JUNE
15th, 1815
The
best way to follow this narrative is to set-up the campaign scenario and then
move the units as they are mentioned. The large bold headings indicate the
start of a new Game-Turn (every six hours). Also employ information in the
game set-up tables and reinforcement tracks.
On
the morning of 15th June all the French infantry will have 4 MPs to expend,
and all the cavalry 6, except for the Vedettes which will move up to 9.
They
are going to be advancing along four northerly routes leading onto the map,
three of them south of the Sambre, and the westernmost entry, I, already crossing
the Sambre onto the map. There we find the II Corps under Reille with his
corps in two stacks. He can try and Road March, though he's going to run into
Steinmetz at Fontaine, and of course he'll be attacking at a tremendous disadvantage,
so there's no way he can reach any of the Prussians to attack them on the
first turn with anything more than a cavalry probe.
The
Prussians have Steinmetz as mentioned at Fontaine, the westernmost brigade
of all the Prussian army. He is quite far to the west of Charleroi, six or
seven miles. Zeiten himself, the commander of the II Corps, is in Charleroi,
along with his second brigade under Pirch. Seven miles by road waits the 3rd
brigade at Fleurus, under Jagow, from where Napoleon was able to view the
battlefield of Ligny on the 16th. In turn it's another 6 miles to the cavalry
reserve under Roeder, with two brigades sitting at Sombreffe. And another
5 miles back is the artillery reserve of the Corps at Gembloux. The artillery
is sitting in safety in the very rear. The army is going to want to concentrate
on the guns instead of dragging the guns forward too much. Finally, the fourth
brigade of the corps is at Moustier sur Sambre, at the same longitude as Gembloux
but further forward along the river. These six hexes occupied by the Prussian
army are all fairly evenly-spaced, four of them within five or six miles of
Sombreffe. Those two rearmost infantry brigades can concentrate at that central
point, once they get on the road, in under three hours.
This
deployment of the Prussian I Corps is extending from the area further east,
the cantonment area of the rest of the army, very much pointing like an arrow
toward Steinmetz at Fontaine.
Also
on the map we have Bernhard's brigade at Quatre Bras. Maybe he really wasn't
there at that hour, but he arrived there historically in plenty of time. We
also have the other brigade of that D/B division of Perponcher at Nivelles,
and he's got van Opstal's battery of guns also at Nivelles. So we have two
hexes occupied by the Anglo-Allied Army at the start of the game.
As
you survey the map the next thing you'll see is huge forces sitting on the
reinforcement tracks all around the map—Anglo-Allied units on the north
and west, French on the south, Prussians waiting to come in on the east—three
more Prussian corps, practically the whole of the Anglo-Allied army, and the
entirety of the French Army waiting to come on. And the French are deployed
to enter at those four roads leading toward Charleroi and the other crossings
of the Sambre.
The
first to cross will be Reille's first stack moving up through Lobbes to within
two or three hexes of Steinmetz. Each of these stacks has two divisions of
infantry and some guns or cavalry; the second stack right behind the first.
Pajol
with I Cav Corps enters at Hex H and moves up to Marcinelle, which is just
across the river from Charleroi. His units were deployed as Vedettes, so they're
able to move the seven miles to Marcinelle and then scout up and down the
river bank. His artillery followed further back—because they cannot be
Vedettes—one mile out of Marcinelle. The III Corps cavalry of Dommanget
is up front with Pajol.
Following
behind the artillery is Napoleon with the Young Guard, Duhesme's division.
They have to be in road march to use that bridge, remember.
The
second stack to enter is Drouot, with the Guard cavalry and Duchand. He's
going to enter at minus-one because the first stack has already entered in
front of him. His first hex on the map is going to cost him two. And since
they are not in Road March they cannot get across the bridge.
The
third stack is Friant and Morand, two great infantry division commanders who
served in Davout's old III Corps, now commanding Guard Divisions. They'll
move up behind the guns of their corps, and that is all the French will be
able to do this morning ...
02.30:
Beaumont
The
strains of reveille resounded in bivouacs across the northern tier of France.
With the clatter and rattle of arms and equipment, the men began to fall-in
to their places in their road march columns, facing the Belgian frontier.
Pajol’s cavalry screen advanced through the darkness to scour the countryside,
and crossed onto Belgian soil about 3:30.
04.00:
Lobbes.
Reille’s
II Corps attacked the bridges at Lobbes.
Pajol
moved up to Marcinelle, his twelve regiments deployed as Vedettes screening
the French advance. Napoleon with the Young Guard crossed the stream near
Jamioulx en route to Marcinelle. Behind them marched the main body of the
Imperial Guard. Their commander, Marshal Mortier, took sick and was replaced
by Drouot.
Vandamme’s
III and Mouton’s VI Corps columns became entangled in a five-hour traffic
jam. Gérard’s IV Corps was also delayed due to the defection of the lead
division’s general, Bourmont.
08.00:
Lobbes
After
four hours, Reille gained a foothold across the Sambre and moved up through
Lobbes toward Fontaine in one long column. Jêrome’s single division detoured
through Montigny and Marchienne.
10.00:
Charleroi
Charleroi
is located on both sides of the Sambre River. On the south side of the river
between the lower part of the town was the suburb of Marcinelle. Between
this suburb and the town proper there ran a dyke about 400 meters long.
