Marshal Blücher, as we have seen,[316] had, on the evening of the 14th, ordered a concentration of his entire army in the neighborhood of Sombreffe. This, as has been pointed out above, was done without consultation, at the moment certainly, with the Duke of Wellington; and we have before stated that we do not find that it was done in pursuance of any previous arrangement between the two commanders. At any rate it is not disputed that Marshal Blücher took up a position in order of battle to the south of the Namur-Nivelles turnpike without having received either by letter or word of mouth any assurance whatsoever that his English ally was prepared to support him, other than that contained in Müffling’s despatch, sent off from Brussels about midnight, and informing him that Wellington expected to be at Nivelles at 10 A.M. in strong force. Zieten’s (Ist) Corps, about five o’clock in the morning of the 16th, withdrew[317] from the neighborhood of Fleurus, where it had passed the night of the 15th, to the north side of the brook of Ligny, and took up position in the villages of St. Amand, Brye and Ligny. Between 9 and 10 A.M. the IId Corps, commanded by Pirch I.,[318] arrived, and took up a position behind that occupied by the Ist Corps.[319] Between 11 A.M. and 12 M. the IIId Corps, Thielemann’s, came up, and occupied the line between Sombreffe and Tongrinelle. These were the positions which were held during the battle by the three corps which had been gotten together; the IVth Corps, Bülow’s, it was then known could not come up during the day. Not until noon[320] did Wellington’s letter, dated “On the heights behind Frasnes, 10.30 A.M.,” arrive. Not until 1 P.M.[321] did the Duke himself meet Marshal Blücher. Then a conversation took place between them. There is no doubt that Wellington expressed[322] himself as practically certain that the bulk of his army would be assembled at Quatre Bras early in the afternoon. His verbal statements to Marshal Blücher were to the same effect as the statements contained in his letter. We have seen how mistaken he was in these, and how he came to be mistaken. What he wrote and said, however, he honestly believed; and he certainly did give to Marshal Blücher some assurance that he should be supported by the Anglo-Dutch forces in his impending struggle with the bulk of the French army. According to some authorities, his assurance took the form of a positive promise of support; and these writers do not hesitate to assert that Blücher’s decision to accept battle at Ligny was based upon this definite promise.[323] “Upon this assurance,” says Charras, “the Prussian general decided to receive the battle which he could have avoided.”