Editing Battle of Ligny

{{Short description|1815 battle during the War of the Seventh Coalition}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict             = Battle of Ligny
| partof               = the [[Hundred Days|War of the Seventh Coalition]]
| image                = Crofts Ernest The Battle Of Ligny.jpg
| caption              =''Ligny'' by [[Ernest Crofts]] (1875). This representation of the battle shows Napoleon surrounded by his staff surveying the battlefield while columns of infantry advance to the front. The windmill is probably that on the heights of Naveau, which served as Napoleon's command post during the battle.{{sfn|Franklin|2015|p=94}}
| date                 = 16 June 1815
| place                = [[Ligny]], [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]]
| coordinates          = {{Coord|50.52027|N|4.58140|E}}
| map_type             = 
| map_relief           = 
| map_size             = 
| map_caption          = 
| result               = French victory
| territory            =
| combatant1           = {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[First French Empire|France]]
| combatant2           = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
| commander1           = {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]<br/>{{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult|Jean-de-Dieu Soult]]<br/>{{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy|Emmanuel de Grouchy]]<br/>{{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Antoine Drouot]]<br/>{{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Dominique Vandamme]]<br/>{{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Étienne Maurice Gérard]]
| commander2           = {{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Gebhard von Blücher]]{{WIA}}<br/>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[August Neidhardt von Gneisenau|Graf von Gneisenau]]<br/>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Hans Ernst Karl, Graf von Zieten|Graf von Zieten]]<br/>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch|Ludwig von Pirch]]<br/>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} [[Johann von Thielmann]]
| strength1            = 62,882{{sfn|Leggiere|2016|p=370}}{{Efn|
* 58,000{{sfn|Chandler|2009|p=1044}}
* 62,882{{sfn|Leggiere|2016|p=370}}
* 68,000{{sfn|Pigeard|2004|p=475}}
* 76,800{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}
}} <br /> 210 cannons{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}
| strength2            = 83,417{{sfn|Leggiere|2016|p=370}}{{Efn|
* 84,000{{sfn|Pigeard|2004|p=475}}{{sfn|Chandler|2009|p=1044}}
* 86,569{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}}}<br />224 cannons{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}
| casualties1          = 8,300–12,000 killed, wounded or captured{{Efn|
* 8,300 to 9,100{{sfn|Hussey|2017|p=539}}
* 11,500{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}
* 12,000{{Sfn|Rothenberg|1978|p=253}}
}}
| casualties2          =16,000 killed or wounded{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}<br/>8,000 captured or missing{{sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=183}}<br/>21 guns lost{{Sfn|Rothenberg|1978|p=253}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Waterloo}}
{{OSM Location map
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|     width = 304
|     height = 160
| title = [[Hundred Days]]:<br>[[Waterloo campaign]]
| caption = {{legend|black|current battle}}{{legend|maroon|Napoleon in command}}{{legend|navy|Napoleon not in command}}

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| label1 = Elba
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|42.78|10.29}}
| mark-title1 = [[Napoleon#Exile to Elba|Exile_to_Elba]] <br>from 30 May 1814 to 26 February 1815

| label2 = Paris
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|48.86|2.35}}
| mark-title2 = [[Champ de Mai]] <br>on 1 June 1815

| label3 = 
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|50.57|4.45}}
| mark-title3 = [[Battle of Quatre Bras]] <br>on 16 June 1815

| label4 =
| mark-coord4 = {{coord|50.52|4.58}}
| mark-title4 = Battle of Ligny <br>on 16 June 1815
| label-color4 = black
| shape-color4 = black

| label5 =
| mark-coord5 = {{coord|50.72|4.6}}
| mark-title5 = [[Battle of Wavre]] <br>from 18 to 19 June 1815

| label6 = Waterloo
| mark-coord6 = {{coord|50.68|4.41}}
| mark-title6 = [[Battle of Waterloo]] <br>on 18 June 1815
| shape-color6 = maroon
| label-color6 = maroon

| label7 = Rochefort
| mark-coord7 = {{coord|45.94|-0.96}}
| mark-title7 = [[Frederick Lewis Maitland#Helenaincampaignwaterloo|Surrender of Napoleon]] <br>on 15 July 1815

| label8 = Saint Helena
| mark-coord8 = {{coord|-15.97|-5.7}}
| mark-title8 = [[Napoleon#Exile on Saint Helena|Exile on Saint Helena]] <br>Napoleon died on 5 May 1821
}}
The '''Battle of Ligny''', in which French troops of the {{lang|fr|[[Armée du Nord]]}} under the command of [[Napoleon I]] defeated part of a [[Prussia]]n army under [[Field Marshal]] [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher|Blücher]], was fought on 16 June 1815 near [[Ligny]] in what is now Belgium. The result was a tactical victory for the French, but the bulk of the Prussian army survived the battle in good order, was reinforced by Prussian troops who had not fought at Ligny, and played a role two days later at the [[Battle of Waterloo]]. Ligny was the last victory in [[Military career of Napoleon|Napoleon's military career]].

