At this time, Captain Bogue was shot in the head and killed by a skirmisher. [63], Vlkerschlachtdenkmal: Monument to the Battle of the Nations, completed in 1913, Jahrhunderthalle in Breslau (modern Wrocaw in Poland), also completed in 1913. [40] However, he was not yet in the mood for withdrawing as he thought to achieve one more great victory for France. Despite the injunction to avoid battle with the Emperor, the Army of Bohemia engaged Napoleon at the Battle of Dresden on 27 August where the French won a crushing victory. Additionally, in early September the Bavarians proclaimed neutrality following Charles John's victory over Ney at Dennewitz. [1] The Coalition had around 380,000 troops[1] along with 1,500 guns,[3] consisting of 145,000 Russians, 115,000 Austrians, 90,000 Prussians, and 30,000 Swedes. By the time Napoleon arrived on the battlefield along with the Young Guard and some Chasseurs, Merveldt found that the avenue of advance was well covered by the French battery and some skirmishers who had occupied the houses there and did not permit the Austrians to deploy their artillery in support of the attack. The defense was also strengthened with artillery and strong infantry reserves behind the village. Chandler, David. The Austrians proceeded to give a demonstration of combined arms cooperation as Austrian cavalry attacked French infantry to give the Austrian infantry time to arrive and deploy in the attack on Dlitz, but the Young Guard threw them out. [65], In 1829, it was reported in British newspapers that human bones from the battlefield were being collected and shipped to Scotland for use as fertilizer. [33][32][34], Liebertwolkwitz was a large village in a commanding position, defended by Marshal MacDonald and General Lauriston with about 18,000 men. [43], In the meantime, at the behest of his officers, who felt embarrassed that they had not participated in the battle, Bernadotte gave the order for his light infantry to participate in the final assault on Leipzig itself. break austria turn 1 and let AI run into stacks you move in first order. Counter-charges by the numerous Russian cavalry saved the infantry by repeatedly driving back the French cavalry, albeit with heavy losses. Pp. [14][15] As outlined by the Trachenberg Plan, the Coalition armies would avoid battle with Napoleon, retreat whenever Napoleon himself advanced, and instead target the forces under the command of his marshals. The Swedish jgers performed very well,[43] losing only 35 men dead and 173 wounded while capturing 647 French prisoners. The rivers that converged there split the surrounding terrain into four separate sectors. [40], During this time, Napoleon sent Merveldt, who had been captured two days earlier, back to the Allies on parole. The Young Guard was sent in to drive out the allies and give Napoleon his breakthrough. Ended up beating it in ~16 after taking the advice about breaking Austria first turn and paying more attention to turn order. The action he had ordered Blcher to take met with great success north of Leipzig and the actions of the Russian Guard were decisive in halting the all-out French attack on Gulden Gossa in the south. Schwarzenberg then drafted another plan that was largely designed to let everyone do as they pleased. Chandler (1991). Though Napoleon repeatedly engaged some of their units during his counter-offensive campaign, he was eventually forced to abdicate after Paris fell to the Allies and exiled to the island of Elba. The Prussians again conducted a charge upon French lines, but this charge was less successful than the first one. [43][48], More heavy fighting occurred in Schnefeld. This made Leipzig the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, surpassing Borodino, Wagram, Jena and Auerstedt, Ulm, and Dresden. [53] The corporal ignited the fuses at 1:00 in the afternoon while the bridge was still crowded with retreating French troops and Oudinot's rearguard was still in Leipzig. The Prussians conducted a series of attacks against the French positions at the village, but because the French artillery repulsed each attack, their efforts were in vain. He crossed the Elbe with much of his army between late September and early October, and organized his forces around Leipzig, to protect his crucial supply lines and oppose the converging Coalition armies arrayed against him. Captain Bogue of the British Rocket Brigade, advanced with his unit and began firing Congreve rockets into the town, causing the defenders to fall back in disorder. 