WATERLOO 1815 (2) Ligny JOHN FRANKLIN ILLUSTRATED BY GERRY EMBLETON © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CAMPAIGN 277 WATERLOO 1815 (2) Ligny JOHN FRANKLIN ILLUSTRATED BY GERRY EMBLETON Series editor Marcus Cowper © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 Napoleon escapes from the island of Elba The long march to Paris and return to power CHRONOLOGY 9 OPPOSING COMMANDERS 13 French commanders Prussian commanders OPPOSING FORCES 18 The command and composition of the French Army The command and composition of the Prussian Army Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS 29 THE CAMPAIGN OPENS 30 The French advance and the capture of Charleroi The Prussian withdrawal and the combat at Gilly Movements on the morning of 16 June Important decisions for the three commanders The struggle for the crossroads commences Final preparations at Fleurus and Sombreffe Vandamme attacks the village of St Amand Gérard begins the offensive against Ligny Orders to envelop Brye and St Amand Zieten launches a counterattack at Ligny Blücher intervenes in the fighting at St Amand The contest escalates at St Amand la Haie Urgent reinforcements bolster the attacks II Korps enters the fray at Wagnelée A column approaches from Villers Perwin Gneisenau sends a messenger to Quatre Bras Fateful decisions in the heat of battle Determined resistance at St Amand and Ligny Napoleon orders the Garde Impériale to attack Cavalry charges in the fields before Brye The Prussians retreat north towards Tilly Wellington holds the French at Quatre Bras AFTERMATH 90 THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY 92 FURTHER READING 94 INDEX 95 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com INTRODUCTION King Louis XVIII and the victorious coalition armies were welcomed enthusiastically by the Parisians when they entered the French capital in the spring of 1814, following Napoleon’s enforced abdication and exile. Upon his arrival at the Tuileries the obese Bourbon monarch made a solemn pledge of peace and prosperity to the nation, but his words proved worthless to the people of France. The reinstatement of Bourbon rule coincided with the return of the émigrés to French soil for the first time since the revolution, and many of these clergymen and nobles were immediately offered lucrative appointments within the new government. It was apparent that the king and his entourage, particularly his younger brother Charles Comte d’Artois, were determined to restore the numerous privileges of the aristocracy at the expense of the populace, and this led to widespread discontent. Nowhere was this more evident than within the French Army, which was subjected to extraordinary excesses. The tricolour was replaced by the white Bourbon cockade and the number of soldiers reduced, while experienced officers were demoted in favour of younger men of royalist persuasion. Louis insisted on the creation of a lavish Maison du Roi and dispensed with the veterans of the Garde Impériale. Indeed, the humiliation of the military also encompassed the maréchalat. Ney, Mortier, Oudinot and others were forced to submit to the odious regime, although Maréchal Nicolas- Jean de Dieu Soult, Duc de Dalmatie, was appointed Minister for War. Unbeknown to the king, the torch of revolution had been rekindled. NAPOLEON ESCAPES FROM THE ISLAND OF ELBA Within the confines of his island prison, Napoleon received intelligence of the discord in France and the bitter disagreements between the various European powers who were engaged in congress at Vienna. He also learned of the proposals made to the delegates by the French ministers to remove him from Elba, a haven which had been granted by Tsar Alexander of Russia, to a more remote location. The former emperor perceived an opportunity to return, and devised a plan to replace the monarchy and restore his personage upon the throne of France. On 26 February, following his usual Sunday morning mass, Napoleon issued a proclamation to the people of Elba announcing his departure. The date had been carefully selected as Colonel Sir Neil Campbell, the British officer charged with his captivity, was making one of his regular © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com The inhabitants of Elba gathered upon the quayside of the tiny port to bid Napoleon and his suite farewell. Shortly after 8:00pm they boarded the Inconstant, and the small flotilla of ships set sail for France. Painting by Joseph Beaume. (Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot) visits to Florence on the mainland in the brigantine HMS Partridge. Napoleon gave orders for a small flotilla of ships, consisting of the Inconstant, Saint- Esprit, Caroline and three feluccas, to be prepared so as to convey his carriage, artillery and troops; a body of 1,000 men. His beloved mother and sister, who had joined him on Elba, were to remain on the island under the protection of the resident garrison and the governing junta. By 7:00pm the inhabitants had assembled upon the quayside of the tiny port, and wild acclamations