==Prelude==
[[File:Waterloo Campaign map-alt3.svg|thumb|Map of the '''Waterloo''' campaign]]
{{Main|Waterloo Campaign}}
On 13 March 1815, six days before Napoleon reached [[Paris]], the powers at the [[Congress of Vienna]] declared him an [[outlaw]];{{sfn|Price|2014}} four days later, the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Austrian Empire|Austria]], and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] bound themselves to put 150,000 men each into the field to end his rule. Napoleon knew that once his attempts at dissuading one or more of the [[Seventh Coalition]] Allies from invading France had failed, his only chance of remaining in power was to attack before the Coalition could put together an overwhelming force. If he could destroy the existing Coalition forces south of Brussels before they were reinforced, he might be able to drive the British back to the sea and knock the Prussians out of the war.
The [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] expected Napoleon to try to envelop the Coalition armies, a maneuver that he had successfully used many times before,{{sfn|Chandler|2009|p=172}} by moving through [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] to the south-west of Brussels. The roads to Mons were paved, which would have enabled a rapid flank march. This would have cut Wellington's communications with his base at [[Ostend]], but would also have pushed his army closer to Blücher's. In fact, Napoleon planned instead to divide the two Coalition armies and defeat them separately, and he encouraged Wellington's misapprehension with false intelligence. Moving up to the frontier without alerting the Coalition, Napoleon divided his army into three elements which remained close enough to support one another: a left wing commanded by [[Marshal Ney]], a right wing commanded by [[Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy|Marshal Grouchy]], and a reserve, which he commanded personally. Crossing the frontier at [[Thuin]] near [[Charleroi]] before dawn on 15 June, the French rapidly overran Coalition outposts and secured Napoleon's favored "[[Strategy of the central position|central position]]" at the junction between the area where Wellington's allied army was dispersed to his north-west, and Blücher's Prussian army to the north-east.

[[File:Intelligence of the Battle of Ligny.jpg|thumb|left|A Prussian officer informs the Duke of Wellington{{snd}}who was attending the [[Duchess of Richmond's ball]]{{snd}}that the French have crossed the border at Charleroi and that the Prussians would concentrate their army at Ligny.]]
Only very late on the night of 15 June was Wellington certain that the Charleroi attack was the main French thrust, and he duly ordered his army to deploy near [[Nivelles]] and [[Quatre Bras]].{{sfn|Corrigan|2006|p=299}} Early on the morning of 16 June, at the [[Duchess of Richmond's ball]], on receiving a dispatch from the [[William II of the Netherlands|Prince of Orange]], he was shocked by the speed of Napoleon's advance, and hastily sent his army in the direction of Quatre Bras, where the Prince of Orange, with the brigade of [[Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1792–1862)|Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar]], was holding a tenuous position against the French left commanded by Marshal Ney.{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=508}} Ney's orders were to secure the crossroads of Quatre Bras so that if necessary he could later swing east and reinforce Napoleon.

As Napoleon considered the concentrated Prussian army the greater threat, he moved against them first. Lieutenant-General [[Hans Ernst Karl Graf von Zieten|Zieten's]] I Corps rearguard action on 15 June held up the French advance, allowing Blücher to concentrate his forces in the Sombreffe position, which had been selected earlier for its good defensive attributes.

Napoleon's original plan for 16 June was based on the assumption that the Coalition forces, which had been caught napping, would not attempt a risky forward concentration, and he intended, therefore, to push an advance guard as far as [[Gembloux]], to feel for and ward 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.{{sfn|Beck|1911|p=375}}

In pursuance of this object Ney, to whom III Cavalry Corps ([[François Étienne de Kellermann|Kellermann]]) was now attached, was to mass at Quatre Bras and push an advanced guard {{convert|10|km|mi}}  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 ([[Georges Mouton, Count de Lobau|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. Ney spent the morning in massing his I and II corps, and in reconnoitring 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 crossroads, 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.{{sfn|Beck|1911|p=375}}

==Armies==
[[File:Frz-Gardekuerassier.png|thumb|upright|French [[cuirassier]] officer]]
{{See also|Ligny order of battle|Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign}}

The French ''Armee du Nord'' (Army of the North) was commanded by veteran officers and headed by Napoleon himself, who had won dozens of battles.  Directly under him were three [[Marshal of the Empire|Marshals]], Grouchy, Ney, and [[Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult|Soult]], all generals of renown and bravery. The corps and division generals were well known for ability and with several campaigns behind them.  The troops of the Army of the North were, for the most part, experienced veterans who had seen at least one battle.  While the mix of veterans was higher than in either of the other armies, many of the troops had never worked with one another before nor under their officers.  Trust in one another and their officers was therefore in short supply. For all that we may count the veterans, it was noted that there were many in the French formations that had never been under fire.  In the words of Henri Houssaye, "Napoleon had never held in his hand an instrument so fearsome or fragile". In equipment and supply, the French were well set with both, although the Guard units had to suffer standard weapons, and the Army of the North had more cavalry than their opponents throughout the four days of battle that would follow and end at Waterloo.