1617 October:257,000[1]1,400 guns[1] The allies regrouped as the Sixth Coalition, comprising Austria, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, as well as smaller German states whose citizens and leaders were no longer loyal to the French emperor. The western flank of the French positions at Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz was defended by Prince Jzef Poniatowski and Marshal Pierre Augereau and his young French conscripts. [32], The Russian II Corps attacked Wachau near Leipzig with support from the Prussian 9th Brigade. Alexander I now urged all of his subordinate commanders including those of Austria, Prussia, and other nations to push the gigantic Coalition army on the offensive after the battle, and, having decisively won the battle, was more than ever determined to carry the war onto French soil. [40], The French received only 14,000 troops as reinforcements. Merveldt himself in an unlucky turn was wounded and captured by the French after he went straight into the Saxon-Polish lines at the Pleie River. [24][25], The northern front was defended by Marshals Michel Ney and Auguste de Marmont, and the eastern front by Marshal Jacques MacDonald. Celebration of the Battle of Leipsic Is Causing Irritation", "Monument in Commemoration of the Battle of Leipsic in 1813", Easily ranking as one of the largest battles in History, Allied Order-of-Battle at Leipzig: 1618 October 1813, French order of battle: IIXI Army Corps, French order of battle: Cavalry Reserve and the Imperial Guard, French Order of Battle for Leipzig, 16-19 October 1813 (George Nafziger collection), Allied Order of Battle for Leipzig, 16-19 October 1813 (George Nafziger collection), "How Britain helped win the nineteenth century's 'the most important' battle", http://www.voelkerschlacht-bei-leipzig.de/, England expects that every man will do his duty, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Leipzig&oldid=1099278006, Battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition, Battles involving the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic), Articles containing Swedish-language text, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles with German-language sources (de), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 July 2022, at 23:04. [51][43] At first, French officers saw the Saxons' rushing towards the advancing Prussians as a charge, but treachery became evident as they saw the Saxons asking the Prussians to join with them for the impending assault. [10], Anti-French forces joined Russia as its troops pursued the remnants of the virtually destroyed Grande Arme across Central Europe. Meanwhile, Charles John had begun a concerted propaganda campaign in Germany, drawing on his experience as Minister of War during the French Revolution, to stoke German nationalist feeling and calling on the kings of Bavaria and Saxony, whose armies he had commanded in 1805 and 1809, to repudiate their French alliances. At first sign of the attack, the Polish division attacked. [53], During the night the French army had been ordered to withdraw silently from Connewitz, Probstheida, Stotteritz, Volkmansdorf, and Reudnitz, all to cross the river via Leipzig and the single bridge in the river. Blcher agreed to dispatch Langeron's army corps, and to renounce his rank and his rights as army commander, putting himself at the head of his Prussians. During the armistice, the monarchs of Russia and Prussia met with Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden at Trachenberg Castle in Silesia where the former French Marshal outlined a strategy for defeating Napoleon that, with added details from the Austrians following their joining of the Coalition on 12 August 1813, became known as the Trachenberg Plan. [37] This position was defended by General Dbrowski's Polish division of four infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions. Frederick William III attempted to opine to Alexander but could do nothing so he treated the discussion as if it was none of his concern. As they had the day before, the Allied cavalry proved to be superior, driving the French away with great losses. Napoleon conscripted these men to be readied for an even larger campaign against the newly formed Sixth Coalition and its forces stationed in Germany. The French counterattacked, throwing the Austrians out of the school and back over the river. [29], The French