Deployments Waterloo Campaign

french forces

strategic situation in western europe in 1815: 250,000 frenchmen faced coalition of 850,000 soldiers on 4 fronts. in addition, napoleon forced leave 20,000 men in western france reduce royalist insurrection.

during hundred days both coalition nations , napoleon mobilised war. upon resumption of throne, napoleon found left little louis xviii. there 56,000 soldiers of 46,000 ready campaign. end of may total armed forces available napoleon had reached 198,000 66,000 more in depots training not yet ready deployment.

napoleon placed corps of armed forces @ various strategic locations armies of observations. napoleon split forces 3 main armies; first, placed army in south near alps. army stop austrian advances in italy. second, there army on french/prussian border hoped defeat prussians attacks. last, l armee du nord placed on border united netherlands defeat british, dutch , prussian forces if dared attack. (see military mobilisation during hundred days)lamarque led small army of west la vendée quell royalist insurrection in region.

by end of may napoleon had formed l armée du nord (the army of north ) which, led himself, participate in waterloo campaign , had deployed corps of army follows:

i corps (d erlon) cantoned between lille , valenciennes.
ii corps (reille) cantoned between valenciennes , avesnes.
iii corps (vandamme) cantoned around rocroi.
iv corps (gérard ) cantoned @ metz.
vi corps (lobau) cantoned @ laon.
i, ii, iii, , iv reserve cavalry corps (grouchy) cantoned @ guise.
imperial guard (mortier) @ paris.

coalition forces

in days of june 1815, wellington , blücher s forces disposed follows:

wellington’s anglo-allied army of 93,000 headquarters @ brussels cantoned:

i corps (prince of orange), 30,200, headquarters braine-le-comte, disposed in area enghien-genappe-mons.
ii corps (lord hill), 27,300, headquarters ath, distributed in area ath-oudenarde-ghent.
reserve cavalry (lord uxbridge) 9,900, in valley of dendre river, between geraardsbergen , ninove.
the reserve (under wellington himself) 25,500, lay around brussels.
the frontier in front (to west) of leuze binche watched dutch light cavalry.

blücher’s prussian army of 116,000 men, headquarters @ namur, distributed follows:

i corps (graf von zieten), 30,800, cantoned along sambre, headquarters charleroi, , covering area fontaine-l Évêque-fleurus-moustier.
ii corps (pirch i), 31,000, headquarters @ namur, lay in area namur-hannut-huy.
iii corps (thielemann), 23,900, in bend of river meuse, headquarters ciney, , disposed in area dinant-huy-ciney.
iv corps (bülow), 30,300, headquarters @ liege , cantoned around it.

the frontier in front of binche, charleroi , dinant watched prussian outposts.

thus coalition front extended 90 miles (140 km) across belgium, , mean depth of cantonments 30 miles (48 km). concentrate whole army on either flank take 6 days, , on common centre, around charleroi, 3 days.

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