An Historical Sketch of the Campaign of 1815: Illustrated by Plans of the Operations and of the Battles of Quatre Bras, Ligny, and Waterloo [Second Edition]

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Text originally published in 1820 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2016, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815,

ILLUSTRATED BY

PLANS OF THE OPERATIONS

AND OF THE BATTLES OF QUATRE BRAS, LIGNY, AND WATERLOO

BY

CAPTAIN BATTY,

OF THE FIRST OR GRENADIER GUARDS; MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL RUSSIAN ORDER OF ST. ANNE

I Romani dubitando meno dei periooli par gli ordini loio buoni, non diffidando della vittoria, fermi ed ostinati combattevano col medesimo aiihno e con la medesimavirtunel fine, che nel principio.

Macihiavelli, Discorsii, Libra Terzo, Cap. xxvi.

SECOND EDITION, CONSIDERABLY ENLARGED.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

DEDICATION 4

PREFACE. 5

ERRATA. 6

MAPS 7

HISTORICAL SKETCH CAMPAIGN OF 1815. 25

ARMY OF THE NETHERLANDS, COMMANDED BY F. M. H. G. THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 31

PRUSSIAN ARMY OF THE LOWER RHINE, COMMANDED BY F. M. H. H. PRINCE BLÜCHER. 33

AUSTRIAN ARMY OF THE RHINE, COMMANDED BY F. M. PRINCE SCHWARTZENBERG 33

THE BAVARIAN ARMY, COMMANDED BY PRINCE WREDE 34

THE RUSSIAN ARMY, COMMANDED BY F. M. BARCLAY DE TOLLY 34

THE AUSTRO ITALIAN ARMY, COMMANDED IN CHIEF BY BARON FRIMONT 34

BATTLE OF QUATRE BRAS. 43

BATTLE OF LIGNY. 46

BATTLE OF WATERLOO. 53

GROUCHY’S OPERATIONS 67

APPENDIX. 73

No. I.—Declaration. 73

No. II.—Copie d’une Lettre dit Prince de Talleyrand au Lord Vicomte Castlereagh, datée de Vienne du 15 Décembre, 1814. 75

No. III.—Proclamation of Murat to the Italians. 77

No. IV.(a) – Army of the Netherlands 79

No. IV.(b) – Table of Troops assembled at Quatre Bras 80

No. IV.(c) – Table of Troops assembled at Quatre Bras 83

No. V. (a) —A Table of the French Forces 86

No. V (b) — French Forces at Quatre Bras 89

No. V (d) — French Forces at Waterloo 90

No. VI.—Proclamation of Napoleon to the French Army. 91

No. VII.—Ordre Du Jour. 92

No. VIII.—Ordre Du Mouvement. 95

No. IX. — A.M. Le Maréchal Comte de Grouchy 99

No. X.—A M. Le Comte Gérard. 101

No. XI—A M. Le Comte Vandamme. 102

No. XII. (a). 103

No. XII.(B.)—Orders to Marshal Ney. 104

No. XIII.—Orders to Marshal Ney 105

No. XIV.—Col. Ponsonby’s account of the attack made by his regiment at Waterloo by Samuel Rogers Esq. 106

No. XV.—Au Maréchal Grouchy. 109

No. XVI.—Au Maréchal Grouchy. 110

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 111

DEDICATION

TO

HIS EXCELLENCY

COUNT MICHEL WORONZOW,

Lieutenant-General of the Imperial Russian Army; Aide-de-camp to H. M. the Emperor of all the Russias; Knight of the Order of St. Alexander of the First Class, of the Order of St. George of the Second Class, of St. Wladimir of the First Class, of St. Anne of the First Class; Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, of the Order of St. Louis of the First Class, of the Swedish Order of the Sword, of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, of the Imperial Austrian Order of Maria Theresa,

&C., &C., &C.

THIS HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

as a small tribute to his distinguished talents, and great private worth; and as an expression of the gratification and instruction derived by the author, whilst attached to his personal staff, during the period he commanded the Russian army of occupation in France; also, as a mark of the pride he feels in being honoured by his friendship, and as a testimonial of grateful remembrance of the many great obligations conferred by him, on

his most devoted servant,

ROBERT BATTY.

