Battle of Quatre Bras The Battle of Quatre Bras , between Wellington ' s Anglo - Dutch army and the left wing of the " Armée du Nord " under Marshal Michel Ney , was fought near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras on 16 June 1815 . Prelude . 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 . Wellington ' s instructions at the start of the campaign were to defend Brussels from the French , but he did not know what route Napoleon might take and had received ( false ) reports of a flanking manoeuvre through Mons . He first heard of the outbreak of hostilities at around 15 : 00 on the 15 June from the Prince of Orange , and further confirmation of the French engaging the Prussian I Corps outposts under Lieutenant - General Graf von Zieten at 04 : 30 at Thuin ( near Charleroi ) arrived within the next three hours . It was 18 : 00 that Wellington drafted initial orders to concentrate his army . However , he was still uncertain precisely where to concentrate his army , and it was not until he heard that the front near Mons was clear - around midnight - that he ordered his army to move towards the Prussians . This nine - hour delay meant it was too late for him to move his army in sufficient strength to eventually provide Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher with the support he needed ( and which one source says he had promised ) on 16 June at the battle of Ligny . Wellington did not order his entire army to Quatre Bras on 16 June either , still suspecting a flanking manoeuvre through Mons . ( He was later to claim doing so in order to cover his misjudgement , although the orders issued and received do not correspond with that claim . ) The headquarters of William , Prince of Orange however decided to ignore Wellington ' s order to assemble Dutch forces in and around Nivelles and instead took the initiative to defend Quatre Bras , where they received substantial aid from the Brunswick ers and Nassau ers . Napoleon ' s original plan for 16 June was based on the assumption that the Coalition forces , who had been caught napping , would not attempt a risky forward concentration ; and he intended therefore to push an advanced guard as far as Gembloux , for the purpose of feeling for and warding off Blücher . To assist this operation the reserve would move at first to Fleurus to reinforce Grouchy , should he need assistance in driving back Blücher ' s troops ; but , once in possession of Sombreffe , Napoleon would swing the reserve westwards and join Ney , who , it was supposed , would have in the meantime mastered Quatre Bras . In pursuance of this object Ney , to whom III Cavalry Corps ( Kellermann ) was now attached , was to mass at Quatre Bras and push an advanced guard northward of that place , with a connecting division at Marbais to link him with Grouchy . The centre and left wing together would then make a night - march to Brussels . The Coalition forces would thus be irremediably sundered , and all that remained would be to destroy them in detail . Napoleon now awaited further information from his wing commanders at Charleroi , where he massed the VI Corps ( Lobau ) , to save it , if possible , from a harassing countermarch , as it appeared likely that it would only be wanted for the march to Brussels . On 15 June as the Prussian I Corps withdrew towards Ligny , there was a danger for the Coalition forces that Ney would be able to advance through Quatre Bras and take his objectives with little or no Coalition opposition . At the Dutch headquarters at Genappe ( about five kilometres ( 3 miles ) from Quatre Bras ) , Major - General Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque , chief of staff to the Prince of Orange , realising the danger ordered Lieutenant - General Hendrik George de Perponcher Sedlnitsky , the commander of the 2nd Dutch Division , to dispatch his 2nd Brigade ( Prince Bernhard of Saxe - Weimar - Eisenach ) to occupy Quatre Bras . The brigade , consisting of two regiments from Nassau , arrived at about 14 : 00 on 15 June . Prince Bernhard deployed before the first French scouts , lancers of the Guard Light Cavalry Division ( Lefebvre - Desnouëtte ) , as they approached Quatre Bras . The lancers were interdicted at Frasnes after which the Nassauers retreated to the Bois de Bossu , a thick patch of forest near Quatre Bras . General Lefebvre - Desnouëtte requested infantry support , but as night was approaching , and his infantry was strung out along Brussels - Charleroi road Ney declined the request deciding to camp for the night and approach Quatre Bras in force the following day . Early on the evening of 15 June instead of obeying Wellington ' s order to concentrate the I Corps at Nivelles , Rebecque ordered 