Page:EB1911 - Volume 28.djvu/393

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Ney had allowed the valuable hours to slip away when he could have stormed Quatre Bras with ease and ensured

co-operation with his master. Remembering the surprises that the battles in Spain had provided for the marshals opposed to the duke, he massed nearly the whole of Reille's corps before he advanced. The prince of Orange, in command at Quatre Bras, had only 7500 troops. But by boldly scattering his force and by making use of the Bossu wood and the farms, he covered the cross-roads and showed a firm front to the very superior force which Ney commanded. It was then 2 The Dutch-Belgian troops to the east of the Brussels highway were at once forced back by the mass of men moved against them, and it looked as if the whole defence would crumple up. But about 3 timely succour reached the field—Van Merlen's cavalry from Nivelles, Picton and the 5th division from Brussels—and Wellington returned and took over the command. Picton at once stopped the victorious French advance to the east of the road, but the remaining division (Jérôme) of Reille's corps now reached the front and Ney flung it into the Bossu wood to clear that place and keep his left flank free. A fierce fight now broke out all along the line, in which Jérôme steadily made ground in the Bossu wood, while Picton showing a dauntless front maintained his position. The Brunswick contingent now reached the field, but their duke whilst leading a charge received a mortal wound and the attack failed. It was nearly 4.15 when Ney received Napoleon's 2 order, and in obedience to it he made another attack, in which the Bossu wood was virtually cleared of its defenders. However, about 5 further reinforcements reached Wellington, Alten's (3rd) division coming in from Nivelles. Ney now realized that he could only capture Quatre Bras with D'Erlon's help.

But shortly afterwards (about 5.15) he heard that the I. Corps, without his direct order or knowledge, had moved eastwards to assist in the battle of Ligny. Immediately afterwards

(about 5.30) he received an order from Napoleon to seize Quatre Bras and then turn eastwards to crush Blücher, who was caught at Ligny. Napoleon added, “The fate of France is in your hands.” Ney's duty was merely to hold Wellington for certain at Quatre Bras and allow D'Erlon to carry out the movement which must ensure a decisive result at Ligny, in accordance with Napoleon's plan of campaign. In any case D'Erlon could not come back in time to give him effectual help. But incapable of grasping the situation, and beside himself with rage, Ney sent imperative orders to D'Erlon to return at once, and immediately afterwards he ordered Kellermann to lead his one available cuirassier brigade and break through Wellington's line. The charge was admirably executed; it overthrew one British regiment which it caught in line, but being unsupported it achieved nothing further of importance, and was beaten back. When this attempt to master the cross-roads had ended in failure, Ney received a verbal message from the emperor, enjoining him that, whatever happened at Quatre Bras, D'Erlon must be allowed to carry out the movement ordered by the emperor. The bearer, Major Baudus, knowing the importance of the manœuvre which the I. Corps was carrying out, strove to induce Ney to reconsider D'Erlon's recall; but the marshal refused and ended the discussion by plunging into the fight. Shortly afterwards (about 7 ) Wellington received further reinforcements (Cooke's division of the British Guards), which brought his force up to 33,000 against Ney's 22,000 men. The duke then attacked strenuously all along the line, and before darkness stopped the fight he drove back the French to their morning position at Frasnes. The losses were as follows: Anglo-Dutch 4700, and French 4300. At 9, when the battle was lost and won, D'Erlon's corps arrived. It had already reached the edge of the Ligny battlefield when the counter-order arrived, and conceiving, that he was still under Marshal Ney (for the officer who bore the pencil-note directing Ney to detach