By contrast, the Prussian Army was, at this point, in a state of disorganization and rebuilding.  According to historian Peter Hofschröer "The armed forces fielded by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 were in terms of quality of manpower, equipment, and coherence of organization probably the worst fielded by Prussia in the Revolutionary and [[Napoleonic Wars]]."{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=59}} The Prussian cavalry was reorganizing and converting the Freecorps and Legions into regular cavalry formations.  The artillery was lacking guns and needed equipment and guns and equipment continued to arrive from Prussia even as the battles were raging.  No less than one-third of the Prussian Infantry consisted of ''Landwehr'' (militia) and, unlike the ''Landwehr'' of 1813/1814, these were untrained.  Hofschröer says that "they could be counted to go forward in disorder and retreat in chaos".{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=251}} To further compound the Prussians' problems, the [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxon]] and [[Rhineland|Rhinelander]] contingents were recent additions to the Prussian Army and, having been until recently part of the French Army, they were reluctant to participate. Some Saxons rebelled and were sent home before the French advanced, and many of the Rhinelanders would also desert and head home during the battle.{{sfn|Haythornthwaite|2007|pp=178-179}}

==Prussian preparations==
The Prussians were not caught napping and set up a series of artillery/cavalry outposts whereby the cavalry patrolled the front and raced back to the artillery which would fire cannon in a prearranged signal.  In this way, the thinly stretched 1st and 2nd Brigades were promptly alerted and began rapid assembly.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|pp=126–127}}  General Zieten's I Corps began a difficult fighting withdrawal, <!-- fighting retreat? --> giving time for the Prussian Army to assemble.
The post chain was a relay of towns, each set up as a fortified village.  Each was commanded by a Prussian officer who made sure that the post kept enough horses, forage, and troops to move messages efficiently along.  Also, these posts served as intelligence posts where surveillance would take place, stragglers would be collected, and wandering civilians would be closely questioned.  A posted chain was set up back to Blücher's command post so that the Headquarters was alerted from the time of the first French deployment.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=131}}  General Steinmetz' 1st brigade of the I Corps had been very active in touring his outposts on 12 May, 17 May, 21 May, and 9 June.<!-- Which General Steinmetz [[Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz]] or his elder brother? -- needs fixing in the OOB as well-->  Out posting and intelligence collection were given proper weight.

Reports sent back to General Steinmetz indicated that an attack was seen as imminent as soon as 12 June.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=133}}
During the period of 12 June through to 14 June reports were sent by the I Corps brigade commanders and General Zieten himself to General Blücher and General Wellington.  Also, communications were made with the Dutch cavalry adjoining I Corps position to the west. Notably, General Steinmetz ordered his brigade to assemble for defense on the night of 13 June and General [[Otto Karl Lorenz von Pirch|Pirch II]]{{efn|name="pirch"|"'Pirch I', the use of Roman numerals being used in Prussian service to distinguish officers of the same name, in this case from his brother, seven years his junior, Otto Karl Lorenz 'Pirch II'"}}{{sfn|victorian|2007}} on the morning of the 14th, so thick was French deployments to their front.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|pp=133–135}} The first French attacks were to take place on 15 June.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=135}}

==Converging towards battle==
{{Main|Waterloo Campaign: Start of hostilities (15 June)}}
[[File:Ligny-Karte.png|frameless|upright=1.35|right]]
On 15 June Napoleon had crossed the [[Sambre]] at Charleroi and had pushed a wedge between Wellington and Blücher.{{sfn|Esdaile|2016}} His army was divided into three parts: on the left-wing one corps and two cavalry divisions stood under the command of Marshal Ney, on the right-wing two cavalry corps under Marshal Grouchy and in the centre three corps (including the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]]) and [[Édouard Jean-Baptiste Milhaud|Milhaud's]] IV Cavalry Corps ([[cuirassier]]s) as a heavy cavalry reserve under the command of Napoleon. Napoleon's most important goal consisted of keeping the two opposing armies separated and striking each individually. For this purpose, Ney would move against the Anglo-allies on Quatre Bras and hold Wellington's forces there. At the same time the French III Corps under [[Dominique Vandamme|Vandamme]] and IV Corps under [[Étienne Maurice Gérard|Gérard]] would attack the Prussians frontally on their line of defense between [[Wagnelée]], [[Saint-Amand, Fleurus|Saint-Amand]] and [[Ligny]], while Grouchy marched on [[Sombreffe]]. Vandamme's corps was reinforced by [[Jean-Baptiste Girard (soldier)|General Girard]]'s 7th Infantry Division, detached from [[Honoré Charles Reille|Reille's]] II Corps, the bulk of which was at Quatre Bras. Napoleon wanted to advance in the centre of the Prussian position at [[Fleurus]] and decide the battle with a final advance by the [[Old Guard (France)|Old Guard]].  The plan of separation of opposing armies and defeat in detail was an old and favored stratagem of Napoleon's, dating back to his operations in Italy, and had been the deciding factor in his campaigns in Austria, and in his battles with the [[Fifth Coalition]].

