On the morning of 17th June 1815, the bulk of the British army had withdrawn through Genappe on its way to Waterloo. Leaving the cavalry to form a rear-guard around the town. Wellington, realising the French were too close for comfort and his infantry force too far away, ordered, (via Lord Uxbridge), his cavalry to form up in a staggered arrangement to delay the French long enough to complete his manoeuvres at Waterloo.
In the early hours, British Hussars reported a general advance by the French, and soon after, the French cavalry appear on the horizon but with barely enough time to react, the British braced themselves for the onslaught.
Uxbridge ordered the leading elements of the centre and left wing to fall back in a defensive line to the farm on the outskirts of Genappe, so as not to be outflanked. Leaving Dornberg and the KGL on the right in place using the wood as flank protection.
Pretty soon, French line lancers engaged the "Blues" and 1st Household cavalry on the left, while French Hussars stormed down the road to charge the 23rd light Dragoons.
The weather so far remained dry, but thunderous cloud bursts were never far away, so the French cavalry took advantage of this and continued to charge and maintain contact wherever possible. Both sides started to take casualties. Dornberg was ordered to withdraw a little way as French dragoons rapidly advanced down the road, as British cavalry tried to break off from the lancers.
The French are now building up forces in the area including infantry and more heavy cavalry. Finally, Uxbridge sends messages to Ponsonby and Somerset to withdraw all troops back to Genappe and Thuy before the losses become too great. A few British cavalry do actually break away from melee, but most continue in hand to hand.
Unfortunately some of the British cavalry in the centre do get caught standing and suffer badly. But by and large the withdrawal continues.
Wellington's left wing starts to come under more pressure and the small farm is beset by French infantry, following a mass retreat of it's cavalry. Thus its time for the near surrounded 95th Rifles to move out toward Thuy.
Uxbridge deems the centre under control and the left wing holding its own, but on the right, the light KGL are now engaged with heavy French cavalry and during the melee, Dornberg is wounded. No units have yet crossed into Genappe and are struggling to completely break away from the pursuing French.
With the melee continuing on the right flank, Dornberg being in the thick of it got wounded again as a regiment of KGL broke and fled toward the ford. Thus leaving the French open to fire from both the Brunswick artillery and the light infantry formed in line. This proved too much for the French 13th Dragoons who subsequently fled the field. While on the opposite flank, the 2nd Life Guards broke over the stream and through Thuy, while the 95th retired in good order and took up a defensive posture.
Vandeleur remained in control at Thuy and the centre held with cavalry melees ongoing. More units passed over the bridge at Genappe as Wellington and Uxbridge watch their progress. Orders were given to the British Hussars to bolster the withdrawal over the ford as more units slowly crossed over.
As the weather broke with monsoon like quality, and a round of poor shooting and melees, the battle began to draw to a close. British cavalry held the centre, Vandeleur the right wing and the ford remained under the control of the light infantry and Brunswick guns.
Overall, a minor British success, the French retained a better morale then the British, but failed to advance and take Genappe or it's environs before darkness fell. How damaged the British cavalry would be in the sequel battle of Waterloo - only time will tell!
As for the statistics;
French, cavalry only, Wounded - 131, Killed - 664, Deserters - 600 of those 465 would return later.
British, cavalry only, Wounded - 334, Killed - 587, Deserters - 1043 of those 870 would return later.
The game played out in a different way to the real battle, to start with the rain was much more intense in reality, causing both sides to have trouble moving due to the mud. Most combat seems to have been limited to skirmishing. The British actually fell back to Genappe much earlier in the day, with Uxbridge realising the enormity of the French attack before Wellington could send out orders to withdraw. Several liberties were taken with the French since actual squadrons and regiments are not stated in Sibourne's commentary, so have been improvised based on the action at Quatre-Bras. The main similarity is that no British infantry, other than those mentioned were involved, it was from the British point of view a purely cavalry affair.
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