had gained slight victories at Lindenau and Wachau, and sustained a reverse at Mckern. Marshal Marmont brought up infantry columns behind the positions in reserve and for a quick counter-attack against any fallen position. Actually not that hard once you know what to pay attention to. He added that, if approved, they should sign an armistice and undertake peace negotiations. The Campaigns of Napoleon. As for the Allies, the chaotic nature of their initial attack at Wachau, coupled with the flanking of waiting French forces, nearly led to catastrophe. He was sent six battalions under Major-General Gibbs, plus the Rocket Brigade. The Battle of Leipzig[b] (French: Bataille de Leipsick; German: Vlkerschlacht bei Leipzig (German: [flklaxt ba lapts] (listen)); Swedish: Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (French: Bataille des Nations; Russian: , romanized:Bitva narodov), was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. However, close adherence to the Trachenberg Plan led to Coalition victories at Grobeeren, Kulm, Katzbach, and Dennewitz. Barclay was pressured by the monarchs, especially Alexander I, to take the village since it was the key to the positions of Napoleon's troops, and although von Kleist opposed this, the monarchs' orders were paramount, so Barclay had to follow their orders anyway. [53] At this time, he promoted Poniatowski to the rank of Marchal d'Empire, the only foreigner of all his marshals who was given this title, and the latter swore that he would fight to the last stand, which he did. With this string of defeats, the French armies were in retreat on all fronts across Europe. In over nine hours of fighting, in which both sides suffered heavy casualties, the French troops were slowly forced back towards Leipzig. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I and Karl von Schwarzenberg, decisively defeated the Grande Arme of French Emperor Napoleon I. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine (mainly Saxony and Wrttemberg). Easton Press. Napoleon lost about 38,000 killed and wounded. This strategy would ensure the encirclement of the French army in Leipzig and its vicinity, or at least inflict heavy losses upon them to assure the needed decisive results. Pp. Here, about 60,000 soldiers under Barclay were marching and advancing towards the village in two columns, one under von Kleist advancing through Wachau, and one under General Wittgenstein advancing through Liebertwolkwitz. A manor, palace, walled gardens, and low walls dominated the village. [40], The Prussian 9th Brigade occupied the abandoned village of Wachau while the Austrians, with General Bianchi's Hungarians, threw the French out of Lnig. [18], With the intention of knocking Prussia out of the war as soon as possible, Napoleon sent Marshal Nicolas Oudinot to take the Prussian capital of Berlin with an army of 60,000. [35] However, for the French, there was also a negative strategic consequence for this minor success. [52] Later that night, Napoleon was treating the battle as a lost cause. [40], The French dispositions at the village, however, were heavily fortified, thanks to the high and thick garden walls that gave excellent protection for the French infantry. 4 on 1 with equal income but team of 4 has 2x armies to start. Upon learning of Schwarzenberg's main plan to call for a secondary attack on the bridge between Leipzig and Lindenau to be led by Blcher and Gyulay, and a main attack astride the Pleie River to be led by General Merveldt, Hessen-Homburg and the Prussian Guard, he insisted that this was a disastrous tactic as it would not permit the Coalition armies to outflank and encircle Napoleon's army and destroy it. [40], It was soon evident that the Allies would encircle Napoleon and his army, and he knew that not retreating from the battle would mean capitulation for his entire army, which by this time were starting to run out of supplies and ammunition. These victories led to a brief armistice. The Allied cavalry advance posts were ordered to attack without relief the French advanced posts during the night to determine whether or not the French were attempting to withdraw.
Pp. The 91-metre (299ft) Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Vlkerschlachtdenkmal) was completed in 1913 according to a design by Bruno Schmitz at a cost of six million German gold marks. [54] After this, the emperor began to stage the retreat for the Grande Arme westward across the Elster River.