Blücher's troops consisted of the I Prussian Corps under [[Hans Ernst Karl, Graf von Zieten|Zieten]], the II Corps under [[George Dubislaw Ludwig von Pirch|Pirch I]]{{efn|name="pirch"}} and the III Corps under [[Johann von Thielmann|Thielmann]]. The I Corps was located in the foremost row and had support from the II Corps standing behind it – the task, the defence of the villages of Ligny, [[Brye]], and Saint-Amand, while the III Corps formed the left wing and the routes of withdrawal while defending [[Gembloux]] and [[Namur]]. Blücher and Wellington had to avoid above all being separated. Still in the morning of the battle Wellington rode to a meeting with Blücher at the windmill of Brye (or Bussy) and promised Blücher the support of at least one Anglo-allied corps.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|p=334}} After the break for discussion with Blücher, Wellington left for Quatre Bras.

[[William Siborne]], writing from eyewitness accounts, records it thus: 
{{blockquote| "Upon a calculation being made, however, of the time which would elapse ere the Duke would be able to collect the requisite force for undertaking this operation, and of the possibility of Blucher being defeated before it could be carried into effect, it was considered preferable that Wellington should, if practicable, move to the support of the Prussian Right by the Namur road. But a direct support of this kind was necessarily contingent on circumstances, and subject to the Duke's discretion. The latter having expressed his confident expectation of being enabled to afford the desired support, as also of his succeeding in concentrating, very shortly, a sufficient force to assume the offensive, rode back to Quatre Bras."{{sfn|Siborne|1848|p=136}}}}

In reaction to the troop movements of the French, II and III Corps began sending reinforcements to I Corps under General Ziethen. The Prussian front lines were too long for the troops immediately available and were dependent on the arrival of the IV Corps under [[Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow|Bülow]] advancing from [[Liège]] and the support of the promised Anglo-allied corps.

The Prussians now faced the French with 82,700 troops, with the French Army numbering around 60,800 available troops.{{sfn|Hofschröer|1999|pp=370, 378}}

==Battlefield==
[[File:Ligny-Detail.png|frameless|upright=1.35|right]]
The battlefield of Ligny was on the watershed between the rivers [[Scheldt]] and [[Meuse]]. The Ligny stream rises to the west of [[Fleurus]] and meanders in a northeast direction through the small village of Ligny to the confluence at Sombreffe. The stream was only a few metres wide at its edges, however, it was swampy in parts so that the bridges at [[Saint-Amand, Fleurus|Saint-Amand]] and Ligny were strategically important. This dictated that villages of Ligny, and St Amand and [[Wagnelée]] – connected by the hamlets of Saint Amand-le-Hameau and Saint Amand-la-Haye – were the best defensive position because they were sturdily built and surrounded by trees. The remaining parts of the battlefield consisted of fields of grain as high as a man.  The windmill of Brye on a hill north-west from Ligny was a suitable vantage point and Blücher made it his headquarters during the battle. Napoleon placed his headquarters in Fleurus, where he also had a good view of the battlefield from the windmill of Naveau.

==Battle==
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2013}}
[[File:Battle of Ligny, 16 June 1815 (Alison).jpg|thumb|300px|Map of the Battle of Ligny, 16 June 1815 (''Atlas to Alison's history of Europe'')]]

===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.

===Ligny===
At 15:00 Gérard's IV French Corps opened the battle around Ligny. Under heavy Prussian artillery fire [[Marc Nicolas Louis Pécheux|Pécheux's]] 12th Infantry Division succeeded in capturing the church in the village of Ligny.  With this success, however, came a price as the division now found itself under a violent bombardment from three sides.  In a short time, Pécheux's division lost 20 officers and 500 men and had to withdraw.  Napoleon sent a battery of 12-pounders to support another attack and with the IV Corps artillery set numerous buildings in Ligny aflame. Another attack followed with vicious [[urban warfare|house-to-house fighting]], then Jagow's 3rd Prussian Brigade counter-attacked and recaptured the town.

The Prussian second lieutenant, Gerhard Andreas von Garrelts, later gave an eye-witness account of the agonies of the Belgian civilian population, caught unexpectedly in the centre of battle:

{{Blockquote|Ligny stood half on fire, locked in bright flames [...] on this occasion we found we were in a house, where all windows were destroyed, two old people, a man and a woman, showing no emotion and dazed sat at the hearth, without moving, his elbows on his knees and his head supported by his hands; the vision made us cry! Probably they had seen armed combat and were not surprised, how else could they distance themselves with death so near; we too were familiar with death, we felt compassion for these old people, but they could not be convinced to move from their home.| Gerhard Andreas von Garrelts.{{sfn|Garrelts|1856|p=172}} }}

===Missed chance===
At about 17:00 Field-Marshal Blücher employed the still-fresh II Corps under the command of General Pirch I and ordered him to deploy it into the area south of Brye. At about the same time Vandamme on the left French flank sighted a force of twenty to thirty thousand men advancing on Fleurus, which he incorrectly took to be enemy troops. Napoleon, who was preparing to launch a crucial attack at the centre of Blücher's line, was very surprised by this news because at 15:30 he had sent [[Charles de la Bédoyère|Comte de la Bédoyère]] with a written note to Marshal Ney at Quatre Bras ordering him to send [[Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon|d'Erlon's]] I Corps to attack the rear of the right Prussian flank. Instead, it seemed that the troops seen by Vandamme threatened the French left flank.

