Wavre

The Prussian army, battered but not destroyed after Ligny, had retreated north. Napoleon dispatched Marshal Grouchy with the III and IV Corps plus reserve cavalry to pursue. Grouchy’s pursuit, however, was slow, but in fairness, the III and IV Corps …

1815-06-18

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The Prussian army, battered but not destroyed after Ligny, had retreated north. Napoleon dispatched Marshal Grouchy with the III and IV Corps plus reserve cavalry to pursue. Grouchy’s pursuit, however, was slow, but in fairness, the III and IV Corps had suffered greatly at Ligny and needed time to regroup. During the morning of the 18th, the French heard the cannon fire from Waterloo, and both corps commanders implored Grouchy to march to Napoleon’s aid, but he declined, citing his orders. Grouchy caught up with what he presumed was the entire Prussian Army at Wavre at about 4 p.m. Sadly for the French, most of the Prussians had already left Wavre, marching to reinforce Wellington, and Grouchy faced only the smallest Prussian corps under Thielmann deployed along the Dyle River. Grouchy opened the battle with Vandamme’s and Gerard’s commands attempting to rush the bridges between the towns of Wavre and Limal with very limited success. As additional French troops arrived, Grouchy changed his tactics and had them cross the Dyle downriver where there was minimal Resistance, effectively flanking the Prussians. Nightfall brought an end to the fighting. In the morning, news of Napoleon’s defeat reached both sides and Grouchy marched back to Paris.

Wavre, Belgium

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday, 18 June 1815, near Waterloo in Belgium, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the time. A French army under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: A British-led coalition consisting of units from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, referred to by many authors as the Anglo-allied army or Wellington's army, and a Prussian army under the command of Field Marshal von Blücher, referred also as Blücher's army. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Wikipedia: Battle of Waterloo

French

Prussians

Seventh Coalition