The bridge connected the lower and upper parts of the town and measured
eight meters wide, barricaded at both ends. The Brussels road ran through
the uper part of the town just beyond the Place du Centre.
On
the morning of June 15th the 9th Prussians held the village of Marcinelle.
Two Battalions of the 6th Prussians (Pirch II) held the town of Charleroi.
Vandamme's III Corps was supposed to be in the outskirts of Charleroi by
10 AM, but in the event his leading units only made an appearance at 3 PM.
This meant that for most of the morning the only troops fighting the Prussians
were Pajol's cavalry of the forward screen.
10.30:
Braine-le-Comte
The
Prince of Orange’s Chief of Staff de Rebecque ordered the Dutch/Belgian
troops in Nivelles forward to Quatre-Bras.
12.30:
Charleroi
The
French sappers of the Guard attacked at 12:30 PM and threw the barricades
into the river. Pajol's cavalry again tried to storm the bridge, but were
again repulsed. The sappers and the Young Guard renewed the attack, pushing
the Prussians out of both the lower and upper parts of the town.
After
encouraging the drivers on the difficult slopes beyond the bridges, Napoleon
set up his headquarters in the lower part of the town in an inn owned by
a local ironmaster (M. Puissant—Bellevue Tavern), and ate the lunch
that had been prepared for Ziethen. Intermittently napping, Napoleon was
sitting in his chair outside the Bellevue Inn reviewing the III Corps as
it filed past. [This scene is depicted on the box cover.]
Both
of the advanced Prussian brigades drew-off in a north-easterly direction,
Steinmetz from Fontaine l’Eveque toward Gosselies, and Pirch II from
Charleroi toward Gilly. Now the pace of operations accelerated hour by hour.
13.00:
Gilly
Pajol’s
I Cavalry Corps reached Gilly in pursuit of Pirch II, who withdrew to the
wood of Soleilmont (1813), where he met Jagow’s brigade coming up the
road from Fleurus.
15.00:
Gilly
Grouchy
and Exelmans’ II Cavalry Corps joined Pajol at Gilly.
Brussels
Wellington,
informed of the attack on the Prussians,
ordered
his troops to break camp and move to their divisional concentration points.
Quatre-Bras
Prince
Bernhard of Saxe Weimar with 4,000 infantry and only 8 guns occupied Quatre-Bras.
15.15:
Charleroi
Soult
dispatched orders to General Gerard, to move across the Sambre at Chatêlet,
but his IV Corps did not appear in time to help drive the Prussians from the
Soleilment woods.
15.30:
Charleroi (Bellevue Chateau).
Marshal
Ney arrived and sent the two cavalry divisions of Piré and Desnouettes (Imperial
Guard light cavalry) north along the Charleroi-Brussels road.
17.00:
Gilly
Napoleon
and Vandamme arrived with the III Corps at Gilly, ranged in battle formation
facing the Prussian-occupied woods. Zeithen, outnumbered, wisely withdrew
toward the supporting elements of his Corps still approaching. Grouchy and
Exelmans pushed on toward Fleurus.
Gosselies
Ney’s
cavalry skirmished with Steinmetz’s brigade, which formed square and
marched off.
17.30
Gosselies
Ney
reached Gosselies as Steinmetz finished evacuating the town. The Prussians
drew off to the north-east along the Brussels road, turning right at the stream
toward St. Amand. Ney sent Girard’s division in pursuit of Steinmetz
and halted to await d’Erlon’s I Corps, merely sending his advanced
guard, Lefebvre-Desnoëttes, north to Frasnes.
Fleurus
Grouchy
cleared the village of the retiring Prussians.
18.00:
Sombreffe.
Blücher
reached Sombreffe.
18.30:
Frasnes-le-Gosselies
Ney's
advance guard engaged the 2nd Nassau infantry of Bernhard, just south of the
village of Frasnes. The Nassauers fell back to the edge of the Bossu Wood
(2709).
20.00:
Frasnes-le-Gosselies
Fearing
the wood might conceal more of Wellington's army, Ney decided to bivouac rather
than make an attempt on Quatre-Bras. A few kilometers south of Frasnes a mill
standing on the west side of the road housed Marshal Ney's quarters for the
night.
Fleurus
As
Napoleon departed for his quarters in Charleroi, Grouchy's men went into bivouac
all along the road from Chatêlet.
21.00:
Charleroi
Napoleon
arrived to spend the night. Nearly half his army was still south of the Sambre,
but he had attained the central position and would be able to strike either
of the two opposing armies.
22.00:
Wellington’s HQ, Brussels
Wellington
received a message from Gneisenau, informing him of the Prussian Army’s
concentration on Sombreffe. He replied that he expected the main enemy advance
toward Mons (14 miles west of Seneffe), and sent orders to I Corps to move
on Nivelles and Braine-le-Comte; II Corps (2 divs) and Uxbridge to Enghien.
Others to Sotteghem, Granmont, Alost. Reserve to prepare to march. A dispatch
from Dornberg in Mons confirmed that the French movement on Charleroi was
not a feint.
01.00:
The Duke of Richmond’s residence, Brussels
Wellington
received a despatch from Constant-Rebecque, containing details of Bernhard’s
situation at Quatre-Bras; Wellington ordered the Reserve Corps to march south;
and the remainder of the army to Nivelles.
03.00:
Quatre-Bras
Perponcher
arrived at Quatre Bras with Bylant’s Bde.