D'Erlon had gone on ahead of his corps (marching west towards Quatre Bras) to reconnoitre. Bédoyère, realising that time was of the essence, had on his initiative ordered the I Corps to turn east towards Ligny. Its leading elements came into view at 17:00, that is to say, earlier than Napoleon expected. Marshal Ney, unaware of Napoleon's instructions, sent an order to d'Erlon to immediately turn around and march back towards Quatre Bras. D'Erlon, who had caught up with his troops, turned them around only a few kilometres away from Ligny. Crucially, the I Corps did not fight in either battle that day.

Blücher took advantage of the hesitation of the French by ordering an attack on the French left flank. From his observation post in the mill of Brye, Blücher could observe how his troops fared to the west of Saint Amand. Vandamme's III Corps received unexpected support from [[Guillaume Philibert Duhesme|Duhesme's]] [[Young Guard (Napoleon)|Young Guard]] and the Prussians were thrown back to their original positions.

===Prussian counter-attack===
At 19:00 the situation on the battlefield was as follows: Grouchy's cavalry had captured [[Tongrenelle]] and advanced on [[Mont-Potiaux]]; in the centre, heavy fighting was taking place around Ligny; on the Prussian right flank, there was a lull in the fighting between the Young Guard and the Prussians.

It was now that Blücher received a message that Wellington was heavily engaged fighting Ney's left wing of the French army and, therefore, could on no account send support to Ligny. So Blücher decided to counter-attack on the French left flank, to force a decision. First, he strengthened his tired forces in Ligny, and then he collected his last reserves and personally led an attack on Saint-Amand. The attack was initially successful and the Prussians managed to recapture Saint-Amand-le-Hameau, but the attack faltered and they were counter-attacked by chasseurs of the Imperial Guard west of Saint-Amand and started a disorderly retreat from Saint-Amand-le-Haye.

===Napoleon commits the Old Guard===
[[File:Grenadier-a-pied-de-la-Vieille-Garde.png|thumb|upright=.7|right|[[Grenadier]] of the [[Old Guard (France)|Old Guard]], by [[Edouard Detaille]]]]

Taking advantage of the Prussians' retreat, Napoleon decided it was time to launch a decisive counterstrike. He could at least beat Blücher and render the Prussians unfit for any serious operation except retreat on 17 June, although he could no longer expect to destroy the Prussian army. [[Georges Mouton, comte de Lobau|Lobau's]] VI Corps, too, was now arriving and forming up on the heights east of Fleurus. The artillery of the Guard, therefore, came into action above Ligny to prepare Blücher's centre for assault. Some delay was occasioned by a thunderstorm; but, as this passed over, the guns opened and the Old Guard, supported by the reserve cavalry – the ''[[Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale]]'' – led by [[Claude-Étienne Guyot|Guyot]], as well as Milhaud's IV Cavalry Corps proceeded to form up opposite Ligny. At about 19:45 a crashing salvo of 60 guns gave the signal for a combined assault to be delivered by Gerard and the Guard, with Milhaud's cavalry moving on their right flank. Initially, the French Guard encountered heavy resistance, and was forced back momentarily by the Prussian reserves.{{sfn|Glover|2014|p=66}}  However Blücher's worn-out soldiers at that section of the line could not withstand the concentrated impact of Napoleon's choicest troops, combined with a flanking movement by a division of French infantry under cover of the darkness, and at around 20:30 the Prussian centre at Ligny was overwhelmed.{{sfn|Beck|1911|pp=377}}{{sfn|Mueffling|1833|pp=73–74}}

The Prussians formed a new defensive line between Brye and Sombreffe, on the heights about {{convert|1|mi|km|order=flip}} behind Ligny. Units of the I Corps and II Corps retreated to this new position and rallied, fending off French attacks as they did so.{{sfn|Siborne|1848|pp=248–249}}{{sfn|Glover|2014|p=66}}

In the words of William Siborne:
{{Blockquote|The Prussian infantry compelled to evacuate Ligny, effected its retreat in squares, in perfect order, though surrounded by the enemy, bravely repelling all further attacks, made in the repeated but vain attempts to scatter it in confusion.{{sfn|Siborne|1848|p=243}} }}

===Blücher is incapacitated===
As a reaction to the Old Guard's attack, Blücher instructed Lieutenant-General [[Friedrich Erhardt von Röder|Röder]] to counter-attack with the two brigades of the reserve cavalry of the I Prussian Corps. While leading one of the charges in person, the 72-year-old Blücher's horse was shot and fell upon him. He was rescued and borne in a semi-conscious condition from the field.{{sfn|Siborne|1848|pp=245–246}} While Blücher was being taken from the field the French cavalry beat off the Prussian cavalry counter-attack. Lieutenant-General [[August von Gneisenau]] (Blücher's [[Chief of staff (military)|Chief of staff]]), took over command from the absent Blücher.