The battle was the culmination of the German Campaign of 1813 and involved 560,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and 133,000 casualties, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I. Decisively defeated again, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine and invading France early the next year. However, they failed to realize that the French were, in fact, pulling out from the battle area. Each position was turned into a fortress with the walls being loopholed for covered fire by the French. The Russian 14th Division began a series of flanking attacks that forced the Poles out of Markkleeberg. [37], The northern front was dominated by the Battle of Mckern. [53] As the Russians and Prussians entered the city through the Halle and Grimma gates they fell upon barricades and houses full of French soldiers. Then the artillery of both sides opened fire upon the village; despite the enormous amount of artillery that the Allies had brought with them, the more powerful French Imperial Guard artillery gradually gained the upper hand. But they were held up in Leipzig because of a ferocious street-to-street rearguard action fought by Marshal Oudinot's 30,000 troops. Blcher commanded Langeron's Russian and Yorck's Prussian corps against Marmont's VI Corps. [11] Napoleon hurried back to France and managed to mobilize another large army, but severe economic hardship and news of defeats had led to war-weariness and growing unrest among France's population.[12]. [43] This broke the encirclement which the Allied forces earlier had made against the Grande Arme, clearing the way for its retreat which would take place later the next day.[43]. Another attempt was made at Berlin on September 6, 1813, this time with Ney in command of 58,000 troops. @kss31: Thank you - will try it like that.. and it works perfect. The battle during the day of 18 October was one of attrition. The Allies had lost approximately 30,000 men, including 2,000 prisoners, the French about 25,000 in all. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. To make matters even worse for Napoleon, in June 1813, the combined armies of Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, had decisively routed the French at the Battle of Vitoria in the Peninsular War, and were now advancing towards the Pyrenees and into France itself. [35] This was done and the guns blasted the exposed Russian II Corps, forcing the Prussian battalions supporting it to take cover. Moreover, the odds seemed to be shifting in the Allies' favor, for while Napoleon could only anticipate the arrival of Jean Reynier's 14,000 men to raise his strength to barely 200,000 troops and 900 cannon, the Allies were awaiting the appearance of Bernadotte's 70,000 men and a similar number under Bennigsen, and these reinforcements would bring their total strength to over 300,000 and 1,500 guns. [9] The campaign ended in complete disaster as Napoleon and his remaining forces retreated during the bitter Russian winter, with sickness, starvation, and the constant harrying of Russian Cossacks and partisans leaving the Grande Arme virtually destroyed by the time it returned from Russia. Alexander thought the plan would potentially allow Napoleon to break the Coalition battle line at one point and then concentrate his forces in the gap created and the weakened sectors. French infantry attacks on Allied positions produced similar results. On the southern front, although Napoleon gained ground, he could not break the Allied lines. Six French generals were killed, 12 wounded, and 36 captured including Lauriston and Reynier[52], Out of a total force of 360,000, the Allies suffered approximately 54,000 casualties. The French artillery had only 20,000 rounds left. For other uses, see, Napoleon's attempt to sue for an armistice, Actions at Wachau, Lssnig (Lnig), and Dlitz, Pro-Napoleonic Germans defect to the Coalition, Saxony and Wrttemberg defected to the allies on 18 October, Bernadotte had asked for a British garrison for Straslund so as to liberate the more Swedish troops for service in Germany. The battle ended the French Empire's presence east of the Rhine and brought secondary German states (e.g. [24], There was a drafting of the battle plan, with Marshals Prince Volkonsky of Russia, Johan Christopher Toll of Sweden and Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck of Prussia taking part in the planning. Estimates range from 80,000 to 110,000 total killed, wounded, or missing. [43], During that morning, Bernadotte and Blcher held a conference in Breitenfeld. This small force was in turn being driven out of Paunsdorf when a barrage of rockets fired in close support[46] again caused the French troops to break ranks. [59] Casualties on both sides were astoundingly high, such that locals had difficulty disposing of the corpses, with some still visible the following year. However, Alexander complained about his incompetence in terms of battle planning upon seeing the plan for himself. They recaptured both Liebertwolkwitz and Wachau, but the allies countered with Russian Guard and Austrian grenadiers backed by Russian cuirassiers. When the battle hung in the balance, Marmont ordered a cavalry charge, but his commander refused to attack. II. 1819 October:195,000[1]. Artillery caused the majority of the 9,000 Allied and 7,000 French casualties, and the French lost another 2,000 prisoners. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg, the Austrians and Russians from Dresden (which they had recently retaken, after the Battle of Kulm), and the Swedes from the north. Seemingly, though somewhat reluctantly, convinced, Alexander soon agreed to his plan, and he then ordered him to tell the other commanders to follow the plan. Those in Lindenau were to move to Weissenfels. 5253, 101. Merveldt was given a letter to Alexander I, Francis I, and Frederick William III in which Napoleon offered to surrender to the Allies the fortresses he held along the Oder and Vistula, on the condition that the Allies allow him to withdraw to a position behind the Saale. Leggiere, Michael V (2015). [32], The northern front opened with the attack by General Langeron's Russian corps on the villages of Gro-Wiederitzsch and Klein-Wiederitzsch in the centre of the French northern lines. [66], 1813 battle during the War of the Sixth Coalition, "Battle of the Nations" redirects here. Poniatowski retook Markkleeberg, but was thrown out by two Prussian battalions. A fourth army was constituted as the Army of Poland, initially 30,000 men, but expanding to 70,000 by year's end, under the command of Count Benningsen. Repulsed, the Austrians then moved to attack nearby Dlitz, down a road crossed by two bridges and leading to a manor house and a mill. [61], Three weeks after Leipzig, having won the Battle of Hanau, Napoleon arrived at Saint-Cloud to organize the defense of France.
