians. His aim was to hold back Wellington whilst he dealt with the Prussians.

As early as 09.00 hours Wellington received the first intimation that Napoleon had invaded. He took no action at that time. It was only at 15.00 hours, when a messenger from General Ziethen rode to General von Müffling, the Prussian liaison officer at Wellington’s headquarters in Brussels, with more concrete information, that the Duke responded.

Wellington did not think that it was the main French army that was engaged with Ziethen and he continued to believe that Napoleon would try to cut his communications with the coast. Nevertheless, he accepted that the campaign had begun and, as he told Müffling, ‘the departure of the troops is certain, and only the place of rendezvous remains uncertain, I will order all to be in readiness’.⁸

Wellington, therefore, through his Deputy Quartermaster-General, Sir William Howe De Lancey, issued the first of his orders to Uxbridge, Hill and the Prince of Orange, timed at 17.00 hours on 15 June 1815:

1. Gen. Dornberg’s brigade and the Cumberland hussars to march this night upon Vilvorde.

2. Lord Uxbridge to collect his cavalry this night upon Ninhove, leaving the 2d hussars looking out between the Scheldt and the Lys.

3. The 1st division to remain as they are at Enghien, and all in readiness to march at a moment’s notice.

4. The 2d division to collect this night at Ath and adjacents, and to be in readiness to march at a moment’s notice.

5. The 3d division at Braine le Comte, the same.

6. The 4th division to be collected at Grammont, with the exception of the troops beyond the Scheldt, which are to be brought to Audenarde.

7. The 5th and 6th divisions in readiness at a moment’s notice.

8. The brigade at Ghent to march to Bruxelles in the evening.

9. The Duke of Brunswick to collect to-night on the high road from Bruxelles to Vilvorde, the Nassau troops on the Louvain road, and both ready to march in the morning.

10. The Prince of Orange, who is now at Alava’s, to be directed to collect at Nivelles the 2d and 3d divisions of the army of the Low Countries; and in case that point should have been attacked this day, to move the 3d division and 1st division upon Nivelles as soon as collected. This movement not to take place until it is quite certain that the enemy’s attack is upon the Prussian right or our left.

11. Lord Hill to be directed to order Prince Frederick of Orange to occupy Audenarde with 500 men, and to collect the 1st division of the army of the Low Countries and the Indian brigade at Sotteghem, so as to be ready to march in the morning at daylight.

12. The reserve artillery, &c. to be in readiness to move at daylight.⁹

Nothing in these orders gave an indication of urgency and everything remained relatively calm in Brussels during the day. To the south-east, however, the French attack was developing, with Napoleon concentrating the right wing of his army against the Prussians at Gilly.

At 18.00 hours the French attack was delivered against Major-General von Pirch’s II Corps and Major-General von Steinmetz’s I Brigade of I Corps. Such was the strength of the French forces opposing the Prussians, it certainly appeared that it was not simply a diversion. It was important that the Anglo-Netherlands army moved up to support Blücher otherwise the allies would be defeated in detail, which was exactly what Napoleon hoped for. Further messages were consequently sent to Brussels to urge Wellington to commit his troops to supporting his allies.

Ahead of the left wing of l’armée du Nord, Lefebvre-Desnoëttes’s Guard cavalry had been sent along the road towards Brussels with orders to occupy and hold the vital crossroads of Quatre Bras. He reached there around 18.30 hours, and reported back to Ney. His communication, written at Frasnes at 21.00 hours on 15 June 1815, was addressed ‘To the Marshal, Prince of the Moskowa, Commanding the Left Wing of l’armée du Nord’. ‘My Lord,’ he began,

When we reached Frasnes, in accordance with your orders, we found it occupied by a regiment of Nassau Infantry (some 1,500 men), and 8 guns. As they observed that we were manoeuvring to turn them, they retired from the village where we had practically enveloped them with our squadrons. General Colbert [with the Lancers of the Guard] reached within musket shot of Quatre Bras on the high road, but as the ground was difficult and the enemy fell back for support to the Bossu Wood, keeping up a vigorous fire from their 8 guns, it was impossible for us to carry it.