greeted Napoleon and the imperial suite when they arrived and boarded the Inconstant. At 8:00pm one of the ship’s 16 guns fired the signal to depart. Because the French royalist government had engaged two vessels to patrol the waters between Elba and the coast of France, instructions had been issued for the flotilla to separate once at sea. Across the bay at Livorno rumours of an imminent escape had abounded for several days. Speculation was rife that Napoleon would make for the Kingdom of Naples, which was ruled by his brother-in-law and former cavalry commander, Joachim Murat. When Sir Neil Campbell was informed On 1 March the flotilla anchored off the French coast at Golfe Juan, close to Antibes, and in the late afternoon the troops disembarked. Napoleon came ashore in the early evening. Painting by George Beaufort. (Breamore House, Hampshire, UK / Bridgeman Images) 5 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com of these reports he determined to set sail for Elba without delay, and took the precaution of avoiding the gun emplacements when entering the harbour. It was a further three hours before the colonel could positively ascertain that Napoleon had departed, by which time the Elban ships were safely on their way. During the late afternoon of 1 March they anchored off the coast at Golfe Juan, close to Antibes, and the troops began to disembark. A detachment was sent to the town to distribute proclamations and to announce the emperor’s return to the soldiers within the citadel. Napoleon came ashore in the early evening, and with his customary zeal he immediately set out for Grenoble. The journey would take him through the mountains and the staunch royalist districts of the south. THE LONG MARCH TO PARIS AND RETURN Louis XVIII returned to the throne of France in 1814, TO POWER following Napoleon’s enforced abdication. The Bourbon King Louis XVIII did not learn of Napoleon’s arrival at Golfe Juan until the monarch believed in the divine morning of 5 March. He instantly called for his advisors, in the form of his right of royalty and granted favours and concessions to his brother, Comte d’Artois, and Maréchal Soult. A plan was formed, whereby devoted adherents. Painting by the troops in the region would collect and confront the former emperor and François-Pascal Gérard. (Apsley his followers. Arrangements were made for the king’s cousin, the Duc House, the Wellington Museum, d’Orléans, accompanied by Maréchal Macdonald and the Duc de Berry, to London, UK / © English Heritage Photo Library / travel to Lyon and concentrate the main force in and around the city, while Bridgeman Images) Maréchal Masséna would send a column from Marseille to Sisteron to attack the invaders from the rear. The particulars having been agreed, a royal decree was issued the next day permitting the people of France to apprehend Napoleon as a traitor and a rebel. Vague and contradictory rumours spread through the capital. Many suggested that the enterprise had already been thwarted and that Napoleon had taken refuge in the mountains around Grasse. However, the streets frequently resounded to the cries of ‘Vive l’Empereur!’ and an air of apprehension prevailed as loyal Bonapartists donned the violet. Amidst this uncertainty a plot was contrived by several of Napoleon’s most ardent supporters. Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d’Erlon, who commanded a division of 10,000 men at Lille, along with Comte Charles Lefèbvre- Desnouettes and both François-Antoine and Henri-Dominique Lallemand, planned to journey south and join with the former emperor. But the conspiracy was discovered by Maréchal Mortier and Comte Rémi- Joseph Exelmans. The four collaborators were arrested and court-martialled for treason. 6 © Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com It was very cold and the paths through the mountains were treacherous due to the ice. Napoleon rode in his carriage with comtes Bertrand and Drouot, while the troops followed in silence. The procession received a muted reception when it arrived in the towns of Grasse and Castellane, where food and provisions were requisitioned. At Digne proclamations were printed. These were addressed separately to the people of France, the army and the Garde Impériale, and described the betrayal by Maréchal Marmont in 1814, who had led his corps over to the Russians after surrendering Paris, and Maréchal Augereau, who had released his soldiers from their vows of allegiance. The former emperor called upon the troops to unite beneath the folds of the tricolour, and planned to seize the fortress at Grenoble in order to encourage this act. Lieutenant-général Jean-Gabriel Marchand, who had fought with distinction during the Revolutionary Wars, was the military governor of Grenoble. Realizing the perilous situation, he ordered a company of sapeurs from the garrison, under the protection of a battalion from the 5e Régiment de Ligne, to destroy the wooden bridge across the river by the small market town of La Mure, over which Napoleon and his men would have to pass.