[16][17] After these defeats and defections the French emperor could not capitalize on his victory at Dresden. A dike ran east along the Elster River being four metres high. [24] Holding Leipzig and its bridges, Napoleon could shift troops from one sector to another far more rapidly than the Allies could, who had difficulty moving such large numbers of troops into a single sector. [53] They were ordered to hold it for a day or a bit longer, in order to allow the rest of the army, its artillery, and its equipment sufficient time to evacuate. The ground to the west of the position was too wooded and swampy for emplacement of artillery. A day earlier, the Russians had taken most of the losses incurred during the battle, so it was the Prussians who took the initiative. On the other hand, the actions of the Austrians along the Pleisse River, part of Schwarzenberg's initial plan, ended in failure. Pp. The French took them by surprise on the flank, mauling them. After their withdrawal, the Allied troops were pursued by French infantry before being counterattacked by Austrian hussar and grenzer cavalries, in turn driving the French back. [27], However, not willing to plan the battle by himself as he had done during his disastrous defeat at Austerlitz almost a decade earlier, Alexander had Schwarzenberg draft another battle plan based on his thoughts and views. "[60] Half a million troops had been lost in the German Campaign of 1813. Catching four battalions of the Prussian 12th Brigade in the open, Poniatowski directed attacks by artillery and cavalry until they were relieved by Russian hussars. The course of the battle in the city of Leipzig is marked by numerous monuments and the 50 Apel-stones that mark important lines of the French and Allied troops. Repeated assaults by Russian musketeers and grenadiers under Langeron finally drove the French out of Schnefeld. 898901. [49][50], On the western front, the French IV Corps under Bertrand finally drove the Austrian III Corps under Gyulay away from Lindenau. Meanwhile, Russian and Austrian forces began attacking French and Saxon positions in Paunsdorf, but after counterattacks by French infantry and deadly canister shots from Franco-Saxon batteries, were driven back. IV Corps was needed by Napoleon for his attacks on the main Austro-Russian armies positioned at the south, and since they did not take part in the attack as they were that time engaging the Austrians in Lindenau, his attack failed.
Four years prior, Bernadotte, while still a Marshal of the Empire, had commanded the wholly Saxon IX Corps during the Battle of Wagram where his mild and courteous behavior toward them in the weeks prior, along with a controversial Order of the Day praising their courage after the battle, greatly endeared Bernadotte to them. [53] Soon thereafter between 8:009:00 am they launched a full-scale assault from the north, south, and east against the retreating French. Can't figure this one out. The Poles suffered heavy casualties during their furious defense and set fire to both the manor and the mill during their retreat. However, Alexander refused to surrender even as the French occupied the city, which was set on fire by the time of its occupation. The battle wavered back and forth with attacks and counterattacks. [19][20] With an intact Army of the North threatening from the direction of Berlin, and Blucher's army moving toward the Elbe, Napoleon was compelled to withdraw westward. The battle lasted well into the night. Skirmishers were posted in the farm houses, in the brush, in the parks, and everywhere possible. Poniatowski stopped the retreat and the advancing Russians. Oudinot was defeated at the Battle of Grobeeren, by the Prussians under von Blow of the Army of the North, just south of the city. The majority of his troops now consisted of teenagers and inexperienced men conscripted shortly after the near destruction of the Grande Arme in Russia. It also dealt a harsh blow to Napoleon himself, who had a second French army destroyed in as many years, and was decisively defeated in battle again, repeating such defeats as the one suffered in 1809 at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, severely damaging his reputation as a military genius. [62] When he went back to Paris at the year's end, his first words on entering the Senate, after his return from the battle