The Battle of Ligny, fought June 16, 1815, was a French victory under Napoleon against the Prussian army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher in the Napoleonic Wars. It was Napoleon's last victory. Jump to: navigation, search The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Ligny is a village in the municipality of Sombreffe (in the province of Namur), where Napoleon defeated Blücher two days before the battle of Waterloo while Wellington and Marshal Ney were engaged at Quatre Bras. ... Jump to: navigation, search The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... Jump to: navigation, search Napoleon I of France, by Jacques-Louis David Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution, and the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, then... Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (December 16, 1742 in Rostock (Mecklenburg) - September 12, 1819 in Krieblowitz (Silesia) (now Krobielowice in Poland)), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian general who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of... For information about the legislative programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt, see New Deal. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought between contingents of the Anglo-allied army and the left wing of the French Army on June 16, 1815, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras, in Belgium. ... Jump to: navigation, search Map of the Waterloo campaign The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonapartes last battle. ... Battle of Wavre Conflict Napoleonic Wars Date June 18, 1815 – June 19, 1815 Place Wavre, Belgium Result French tactical victory, Prussian strategic victory The Battle of Wavre was a battle of the War of the Seventh Coalition, the last of the Napoleonic Wars. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Napoleon I of France, by Jacques-Louis David Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution, and the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from 11 November 1799 to 18 May 1804, then... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prusai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (December 16, 1742 in Rostock (Mecklenburg) - September 12, 1819 in Krieblowitz (Silesia) (now Krobielowice in Poland)), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian general who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of... Jump to: navigation, search The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought during Napoleon Bonapartes rule over France. ...

Ground

The Prussians had deployed along the Ligny Brook. They held all the farmhouses, and looked in a good defensive position with most of their advance forces in cover. In fact the Prussian three Army Corps' positions were so good, that Napoleon at first had been deceived thinking he'd encountered only one Prussian Army Corps. However, Blücher had overstretched his left flank, and exposed his right to the French artillery. According to Prussian sources he had done so expecting Wellington to come to aid his right flank. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (December 16, 1742 in Rostock (Mecklenburg) - September 12, 1819 in Krieblowitz (Silesia) (now Krobielowice in Poland)), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian general who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of...

Map of the Waterloo campaign

Download high resolution version (800x910, 42 KB)Map of force movements and major engagements during the Waterloo Campaign, June 15-18, 1815. ... Download high resolution version (800x910, 42 KB)Map of force movements and major engagements during the Waterloo Campaign, June 15-18, 1815. ...

Battle

Between 1430 hours to 1500 hours, Napoleon started his attack. He ordered his 3rd and a some of 2nd Corps to attack St. Amaund, a farmhouse, and attacked Ligny itself. For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

The first attacks on Ligny were not successful at first, but the French eventually got through. The St. Amaund attack was more successful. The French broke through after likewise vicious and ferocious fighting, but were still resisted by the Prussians. They forced the Prussians to abandon their positions at around 1700 hours but failed to push on.

Some troops were spotted on approaching the French left flank. Napoleon paused his attack while he sent an aides-de-camp (ADC) to see whether they were French or Prussian. They turned out to be French, d'Erlon's 1st Corps. But just as they were about to enter the battle, to the Napoleon's rage, they turned around. Marshal Ney had called them to aid him at the Battle of Quatre Bras. In the end, the 1st Corp's did not fight in either engagement. Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Count dErlon (July 29, 1765-January 25, 1844) was a marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleons army, who commanded the French 1st Corps at the battle of Waterloo. ... Jump to: navigation, search Michel Ney, Marshal of France Michel Ney (January 10, 1769 – December 7, 1815) called Le Rougeaud (the ruddy) and le Brave des Braves (the bravest of the brave) was a marshal of the French army who fought in the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought between contingents of the Anglo-allied army and the left wing of the French Army on June 16, 1815, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras, in Belgium. ...

