send in that report to Gosselies, which delayed the march of Reille upon Frasne. About eleven o'clock General Pirch I., with the second corps, entered the line from his bivouac at Mazy. The four brigades of this corps were marched to the right, and formed up in masses behind the corps of Ziethen. An hour later, Thielemann, who had quitted Namur about seven, reached Point du Jour. His corps was posted, for the moment, on the two great roads, in order that it might be easily moved to the right or left. Thus, before Napoleon had reconnoitred the position from the windmill of Fleurus, Blucher, whose corps he had hoped to surprise and defeat in detailBlucher, who he had imagined would concentrate at Namur-had actually united, on one field, three corps d'armée, or upwards of 83,000 men, that is, about 72,500 infantry, 8,150 cavalry, and 224 guns.1 Napoleon, in reconnoitring the Prussian position, is said to have assumed that the Prussians stood at right angles to the Namur road, and it is asserted that this view led him to devise the scheme of an attack in front, while Ney fell upon the right flank and rear. He is also reported to have inferred, from what he could see of the disposition of the Prussians, that Blucher was intent, not on fighting a stout battle where he stood, but on effecting a junction with Wellington. Hence his desire that Ney should rapidly drive off the British from Quatre Bras, and turning to his right along the Namur road, should enter the rear of the Prussian position by Marbais. But, although his right rested on no support, and although the line of front from the salient angle of St. Amand was nearly perpendicular to the Namur road, practically Blucher's army was parallel 1 Total force of three corps of arms, 86,669. Deduct losses on 15th, 1,200, and detached infantry and cavalry, 1,500, total 2,700; whole force equal to 83,969. to that road, completely covering it from Point du Jour to the place where it is intersected by the old Roman road. Blucher, as we have seen, kept a keen look-out from the mill of Bussy upon the motions of the French; and as soon as he saw a decided movement of their columns towards St. Amand and Ligny, he made a fresh distribution of his troops. The whole of the villages in front were strongly occupied, guns were posted on the slopes, and supports were moved down. The stone cottages and garden walls, the churchyard and château of Ligny, had been crenellated for musketry, and were now fully manned. The orchards, the hedges, the houses of the St. Amand group were, in like manner, filled with infantry. The soldiers of Ziethen supplied these garrisons and formed the first line. The cavalry of the first corps were on the plateau nearer to Ligny. Three of the four brigades of Pirch I. were drawn up between Bry and Sombref as a second line, in columns of attack by battalions at deploying intervals, with the whole mass of their cavalry and guns in rear and on the other side of the Namur road. The fourth brigade was posted at Trois Burettes on the extreme right, and facing towards Marbais and Quatre Bras, thus commanding the old Roman road. Beyond Wagnelée four squadrons of horse and a battery also watched that flank. The centre and right appeared to be thus amply filled, and therefore Thielemann, who had remained near Sombref, was now directed to occupy the extreme left. Accordingly he posted his four brigades on the high ground between Sombref and Tongrines, across and upon the road from Fleurus to Namur. Mont Potriaux, Tongrinelle, Boignée, and Balâtre were occupied by detachments, the front being covered by a strong line of skirmishers. A body of cavalry occupied the Fleurus road behind the bridge over the Ligny, and the reserve cavalry of the corps were held far back on the road to Namur. The two armies in presence were pretty equally matched. Blucher, as we have stated, presented a force of nearly 84,000 men; Napoleon, including the corps of Lobau, on the march from Charleroi, had in hand about 75,000 men; but while the Prussians showed a superiority in infantry, Napoleon was superior in artillery and cavalry, having 242 guns to match against 224, and 15,000 horsemen to 8,000 in the Prussian array. The French being a little higher than the Prussian slopes, the French artillery had a better command of the Prussian, and the greater irregularities of the French side favoured the concealment of movements, and sheltered the troops from the fire of the hostile cannon. We have now traced the course of each army throughout the morning; we have described the hesitation and incredulity of Napoleon, the activity of Blucher, the prolonged and unavoidable delay of Reille and D'Erlon, and the movements ordered by Wellington, giving rise to promises which he was not destined to fulfil. We have seen the French army form its splendid order of battle, and the Prussian host gather, formidable in numbers and positions, across its path. At the moment we have now reached, Ney's cannon are already thundering in front of Quatre Bras; it is half-past two; there are only five hours of daylight at the disposal of the two famous chiefs who are so eager to drive Wellington to Antwerp, and Blucher to Aix la Chapelle. The Morning of the 16th has thus been spent in preparing for the two battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras, which have made the Afternoon of that day so famous in military annals. To that point in this fierce and brief campaign we have now arrived. TH CHAPTER VI. AFTERNOON OF THE 16TH OF JUNE. § 1. The Battle of Ligny. HE grand movements which carried the French brigades and divisions into position were completed soon after two o'clock. A silence of expectation pervaded the broad plains. Napoleon, from his post of observation near Fleurus, and Blucher from the heights in front of Bry, were prepared, one to give, the other to receive battle. Each army was animated with the fiercest passions. The Prussians remembered how the "Grande Nation" had humiliated their king, insulted their queen, garrisoned their fairest cities, and plundered and oppressed the whole of Germany. The French thirsted to avenge Leipsic and the occupation of Paris. Perhaps no two armies, more determined to slay without mercy, ever met. The spirit of personal vengeance nerved each combatant, not merely to master and defeat, but to master and destroy his foe. Hence this battle, though so brief, was so bloody. The war-cry on each side seemed to be the Moslem shriek "Kill! kill!" It is recorded that the quiet of the sultry summer noon was broken by the clang of the bell in the church tower of St. Amand striking half-past two. Three cannon shots 66 in quick but measured succession, fired near Fleurus, next broke the stillness-the signal for Vandamme to fall on. Vandamme immediately sent General Lefol's brigade against St. Amand. Lefol marched forward with drums beating and colours flying. The soldiers shouted Vive l'Empereur!" and the bands played the old airs of the Revolution. Pressing on with impetuous tread these gallant soldiers were not checked by the fierce fire of the Prussian battalions, who occupied the village. They dashed into the enclosures, engaged their enemies at short range, and by the velocity of their relentless advance compelled the Prussians, after a short but vigorous resistance, to give way. Issuing in pursuit with the ardour of their nation, they were suddenly stopped by a shower of grape, before they could cross the rivulet. General Steinmetz, whose brigade defended St. Amand, rallied the expelled battalions, reinforced them, assailed the village in his turn, and, finding the force insufficient, called fresh battalions into the fight, and regained part of the village. But Vandamme, perceiving the check to his soldiers, sent Berthezène with fresh troops to aid Lefol, and threw forward Girard against Le Hameau and La Haye. Girard overcame all resistance in his path, and Berthezène, operating at the same time on Lefol's left, the Frenchmen succeeded in carrying their front of battle to the inner margin of these villages. But no farther, for the cannon assailed them when they attempted to issue forth, broke their formations, and strewed the ground with dead. The French threw themselves into the gardens, the houses, the churchyard, and a large building, called by some writers a château, which stood at the point where St. Amand joins La Haye. Vandamme brought his guns into play, and there was reason to fear that he would make a daring attempt to carry the heights. |