disaster, sad and low in mood, were, "A year ago all Europe marched with us; today all Europe marches against us. The Austrians repaired a bridge and took a school building and manor. Alexander was also the supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the eastern front of the war, while Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg of Austria was the commander-in-chief of all Coalition forces in the German theatre. The French Emperor Napoleon I attempted to force Emperor Alexander I of Russia into rejoining his unpopular Continental System by invading Russia on 24 June 1812with around 685,000 troops, and eventually entered Moscow in late 1812, following the bloody, yet indecisive Battle of Borodino. He deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Sttteritz, where he placed his command. It was agreed that Bernadotte's Army of the North would pass the Parthe River at Taucha with a reinforcement of 30,000 men drawn from Blcher's Army of Silesia. Later events in the battle proved the Russian emperor's judgments correct. 908-911. [c], Despite being outnumbered, Napoleon planned to take the offensive between the Pleie and the Parthe rivers. In the end, the numbers and determination of the Russians prevailed and the Poles retreated to Pfaffendorf. [55], The Allies had only learned of the French evacuation at 7:00 on the morning of the 19 October. [53] The explosion and subsequent panic caused a rout that resulted in the deaths of thousands of French troops and the capture of 30,000 others.
Pp. The 91-metre (299ft) Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Vlkerschlachtdenkmal) was completed in 1913 according to a design by Bruno Schmitz at a cost of six million German gold marks. [54] After this, the emperor began to stage the retreat for the Grande Arme westward across the Elster River.
The battle was the culmination of the German Campaign of 1813 and involved 560,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and 133,000 casualties, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I. Decisively defeated again, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine and invading France early the next year. However, they failed to realize that the French were, in fact, pulling out from the battle area. Each position was turned into a fortress with the walls being loopholed for covered fire by the French. The Russian 14th Division began a series of flanking attacks that forced the Poles out of Markkleeberg. [37], The northern front was dominated by the Battle of Mckern. [53] As the Russians and Prussians entered the city through the Halle and Grimma gates they fell upon barricades and houses full of French soldiers. Then the artillery of both sides opened fire upon the village; despite the enormous amount of artillery that the Allies had brought with them, the more powerful French Imperial Guard artillery gradually gained the upper hand. But they were held up in Leipzig because of a ferocious street-to-street rearguard action fought by Marshal Oudinot's 30,000 troops. Blcher commanded Langeron's Russian and Yorck's Prussian corps against Marmont's VI Corps. [11] Napoleon hurried back to France and managed to mobilize another large army, but severe economic hardship and news of defeats had led to war-weariness and growing unrest among France's population.[12]. [43] This broke the encirclement which the Allied forces earlier had made against the Grande Arme, clearing the way for its retreat which would take place later the next day.[43]. Another attempt was made at Berlin on September 6, 1813, this time with Ney in command of 58,000 troops. @kss31: Thank you - will try it like that.. and it works perfect. The battle during the day of 18 October was one of attrition. The Allies had lost approximately 30,000 men, including 2,000 prisoners, the French about 25,000 in all. