La Bataille des Quatre Bras 1st Ed.

Ney joins the Grand Army

It was seven o'clock in the evening of the 15th, when Marshal Ney, who had just arrived, joined the Emperor near Charleroi, at the point where the road to Fleurus branches off from the one to Brussels. Having expressed the pleasure he felt at seeing him, Napoleon gave him the command of the First and Second Corps d'Armée; explaining at the same time that Reille was advancing with three Divisions upon Gosselies; that D'erlon would pass the night at Marchienne au Pont; that he would find under his orders Pire's Light Cavalry Division; as also the two Regiments of Chasseurs and Lancers of the Guard, of which, however, he was not to make use except as a Reserve. " To-morrow," added the Emperor, " you will be joined by the Reserve Corps of Heavy Cavalry under Kellemann. Go and drive back the Enemy."

Siborne, William, The Waterloo Campaign, 1815, Turnbull and Spears, 1848. p. 114

Ney's Views and Dispositions

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 Heymes, 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 Heymes 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.

Hence he became extremely anxious for the arrival of D'erlon's Corps and the promised Third Corps of Heavy Cavalry under Kellermann; the more so, as although Lefèbvre-desnouette's Light Cavalry of the Guard was nearer at hand, he had been desired by Napoleon not to make use of it . Officers of the Chasseurs and Lancers of the Guard (in consequence of the deficiency of Staff Officers) were sent to the rear in the direction of Marchienne au Pont, with Orders to hasten the march of the First Corps upon Frasne; while Ney himself was busily occupied in reconnoitring the Enemy's position and movements.

Whilst so employed, a despatch reached him from the Emperor, acquainting him that he had just ordered Kellermann's Dragoons to march to Gosselies, where they would be at his disposal; stating, at the same time, his intention to withdraw Lefèbvre-desnouette's Light Cavalry of the Guard from the force under his command; and expressing a wish to be informed of the exact disposition of the First and Second Corps, and of the Cavalry Divisions attached to them, as also of the probable strength of the Enemy, and of the particulars which had been obtained concerning him.

Siborne, William, The Waterloo Campaign, 1815, Turnbull and Spears, 1848. pp. 131-133

Napoleon's Instructions to Ney

This letter, which was intended to convey to Ney a general notion of Napoleon's intentions, prescribed to him, at the same time, as a principle, that he was to consider his movements subordinate to those of the Emperor. The latter intimated his purpose of attacking the Enemy at Fleurus, should he find him there, and of pushing on as far as Gembloux, where he would decide upon his plan of further operation, " perhaps at three o'clock in the afternoon, perhaps in the evening;" immediately after which Ney was to be ready to march upon Brussels, supported by Napoleon with the Guards, it being the Emperor's desire to reach that capital in the morning.

The idea of advancing upon Gembloux, and of capturing Brussels by a coup de main, which could only be effected by a vigorous repulse and signal defeat of the Corps of Zieten, and by a successful turning and partial dispersion of those of Pirch and Thielemann, as also by the rapid march of a closely collected force under Ney, proves that Napoleon had either been insufficiently informed as to the general dispositions of his opponents, or had greatly miscalculated the degree of energy and promptitude required in his movements for the execution of such a design.

Very shortly afterwards, Ney received the official Order of Movement to which Napoleon adverted in his letter as having been sent by Soult. It instructed him to put the Second and First Corps d'Armée, as also the Third Corps of Cavalry which had been placed at his disposal, in movement upon Quatre Bras; to take up a position at that point; thence to push forward reconnaissances as far as possible on the roads to Brussels and Nivelles, d'ou probablement I'Ennemi s'est retiré; to establish, should he meet with no impediment, a Division with some Cavalry at Genappe; and to detach another Division towards Marbais, in order to cover the interval between Sombref and Quatre Bras. He was also to desire the General Officers commanding the two Corps d'Armée to assemble their troops, collect the stragglers, and order up all the waggons belonging to the Artillery and to the Hospitals that might still be in the rear.

In pursuance of these instructions, Ney despatched Orders of Movement to Counts Reille and D'erlon.

The former was desired to put the Second Corps immediately on the march, for the purpose of taking up the following position :-the Fifth Division in rear of (Genappe, upon the Heights which command that town, the left appuied upon the high road; one or two Battalions covering all the débouchés in advance on the Brussels road; the Ninth Division, following the movement of the Fifth, to take up a position in second line on the Heights to the right and left of the village of Bauterlet; the Sixth and Seventh Divisions at Quatre Bras.

It was at the same time intimated to Reille that the three first Divisions of D'erlon's Corps were to take post at Frasne; the Right Division to establish itself at Marbais along with Pirés Division of Light Cavalry; that the former was to cover his (Reille's) march towards Brussels, and both his Flanks; that two Divisions of Kellermann's Corps were to take post at Frasne and Liberchies; and that the Regiments of the Guard under Generals Lefèbvre-desnouettes and Colbert were to remain in their actual position at Frasne.

This Order had scarcely been sent off to Reille when Ney received from the latter a despatch, dated Gosselies, 16th June, a quarter past ten A.M., announcing his having just received from Girard (whose Division was still at Heppignies) a verbal report by one of his Officers, to the effect that the Enemy continued to occupy Fleurus with Light Cavalry; that hostile masses were observed advancing along the Namur road, the heads of their Columns reaching as far as St Amand; that these troops were gradually forming, and gaining ground; that as far as could be judged at that distance, the Columns appeared to consist of six Battalions each; and that movements of additional troops were perceived in their rear. Reille added that General Flahaut, in passing through Gosselies, had made him acquainted with the purport of the Orders he was conveying to the Marshal, whereupon he had communicated with Count D'erlon, in order that the latter might follow the movement which he (Reille) had intended to commence as soon as the Divisions were under arms, but that in consequence of this report from Girard he would wait for the Marshal's further instructions, holding the troops ready to march.

About the same time, Orders reached Ney from Napoleon, desiring him to unite the Corps under Reille and D'erlon, and the Cavalry Corps under Kellermann, which latter, it was stated, was on the point of commencing its march towards him; remarking also, that with these troops he ought to be able to destroy whatever forces the Enemy might bring forward; that Grouchy was going to advance upon Sombref; and that the Emperor was setting off for Fleurus, to which place the Marshal was to address his reports.

In consequence of these instructions, Ney became anxious for the speedy concentration of his troops, and again sent Orders to Reille and D'erlon to move up their Divisions. The information which he had obtained concerning the Enemy in his front, and Girard's report of the assembling of troops in front of Fleurus, induced him to be cautious in his proceedings, and not to attempt any impetuous onset until he could have all his force more in hand, instead of the greater portion of it being, as it then was, lengthened out in Columns of Route along the Charleroi high road; and, in this respect, his views were in perfect accordance with the last despatch which he had received from the Emperor, enjoining him in the first instance, to unite the two Corps of Reille and D'erlon. Hence, in debouching from his position at Frasne, about one o'clock, his advance was by no means vigorous: it was limited to a gradual pressing forward of the Light Troops, and amounted to little more than a reconnaissance.

About two o'clock, Ney, calculating that D'erlon's Corps could not be far in his rear, and hoping that the sound of his cannonade would hasten its march, resolved to attack the Enemy's forces which intercepted his advance upon Quatre Bras. Piré's Light Cavalry, constituting a strong line of Skirmishers with well disposed Supports, covered the advance of the Infantry Divisions of Bachelu and Foy, whilst that of Jerome followed as a Reserve.

Siborne, William, The Waterloo Campaign, 1815, Turnbull and Spears, 1848. pp. 139-143.