1. Chapter II.—The proportion of cavalry to infantry in Grouchy’s force was large (more than one to five), but not excessive. He was given a task in which cavalry must play the chief part. At the close of such a battle as Ligny, the infantry on both sides must be more or less exhausted, and it becomes the duty of the cavalry to pursue the retreating enemy. Cavalry alone, however, will effect little, if the enemy takes to rear-guard positions; it must be supported or accompanied by artillery and infantry. It must be remembered that, of the two sides, the vanquished are the more exhausted, and the greater the enemy’s anxiety to draw his troops clear of pursuit, the closer that pursuit must be. The French cavalry at Ligny, except Milhaud’s Cuirassiers, had had little to do.

The proportion of cavalry to infantry in an army cannot be laid down by any hard-and-fast rule. Prince Kraft wrote after 1870: “The duties of the cavalry are so comprehensive and so important, especially at the first moment of a war, that we cannot have too many cavalry ready for service.” But he was speaking of Germany. Continental armies require a far larger number of cavalry than our own; and not only for the reason that their other arms are so much more numerous than ours. The advance of modern armies is covered by a most numerous cavalry, sent out, as were the German cavalry in 1870, miles ahead, as a screen, and for the purpose of reconnaissance, or to harass the enemy’s concentration and cut his communications.

2. The French Corps in 1815.—The French Corps in the 1815 Campaign were more independent than the Prussian Corps—that is to say, each corps, except Lobau’s, was provided with sufficient cavalry and artillery to enable it to act by itself. Each corps had a Light Cavalry Division; but in Grouchy’s force, the Cavalry Division (Domon’s) belonging to Vandamme’s Corps, with its horse battery, had been detached to the left wing. GÉrard’s Corps had its complete parts, but the Seventh Cavalry Division attached to it numbered only 758 men; little more than a modern regiment. The Reserve Cavalry Division, under Jacquinot, also attached to GÉrard’s Corps, numbered 1608 men, so that the two together would only make a modern brigade. In artillery, the corps, for those days, were well provided; and each corps also had its own engineers, from 140 to 200 strong.

3. Chapter III. Pursuits after a Battle.—A general who wins a battle must make every effort to obtain the greatest possible advantages from his victory; he must closely pursue the defeated enemy with cavalry, artillery, and infantry; he must spare no one until the retreat has been turned into a rout. Of the two sides, the vanquished are the more exhausted; and the effects of defeat are so demoralising that, when followed by pursuit, every vestige of organisation or power of resisting vanishes. Men whose backs are turned on a victorious enemy who is treading on their heels, harassing their flanks, and cutting them down or capturing them by thousands, will think of nothing but their personal safety. The more time that is left to the retreating force, the more rear-guard positions it will be able to take up, and every rear-guard action gives time for the retreat to be carried further and in greater security. A timid pursuit is almost worse than none. Every nerve must be strained to make the most of the situation.

Yet, in history, how many instances are there in which pursuits have been carried out? What are the reasons which account for so many battles ending without a pursuit? There are few instances, indeed, where it has been possible for the victor to follow up his victory as is advised in the books. To mention the most noted cases:—The pursuit of the French after Waterloo; the pursuit after Jena; the cavalry advance on Cairo after Tel-el-Kebir; and, most recently, the battles of the Yalu and at Telissu, in the Russo-Japanese War. But how easy it is to recall cases where pursuit has not followed the victory:—Wagram, Friedland, Vittoria, Cannae, Malplaquet, Albuera, Spicheren, Bull Run, and the case treated in this volume, among scores of others.

Many Generals have failed to take the opportunity when it was offered; Hannibal himself was one of them. But in most of the cases there have been strong reasons for the hesitation in pursuing. After a long and fiercely-contested battle, both sides are exhausted; and there may be no fresh troops at hand to carry out the pursuit. There may be heavy rains, making the road impassable; there may be a lack of mounted troops. Most of Wellington’s victories in the Peninsular War were so dearly bought that his troops were far too exhausted themselves to think of pursuing the enemy. After Malplaquet Marlborough’s army was in no condition to follow up the victory, and the French were able to retreat in fair order and unmolested. After Spicheren, the Prussians were too exhausted to pursue, and the French withdrew in security. But after Ligny Napoleon should have pursued, at least at daybreak on the 17th. It has been shown that he had a strong force of cavalry, as well as Lobau’s Corps, available for the pursuit, and with these he could have driven Thielemann from Sombreffe. His cavalry would have threatened the Prussian flanks and rear, while Lobau’s infantry would have attacked in front. During the night it was perhaps unwise and unsafe to pursue, owing to Thielemann’s firm front, and to the enormous risks of a pursuit by night. No one knew better than Napoleon the value of pressing hard on a vanquished foe, and it is impossible to explain why he spent the morning of the 17th in trivialities. A day later, and he himself realised the position of a defeated general closely and mercilessly pursued by the victors.

