The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, fought on 16–19 October 1813, was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte , was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century. The battle was fought on German soil and involved German troops on both sides, as a large proportion of Napoleon's troops actually came from the German Confederation of the Rhine The Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the creation of the Confederation of. The battle involved over 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were.

Knocked back on his heels, Napoleon returned to France, while the Allies kept their momentum, invading France early the next year. Napoleon was forced to abdicate, and was exiled to Elba Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located between the Tyrrhenian Sea and Ligurian Sea, about 50 that spring.

Contents

Prelude

Following Napoleon's disastrous campaign in Russia The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars, which reduced the French and allied invasion forces (the Grande Armée) to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics, as it dramatically fragilized the previously dominant French position on the continent. The campaign' and his defeats in the Peninsular War The Peninsular War was a contest between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French armies invaded Portugal in 1807 and Spain in 1808 and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated Napoleon in 1814, the anti-French forces had cautiously regrouped as the Sixth Coalition Two-and-a-half million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as two million. The War of the Sixth Coalition included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Leipzig (also known as the Battle of Nations), which was the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, and, indeed, the, comprising Russia The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was the second largest contiguous empire the world has ever seen, surpassed only by the Mongol Empire, and the third largest empire the world has ever seen, surpassed, Austria The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria–Hungary, which was proclaimed after declaring the Emperor of Austria also King of Hungary, a diplomatic move that elevated, Prussia Prussia (German: Preußen ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Latvian: Prūsija; Lithuanian: Prūsija; Polish: Prusy; Old Prussian: Prūsa) was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history. The last capital of the state of, Sweden Sweden (pronounced /ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən, Swedish: Sverige [ˈsvær.jə]), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and water borders with Denmark, Germany and, Britain The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land, Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for, Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910. It was replaced by the Portuguese First Republic after the Lisbon Regicide and ultimately, the 5 October 1910 revolution and certain smaller German The Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the creation of the Confederation of states. In total, the Coalition could put into the field well over a million troops—indeed by the time of Leipzig Leipzig (German pronunciation: [ˈlaɪptsɪç] , also called Leipsic in English; Upper Sorbian: Lipsk) is, with a population of 515,459, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the new states of Germany. In the 17th century, Leipzig was one of the major European city-centres of learning and culture in fields such as music,, total Allied armies east of the Rhine probably exceeded a million. By contrast Napoleon's forces had shrunk to just a few hundred thousand.

Napoleon sought to re-establish his hold in Germany, winning two hard-fought victories, at Lützen In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked Napoleon's advance column near Lützen, Germany. After a day of on 2 May and Bautzen In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat. The Prussians under Count Gebhard von Blücher and Russians under Prince Peter Wittgenstein, retreating after their defeat at Lützen were attacked by French forces on 20–21 May, over Russo-Prussian forces. The victories led to a brief armistice An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the Latin arma, meaning weapons and statium, meaning a stopping. He then won a major victory at Dresden on August 27. Following this, the Coalition forces, under the command of Gebhard von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (German pronunciation: [ɡɛphaɐt lebəʁɛçt fɔn blyçɐ]; December 16, 1742 – September 12, 1819), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst (Prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig, Crown Prince Carl Johan of Sweden and Karl von Schwarzenberg, Count Benningsen, and Barclay De Tolly of Russia followed the strategy outlined in the Trachenburg Plan to avoid clashes with Napoleon but to seek confrontations with his marshals, which led to victories at Großbeeren, Kulm, Katzbach and at Dennewitz.

Marshal Nicolas Oudinot Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio , was a Marshal of France failed to capture Berlin with his army of 120,000 and Napoleon was forced to withdraw westwards because of the threat to the north, crossing the Elbe The River Elbe (Czech: Labe ; German: die Elbe; Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonoše Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (Czech Republic), then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg. Its total length is 1,094 in late September and organizing his forces around Leipzig Leipzig (German pronunciation: [ˈlaɪptsɪç] , also called Leipsic in English; Upper Sorbian: Lipsk) is, with a population of 515,459, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the new states of Germany. In the 17th century, Leipzig was one of the major European city-centres of learning and culture in fields such as music, to protect his supply lines and meet the Allies. Napoleon deployed his army around the city, but concentrated his force from Taucha through Stötteritz, where he placed his command. The Prussians advanced from Wartenburg, the Austrians and Russians from Dresden Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area and the Swedish force from the north.

16 October

In total, the French had around 190,000 soldiers and the Allies almost 330,000 with both sides having significant artillery—in total there were over 2,500 pieces of ordnance on the field. The battle began on 16 October with an attack by 78,000 Allied troops from the south and 54,000 from the north, with Napoleon using the bulk of his army in the south. The allied offensives achieved little and were soon forced back, but Napoleon's outnumbered forces were unable to break the allied lines, resulting in a hard fought stalemate.