The troops which were found at Frasnes had not advanced this morning and were not engaged at Gosselines. They are under the orders of Lord Wellington and appear to be retiring towards Nivelles. They set light to a beacon at Quatre Bras, and fired their guns a great deal. None of the troops who fought this morning at Gosselies have passed this way, they marched towards Fleurus.

The peasants can give no information about a large assembly of troops in this neighbourhood, only that there is a Park of Artillery at Tubize, composed of 100 ammunition wagons and 12 guns; they say that the Belgian Army is in the neighbourhood of Mons, and that the headquarters of the Prince of Orange is at Braine-le-Comte. We took about 15 prisoners, and we have had 10 men killed and wounded.

Tomorrow at daybreak, if it is possible, I shall send a reconnoitring party to Quatre Bras so as to occupy that place, for I think that the Nassau troops have left it.

A battalion of Infantry has just arrived [from Bachelu’s Division], and I have placed it in front of the village. My Artillery not having joined me, I have sent orders for it to bivouac with Bachelu’s Division, it will rejoin me tomorrow morning.

I have not written to the Emperor, as I have nothing more important to report to him than what I am telling your Excellency.

The Nassau troops who were holding Quatre Bras were commanded by Prince Bernhard of Saxe Weimar, who was in charge of General de Perponcher’s 2nd Brigade. Prince Bernhard wrote the following letter from his bivouac near Waterloo three days later:

Dear Father, Thank God, I am still alive and have escaped unhurt from two bloody battles. The first was on the 16th of June, the second was yesterday, I beg when you read this, to take Ferrari’s map in your hand. For four weeks I was in cantonments in Genappe, with the regiment of Orange Nassau, of which I am Colonel. On the 15th I was appointed Brigadier of the second brigade, of the division Perponcher; my predecessor had had the misfortune to break his leg. Besides my two battalions of Orange Nassau, I now had under my command three battalions of the Duchy of Nassau; – when my brigade was 4000 strong: – to-day I have not 1200 left! –.

On the 15th, the French fell upon the Prussian army, and pressed it very much. My brigade continued on the left wing of the Dutch army, the head-quarters of which were at Braine-le-Comte - my division lay in Nivelles. A battalion of Nassau were at Frasnes, and also a battery of Dutch horse-artillery. When the Prussians retreated towards Fleurus, the post at Frasnes was attacked and driven back.

The infantry threw itself into a wood on the right, and the artillery retired fighting to Quatre Bras. At this important post, I had drawn my brigade together, and cannonaded the Enemy, whom I succeeded in keeping off. I maintained this post through the whole night.¹⁰

The French had failed to take control of Quatre Bras, with fatal consequences for the success of the entire campaign. As can be seen from Prince Bernhard’s letter, Lefebvre-Desnoëttes was mistaken in believing that the Nassau troops had withdrawn during the night and they were still in control of the crossroads on the morning of the 16th.

That Prince Bernhard’s troops were at Quatre Bras to stop the French gaining control of those vital crossroads was due to the foresight of the Quartermaster-General and Chief of Staff of the Netherlands army, Jean-Victor de Constant-Rebècque:

Towards midday I received a communication from General Behr [at Mons] that the Prussians had been attacked that morning in front of Thuin and that the Prussian detachment which was occupying Binche had retreated to Gosselies. The enemy had not shown themselves at Binche. I immediately forwarded this information to the Prince [of Orange] at Bruxelles; at the same time I sent an order to General de Perponcher to assemble his 1st Brigade on the high road near Nivelles on the side of Quatre Bras, and his 2nd Brigade at Quatre Bras itself. I then sent orders to Generals Chassé [3rd Netherlands Division] and Collaert [Netherlands Cavalry Division] to assemble their divisions, the first at Fayt the second behind la Haine.¹¹

That night a ball was being held by the Duchess of Richmond in a coach house in Brussels. The duchess’s husband, Charles Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, commanded a reserve force stationed in Brussels, and all but three of Wellington’s senior officers made a point in attending the ball despite the fact that the enemy were known to have crossed the border just a few miles to the south. Wellington himself was determined to maintain an appearance of calm and normality and he also went to the ball.