===Prussian retreat===
Sources differ over Gneisenau's leadership while Blücher was incapacitated. Chesney credits him with the decision to retreat north in support of Wellington: "Gneisenau, coming into temporary command after the fall of Blucher at the end of the battle, and finding the struggle for the present hopelessly decided, chose at all risk of inconvenience to abstain from the notion of a retreat to the east, and to keep as near as might be to the English army." [Chesney 1869, pp142–143]. Glover also writes "A retreat on Gembloux by the entire army would be the obvious course of action, except that this would lead to a complete break of contact with Wellington. Gneisenau therefore initially ordered a retreat directly north on Tilly, which would maintain that contact".{{sfn|Glover|2014|p=89}}   However, Parkinson, citing Prussian records, claims Gneisenau "raged" over the lack of British support at Ligny and decided to retreat east after Tilly: "And slowly, fatefully, Gneisenau's choice of retreat route swung towards Liege - abandoning Wellington to face Napoleon alone, outnumbered." [pp.&nbsp;228–9] Blücher later summoned his British liaison officer, Sir Harry Hardinge, to inform him: "Gneisenau has given in. We are going to join the Duke." [Parkinson p.&nbsp;232]. "This decision by Blücher is unquestionably worthy of the highest praise. Ignoring all the false courses of action that traditional practices and misplaced prudence might have suggested in such a case, he followed his common sense and decided to turn toward Wellington on the 18th, preferring to abandon his own line of communications rather than adopt half-measures. The battle he had lost had not been a rout. It had reduced the size of his force by only about one-sixth, and with nearly 100,000 men he could undoubtedly turn the battle that the Duke of Wellington was confronting into a victory".{{sfn|Clausewitz|2010|loc=Chapter 37}} It is noteworthy that when Blücher was found alive, he refused to consider resigning his command on account of his injuries, declaring he would rather have himself "tied to a horse than resign". [Parkinson p.&nbsp;229].

At about 22:00 the order to fall back was given. On the Prussian right, Lieutenant-General Zieten's I Corps retreated slowly with most of its artillery, leaving a rear-guard close to Brye to slow any French pursuit. Pirch I's II Corps followed the I Corps off the battlefield. They formed up again within a quarter of a league of the field of battle (about 3/4 of a mile), and retired to Wavre via Tilly, free of French pursuit. "Our infantry, posted behind Ligny, though forced to retreat, did not suffer itself to be discouraged … Formed in masses, it coolly repulsed all the attacks of the cavalry, and retreated in good order upon the height, whence it continued its retrograde movement upon Tilly. … At the distance of a quarter of a league from the field of battle, the army formed again. The enemy did not venture to pursue it. The village of Brie remained in our possession during the night, as well as Sombref, where General Thielemann had fought with the 3rd Corps".{{sfn|Mueffling|1833|p=74}} "At 10 o’clock the order to fall back was given, and the centre and right retrograded in perfect order. Forming again within a quarter of a league of the field of battle, they recommenced their retreat; and, unmolested by the enemy, retired upon Wavre".{{sfn|Maxwell|1833|p=213}}

On the left, Lieutenant-General Thielemann's largely-unharmed III Corps withdrew last with the army's various parks in tow, toward Gembloux where Bulow waited with the newly arrived IV Corps. He left a strong rear-guard at [[Sombreffe]]. "[Gneisenau], having undertaken the direction of affairs, ordered the retreat of the First and II Corps upon Tilly, and despatched Colonel Thile with directions to Thielemann, that if he could not effect a direct retreat upon Tilly, he was to retire upon Gembloux, there to unite with Bulow, and then effect a junction with the rest of the army".{{sfn|Siborne|1848|p=251}}

The village of Brye remained in Prussian possession (I Corps) during the night, as well as Sombref, where the III Corps had held Grouchy all day. The bulk of the rear-guards held their positions until about midnight. The final units of Zieten's I Corps rear-guard only left the battlefield at daybreak on 17 June, as the exhausted French failed to press on.{{sfn|Chesney|1907|p=136}} The last of III Corps was moved in the morning of 17 June completely ignored.{{sfn|Chesney|1907|p=136}}

[[Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow|Von Bülow's]] IV Corps, which had not been engaged at Ligny, moved to a location south of Wavre and set up a strong position on which the other elements of the Prussian army could reassemble.{{sfn|Chesney|1907|p=136}} Blücher was already in communication with Wellington. "The Field Marshall promised to come with his whole army; he even proposed, in case Napoleon should not attack, that the Allies themselves, with their whole united force, should attack him the next day. This may serve to show how little the battle of the 16th had disorganised the Prussian army, or weakened its moral strength".{{sfn|Mueffling|1833|p=77}}