Austrian II Corps captures Dölitz

The Austrian II Corps (Gen. von Merveldt) advanced towards Connewitz via Gautzsch and attempted to attack the position, only to find that the avenue of advance was well covered and did not permit the Austrians to deploy their artillery in support of the attack. Repulsed, the Austrians then moved to attack nearby Dölitz, down a road crossed by two bridges and leading to a manor house and a mill. Two companies of the 24th regiment threw out the small Polish garrison and took the position. A prompt counterattack ejected the Austrians and the battle seesawed, until the Austrians brought up a strong artillery battery and blew the Poles out of the position. The Poles left bodies everywhere in their furious defense and set fire to both the manor and the mill on the way out.[4]

Battle of Markkleeberg

General Kleist, moving along the Pleisse River, attacked Marshals Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski was a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of France and Augereau in the village of Markkleeberg. The Austrians repaired a bridge and took a school building and manor. The French counterattacked, throwing the Austrians out of the school and back over the river. French attacks on the manor only resulted in mounting casualties for the French and Poles. The Russian 14th Division began a series of flanking attacks that forced the Poles out of Markkleeberg. Marshal Poniatowski stopped the retreat and the advancing Russians. 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. Marshal Poniatowski retook Markkleeberg, but was thrown out by two Prussian battalions. Austrian grenadiers then formed in front of Markkleeberg and drove the Poles and French out of the area with a flank attack.[4]

Attack on Wachau

The Russian II Infantry Corps attacked Wachau with support from the Prussian 9th Brigade. The Russians advanced unaware that French forces were in wait and took them by surprise in the flank mauling them. The Prussian engaged and entered Wachau engaging in street to street fighting. French artillery blasted the Prussians out of Wachau and the French recovered the village.[5][6]

October 16 actions

Battle of Liebertwolkwitz

Liebertwolkwitz was a large village in a commanding position, defended by Marshal MacDonald and General Lauriston with about 18,000 men. Johann von Klenau's Austrian IV Corps attacked with 24,500 backed up by Pirth's 10th Brigade (4,550) and Ziethen's 11th Brigade (5,365). The Austrians attacked first, driving the French out of Liebertwolkwitz after hard fighting, only to be driven out in turn by a French counterattack. At this point, Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte , was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century directed General Drouot to form a grand battery on Gallows hill. This was done with 100 guns that blasted the exposed Russian II corps, forcing the Prussian battalions supporting it to take cover. Russian General Württemberg was notable for his extreme bravery, directing his troops under fire. The hole had been now opened as Napoleon wished and at this point, Marshal Murat Joachim-Napoléon Murat , 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves, Marshal of France and Admiral of France, was King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. He received his titles in part by being the brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte, through marriage to Napoleon's youngest sister, Caroline Bonaparte. He was noted as a flamboyant dresser and was was unleashed with 10,000 French, Italian, and Saxon cavalry. However, Murat's choice of massive columns for the attack formation was unfortunate for the French force, as smaller mobile formations of Russian, Prussian, and Austrian cavalry were able to successfully harass Murat's Division, driving them back to their own artillery, where they were saved by the French Guard Dragoons. The young Guard Division was sent in to drive out the allies and give Napoleon his breakthrough. They recaptured both Liebertwolkwitz and Wachau, but the Allies countered with Russian Guard and Austrian grenadiers backed by Russian cuirassiers. The units lived up to their elite reputation, forming squares that blasted French cavalrymen from their horses and overran the French artillery batteries. On the southern front, although Napoleon gained ground, he could not break the Allied lines.[4]

Northern attack

The northern front opened with the attack by General Langeron's Russian Corps on the villages of Groß-Wiederitzsch and Klein-Wiederitzsch in the center of the French northern lines. This position was defended by General Dabrowski's Polish division of four infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions. At first sign of the attack, the Polish division attacked. The battle wavered back and forth with attacks and counterattacks. General Langeron rallied his forces and finally took both villages with heavy casualties.

Battle of Möckern

French infantry defend a barricade against a Prussian assault. The overwhelming result of the battle forced Napoleon to abandon his control over Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state,.

The Northern front was dominated by the battle of Möckern. This was a 4 phase battle and saw hard fighting from both sides. A manor, palace, walled gardens, and low walls dominated the village. Each position was turned into a fortress with the walls being loopholed for covered fire by the French. The ground to the west of the position was too wooded and swampy for emplacement of artillery. A dike ran east along the river Elster being 4 meters high. Marshal Auguste Marmont brought up infantry columns behind the positions in reserve and for quick counter-attack against any fallen position. Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (German pronunciation: [ɡɛphaɐt lebəʁɛçt fɔn blyçɐ]; December 16, 1742 – September 12, 1819), Graf (Count), later elevated to Fürst (Prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal) who led his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig commanded Langeron's (Russian) and Yorck's (Prussian) corps against Marmont's VI Corps. When the battle hung in the balance, Marmont ordered a cavalry charge, but his commander refused to attack. Later, an attack by Prussian hussars caused serious loss to the French defenders. The battle lasted well into the night. Artillery caused the majority of the 9,000 Allies and 7,000 French casualties, and the French lost another 2,000 prisoners.[7]

17 October

There were only two actions on 17 October: an attack by the Russian General Sacken on General Dabrowski's Polish Division at the village of Gohlis. In the end, the numbers and determination of the Russians prevailed and the Poles retired to Pfaffendorf. Blücher, who was made a field marshal Field Marshal is a military officer rank. Today, it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general the day before, ordered General Lanskoi's 2nd Hussar Division (Russian) to attack General Arrighi's III Cavalry corps. As they had the day before the Sixth Coalition Two-and-a-half million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as two million. The War of the Sixth Coalition included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Bautzen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Leipzig (also known as the Battle of Nations), which was the largest battle of the Napoleonic wars, and, indeed, the's cavalry proved to be superior, driving the French away with great loss.