Müffling likewise, was going to this glamorous social event. As he was getting ready to go he received a note from Wellington, which read:

I have a report from General Dörnberg [in command of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade] at Mons that Napoleon has moved on Charleroi with all his force, and that he, General Dörnberg, has nothing in his front. I have therefore sent orders for the concentration of my people on Nivelles and Quatre Bras.¹²

Magdalene De Lancey, the wife of Wellington’s Assistant Quartermaster-General, Sir William Howe De Lancey, left a ‘narrative’ of that day in Brussels as she watched her husband write those fateful orders:

On Thursday the 15th of June … He was to dine at the Spanish Ambassador’s; it was the first time he had left me to spend an evening away since our marriage [on 4 April] … A short time after a message came from the Duke of Wellington to Sir William. He returned from the dinner and told me that news had been received of the near approach of the French, and that a battle was to be expected immediately, and that he had all the orders and arrangements to write as the army was to leave Bruxelles at daybreak.

I entreated to remain in the room with him, promising not to speak. He wrote for several hours without any interruption but the entrance and departure of various messengers who were to take the orders.¹³

Sir William’s ‘Additional Instructions’, were issued at 22.00 hours. These stated that:

The troops in Bruxelles (5th and 6th divisions, Duke of Brunswick’s and Nassau troops) to march when assembled from Bruxelles by the road of Namur to the point where the road to Nivelles separates; to be followed by Gen. Dornberg’s brigade and the Cumberland hussars.

The 3d division to move from Braine le Comte upon Nivelles.

The 1st division from Enghien upon Braine le Comte.

The 2d and 4th divisions upon Enghien from Ath and Grammont; also from Audenarde, and to continue their movement upon Enghien.

The cavalry upon Enghien from Ninhove.¹⁴

So off went the Duke and his officers to the ball. It has become probably the most famous ball in history, and was widely reported in the British press, such as this account in the Chester Courant on Tuesday, 8 August 1815:

It is reported that many of the English officers were at a ball given by the Duchess of Richmond, at Brussels, during the battle of the 16th. At three o’clock in the morning they hastened to the field of battle, without having time to change their ball dresses, in which many were killed.

When a reporter described the event for the Bury and Norwich Post on Wednesday, 13 September 1815, it bore the headline ‘The Richmond Ball’:

Bonaparte, it is said, had made a complete arrangement, previous to the battle of Waterloo, to entrap the British Staff by finesse. He had engaged the Ladies of Brussels to apply to the Duchess of Richmond to give a ball; her grace consented. On the evening of the day of the fete, he posted 600 men dressed in blue frocks, with arms underneath them, in an appropriate situation, where they remained unobserved.

The dancing commenced, and the hour rapidly approached when the signal was to be given; and Bonaparte meant to enter at the head of the force already named. Providentially one of the Ladies became violently enamoured with the personal attractions of her partner, so much so that she could not resist the impulse to disclose to him the situation of himself and his gallant brethren. She took him aside, and communicated to him the plan. The Commander in Chief was directly apprised of his situation, and as promptly took the necessary steps to seize the enemy in ambuscade. The counterplot succeeded. – The credibility of this story may be suspected.

This was not the last time that ‘The Richmond Ball’ featured in the pages of the Bury and Norwich Post, as this report from the edition of Wednesday, 3 January 1816, testifies:

At the ball at Brussels, it is stated in a German paper, the Duke of Brunswick was the first person whose ear instinctively caught the sound of the French cannon. He went up to the Duke of Wellington, who was dancing, and told him his apprehensions. The Duke said it was no such thing, that Buonaparte could not be come, and that it was the Prussians saluting the King on his arrival.

The Duke of Brunswick was not satisfied, but went and sat down somewhat melancholy at a window, when presently another roar came, deep and hollow, over his ear. He started up, and begged of Lord Wellington, for God’s sake, to let him go. He went, and fell in the same cause in which his father fell 23 years before. The D. of Wellington danced on.

Wellington, though, did not stay long at the ball. His final moments there were watched by Captain George Bowles:

At the Duchess of Richmond’s ball at Brussels the Prince of Orange, who commanded the 1st Division of the army, came back suddenly, just as the Duke of Wellington had taken his place at the supper table, and whispered some minutes to his grace, who only said he had no fresh orders to give, and recommended the Prince to go back to his quarters and go to bed.