{{Blockquote|Under the circumstances, the overall results of Ligny cannot appear out of the ordinary. It is a battle which 78,000 men lost to 75,000 by very slight tipping of the scales, after a long struggle, and without any truly glorious results for the victor, since his trophies consisted of only 21 guns and perhaps a few thousand prisoners.|Carl von Clausewitz.{{sfn|Clausewitz|2010|loc=Chapter 33}} }}

8,000 troops fled to Liege and [[Aix-la-Chapelle]]. These were mainly new draftees from the [[Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine|Rhenish]] and [[Province of Westphalia|Westphalian]] provinces, and the [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|Duchy of Berg]]. Some of the [[Rhine]] provinces had previously been a part of France, and their contingents included old French soldiers.{{sfn|Siborne|1848|p=305}}

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Waterloo Campaign: Ligny through Wavre to Waterloo}}

The retreat of the Prussians was not interrupted, and was seemingly unnoticed, by the French.{{sfn|Chesney|1907|p=136}} Crucially, they retreated not to the east, along their lines of communication and away from Wellington, but northwards, parallel to Wellington's line of march and still within supporting distance, and remained throughout in communication with Wellington. They regrouped south of Wavre, around {{convert|8|mi|km|order=flip}} march to the east of Waterloo, from whence they proceeded to Waterloo on 18 June.{{sfn|Chesney|1907|p=136}}

Wellington anticipated that Napoleon would then come against him at Quatre Bras, so he  spent 17 June [[Waterloo Campaign: Quatre Bras to Waterloo|retreating northwards]] to a defensive position he had personally reconnoitred the previous year at [[Mont-Saint-Jean, Belgium|Mont-Saint-Jean]], a low [[ridge]] south of the village of [[Waterloo, Belgium|Waterloo]] and the [[Forest of Soignes]].{{sfn|Longford|1971|p=527}} Napoleon, with the reserve and the right wing of the Army of the North, made a late start on 17 June and joined [[Michel Ney|Ney]] at Quatre Bras at 13:00 to attack Wellington's army, but found only the rearguard of cavalry remaining on the site. The French pursued Wellington to Waterloo but managed only to defeat a small cavalry rearguard in an [[action at Genappe]] before torrential rain set in for the night. By the end of 17 June, Wellington's army had arrived at its position at Waterloo, with the main body of Napoleon's army following. The decisive battle of the campaign took place at Waterloo on 18 June 1815.

Before leaving Ligny, Napoleon gave Grouchy 33,000 men and orders to follow the retreating Prussians. A late start, uncertainty about the direction the Prussians had taken, and the vagueness of the orders given to Grouchy meant that he was too late to prevent the Prussian army reaching [[Wavre]], from where Blücher could march to support Wellington at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] and Thielmann fought the [[Battle of Wavre]]. After the French defeat at Waterloo, only Grouchy managed to retreat in good order to France with his force of nearly 30,000 organised French soldiers with their artillery. However, this army was not strong enough to resist the combined coalition forces. Napoleon announced his abdication on 24 June 1815 and finally surrendered on 15 July.