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. To make matters even worse for Napoleon, in June 1813, the combined armies of Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, under the command of the Duke of Wellington, had decisively routed the French at the Battle of Vitoria in the Peninsular War, and were now advancing towards the Pyrenees and into France itself. [35] This was done and the guns blasted the exposed Russian II Corps, forcing the Prussian battalions supporting it to take cover. Moreover, the odds seemed to be shifting in the Allies' favor, for while Napoleon could only anticipate the arrival of Jean Reynier's 14,000 men to raise his strength to barely 200,000 troops and 900 cannon, the Allies were awaiting the appearance of Bernadotte's 70,000 men and a similar number under Bennigsen, and these reinforcements would bring their total strength to over 300,000 and 1,500 guns. [9] The campaign ended in complete disaster as Napoleon and his remaining forces retreated during the bitter Russian winter, with sickness, starvation, and the constant harrying of Russian Cossacks and partisans leaving the Grande Arme virtually destroyed by the time it returned from Russia. Alexander thought the plan would potentially allow Napoleon to break the Coalition battle line at one point and then concentrate his forces in the gap created and the weakened sectors. French infantry attacks on Allied positions produced similar results. On the southern front, although Napoleon gained ground, he could not break the Allied lines. Six French generals were killed, 12 wounded, and 36 captured including Lauriston and Reynier[52], Out of a total force of 360,000, the Allies suffered approximately 54,000 casualties. The French artillery had only 20,000 rounds left. For other uses, see, Napoleon's attempt to sue for an armistice, Actions at Wachau, Lssnig (Lnig), and Dlitz, Pro-Napoleonic Germans defect to the Coalition, Saxony and Wrttemberg defected to the allies on 18 October, Bernadotte had asked for a British garrison for Straslund so as to liberate the more Swedish troops for service in Germany. The battle ended the French Empire's presence east of the Rhine and brought secondary German states (e.g. [24], There was a drafting of the battle plan, with Marshals Prince Volkonsky of Russia, Johan Christopher Toll of Sweden and Karl Friedrich von dem Knesebeck of Prussia taking part in the planning. Estimates range from 80,000 to 110,000 total killed, wounded, or missing. [43], During that morning, Bernadotte and Blcher held a conference in Breitenfeld. This small force was in turn being driven out of Paunsdorf when a barrage of rockets fired in close support[46] again caused the French troops to break ranks. [59] Casualties on both sides were astoundingly high, such that locals had difficulty disposing of the corpses, with some still visible the following year. However, Alexander complained about his incompetence in terms of battle planning upon seeing the plan for himself. They recaptured both Liebertwolkwitz and Wachau, but the allies countered with Russian Guard and Austrian grenadiers backed by Russian cuirassiers. When the battle hung in the balance, Marmont ordered a cavalry charge, but his commander refused to attack. II. 1819 October:195,000[1]. Artillery caused the majority of the 9,000 Allied and 7,000 French casualties, and the French lost another 2,000 prisoners. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg, the Austrians and Russians from Dresden (which they had recently retaken, after the Battle of Kulm), and the Swedes from the north. Seemingly, though somewhat reluctantly, convinced, Alexander soon agreed to his plan, and he then ordered him to tell the other commanders to follow the plan. Those in Lindenau were to move to Weissenfels. 5253, 101. Merveldt was given a letter to Alexander I, Francis I, and Frederick William III in which Napoleon offered to surrender to the Allies the fortresses he held along the Oder and Vistula, on the condition that the Allies allow him to withdraw to a position behind the Saale. Leggiere, Michael V (2015). [32], The northern front opened with the attack by General Langeron's Russian corps on the villages of Gro-Wiederitzsch and Klein-Wiederitzsch in the centre of the French northern lines. [66], 1813 battle during the War of the Sixth Coalition, "Battle of the Nations" redirects here. Poniatowski retook Markkleeberg, but was thrown out by two Prussian battalions. A fourth army was constituted as the Army of Poland, initially 30,000 men, but expanding to 70,000 by year's end, under the command of Count Benningsen. Repulsed, the Austrians then moved to attack nearby Dlitz, down a road crossed by two bridges and leading to a manor house and a mill. [61], Three weeks after Leipzig, having won the Battle of Hanau, Napoleon arrived at Saint-Cloud to organize the defense of France.
