Battle of Wavre

The field

The bulk of the fighting took place in the town of Wavre The Town Hall of Wavre The Rue du Commerce in Wavre and on both banks of the river Dyle The river Dyle in Bierges, heading southwest to Bierges and Limal. The river, swollen by the rains, was not fordable, and the paths were extremely muddy.

The Bawette farm, north-northwest of Wavre

The fights

On June 18, while the terrible battle of Waterloo was taking place 17 kilometers to the west, Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy, who was pursuing the Prussians to Wavre as ordered, was confronted with the Prussian III Corps of General Johann von Thielmann Johann Adolf von Thielmann.

Intense fighting took place on the heights, then in the town itself for control of the Christ bridge The Christ Bridge in Wavre over the river Dyle, and finally a little further south around the wooden bridge near the Bierges mill.

The Dyle River and the Bierges mill

In the middle of the night, the Prussians launched a cavalry attack on the French lines, which resisted.

On the morning of the 19th, the troops of François Antoine Teste François Antoine Teste took Bierges, those of Dominique Vandamme, Count of Unsebourg, entered Wavre and the Prussians must resolve to evacuate the city and retreat towards Louvain, to the north.

Then came the news of the defeat at Waterloo. Subsequently, the French began the evacuation between 11 a.m. and noon, with Vandamme's corps remaining behind until the afternoon to cover the retreat. This will be carried out in good order to France, via Namur.

Aftermath

The Battle of Wavre, an indisputable French tactical victory, was nonetheless a strategic defeat to the extent that the ground was left to the enemy due to the retreat made necessary by Napoleon's rout at Waterloo.