1st Brigade ( Count of Bylandt ) of the 2nd Dutch Division to reinforce Prince Bernhard ' s 2nd Brigade . Ney spent the morning of 16 June in massing his I and II corps , and in reconnoitering the enemy at Quatre Bras , who , as he was informed , had been reinforced . But up till noon he took no serious step to capture the cross - roads , which then lay at his mercy . Grouchy meantime reported from Fleurus that Prussians were coming up from Namur , but Napoleon does not appear to have attached much importance to this report . He was still at Charleroi when , between 09 : 00 and 10 : 00 , further news reached him from the left that considerable hostile forces were visible at Quatre Bras . He at once wrote to Ney saying that these could only be some of Wellington ' s troops , and that Ney was to concentrate his force and crush what was in front of him , adding that he was to send all reports to Fleurus . Then , keeping Lobau provisionally at Charleroi , Napoleon hastened to Fleurus , arriving about 11 : 00 . Combatants . At the beginning of the battle the left wing of the " Armee du Nord " , with 18 , 000 men ( including 2 , 000 cavalry and 32 guns ) under Marshal Michel Ney , faced 8 , 000 infantry and 16 guns , under the command of the William , Prince of Orange . The Dutch ( with the Nassauers of 2nd Brigade ) were thinly deployed south of the crossroads of Quatre Bras . Fresh allied troops started to arrive two hours later , along with Wellington , who took over command of the allied forces . As the day wore on , fresh Dutch , British and Brunswickers arrived faster than fresh French troops ( who eventually numbered about 24 , 000 ) . Battle . Fighting started late in the afternoon on June 15 , when the Elba squadron , a small Polish lancer unit consisting of only 109 men and officers , tried to attack the allied forces from the direction of Frasnes . These forces consisted of the II / 2nd Nassau regiment and Bijlevelds horse artillery . The Dutch and Nassau commanders had taken precaution however , and the Lancers were greeted by canister and volley fire , losing some men and horses before retiring to Frasnes . Patrols were sent out and the positions were kept until the next morning . From 5 AM , there were continuous skirmishes between Allied and French forces , in which no side managed to get an advantage . Some Prussian hussars , cut off from their main body , skirmished with the Red Lancers , but they disengaged after Bijleveldt ' s artillery once again drove the lancers back . Two companies of Nassau infantry advanced towards Frasnes , but this time the French pushed them back . Somewhere after 6 AM , after the Prince of Orange arrived , the skirmishes stopped . The real battle began with the French attack around 14 : 00 hours . Ney massed a battery of 22 guns and started bombarding the Coalition positions . Swarms of skirmishers preceded the French columns as they attacked . The Dutch picket line of the 2nd Division ( Sedlnitsky ) greeted them with musket volleys , but it was outnumbered and those east of the Brussels highway were at once forced back by the mass of men moved against them . The Nassauers of 2nd Brigade ( Prince Bernhard of Saxe - Weimar ) retreated to Grand - Pierrepont farm and Dutch troops of the 1st Brigade ( Bylandt ) to Gemioncourt , but the allies managed , however , to hold the wood . Facing three infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade , the situation became desperate for the 2nd Division . At around 15 : 00 the 5th British Infantry Division ( Picton ) and the 3rd Dutch Light Cavalry Brigade ( Baron van Merlen ) arrived . The Duke of Wellington came back from his meeting with Blücher and took command . He deployed Picton ' s Division on the allied left flank where it stopped the French advance to the east of the road . The fresh French 6th Division ( Prince Jérôme Bonaparte ) arrived on the scene . A fierce fight now broke out all along the line . Picton showing a dauntless front maintained his position , while the French 6th Division were sent against Grand - Pierrepont . The Nassauers were forced to abandon the farm and were driven into the Bossu wood . There they fought from tree to tree , slowing the French advance . At Gemioncourt the Dutch troops were a thorn in the side of the French . The defending battalion of Gemincourt Farm , the 5th National Militia , lost 62 % of its original strength that day . It was driven out by the 4th light and 100th Line regiments , but regrouped north of the farm when the Dutchmen saw the 28th British Foot come to their aid . But this regiment thought the farmhouse was lost and retreated , while the 5th Militia , thinking they were going to get re - enforced , charged the Farmhouse again