In October 1806, during the War of the Fourth Coalition, Prussian forces under Prince Louis Ferdinand advanced into Thuringia to confront Napoleon’s troops. The Prussian-Saxon contingent, numbering around 8,300 men, aimed to halt the French advance and protect the region.
In 1809, after capturing Vienna during the War of the Fifth Coalition, Napoleon sought to cross the Danube and force the Austrian army into a decisive engagement. Using pontoon bridges from Lobau island, the French established a bridgehead near the villages of Aspern and Essling.
In June 1815, at the start of the Waterloo Campaign, Napoleon sought to prevent Wellington’s Anglo-allied army and Blücher’s Prussian army from joining forces. The crossroads at Quatre Bras, where important roads from Brussels, Charleroi, Namur and Nivelles intersected,
became a strategic point.