Grouchy cannot be blamed for failing to pursue the Prussians on the night of the 16th. He was directly under the Emperor’s orders, and he only received his independent command on the morning of the 17th. At 11 P.M., on the night of the 16th, he had been ordered to send Pajol and Excelmans in pursuit of the Prussians at daybreak, but no direction was given to him. And when it was found that Thielemann’s men still held Sombreffe, the cavalry took no further action that night.

Blucher, on the 18th, found it possible to pursue the French with the utmost vigour by night; but there was this difference between the two cases—the French were totally defeated in battle, and demoralised, while the Prussians, at Ligny, were only partially defeated, and their left wing was firm and unbeaten.

It was on the 17th that Grouchy’s mistakes began, after he had received his new command from Napoleon, at 11 A.M.

4. Chapter IV.—It is astonishing that the outposts of Grouchy’s force in front of Sombreffe should have heard nothing, or reported nothing, of Thielemann’s withdrawal, which began at 2 A.M., and continued until 4 A.M., when the rear-guard left the village. Throughout the night, the opposing sentries were within earshot; and if they were awake they could not have helped hearing the commotion which must be caused by the movement of so large a body of troops by night, however great the precautions may be. True, it was a wet night; rain was falling heavily, but not too heavily to drown the noise of the retreat. Even a perfectly-planned and well-executed attack by night, with all the signs pre-determined, and each movement marked beforehand, cannot be kept absolutely quiet; there is always a stumbling, a cry of pain from a sprained ankle or broken nose, a curse from the darkness, often a rifle accidentally discharged; but in a retreat hastily decided on, how much greater will the noise be! The shouting of orders which cannot be conveyed by signs or signals on the spur of the moment, the noise of the heavy waggons, the yells of the drivers, and the cracking of whips! In those days the outpost positions would be scarcely two hundred yards apart on such an occasion; very different to modern conditions, which would make it impossible for two forces to remain in the same positions, relative to one another, as Thielemann’s and Grouchy’s on that night.

5. Chapter IV.—Excelmans lacked the true instinct of a cavalry leader. When he found Thielemann at Gembloux, at 9.30 A.M. on the 17th, the first step we should expect him to take would be to send back immediate word to Grouchy; then he would act according to his instructions, or as his own notions prompted. In the present circumstances, he would have taken steps to harass the enemy, deceive him as to his real numbers, threaten his line of retreat, and force him to march off again, and so spoil his rest and increase the fatigue of his troops, who would soon become too tired either to march or fight, when their retreat would have rapidly become a headlong rout; or to detain him in uncertainty until the infantry arrived. Certainly, entire inactivity was wrong in such a case. Every hour of rest allowed to Thielemann meant that his troops would be able to march more rapidly when they took the road again. If Thielemann had seen a few squadrons threatening his retreat, a few showing themselves on his flanks, without knowing the real strength of the force overtaking him, it is not conceivable that he would have waited to be attacked by overwhelming numbers.

6. Chapter IV.—It must have disconcerted Napoleon to hear Grouchy expostulating as to the orders which he had just given him. The Napoleon of earlier days would have dealt with a heavy hand on the man who dared discuss his orders. No doubt Grouchy felt very strongly on the subject, and his views may very well have been sound—in fact, they were sound up to a certain point; but it is never a soldier’s duty to discuss or argue about his orders. The story of Grouchy’s insubordination—for insubordination it certainly was—would be difficult to credit, but that some of the best authorities on the campaign give it in their works; and Grouchy himself, in his “Relation Succincte,” openly admits that he made no attempt, in his conversation with the Emperor, to conceal his misgivings.

