Today the Emperor 0f France has won a great victory. During the day the right wing of his army advancing under the command of Gen. Grouchy found the Prussian army drawn up for battle by the village of Ligny. Immediately on receipt of the news the Emperor set off at speed accompanied by the three divisions of the Imperial Guard. The battle opened immediately with a pulverising barrage by the French artillery which caused grievous losses amongst the Prussian formations drawn up on the opposite bank of the River Ligny. This was followed by an assault from the French infantry who were, nevertheless, surprised by the fierce resistance they met particularly in the small hamlets which provided strong outposts for their Prussian opponents.
Your correspondent was lucky to be in close company with the Emperor who, as the battle swung first this way then another, became increasingly irritated that Marshal Ney on the left wing had failed to appear down the road from Quatre Bras. Finally, in total exasperation, he ignored the chain of command and sent a direct order to the commander of Ney's support Corps, Gen d' Erlons, ordering him to ignore all previous orders from Ney and instead to move east across country with all speed to support the Emperor's final assault on the weakening Prussians. Gen. d' Erlons obeyed and in due course appeared on the flank of the French forces - but then, inexplicably, he turned about and marched off back to the west. Sources indicate that he had received another summons from his immediate superior, Marshal Ney, who urgently required his Corps in order to effect the capture of the cross-roads at Quatre Bras. The Emperor, for a moment, was dumbfounded by the appearance, and then the swift disappearance, of this crucial Corps of troops. However, in a decisive move he ordered forward his beloved Imperial Guard who swept into the weakened but stubborn Prussian lines and swept them from the battle field. As night falls, efforts are being made to ascertain in which direction the Prussians are retreating. Early indications confirm the expectation that they will go east back down their lines of communication leaving the British to do as best they may on their own.
Additional news from our correspondent attached to Marshal Ney's HQ: The Marshal was taken by surprise to find that instead of a tiny outpost at the cross-roads the numbers had been increased overnight. He immediately began to call forward more formations who were strung out down the road back to Charleroi but as they appeared and went into action so too did more British and Netherlanders appearing from the north and the west. The Marshal was beset by urgent summonses from the Emperor to take Quatre Bras and move swiftly east down the road to come in behind the Prussians but the defence was simply too strong. The Marshal, who had been sending a stream of orders to Gen. d' Erlons to speed up as his troops which were urgently needed, was sent into what sources describe as an incandescent rage when he learned that the Emperor had ordered d' Erlons to turn east. He immediately despatched another courier telling d' Erlons to come back - or else! Unfortunately by the time d' Erlons did reach Quatre Bras night was falling and the unhappy French had to contemplate the fact that 20,000 men, horses and guns had spent the entire day wandering about the countryside without firing a shot in anger! The Marshal is now organising his troops for another assault in the morning.
David
I suppose our intrepid report will declare tomorrow’s events a splendid victory for the Emperor?
Posted by: hank | Thursday, 17 June 2010 at 04:55
Mais, oui, certainement!
Posted by: David Duff | Friday, 18 June 2010 at 10:17