Which Prussian general commanded the IV Corps that first reinforced Wellington at Waterloo?

Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow commanded the Prussian IV Corps that first reinforced Wellington at Waterloo. His troops were part of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher’s Prussian army, which marched toward the battlefield after fighting Napoleon at Ligny two days earlier.

Bülow’s IV Corps approached from the east and entered the battle near the village of Plancenoit. Its arrival was crucial because Napoleon had to divert French forces, including elements of the Imperial Guard, to stop the Prussian advance. This reduced the pressure on Wellington’s army at the very moment French attacks were threatening the Allied centre.

The phrase “first reinforced Wellington” needs a little context. Bülow’s corps was the first major Prussian formation to reach the Waterloo battlefield, but the Prussians did not simply join Wellington’s line immediately. Their initial fighting was around Plancenoit, on Napoleon’s right rear, where they engaged French troops in a separate but strategically decisive struggle.

Later, other Prussian formations commanded by generals such as Zieten and Pirch arrived. Their combined pressure helped turn Napoleon’s failed final attack into a general French collapse. Blücher himself commanded the army, but Bülow commanded the IV Corps.