 the battle of quatre bras, between wellington's anglo-dutch army and the left wing of the armÃ©e du nord under marshal michel ney, was fought near the strategic crossroads of quatre brasquatre bras is in modern day belgium, but at the time part of the united kingdom of the netherlands on 16 june 1815, two days before the battle of waterloo. == prelude == thumb|300px|left|map of the waterloo campaign the crossroads of quatre-bras was of strategic importance because the side which controlled it could move south-eastward along the nivelles-namur road towards the french and prussian armies at the battle of ligny. if wellington's anglo-allied army could combine with the prussians, the combined force would be larger than napoleon's. napoleon's strategy had been to cross the border into what is now belgium and was then part of the united kingdom of the netherlands without alerting the coalition and drive a wedge between their forces and subsequently to defeat the prussians before turning on the anglo-allied army. although the coalition commanders did have an overview of french pre-war movements, napoleon's strategy was initially very successful. {{cquote|napoleon has humbugged me, by god; he has gained twenty-four hours' march on me |||the duke of
1815_in_France Battles_involving_France Battles_involving_the_Netherlands Battles_involving_the_United_Kingdom Battles_of_the_Napoleonic_Wars Conflicts_in_1815 Waterloo_Campaign