The Duke of Wellington remained nearly twenty minutes after this, and then said to the Duke of Richmond, ‘I think it is time for me to go to bed likewise,’ and then, whilst wishing him goodnight, whispered to ask him if he had a good map in his house. The Duke of Richmond said he had, and took him into his dressing-room, which opened into the supper-room. The Duke of Wellington shut the door and said, ‘Napoleon has humbugged me, by God, he has gained twenty-four hours’ march on me.’ The Duke of Richmond said, ‘What do you intend doing?’

The Duke of Wellington replied, ‘I have ordered my army to concentrate at Quatre Bras; but we shall not stop him there, and if so I must fight him here’ (at the same time passing his thumb-nail over the position of Waterloo). He then said adieu and left the house by another way out … He [the Duke of Richmond] marked the Duke of Wellington’s thumb-nail with his pencil on the map, and we often looked at it together some months afterwards.¹⁵

There was nothing further Wellington could do until morning when the enemy was certain to be engaged, as he later told the Earl of Bathurst in his official despatch, dated the day after the Battle of Waterloo:

Buonaparte, having collected the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th corps of the French army, and the Imperial Guards, and nearly all the cavalry, on the Sambre, and between that river and the Meuse, between the 10th and 14th of the month, advanced on the 15th and attacked the Prussian posts at Thuin and Lobbes, on the Sambre, at day-light in the morning.

I did not hear of these events till in the evening of the 15th; and I immediately ordered the troops to prepare to march, and afterwards to march to their left, as soon as I had intelligence from other quarters to prove that the enemy’s movement upon Charleroi was the real attack.

The enemy drove the Prussian posts from the Sambre on that day; and General Ziethen, who commanded the corps which had been at Charleroi, retired upon Fleurus; and Marshal Prince Blücher concentrated the Prussian army upon Sombref, holding the villages in front of his position of St. Amand and Ligny.

The enemy continued his march along the road from Charleroi towards Bruxelles; and, on the same evening, the 15th, attacked a brigade of the army of the Netherlands, under the Prince de Weimar, posted at Frasnes, and forced it back to the farm house, on the same road, called Les Quatre Bras.¹⁶

Many of the officers were still dining in Brussels when they received their orders to prepare their regiments for imminent departure. Amongst these was Sir James Kempt who commanded the 8th British Brigade in Lieutenant General Picton’s 5th Division. That evening he was dining with Harry Ross-Lewin, who wrote:

Coffee and a young aide-de-camp from the Duke of Wellington came together. This officer was the bearer of a note from the Duke, and while Sir James was reading it, said: ‘Old Blücher has been hard at it; a Prussian officer has just come to the Beau [Wellington’s nickname], all covered with sweat and dirt, and says they have had much fighting’. Our host then rose, and, addressing the regimental officers at the table, said: ‘Gentlemen, you will proceed without delay to your respective regiments, and let them get under arms immediately.’¹⁷

The scene in Brussels that evening was a mixture of excitement and anxiety. The following description was provided by an un-named witness, who was only referred to as ‘a near observer’:

On the evening of Thursday the 15th of June, a Courier arrived at Brussels, from Marshal Blucher to announce, that hostilities had commenced. The Duke of Wellington was sitting after dinner, with a party of officers, over the desert and wine, when he received the dispatches, containing this unexpected news. Marshal Blucher had been attacked that day, by the French; but he seemed to consider it as a mere affair of outposts, which was not likely to proceed much further at present, though it might probably prove the prelude to a more important engagement.

It was the opinion of most military men in Brussels, that the enemy intended by this feint, to induce the allies to concentrate their chief military force in that quarter, in order that he might more successfully make a serious attack upon some other point, and that it was against Brussels and the English army, that the blow would be aimed. The troops were ordered to hold themselves in readiness, to march at a moment’s notice; but no immediate movement was expected, and for some hours all was quiet.

