Brussels Falls to the French!

The short but sharp engagement at Nivelles left Von Balck's column routed and in full retreat by midday. The French declined to pursue after Hinault and Moncassin held a brief conference on the battlefield. At the urging of  Representative on Mission Schwarz, who appreciated the political and psychological significance of Brussels, the French Avant Gard marched north on the provincial capital. By nightfall French hussars were carousing in the city.

A French Hussar about to carouse...

General Moncassin remained in position on the high ground east of Nivelles. His men had had the hardest fighting that morning and although some would have marched north on Brussels to claim a prize they saw as rightfully theirs, most were glad of the opportunity to bivouac and rest. The weather was good and the night a mild one. Moncassin's division was thus well placed to cover the right flank of the French axis of advance.

That afternoon Le Clerc's division passed through Nivelles and with their flank protected by their comrades, continued north in the direction of Brussels, halting for the night at the village of Waterloo.

The Reserve, under the direct command of Deschamps, marched in their wake but only reached Nivelles by nightfall. Deschamps commandeered a tavern in the town for his headquarters and dined with Moncassin.

For their part the Austrians were in disarray. Von Balck's defeated column reached Ligny by nightfall and there, through a combination of exhaustion and the restoration of discipline, it halted. O'Reilly had spent the day marching in the direction of Wavre and by nightfall was halfway between that place and Gembloux. Thus the left wing of the Austrian army was widely dispersed and in no postion to threaten the French.

The Austrian right was similarly wrong footed by the French victory at Nivelles. Von Schwarzkopf, instead of cutting the French axis of advance by marching from Hal to Waterloo, moved south to Braine Le Comte, allowing his enemy to sever his line of communication with Brussels. Von Luck's column was in the van, groping its way south to Soignes, reaching the town long after the French had departed.

As night fell on 10 May the Austrians still had an army in being. It remained to see what the effect of losing Brussels and the drubbing meted out to von Balck would have on the Austrian will to resist. Von Schwarzkopf's options were limited. He could fight on but his forces were divided and the French had captured his base, or he could sue for peace and try and negotiate an honourable settlement.

It was to be a long night...