La Haye was a farm, in a hamlet of the same name, in the Belgian municipality of Lasne.[a] It was destroyed by fire in 1910.[2] During the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) the farm was one of the fortified garrisoned points that made up a bulwark on the extreme left (eastern end) of the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-allied line.
Along with La Haye, the eastern bulwark consisted of three other garrisoned and hastily fortified locations: less than 150 metres (160 yd) to the west was Papelotte farm which like la Hay was on the northern bank of a shallow valley. About 430 metres (470 yd) to the east was the hamlet of Smohain. At this point the valley had become a defile with a boggy stream at the bottom. The fourth location was the now ruined Châteaux Frischermont (then similar to the better known Châteaux Hougoumont which was located on the Anglo-allies right-hand flank ) which was about 700 metres (770 yd) to the south-east on a premonitory on other bank of the valley.[3]
The bulwark was held during the day by Anglo-allied soldiers under the command of Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar.[4] At about 19:30 the vanguard of Prussian I Corps (Zieten's) linked up with the Anglo-allied army in this area.[1]