It was past midnight, and profound repose seemed to reign over Brussels, when suddenly the drums beat to arms, and the trumpet’s loud call was heard from every part of the city. It is impossible to describe the effect of these sounds, heard in the silence of the night. We were not long left in doubt of the truth. A second courier had arrived from Blucher, the attack had become serious; the enemy were in considerable force; they had taken Charleroi, and had gained some advantage over the Prussians, and our troops were ordered to march immediately to support them; instantly every place resounded with the sound of martial preparations. There was not a house in which military were not quartered, and consequently, the whole town was one universal scene of bustle: the soldiers were seen assembling from all parts in the Place Royale, with their knap sacks upon their backs; some taking leave of their wives and children; others sitting down unconcernedly upon the sharp pavement, waiting for their comrades; others sleeping upon packs of straw, surrounded by all the din of war, draught horses, and baggage waggons, artillery, and commissariat trains – carts clattering, hammers knocking, chargers neighing, bugles sounding, drums beating, and colours flying.

A most laughable contrast to this martial scene was presented by a long procession of carts, coming quietly in, as usual, from the country to market, filled with old Flemish women, who looked irresistibly comic, seated among their piles of cabbages, baskets of green peas, early potatoes, totally ignorant of what might be the meaning of all these warlike preparations, and moving merrily along, one after another, through the Place Royale, amidst the crowds of soldiers, and the confusion of baggage waggons, gazing at the scene before them, with many a look of gaping wonder.

Yet there was order amidst all this apparent confusion. Regiment after regiment formed with the utmost regularity, and marched out of Brussels. About four o’clock in the morning, the 42nd and 92nd Highland regiments marched through the Place Royale, and the Plaza. One could not but admire their fine appearance; their firm, collected, steady, military demeanour, as they went rejoicing to battle, with their bagpipes playing before them, and the partial gleams of the rising sun shining upon their glittering arms …

Thousands were parting with their nearest and dearest to them, and to every British heart; it was a moment of the deepest interest. Our countrymen were marching out to battle – they might return victorious – and we proudly indulged the hope of their triumph; but they were going to meet an Enemy formidable by their numbers, their discipline, and under the command of a leader, whose military talents had made him the terror, and the Tyrant of Europe, whose remorseless crimes and unbounded ambition had so long been its scourge. Not only was the safety of our brave army at stake, but the glory which Britain had so dearly purchased and so nobly won. – Her prosperity – her greatness – her name among other nations – the security and the fate of Europe, depended upon the issue of that eventful contest, which was now on the eve of being decided.

Our troops, however, cheered in the confidence and recollection they were fighting under the command of a General, who had already beaten a victorious army from the shores of the Tagus, over the Mountains of the Pyrenees; who had carried conquest and dismay into the heart of France, and whose brightest victories had ever been graced with humanity. What could not British soldiers do under such a general? What could not such a general do with such soldiers?¹⁸

In her narrative, Magdalene De Lancey also wrote of the military preparations that were taking place in Brussels at this moment:

The reveille was sounded all night, and the troops actively prepared for their march. I stood with my husband at a window of the house, which overlooked a gate of the city, and saw the whole army go out. Regiment after regiment passed through and melted away in the mist of the morning. At length my husband was summoned.¹⁹

De Lancey was mortally wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. He died with his young bride by his side a week after the battle.

Serving in the 95th Rifles, Edward Costello was amongst the soldiers who marched to war that fateful day in June 1815:

All things arranged, we passed the gates of Brussels, and descended the wood of Soignies, that leads to the little village of Waterloo. It was the 16th – a beautiful summer morning – the sun slowly rising above the horizon and peeping through the trees, while our men were as merry as crickets, laughing and joking with each other, and at times pondered in their minds what all this fuss, as they called it, could be about for even the old soldiers could not believe the enemy were so near.²⁰

As for the French, Napoleon was satisfied with the opening moves of the campaign, as he himself subsequently wrote:

All the Emperor’s manoeuvres had succeeded to his wishes; he had thenceforth in his power to attack the armies of the enemy in detail. To avoid this misfortune, the greatest that could befall them, the only means they had left was to abandon the ground, and assemble at Brussels or beyond that city.²¹

This, however, was the exact opposite course of action to that which both Wellington and Blücher had chosen. Events would soon show who was right.