The brigade fought in both the
Battle of Quatre Bras and the
Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 against the French
Army of the North commanded by
Napoleon Bonaparte. On 15 June Nassau units of the 2nd Brigade were engaged by the vanguard of the French army's left wing; which developed into the Battle of Quatre Bras where Van Bylandt's brigade played a major role during the morning and early afternoon of 16 June 1815, before the arrival of Allied forces, when they were facing the French alone. Especially the 27th Jagers and the 5th National Militia bore the brunt of the attack after 2 pm of the divisions of
Bachelu and
Foy under the direction of
general Reille toward the Gemioncourt farm (which changed hands several times during the battle). As a consequence of their prolonged involvement in combat, the van Bylandt Brigade ended the engagement as the most battered and decimated unit among the Allies. After the battle the Anglo-allied army deployed at the escarpment near
Mont-Saint-Jean. Van Bylandt's brigade was initially placed on Wellington's orders in front of
Thomas Picton's division in an advanced position at the downward slope of the escarpment. However, the position was untenable as it left the brigade exposed to French artillery fire. As such, the commander of the 2nd Netherlands Division, general Perponcher, ordered Van Bylandt to reposition his brigade behind the crest of the hill (where Picton's division was) 11 am, a manoeuvre which was completed around noon.. The new disposition of the brigade was in front of the interval between the brigades of
Kempt and
Pack, with the 27th Jagers on the right, the 7th battalion of the line and the 7th National Militia in the middle, and the 8th National Militia on the left, while the depleted 5th National Militia was placed behind them in reserve. and were in good fighting order when the Corps of
d'Erlon commenced his attack on their position at 2 pm. Of this Corps, the division of
Donzelot threw itself at the position taken by Bylandt's brigade, bypassing the farm of
La Haye Sainte. The brigade's troops were arrayed in two ranks, pouring volley fire into the advancing French troops. But it was too weak to make too much of an impression. This enabled the French to break through the line of the brigade, forcing it to retreat to the position of the 5th National Militia. At this time the British brigades of Pack and Kempt, who formed the Allies' second echelon, counter-attacked the flanks of the French column, soon joined by the Dutch troops that were rallied by colonel Van Zuylen. They succeeded in driving the French back to the hollow road along the crest of the escarpment. Then the Allied cavalry massacred them, putting an end to this part of the battle. Van Bylandt, van Zuylen and most of the division's commanders were wounded and the eventual counterattack was executed under the command of Captain Bast. On the part of Wellington it may have been legitimate to be wary of the loyalty of the Belgian and Dutch troops, as some had fought in the French army, and the chief of the Dutch general staff, the Swiss general
Rebecque had blocked a mistaken order, based on sloppy staff work, from Wellington to abandon Quatre Bras in the evening of 15 June (which Wellington in the morning of 16 June found justified). Many British historians and authors have repeatedly criticized the Dutch, Belgian and German troops for their, in comparison to the British contingents, allegedly low morale, shameful conduct in combat and even cowardice, generally based on the reports of British officers, such as Kennedy. The alleged retreat of parts of Van Bylandt's brigade upon the French infantry attack at
La Haye Sainte has been particularly condemned. However authors from other backgrounds have concluded, that with regard to their already weakened condition, Wellington's mistrust and the local isolation and exposure, these men fought indeed valiantly. Napoleon himself had observed...
that heroic determination of the Prince of Orange as to be an essential force of conquest. After the Battle of Waterloo the Allied army marched on Paris, where Emperor Bonaparte would eventually abdicate which finally ended a 25-year period of war. ==Notes==