7. Chapter IV.—The mismanagement of the places of assembly and the times of starting the march of different bodies of troops which have to take the same road, leads to miserable confusion. In the present case, there were two Corps d’ArmÉe, GÉrard’s and Vandamme’s, which were required to march from Ligny and St Amand La Haye respectively, to Point-du-Jour by one and the same road. It seems obvious that, time being important, and considering the positions of the two Corps, GÉrard’s Corps should be marched off first, while Vandamme’s should follow as soon as it was ready. But Grouchy, for no reason which can be found, ordered Vandamme to take the lead. GÉrard had to wait over one hour while Vandamme’s Corps passed him.

It is not an easy matter to arrange, in a case of this kind, that the front corps should be clear by the time that the head of the corps in rear comes up; but GÉrard’s Corps was sufficiently far ahead of Vandamme’s to allow plenty of time for his men to get on their way before the latter approached, and, at all events, it would have been better to halt Vandamme, while GÉrard moved well on the road, than to keep GÉrard waiting while Vandamme passed him.

8. Chapter IV.—Vandamme’s march on Gembloux was extremely slow. He left his bivouac at 12 noon, and arrived at Point-du-Jour, less than 4 miles off, at 3 P.M., and at Gembloux, another 5 miles, at 7 P.M. The roads, it must be remembered, were in a deplorable condition, and the rain was falling steadily; but the rate of marching, when compared with the rate of the Prussians over the same road, in only slightly better condition of surface, and with the rate in Grouchy’s subsequent retreat, also in heavy weather, is extraordinarily slow. The guns were moved with great difficulty, and it must be supposed that infantry in large numbers were used to drag them along, but there were still horses to be used, and the Prussians had moved all their guns and waggons successfully. The state of the weather has always been urged in extenuation of Grouchy’s slowness in this campaign, but it has been laboured too much. It certainly was a very heavy factor against him, but not so overpowering as is alleged.

9. Chapter IV.—Grouchy wasted valuable time in bivouacking at Gembloux, when there were still two hours of daylight left. His men must have been tired with their exertions through the mud; but they had not made extraordinary efforts. French soldiers had proved themselves capable of greater things in other days, and under other commanders. Had they even pushed on to SauveniÈre that night, they would have arrived early enough to allow themselves some six or eight hours’ rest; or even longer if the cavalry were used with skill. The difficulties of this particular march are often exaggerated; compare it with the marching of the same men two days later, over the same roads, and after continuous fighting for several hours; compare it, too, with some of the marches in the Peninsula, a few years before!

10. Chapter IV.—Grouchy’s despatch from Gembloux on the night of the 17th to the Emperor cannot be read without a feeling of surprise at his words. In the first place, he says, “My cavalry is at SauveniÈre.” Now, Napoleon would naturally infer that Pajol’s cavalry were included; or that all the cavalry were probably together. It was misleading to say that his “cavalry was at SauveniÈre.” Secondly, “They (the Prussians) were still here at ten o’clock this morning.” The Emperor would at once conclude that the enemy had left soon after ten o’clock; he certainly would suppose that Grouchy would have found out if they had remained there later. Actually, the Prussians left at 2 P.M., four hours later. Thirdly, “He (Blucher) has not passed by Gembloux.” Napoleon would suppose (since Grouchy had been instructed to keep touch with the left wing) that traces of Blucher and his main body had been searched for between the line of Grouchy’s march and the main French army. On these three essential points, the information given in the despatch was decidedly misleading. Some other details were inaccurate, but they were reasonable convictions, as far as Grouchy’s views went. Negative information in war is very often as useful and important as positive; and Grouchy would have assisted Napoleon to form his ideas if he had reported that he had discovered no signs of a Prussian retreat on Namur. He should also have made some mention of Pajol’s detachment—such as “no news has been received from Pajol, who is on my right at St Denis, with a detachment of cavalry and infantry.” Again, had Grouchy only accounted for 30,000 Prussians, of the whole of Blucher’s army? What had become of the remainder? Where were they?

Napoleon must have found it impossible to draw inferences of any weight from this despatch; and in such a campaign as this, full and accurate intelligence was of the utmost importance.

