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The French army formed on the slopes of another ridge to the south. Napoleon could not see Wellington's positions, so he drew his forces up symmetrically about the Brussels road. On the right was I Corps under d'Erlon with 16,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, plus a cavalry reserve of 4,700.
The French drove in Coalition outposts and secured Napoleon's favoured "central position" – at the junction between Wellington's army to his north-west, and Blücher's Prussians to his north-east. Wellington had expected Napoleon to try to envelop the Coalition armies by moving through Mons and to the west of Brussels. [19]
Wellington was perfectly prepared to attack the north side of Paris, if circumstances should render such a step necessary; or if a favourable opportunity should present itself: whilst Blücher, having secured a strong position in front of the south side, which was mostly open and defenceless, was equally ready to storm the capital with his ...
Wellington's headquarters were at Orvillers-Sorel. The remains of the French I and II corps after forming a junction at Gonesse (where the high roads from Nanteuil and Senlis unite), reached the suburbs of Paris. The Imperial Guard and the VI Corps, immediately under Grouchy, were in full retreat from Meaux by Claye-Souilly [v] and Vincennes ...
Present at the Battle of Waterloo, Wellington had 71,257 soldiers available, 3,866 officers and 65,919 other ranks. By the end of the day's fighting the army had suffered 16,084 casualties (3,024 killed, 10,222 wounded and 2,838 missing) a loss of 24.6%.
The Prussians retreated 18 miles north to Wavre whilst Wellington's Anglo-Allied army withdrew 15 miles north to a site he had noted the previous year as favourable for a battle: the north ridge of a shallow valley on the Brussels road, just south of the small town of Waterloo. On 17 June there was torrential rain, which severely hampered movement.
The Battle of Quatre Bras was fought on 16 June 1815, as a preliminary engagement to the decisive Battle of Waterloo that occurred two days later. The battle took place near the strategic crossroads of Quatre Bras [a] and was contested between elements of the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-allied army and the left wing of Napoleon Bonaparte's French Armée du Nord under Marshal Michel Ney.
The various Guards battalions sustained heavy losses, but by 6.30 p.m. Wellington's position had strengthened. [17] By 9 p.m., Ney had withdrawn his men, and Wellington held the field. The French had lost 4,000 men, the Allies 4,800. [18] Wellington held Quatre Bras, but the Prussians were not so successful at Ligny, and were forced to retreat.