Due to the confusion, it was about an hour before Napoleon resumed his attack, in the mean while the Prussians regrouped and tried one last counterattack. It didn't work. In the end the Prussians were routed and the centre fled when Napoleon committed his Imperial Guard to smash it, however the stubborn defence put up by the two wings of the Prussian army and a ferocious cavalry charge lead by Blücher prevented it from becoming a total rout. By nightfall, at about 2100, almost all of the Prussian formations had left the field. On the Prussian right Lieutenant-General Ziethen's I Corps retreated slowly with most of its artillery, leaving a rearguard at close to Brye to slow the French pursuit. On the left Lieutenant-General Thielemann's III Corps retreated unharmed, leaving a strong rearguard at Sombreffe. The bulk of the rearguard held their positions until about midnight before following the rest of the retreating army. In fact some Prussian outmost rearguards only left the battlefield in the early morning of 17 June as the exhausted french had failed to pursue victory and press on. It was to the honour of General von Gneisenau's excellent staff, that Prussian forces were directed towards Wavre, a position that would allow the Prussians to come to Wellington's aid on 18 June and subsequently swing the outcome of the campaign into their favour. This turned the tactical defeat at Ligny into a strategic victory. Napoleon ordered Grouchy to follow the Prussians on 17 June. Grouchy, misled by contingents of Prussian stragglers, believed that they had followed their "natural" line of retreat towards Namur and Aachen. When he learned of the fact, that instead the Prussians were ordered to rally in and around Wavre, it was too late. An imperial guard describes any group of military bodyguard or retainers responsible for the protection of an imperial person, be they an Emperor, Empress or Imperial Prince or Princess. ... Jump to: navigation, search Johann Adolf, freiherr von Thielmann (1765-1824), Prussian cavalry soldier, was born at Dresden. ... Sombreffe is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ...

Conclusion

If Ney's 2nd Corps and 3rd Cavalry Corps had not blocked the Allied army at Battle of Quatre Bras on the same day, then units of the Allied army would have arrived down the Nivelles-Namur road on the right hand side of the Prussian position much as the Prussians arrived on the left flank of the Allied lines at the Battle of Waterloo two days later. This is why Napoleon sent Ney to block the road at the Quatre Bras cross roads. It had been his strategy to cross the border in secret and attack the Allied armies before they could combine, because if they combined then they would outnumber his army. If he was able to engage them separately then his army outnumbered theirs in the individual engagements. In Wellington's words "he [has] humbugged me". In driving the Prussians back onto their lines of communications and sending Grouchy's with a corps to pursue them, to stop them reforming and coming to the aid of Wellington's allied formations, he judged that he had done enough to prevent this happening. Jump to: navigation, search The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought between contingents of the Anglo-allied army and the left wing of the French Army on June 16, 1815, near the crossroads of Quatre Bras, in Belgium. ... Jump to: navigation, search Map of the Waterloo campaign The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, was Napoleon Bonapartes last battle. ... Quatre Bras is the name of a crossroads in Belgium where the Charleroi-Brussels Road and the Nivelles-Namur Road. ... Emmanuel, Marquis de Grouchy, Marshal of France Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy (October 23, 1766 – May 29, 1847), marshal of France, was born in Paris. ...

There has been much debate of what would have happened if d'Erlon's 1st Corps had engaged at either Ligny or Quatre Bras, but he did not and Napoleon went on to his meet his destiny at Waterloo. Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Count dErlon (July 29, 1765-January 25, 1844) was a marshal of France and a soldier in Napoleons army, who commanded the French 1st Corps at the battle of Waterloo. ...

See also

• Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign

Jump to: navigation, search This is the complete order of battle for the Battle of Waterloo. ...

Further reading

• 1815, The Waterloo Campaign Wellington, his German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras by Peter Hofschroer

External links

• Battle of Ligny
• Battle of Ligny - The Prussians Stand Alone
• Organization of the French army at Ligny
• French order of battle (in French)
• Prussian order of battle (in German)