Prussia, and Great Britain formed the Quadruple Alliance, binding
themselves to maintain the treaty recently signed at Paris, and
not to lay down arms until "Buonaparte should be placed
absolutely beyond possibility of exciting disturbance and
renewing his attempts to possess himself of the supreme power in
France."

The Duke arrived at Brussels on the 4th of April to take command
of the allied army. Instead of the grand armies of the Quadruple
Alliance he found a composite force of some twenty-five thousand
English, Dutch, Belgians, Brunswickers, and Hanoverians. The
Prussians had thirty thousand men within co-operating distance.
In comparison with the thoroughly disciplined army which he had
developed and wielded so skilfully in the peninsula this force
cut a sorry figure. The field-marshal's bitterest complaint was
that his government had not even provided him with the admirable
staff which five years of service had made so familiar with his
methods and desires. On the very verge of the campaign he wrote,
"I have an infamous army, very weak and ill equipped, and a very
inexperienced staff." While the armies of Austria and Russia were
advancing upon France the Emperor was setting an enormous force
in the field. It was his purpose to fall upon the army on the
Belgian frontier before the other allies could enter France. For
the invasion of Belgium he selected one hundred and twenty-five
thousand men. Prince Blucher, commanding the Prussians, now had
as many men, while Wellington, his ally, commanded some ninety-
three thousand, of whom barely one-third were British. Five-
sixths of the British infantry had never been under fire.

Napoleon's plan was to thrust his army between Blucher and