Battle of Ligny
On the 13th of March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached Paris, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw. Four days later, the United Kingdom, Russia, Austria, and Prussia bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule. Napoleon knew that once his attempts at dissuading one or more of the Seventh Coalition Allies from invading France had failed, his only chance of remaining in power was to attack before the Coalition could put together an overwhelming force. If he could destroy the existing Coalition forces south of Brussels before they were reinforced, he might be able to drive the British back to the sea and knock the Prussians out of the war.
The Duke of Wellington expected Napoleon to try to envelop the Coalition armies, a maneuver that he had successfully used many times before, by moving through Mons to the south-west of Brussels. The roads to Mons were paved, which would have enabled a rapid flank march. This would have cut Wellington's communications with his base at Ostend, but would also have pushed his army closer to Blücher's. In fact, Napoleon planned instead to divide the two Coalition armies and defeat them separately, and he encouraged Wellington's misapprehension with false intelligence.
Moving up to the frontier without alerting the Coalition, Napoleon divided his army into three elements which remained close enough to support one another: a left wing commanded by Marshal Ney, a right wing commanded by Marshal Grouchy, and a reserve, which he commanded personally. Crossing the frontier at Thuin near Charleroi before dawn on the 15th of June, the French rapidly overran Coalition outposts and secured Napoleon's favored central position at the junction between the area where Wellington's allied army was dispersed to his north-west, and Blücher's Prussian army to the north-east.
The French Armee du Nord (Army of the North) was commanded by veteran officers and headed by Napoleon himself, who had won dozens of battles. Directly under him were three Marshals, Grouchy, Ney, and Soult, all generals of renown and bravery. The corps and division generals were well known for ability and with several campaigns behind them. The troops of the Army of the North were, for the most part, experienced veterans who had seen at least one battle. While the mix of veterans was higher than in either of the other armies, many of the troops had never worked with one another before nor under their officers.
Trust in one another and their officers was therefore in short supply. For all that we may count the veterans, it was noted that there were many in the French formations that had never been under fire. In the words of Henri Houssaye, Napoleon had never held in his hand an instrument so fearsome or fragile. In equipment and supply, the French were well set with both, although the Guard units had to suffer standard weapons, and the Army of the North had more cavalry than their opponents throughout the four days of battle that would follow and end at Waterloo.
By contrast, the Prussian Army was, at this point, in a state of disorganization and rebuilding. According to historian Peter Hofschröer, The armed forces fielded by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 were in terms of quality of manpower, equipment, and coherence of organization probably the worst fielded by Prussia in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The Prussian cavalry was reorganizing and converting the Freecorps and Legions into regular cavalry formations. The artillery was lacking guns and needed equipment and guns and equipment continued to arrive from Prussia even as the battles were raging.
The battlefield of Ligny was on the watershed between the rivers Scheldt and Meuse. The Ligny stream rises to the west of Fleurus and meanders in a northeast direction through the small village of Ligny to the confluence at Sombreffe. The stream was only a few metres wide at its edges, however, it was swampy in parts so that the bridges at Saint-Amand and Ligny were strategically important. This dictated that villages of Ligny, and St Amand and Wagnelée , connected by the hamlets of Saint Amand-le-Hameau and Saint Amand-la-Haye , were the best defensive position because they were sturdily built and surrounded by trees.
The remaining parts of the battlefield consisted of fields of grain as high as a man. The windmill of Brye on a hill north-west from Ligny was a suitable vantage point and Blücher made it his headquarters during the battle. Napoleon placed his headquarters in Fleurus, where he also had a good view of the battlefield from the windmill of Naveau. These geographical features forced commanders to fight for control of specific crossroads and elevated positions rather than open fields.
Napoleon delayed his attack until about 14:30 when he heard cannon fire coming from the direction of Quatre Bras, and thus knew that his left flank was secure. This delay also gave Gérard's IV Corps more time to deploy as it had only recently arrived in Fleurus from the south-west, and had an important role to play in Napoleon's plan of attack on Ligny. Both delays meant that there was less time to win a decisive victory before night fell.
Napoleon began the attack with a cannonade by the Guards artillery positioned around Fleurus. Shortly afterwards Vandamme's III French Corps (Girard's 7th Infantry Division attached on its left) attacked the hamlet of Saint-Amand-la-Haye. Jagow's 3rd Prussian Brigade, defending Saint-Amand-la-Haye, could not withstand the pressure of Lefol's 8th Division and was forced to retreat. Shortly afterwards a counterattack by General Steinmetz with six battalions of the 1st Brigade recaptured the hamlet. A renewed attack by Vandamme's troops led to a bitter fight in which the Prussians lost approximately 2,500 men and possession of Saint-Amand-la-Haye.
