around 2 p.m. Napoleon left the conduct of the battle in this sector to
Ney, for reasons that are not entirely clear; some say he was too ill to
assume direction himself, others that he was now preoccupied with the
Prussian threat. Certainly the first sighting of Bulow's Prussians came
around 1.30 p.m. when a column was spied some miles off near
Planchenoit, moving towards the French right; the Emperor was forced
to detach Lobau's VI Corps and two brigades.
Ney and d'Erlon advanced with 18,ooo men, one brigade veering off at
the last moment to attack La Haie Sainte. The battle for La Haie Sainte
was another murderous affair and soon turned into a second Hougou
mont. Meanwhile in the centre two of d'Erlon's four divisions advanced
in a compact formation -the result it seems, of yet more botched orders -
and presented unmissable targets to the British gunners. Had Ney
supported the infantry with cavalry, the Allies would have been forced to
form square, which could then have been decimated with case-shot from
the horse artillery. Raked by devastating volleys, d'Erlon's men still came
on and were soon engaged in murderous combat with Picton's 5th
Division, the best infantry on the Allied side. Picton was killed by a
musket ball, but his men held firm and gradually pushed the French
back. Although the flanking divisions from d'Erlon's corps had fared
better than the central two, largely because they were faced by Bylant's
already weakened brig ade, they bore the brunt of the British counter
attack when General Lord Uxbridge ordered a cavalry charge. Lord
Anglesey's Household Cavalry and Somerset's Horse Guards cut through
the French left flank like a knife through butter, while Ponsonby's Union
Brigade, including the 2nd North British Dragoons (the Scots Greys),
charged through the centre.
In the ecstasy of the moment the Scots Greys and other cavalry in the
centre continued their charge towards the French guns. Taking charge of
the battle for a while, Napoleon waited then timed a countercharge by his
lancers to perfection. Jacquinot's lancers took the Greys in the flank from
right and left, causing severe casualties; of 2,500 horsemen who charged,
more than a thousand were killed or wounded. However, Wellington's
main aim of buying time by repulsing d'Erlon's I Corps had been
achieved and in the meantime the first French attack on La Haie Sainte
had also failed.
At 3 p.m. came another of the great blunders of the day. Preoccupied
with the Prussians, Napoleon ordered fresh attacks on Hougoumont and
La Haie Sainte, hoping to roll up Wellington's advance posts and move in
for the kill before Blucher's men could intervene. At this moment Ney
inexplicably ordered the entire French cavalry to charge the ridge at
marcin
(Marcin)
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