[16][17] After these defeats and defections the French emperor could not capitalize on his victory at Dresden. A dike ran east along the Elster River being four metres high. [24] Holding Leipzig and its bridges, Napoleon could shift troops from one sector to another far more rapidly than the Allies could, who had difficulty moving such large numbers of troops into a single sector. [53] They were ordered to hold it for a day or a bit longer, in order to allow the rest of the army, its artillery, and its equipment sufficient time to evacuate. The ground to the west of the position was too wooded and swampy for emplacement of artillery. A day earlier, the Russians had taken most of the losses incurred during the battle, so it was the Prussians who took the initiative. On the other hand, the actions of the Austrians along the Pleisse River, part of Schwarzenberg's initial plan, ended in failure. Pp. The French took them by surprise on the flank, mauling them. After their withdrawal, the Allied troops were pursued by French infantry before being counterattacked by Austrian hussar and grenzer cavalries, in turn driving the French back. [27], However, not willing to plan the battle by himself as he had done during his disastrous defeat at Austerlitz almost a decade earlier, Alexander had Schwarzenberg draft another battle plan based on his thoughts and views. "[60] Half a million troops had been lost in the German Campaign of 1813. Catching four battalions of the Prussian 12th Brigade in the open, Poniatowski directed attacks by artillery and cavalry until they were relieved by Russian hussars. The course of the battle in the city of Leipzig is marked by numerous monuments and the 50 Apel-stones that mark important lines of the French and Allied troops. Repeated assaults by Russian musketeers and grenadiers under Langeron finally drove the French out of Schnefeld. 898901. [49][50], On the western front, the French IV Corps under Bertrand finally drove the Austrian III Corps under Gyulay away from Lindenau. Meanwhile, Russian and Austrian forces began attacking French and Saxon positions in Paunsdorf, but after counterattacks by French infantry and deadly canister shots from Franco-Saxon batteries, were driven back. IV Corps was needed by Napoleon for his attacks on the main Austro-Russian armies positioned at the south, and since they did not take part in the attack as they were that time engaging the Austrians in Lindenau, his attack failed.
Four years prior, Bernadotte, while still a Marshal of the Empire, had commanded the wholly Saxon IX Corps during the Battle of Wagram where his mild and courteous behavior toward them in the weeks prior, along with a controversial Order of the Day praising their courage after the battle, greatly endeared Bernadotte to them. [53] Soon thereafter between 8:009:00 am they launched a full-scale assault from the north, south, and east against the retreating French. Can't figure this one out. The Poles suffered heavy casualties during their furious defense and set fire to both the manor and the mill during their retreat. However, Alexander refused to surrender even as the French occupied the city, which was set on fire by the time of its occupation. The battle wavered back and forth with attacks and counterattacks. [19][20] With an intact Army of the North threatening from the direction of Berlin, and Blucher's army moving toward the Elbe, Napoleon was compelled to withdraw westward. The battle lasted well into the night. Skirmishers were posted in the farm houses, in the brush, in the parks, and everywhere possible. Poniatowski stopped the retreat and the advancing Russians. Oudinot was defeated at the Battle of Grobeeren, by the Prussians under von Blow of the Army of the North, just south of the city. The majority of his troops now consisted of teenagers and inexperienced men conscripted shortly after the near destruction of the Grande Arme in Russia. It also dealt a harsh blow to Napoleon himself, who had a second French army destroyed in as many years, and was decisively defeated in battle again, repeating such defeats as the one suffered in 1809 at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, severely damaging his reputation as a military genius. [62] When he went back to Paris at the year's end, his first words on entering the Senate, after his return from the battle disaster, sad and low in mood, were, "A year ago all Europe marched with us; today all Europe marches against us. The Austrians repaired a bridge and took a school building and manor. Alexander was also the supreme commander of the Coalition forces in the eastern front of the war, while Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg of Austria was the commander-in-chief of all Coalition forces in the German theatre. The French Emperor Napoleon I attempted to force Emperor Alexander I of Russia into rejoining his unpopular Continental System by invading Russia on 24 June 1812with around 685,000 troops, and eventually entered Moscow in late 1812, following the bloody, yet indecisive Battle of Borodino. He deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Sttteritz, where he placed his command. It was agreed that Bernadotte's Army of the North would pass the Parthe River at Taucha with a reinforcement of 30,000 men drawn from Blcher's Army of Silesia. Later events in the battle proved the Russian emperor's judgments correct. 908-911. [c], Despite being outnumbered, Napoleon planned to take the offensive between the Pleie and the Parthe rivers. In the end, the numbers and determination of the Russians prevailed and the Poles retreated to Pfaffendorf. [55], The Allies had only learned of the French evacuation at 7:00 on the morning of the 19 October. [53] The explosion and subsequent panic caused a rout that resulted in the deaths of thousands of French troops and the capture of 30,000 others.