and drove the French regiments from the surroundings of the farm , but were unable to take the farm itself . The 5th managed to take up position south of the farm , where their Prince joined them . With artillery support , they repulsed the 6th Chasseurs - Au - Cheval and a lancer regiment . The Dutch lost and retook the farm another time , but eventually lost it . By 15 : 00 , the French formed a line between Pierrepoint through Gemioncourt to Piraumont . At 15 : 30 the Dutch 3rd Light Cavalry Brigade ( Merlen ) , led by the Prince of Orange , charged the French line , but were met by French cavalry and were thrown back , but this gave the battered Dutch infantry time to regroup . When the Dutch cavalry brigade disengaged and retired to friendly lines they were shot at by Scottish infantry because their uniforms looked like the French uniforms of the chasseurs à cheval . The Brunswick Corps , under the Duke of Brunswick , now reached the field , but their commander received a mortal wound while leading a charge and the attack failed . At 16 : 15 Ney received Napoleon ' s order , ( despatched at 14 : 00 ) , to attack vigorously . He sent an order to his II Corps ( Honoré Reille ) to attack with more force . On Ney ' s left , Prince Jérôme drove the allies out of the Bossu Wood . French mixed forces advanced almost all the way to the crossroads . Regiments of the British 9th Brigade ( Pack ) — 42nd ( " Black Watch " , Macara ) , 44th ( " East Essex " , Hamerton ) and 92nd ( " Gordon Highlanders " , John Cameron ) — held up against the infantry . French of the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division ( Piré ) counter - attacked and severely mauled the 42nd and 44th before they were driven off . At 17 : 00 the timely arrival of the British 3rd Division ( Alten ) , coming in from Nivelles , tipped the numerical balance back in favour of the allies . At quarter past the hour Ney heard that the French I Corps ( d ' Erlon ) , without his direct order or knowledge , had moved eastwards to assist in the battle of Ligny . Fifteen minutes later at 17 : 30 he received an unclear order from Napoleon to seize Quatre Bras and then turn eastwards to crush Blücher , who was caught at Ligny . Due to the arrival of allied reinforcements Ney realized that he could only capture and hold Quatre Bras with the support of the I Corps and he sent imperative orders to d ' Erlon to return at once . To keep the pressure on Wellington , immediately after sending for d ' Erlon , Ney ordered Kellermann to lead his one available cuirassier brigade and break through Wellington ' s line . Kellermann ' s cuirassiers caught the British 5th Brigade ( Halkett ) — 33rd ( " West Riding " , Knight ) 69th ( " South Lincolnshire " , Morice ) and the 73rd ( Harris ) — in line formation . The 69th were badly mauled losing their King ' s colour , ( the only battalion under Wellington ' s direct command to do so ) ; the 33rd and the 73rd were saved from a similar fate by running for the safety of Bossu Wood where they rallied quickly . The cuirassiers reached the crossroads but were driven back by close range artillery and musket fire . The arrival of the British 1st Infantry Division ( Guards Division , Cooke ) gave Wellington sufficient strength to counter - attack and Jérôme , whose skirmishers were now west of Quatre Bras , was forced to retreat and give up possession of Bossu wood to the British Guards . When the Guards and other allied units emerged from the wood , they were met with heavy fire from French infantry and an attack by 6th Lancer Regiment ( and possibly the 1st Chasseurs ) of the 2nd Cavalry Division ( Piré ) , the Guards were caught in line and forced to flee back into the wood . This cavalry attack and taking the Bossu wood caused high casualties among the British Guards . There was some further skirmishing between allied light companies and the French " voltigeur s " and cavalry screen , but the battle was over . By 21 : 00 , when the fighting stopped , the French had been forced to give up all of their territorial gains . Aftermath . The battle cost Ney 4 , 000 men to Wellington ' s 4 , 800 . Although a tactical draw , the French successfully prevented the allied forces from coming to the aid of the Prussians at the Battle of Ligny . Wellington ' s Anglo - allied army , upon learning of the Prussian defeat , was forced to retreat north along the Brussels road further away from the Prussians , who retreated north - east towards Wavre . There has been much debate of what would have happened if d ' Erlon ' s I Corps had engaged at either Ligny or Quatre Bras . As he did not , Napoleon chose to follow Wellington with the bulk of his forces , and two days later met him at Waterloo .