June 16.

The advance of the French Army.

207

Ligny, with directions to take post between the Village of that name and Sombref. He himself continued with the above two Regiments, and the two guns, near the Tombe de Ligny, until he received Orders also to retire.

In the mean time, the main body of the French Army advanced in great regularity in Columns of Corps. The Left Column, consisting of the Third Corps d'Armée under VANDAMME, to which was attached the Infantry Division under Lieutenant General GIRARD belonging to REILLE'S Corps (then with NEY), being destined to advance against St Amand, the most salient point of the Prussian position, and therefore having the shortest distance to pass over, was the first to take up its ground, preparatory to attack. Whilst thus engaged in making its preliminary dispositions for this purpose, it was cannonaded by the Prussian Batteries posted on the Heights in rear of the Village. GIRARD'S Division took post on the left of VANDAMME's Corps, and DoмON's Light Cavalry Division on the left of GIRARD.

The Centre Column, consisting of the Fourth Corps d'Armée, under GÉRARD, advanced along the Fleurus high road, and took up, somewhat later, a position upon the Heights fronting Ligny, and parallel to the general direction of that Village; its Left being near the Tombe de Ligny, and its Right resting on an eminence southward of Mont Potriaux.

The Right Column, under GROUCHY, comprising the Cavalry Corps of PAJOL and EXCELMANS, moved by its right, and took post, as did also the Light Cavalry Division under Lieutenant General MAURIN, belonging to the Fourth Corps d'Armée, on the right of GÉRARD, and showing front towards the Villages of Tongrines, Tongrenelle, Boignée, and Balatre,

208 Relative strength of the two Armies.

June 16.

GROUCHY disposed this Cavalry so as to protect GÉRARD from any attempt which the Prussians might make to debouch in his rear from Mont Potriaux or Tongrenelle; as also to watch any hostile movements on their Left, and to divert their attention from the Centre. PAJOL'S Corps, which was formed on the Right, detached along the cross road which leads to Namur. The Villages of Boignée and Balatre being situated on the French side of the valley, and occupied by Prussian Infantry, GROUCHY was supplied with two Battalions from GÉRARD's Corps. The 1st and 2nd Squadrons of the 3rd Kurmark Landwehr Cavalry belonging to THIELEMANN's Corps, which had been posted in advance, upon the Fleurus road, retired skirmishing until they reached the barrier at the Bridge, whither they were pursued by the French Cavalry. Here, however, the latter were checked and driven off by the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Kurmark Landwehr, belonging to Colonel LUCK'S Brigade.

The Imperial Guard and MILHAUD's Cuirassiers were halted in reserve, the former on the left, and the latter on the right, of Fleurus.

The numerical strength of the French Emperor's forces prepared to engage with the Prussian Army amounted

If to this we add LOBAU's Corps, which was on the march from Charleroi, the total amount of available force

was:

The Prussian Army in the Field amounted to :—

As soon as the direction of the Enemy's movements for attack became sufficiently manifest, BLÜCHER made such further disposition of his force as appeared to him requisite to meet that attack.

He ordered the Batteries of the First Corps d'Armée (ZIETEN'S) to be suitably posted for impeding the Enemy's advance. The three Heavy Batteries of the Corps were immediately drawn up on the Height between Ligny and St Amand. They were supported by the Battery of the First Brigade, posted in rear of St Amand. Somewhat later, when the direction of attack by GÉRARD's Corps became more developed, the Battery of the Third Brigade was placed on the right of Ligny, near a quarry, and the Battery of the Fourth Brigade on the left of the Village, upon the declivity descending to the rivulet. The Battery of the Second Brigade, the Foot Battery No. 1, and the Horse Battery No. 10, remained in reserve. Of the remaining Horse Batteries of the Corps, one continued with the Cavalry under General RÖDER (which was posted in a

151. W. L. Siborne.

210 Thielemann's Corps made the Left Wing. June 16

hollow, as before stated, between Ligny and Sombref), and the other was with the 1st Silesian Hussars, which Regiment had been detached in observation on the Right Flank of the Army, and posted between the northern extremity of the village of Wagnelé and a large pond contiguous to the old Roman road.

By the time the action commenced in front of St Amand and Ligny-half past two o'clock-BLÜCHER was satisfied that no necessity existed for any movement of his Third Corps d'Armée to the right; and he therefore ordered it to proceed from the position it had hitherto held in Columns upon the two high roads near Sombref, and form the Left Wing of his line of battle; resting its Right upon Sombref, and occupying the Heights, at the foot and on the declivities of which are situated the Villages of Mont Potriaux, Tongrines, Tongrenelle, Boignée, Balatre, Vilrets, and Botey.

The Ninth Brigade (General BORKE) was formed in Brigade order in rear of Sombref and northward of the Namur high road, having detached one of its Battalions (the 3rd of the 8th Regiment) with the Foot Battery No. 18, to Mont Potriaux, where the former posted itself on the north, and the latter took up a favourable position on the south, side of the Church. The Eleventh Brigade (Colonel LUCK) with the twelve pounder Battery No. 7, stood across the Fleurus high road, in front of the junction of the latter with the Namur road upon the Height of Le Point du Jour, having detached the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Kurmark Landwehr into the valley, where it occupied the houses in its immediate vicinity. Four Battalions of the Tenth Brigade (Colonel KÄMPFEN) were drawn up on the Height of Tongrines, resting their Right on this Village, and having in their front the Foot Battery No. 35, and at a

June 16.

Blücher hopes to hold his around.

211

short distance from their Left, the Horse Battery No. 18. The remaining two Battalions of the Brigade were detached, the 3rd Battalion of the 27th Regiment, to occupy Tongrines and the Castle of Tongrenelle, and the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Kurmark Landwehr, to hold the Villages of Boignée and Balatre. The 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Kurmark Landwehr, belonging to the Brigade, as also two Squadrons of the 6th Kurmark Landwehr Cavalry, and two Squadrons of the 9th Hussars, attached to this Corps, still continued in the line of Outposts in the vicinity of Dinant, to observe Givet; and rejoined on the morning of the 17th of June. The Twelfth Brigade (Colonel STULPNAGEL) with the Horse Battery No. 20, was formed in Brigade order, in reserve, near the Windmill, on the Height of Le Point du Jour. The Reserve Cavalry of this Corps, with the Horse Battery No. 19, was posted on the extreme Left of the position between Botey and Vilrets, whence it detached the 3rd Squadron of the 7th Uhlans to Onoz, in observation.

This position and the order of battle which was thus developed, were well calculated to answer the object which BLÜCHER had in view, namely, to hold his ground long enough to gain sufficient time for the arrival of at least a portion of WELLINGTON's forces, expected to join the Prussian extreme Right by the Namur road; as also, perhaps, for the arrival and co-operation of BÜLOW's Corps, in rear of THIELEMANN, by the Gembloux road. In either of these cases, if not previously favoured by the circumstances of the general battle about to take place, such a marked accession to his strength would enable him to assume the offensive; whilst, in the first mentioned, WELLINGTON would effectually prevent a junction between NAPOLEON'S and NEY's forces.