London

April 15, 1830.

PREFACE.

DURING the interval which has elapsed since the campaign of 1815, the author, whilst attached to the staff of His Excellency Lieutenant-General Count Woronzow, had frequent opportunities of making inquiries, and collecting information respecting its different occurrences: this he has done with the desire of gaining professional knowledge aware that a single military operation well examined and understood, would afford more useful information than the study of theoretical works. He has had the good fortune to become acquainted with officers of high merit in both contending armies, whose observations have been carefully stored, and he has subsequently employed his leisure moments in arranging these materials, and incorporating them with the account of the campaign he had already published in 1815.

In all military narratives much detail about positions and corps is almost inevitable, for without this, only a very imperfect notion can be attained of the contests to which they refer, and the author is aware of the difficulty he encounters in publishing this narrative, which is unusually replete with them. But on the other hand, he feels confident, that there are many, especially military men, who will consider them as vouchers for the accuracy of his account, and he has therefore not hesitated to embody them in the work, throughout which the strictest attention has been paid to placing the several events in as fair and impartial a light as possible.

The Plans originally published were made from sketches taken on the spot, and from memoranda made during the actions. Plans of the invasions of Italy and France, and of the battle of Ligny, have been added; and although they are far from being as complete as could be wished, they will assist in some degree, the intelligence of the operations: but it is requested that it may be borne in mind that all the plans are intended to convey an idea of the chief character, and not to give the minute detail of the various events of each battle.

ERRATA.

All the errata have been fixed in this edition—PP.

MAPS

HISTORICAL SKETCH CAMPAIGN OF 1815.

The treaty of Paris, in 1814, had traced the outline of the political relationship of the European States, but the claims of the several powers were yet to be discussed in the congress of Vienna, which, after long and anxious expectation, was opened in the month of October, 1814. The various interests of the different cabinets were so difficult to adjust, that nearly six months elapsed from that period, without any important result being announced: the armies of the several states had been retained upon a war establishment, and the probability of a durable peace seemed nearly as far removed as at the commencement of the discussions.

It was at this period that Napoleon, aware of the discussions at Vienna, and of the political and discontented state of France, assembled his faithful followers on the 25th of Feb. 1815, and announcing his intended return to France, immediately embarked and set sail. His arrival in the Gulf of Juan, and landing on the 1st of March, with his triumphant progress to the capital, which he reached on the 20th of the same month, are too well-known to require a fresh detail. The news of this event spread with the utmost rapidity over all Europe, and the alarm which it occasioned in the congress of Vienna contributed materially to shorten its deliberations. The allied sovereigns deemed the maintenance of peace, and of the independence of their states impossible, whilst the dynasty of Napoleon possessed the throne of France. His overthrow was therefore determined on, and a declaration{1}to this effect was made public soon after the news of his landing had reached Vienna.

France, again menaced with invasion, left no means untried to maintain peace, but every offer was rejected; war therefore was inevitable, and much as she had been weakened by her former campaigns the eagerness with which her soldiers, of almost every class, flocked to the imperial standard, and the enthusiasm with which the return of Napoleon had been hailed, united to the extreme activity displayed by his executive government in organizing a system of national defence, made it evident that nothing less than a force superior to that of all France could accomplish his deposition.

England, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, as well as the minor states of Germany, began to make preparations for the accomplishment of their declared purpose. Troops from the remotest part of the Austrian dominions successively arrived at Vienna, and on the 2nd of April began their march towards the Rhine. The Russian armies, scarce arrived on their own frontiers, received orders to return, and the numerous columns of that vast empire again traversed the whole of Germany. The Prussian army began to assemble on the banks of the Meuse and the Moselle, and the small English corps which had remained in Belgium since the campaign of the former year received reinforcements with a rapidity which must have astonished all Europe. Bavaria, and the minor states of Germany, alike assembled their forces, and it was calculated that by the end of May near five hundred thousand men might be collected on the French frontier.

The rash attempt of Murat against the north of Italy creating at this period the powerful diversion of near a hundred and twenty thousand Austrian troops from marching immediately against France, renders a cursory view of the chief