Editing Battle of Ligny (section)

===Saint-Amand===
Napoleon delayed his attack until about 14:30 when he heard cannon fire coming from the direction of [[Quatre Bras]], and thus knew that his left flank was secure. This delay also gave Gérard's IV Corps more time to deploy as it had only recently arrived in Fleurus from the south-west, and had an important role to play in Napoleon's plan of attack on Ligny. Both delays meant that there was less time to win a decisive victory before night fell.

Napoleon began the attack with a cannonade by the Guards artillery positioned around Fleurus. Shortly afterwards Vandamme's III French Corps (Girard's 7th Infantry Division attached on its left) attacked the hamlet of Saint-Amand-la-Haye. [[Bearbeiten von Christian Friedrich Wilhelm von Jagow|Jagow's]] 3rd Prussian Brigade, defending Saint-Amand-la-Haye, could not withstand the pressure of Lefol's 8th Division and was forced to retreat. Shortly afterwards a counterattack by General Steinmetz with six battalions of the 1st Brigade recaptured the hamlet. A renewed attack by Vandamme's troops led to a bitter fight in which the Prussians lost approximately 2,500 men and possession of Saint-Amand-la-Haye.

With the loss of Saint-Amand-la-Haye, Blücher's right flank threatened to give way, so he ordered Pirch II's 2nd Prussian Brigade to retake Saint-Amand-la-Haye. Although Girard was mortally wounded (dying in Paris on 25 June of his wounds) the French held the hamlet, so Blücher ordered [[Ernst Ludwig von Tippelskirch|Tippelskirch]] to [[envelop]] the French with an attack by units of the II Corps on the left flank of the hamlet. French reinforcements (Vandamme's III Corps) deployed in front of Wagnelée prevented this happening, attacking Tippelskirch's brigades as they marched out of the grain fields to get into position for their attack. They were driven into the hamlet.<!-- Check accuracy of contraction.-->

Blücher left his observation post in the windmill of Brye and intervened personally in the fight. Under his guidance, the Prussian counter-attack on the French, very weak from the preceding actions, succeeded, and Saint-Amand-la-Haye was again in Prussian hands. Thus at 19:00 Saint-Amand, Saint-Amand-la-Haye and Wagnelée were still held by the Prussians.