==See also==
* [[List of Napoleonic battles]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{Notelist}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{Cite EB1911 | last=Beck | first=Archibald Frank | wstitle=Waterloo Campaign, 1815 | volume=28 | pages=371–381 | mode=cs2}}
* {{cite book | last=Chandler | first=David | date=2009 | title=The Campaigns of Napoleon | publisher=Scribner | isbn=978-1439131039 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNYWXeVcbkMC | url-access=registration | access-date=10 June 2021}}
* {{cite book|last=Clodfelter|first=M.|title=Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494–2007|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|year=2008|isbn=978-0786433193}}
* {{citation | last=Chesney | first=Charles C. | year=1907 | title=Waterloo Lectures: A Study Of The Campaign Of 1815 | publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co. 
 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101073860296}}
* {{citation | last=Chesney| first=Charles Cornwallis | year=1869 | title=Waterloo Lectures: A Study of the Campaign of 1815 | publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company | pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gksBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA142 142]–143}}
* {{citation | author=Clausewitz | first=Carl von | author-link=Carl von Clausewitz | year=2010 | chapter=Chapter 37. Movements on 17 June: Blücher | chapter-url=https://www.clausewitz.com/readings/1815/five30-39.htm#Ch37 | title=On Waterloo: Clausewitz, Wellington, and the Campaign of 1815 | url=https://www.clausewitz.com/readings/1815/TOC.htm | translator-last=Bassford | translator-first=Christopher | translator2-last=Moran | translator2-first=Daniel | translator3-last=Pedlow | translator3-first=Gregory W. | publisher=www.clausewitz.com | isbn=978-1453701508}}
* {{cite book | last=Corrigan | first=Gordon | year=2006 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AgapOzStrAC&q=Wellington%3A+A+Military+Life++Nivelles+and+Quatre+Bras.&pg=PA299 | title= Wellington: A Military Life |publisher=Hambledon and London, 2001, the University of Michigan | page=299 | isbn=978-1852855154}}
* {{cite book| last=Esdaile | first=Charles | year=2016 | title=Napoleon, France and Waterloo: The Eagle Rejected  |publisher=Pen and Sword | isbn=978-1473870840 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f02uDQAAQBAJ&q=Napoleon%2C+France+and+Waterloo%3A+The+Eagle+Rejected}}
* {{citation | last=Franklin | first=John | title=Waterloo 1815 (2): Ligny |date=2015 | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | isbn=978-1-4728-0368-9 | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zF2ICwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94 94]}}
* {{citation | last=Garrelts | first=Gerh. Andr. von | year=1856 | title=Die Ostfriesen im deutschen Befreiungskriege: Gesch. des ehemal. 3ten Westphälisch-Ostfries. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiments, der freiwilligen Jäger, der Cavallerie … seit ihrer Entstehung bis zur Auflösung in den Kriegsjahren 1813, 1814 u. 1815. Mit alleger. Abbildung des Upstalsbooms u. Schlachtplan von Ligerz u. Waterloo | publisher=W. Bock | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=u2kAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA172 172]}}
* {{citation | last=Glover | first=Gareth | year=2014 | chapter=''Chapter 8'': The Battle of Ligny | title=Waterloo: Myth and Reality | publisher=Pen and Sword | isbn=978-1-78159-356-1 | pages=59–67 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GfpsBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA59}}
* {{cite book | last=Haythornthwaite | first=Philip | year=2007 | title=The Waterloo Armies: Men, Organization and Tactics | publisher=Pen and Sword | isbn=978-1473800434}}
* {{citation | last=Hofschröer | first=Peter | year=1999 | title=1815, The Waterloo Campaign: The German Victory | location=London | publisher=[[Greenhill Books]] | isbn=1-85367-368-4}}
* {{Cite book | first= John | last = Hussey  | title = Waterloo: The Campaign of 1815, Volume 1 | location =  | publisher = Greenhill Books | date =   2017 | pages = | isbn = 978-1784381981 | accessdate =  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hM0nDwAAQBAJ | language =  | quote =  }} 
* {{citation | last=Leggiere | first=Michael | year=2014 | title=Blücher, the scourge of Napoleon | publisher=Arthur H Clark | isbn=978-0806144092}}
* {{citation |last=|editor= Leggiere, Michael V.  |author-link= |title=Napoleon and the Operational Art of War |publisher=Brill|location=|year= 2016|isbn=978-9004310032|volume=|ref= {{sfnref|Leggiere|2016}}}}
* {{citation | last=Longford | first=Elizabeth | year=1971 | title=Wellington the Years of the Sword | publisher=Panther}}
* {{citation | last=Maxwell | first=William Hamilton | year=1833 | title=Stories of Waterloo | publisher=R. Bentley | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=v28NAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA209 209]}}
* {{citation | last=Mueffling | first=Friedrich Carl Ferdinand von | year=1833 | title=A Sketch of the Battle of Waterloo: To which are Added Official Despatches of ... the Duke of Wellington ... Prince Blucher, and Reflexions on the Battles of Ligny and Waterloo | publisher=Pratt & Barry | pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NDwQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR74 74], 77}}
* {{citation | last=Pigeard | first=Alain | year=2004 | title=Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon | publisher=Tallandier, Bibliothèque Napoléonienne | isbn=2-84734-073-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Price | first=Munro | year=2014 | title=Napoleon: The End of Glory | publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{citation | last=Siborne | first=William | year=1848 | title=The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 | edition=Fourth | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RxQazrQnHSkC|publisher=Edward Arber}}
* {{cite book |last=Siborne | first=William | year=1895 | title=The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 | edition=4th | location=Westminster | publisher=A. Constable | url=https://archive.org/details/waterloocampaig01sibogoog | url-access=registration}}
* {{cite web | last=victorian | year=2007 | url=http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787/Napoleon/Prussia/Commanders/Pirch.html | title=Georg Dubislav Ludwig von Pirch | publisher=fortunecity.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815035823/http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787/Napoleon/Prussia/Commanders/Pirch.html | archive-date=15 August 2007}}{{better source needed|date=September 2016}}
*{{cite book | last=Rothenberg | first=Gunther | author-link=Gunther E. Rothenberg | title=The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon | publisher=Indiana University Press | location=Bloomington | year=1978 | isbn=0-253-31076-8 | oclc=3272721 }}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web | ref=none | url=http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Ligny_1815.htm | title=Battle of Ligny 1815: Maps, Order of Battle, Diagrams | website=napoleonistyka | access-date=17 September 2016}}
* {{cite web | ref=none | url=http://waterloo200.org/200-object/field-marshal-prince-von-blucher-george-dawe/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410100316/http://waterloo200.org/200-object/field-marshal-prince-von-blucher-george-dawe/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=10 April 2016 | title=Field Marshal Prince von Blücher | website=Waterloo200 | access-date=17 September 2016}}

==External links==
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