11. Chapter V.—A flank march in presence of the enemy is a most difficult and dangerous operation. In the case of Blucher’s movement, there was little actual danger from Grouchy, as events proved, but in face of a vigorous enemy the Prussians would have been in a perilous position. It was possible for an active enemy to seize the bridges over the Dyle at Moustier and Ottignies, and fall upon Blucher’s flank. The latter was not exposing his communications, for his real communications were with Liege; he had temporarily abandoned them when he marched on Wavre; but if attacked during his march his position would not have been by any means safe. If defeated, whither would he have fallen back? This is the chief danger of a flank march: the lack of a good, or even of any, line of retreat. As a rule, a flank march, being away from the general line of advance or retreat, has necessarily to be made on lesser roads, and the difficulty of ample movement from one to another, or of rapid deployment or change of front, becomes prodigious. Blucher, if attacked during this march, would most probably have left one corps to detain the enemy, while he, with the other three corps, resumed his march towards Wellington; for to turn back would have been as dangerous as to advance. But if his way had been barred he would have fallen back on Brussels rather than upon Louvain, as he would still have a chance of joining Wellington. If Blucher had been so attacked and defeated, Grouchy would have been able to deal a terrible, in all probability a crushing, blow on Wellington’s left flank.

It is interesting, but not particularly profitable, to speculate as to what course events would have taken had Grouchy been up in time to prevent Blucher’s flank march, and had checked him. Would Wellington have fallen back on Brussels with Blucher, and fought again under the city walls against Napoleon and Grouchy combined? In that case, the weight of numbers would have been very much in favour of the allies, and the great object of Napoleon’s plan of campaign—to prevent the junction of the two armies—would have been thwarted. If Blucher, after being checked, had fallen back on Louvain, while Wellington was still engaged with Napoleon, it seems obvious that Grouchy’s extra numbers thrown into the fight would have caused the Duke’s overthrow, for it would not then have been necessary for Napoleon to detach against the Prussians; Wellington was too seriously engaged to be able to withdraw, and the defeat would have been complete. But after all, such speculation as this might be continued indefinitely; and every campaign might be discussed and argued to a hundred different conclusions by re-modelling the conditions or improvising situations. A campaign, like a chess problem, admits of more than one solution.

12. Grouchy’s Retreat. Chapter VIII.—A few points concerning Grouchy’s retreat may be discussed briefly. Firstly, could he have been intercepted before he reached Namur? The answer is Yes, by Pirch I. Pirch had received orders, on the night of the 18th, to cut off Grouchy from the Sambre; and he had accordingly marched towards Namur through Maransart. He reached Mellery at 11 A.M. on the 19th. At this hour, Grouchy had not begun his retreat. But Pirch’s men were tired, and they were halted at Mellery. Had they pushed on another six miles to Gembloux, which they would have reached at 2 P.M., Grouchy’s retreat on Namur would have been intercepted. It is true that Grouchy’s force would have greatly outnumbered Pirch’s, but the former would not stop to engage the Prussians at Gembloux while Thielemann pressed close on his heels. He would have been forced to make a very wide detour, and in the meantime the Prussians could have hastened on and captured Namur.

Secondly, after Namur, why was not Grouchy more closely pursued? It would have been an idle move to detach a force to follow Grouchy while the advance on Paris was of such immediate importance. At best, Grouchy could threaten the Prussian flank; but he would be more likely to endeavour to join with the remnants of Napoleon’s army collected by Soult. Little harm could be done by these forces; and the contagion of defeat might have spread from Soult’s fugitives and demoralised Grouchy’s men. In any case, the other allied armies were approaching the frontier, and these would be able to deal with Grouchy. The important move was to march on Paris, where the populace, sickened by Napoleon’s collapse, were likely to accept terms.

Thirdly, could Grouchy really hope to effect anything advantageous by his retreat on Paris? No, unless he saw a chance of persuading Napoleon to put himself at the head of his troops and the Paris garrison, and march out to repeat the strokes of 1814; but on the 22nd Napoleon had abdicated.

Fourthly, could he have effected more by marching south to rally Suchet and Lecourbe? Hardly; since overwhelming armies were approaching on that side, and the fall of Paris would render resistance in the country districts useless.

His case was really hopeless from the first. The allies in their march on Paris would ignore him, and, moving by a much more direct road, would reach the capital first. The triple line of fortresses across the line of advance of the enemy, were expected to bar his approach, but they were weakly garrisoned by ill-disciplined and raw troops, whose whole spirit was shaken by Napoleon’s great defeat.

So far-reaching is the effect of a defeat as great as Waterloo that armies, districts, even capitals, miles from the real theatre of war, possibly in other countries, seem to crumble to dust before the conqueror; but no fall from might and power has ever been so great as Napoleon’s.