As a reaction to the Old Guard's attack, Blücher instructed Lieutenant-General Röder to counter-attack with the two brigades of the reserve cavalry of the I Prussian Corps. While leading one of the charges in person, the 72-year-old Blücher's horse was shot and fell upon him. He was rescued and borne in a semi-conscious condition from the field. While Blücher was being taken from the field the French cavalry beat off the Prussian cavalry counter-attack.
Lieutenant-General August von Gneisenau (Blücher's Chief of staff), took over command from the absent Blücher. Sources differ over Gneisenau's leadership while Blücher was incapacitated. Chesney credits him with the decision to retreat north in support of Wellington: Gneisenau, coming into temporary command after the fall of Blucher at the end of the battle, and finding the struggle for the present hopelessly decided, chose at all risk of inconvenience to abstain from the notion of a retreat to the east, and to keep as near as might be to the English army. Parkinson, citing Prussian records, claims Gneisenau raged over the lack of British support at Ligny and decided to retreat east after Tilly.
At about 22:00 the order to fall back was given. On the Prussian right, Lieutenant-General Zieten's I Corps retreated slowly with most of its artillery, leaving a rear-guard close to Brye to slow any French pursuit. Pirch I's II Corps followed the I Corps off the battlefield. They formed up again within a quarter of a league of the field of battle (about 3/4 of a mile), and retired to Wavre via Tilly, free of French pursuit.
Our infantry, posted behind Ligny, though forced to retreat, did not suffer itself to be discouraged … Formed in masses, it coolly repulsed all the attacks of the cavalry, and retreated in good order upon the height, whence it continued its retrograde movement upon Tilly. At the distance of a quarter of a league from the field of battle, the army formed again. The enemy did not venture to pursue it. The village of Brie remained in our possession during the night, as well as Sombref, where General Thielemann had fought with the 3rd Corps. Von Bülow's IV Corps, which had not been engaged at Ligny, moved to a location south of Wavre and set up a strong position on which the other elements of the Prussian army could reassemble.
The retreat of the Prussians was not interrupted, and was seemingly unnoticed, by the French. Crucially, they retreated not to the east, along their lines of communication and away from Wellington, but northwards, parallel to Wellington's line of march and still within supporting distance, and remained throughout in communication with Wellington. They regrouped south of Wavre, around 10 miles to the east of Waterloo, from whence they proceeded to Waterloo on the 18th of June.
Napoleon announced his abdication on the 24th of June 1815 and finally surrendered on the 15th of July. Before leaving Ligny, Napoleon gave Grouchy 33,000 men and orders to follow the retreating Prussians. A late start, uncertainty about the direction the Prussians had taken, and the vagueness of the orders given to Grouchy meant that he was too late to prevent the Prussian army reaching Wavre, from where Blücher could march to support Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo and Thielmann fought the Battle of Wavre. The decisive battle of the campaign took place at Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815.
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Common questions
When did the Battle of Ligny take place?
The Battle of Ligny took place on the 16th of June 1815. Napoleon delayed his attack until about 14:30 when he heard cannon fire coming from the direction of Quatre Bras.
Who commanded the French Army at the Battle of Ligny?
Napoleon commanded the French Armee du Nord directly under three Marshals named Grouchy, Ney, and Soult. The troops were mostly experienced veterans though many had never worked with one another before nor under their officers.
Where was the battlefield of Ligny located geographically?
The battlefield of Ligny was on the watershed between the rivers Scheldt and Meuse. The Ligny stream rises to the west of Fleurus and meanders in a northeast direction through the small village of Ligny to the confluence at Sombreffe.
What happened to Blücher during the Battle of Ligny?
Blücher's horse was shot and fell upon him while leading a charge so he was rescued and borne in a semi-conscious condition from the field. Lieutenant-General August von Gneisenau then took over command from the absent Blücher.
Why did the Prussian army retreat north instead of east after the battle?
Lieutenant-General August von Gneisenau chose to keep as near as might be to the English army rather than retreating east along lines of communication. They regrouped south of Wavre around 10 miles to the east of Waterloo from whence they proceeded to Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815.