The French received only 14,000 troops as reinforcements. On the other hand, the coalition was strengthened by the arrival of 145,000, including those commanded by Russian General von Bennigsen and Marshall Bernadotte (later Prince Carl Johan of Sweden).

18 October

Battle of Leipzig, 18 October actions

On 18 October, the Allies launched a huge assault from all sides. In over nine hours of fighting, in which both sides suffered heavy casualties, the French troops prevented a breakthrough but were slowly forced back towards Leipzig. The Sixth Coalition had Field Marshal Blücher (Prussian) and Crown Prince Carl Johan of Sweden to the north, the Generals Barclay De Tolly, Bennigsen (both Russian) and Prince von Hessen-Homburg (Austrian) to the south, and Ignaz Gyulai (Austrian) to the west.

The Prussian 9th brigade occupied the abandoned village of Wachau while the Austrians, with General Bianchi's Hungarians, threw the French out of Lößnig. The Austrians proceeded to give a demonstration of combined arms cooperation as Austrian cavalry attacked French infantry to give Austrian infantry time to arrive and deploy in the attack on Dölitz. The Young Guard Division threw them out. At this point, three Austrian grenadier battalions began to contest for the village with artillery support.[8]

In the meantime, at the behest of his Swedish 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. The Swedish jägers performed very well, only losing about 121 men in the attack.

Retreat of Napoleon on 19 October 1813, showing the explosion of the bridge

During the fighting, 5,400 Saxons of Jean Reynier's VII Corps defected to the Allies. Napoleon saw that the battle was a lost cause and on the night of 18–19 October, he began to withdraw the majority of his army across the river Elster. The allies did not learn of the evacuation until 7 a.m, and were then held up by Oudinot's ferocious street-to-street rearguard action in Leipzig. The retreat went smoothly until early afternoon when the general tasked with destroying the only bridge over the Elster delegated the task to a Colonel Montfort. The colonel in turn passed this responsibility on to a corporal, who, unaware of the carefully planned time schedule, ignited the fuses at 1 p.m, when the bridge was still crowded with French troops, and Oudinot's rearguard was still in Leipzig. The explosion and subsequent panic and rout resulted in the deaths of thousands of French troops, and the capture of many thousands more. During that unfortunate event, Poniatowski, the Polish leader, drowned while crossing the river.[citation needed]

Results

Völkerschlachtdenkmal: Memorial to the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig

Casualties on both sides were astoundingly high; estimates range from 80,000 to 110,000 total killed or wounded. Napoleon lost about 38,000 killed and wounded. The Allies captured 15,000 able-bodied Frenchmen, 21,000 wounded or sick, 325 cannon and 28 eagles, standards or colours, and had received the men of the deserting Saxony divisions. Among the dead was Marshal Józef Antoni Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski was a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of France, a nephew to the last king of Poland Poland /ˈpəʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of, Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August Poniatowski was the last King and Grand Duke of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95). He was the son of Count Stanisław Poniatowski, Castellan of Kraków, and Princess Konstancja Czartoryska; brother of Michał Jerzy Poniatowski, (1784–94), Primate of Poland; and uncle to Prince Józef Poniatowski, (1763–1813). The Pole, who had only received his marshal's baton the previous day, drowned trying to guard the French retreat. Corps commanders Lauriston and Reynier were captured. Fifteen French generals were killed and 51 wounded.

Out of a total force of 362,000, the Allies suffered approximately 54,000 casualties. Schwarzenberg's Bohemian Army lost 34,000, Blücher's Silesian Army lost 12,000, while Bernadotte's Army of North and Bennigsen's Army of Poland lost about 4,000 each.

The battle ended the First French Empire The French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire, First French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I in France. It was the dominant power of much of continental Europe during the early 19th Century's presence east of the Rhine The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at about 1,232 km (766 mi), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 m3/s (71,000 cu ft/s) and brought the German states over to the Coalition. The Coalition pressed its advantage and invaded France in early 1814. Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte , was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French as Napoleon I, whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century was forced from the throne of France and exiled to the island of Elba Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located between the Tyrrhenian Sea and Ligurian Sea, about 50.

In addition to the 91 m high Völkerschlachtdenkmal, 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.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Defected to the allies 18 October 1813
  2. ^ a b c Chandler 1966, p. 1020
  3. ^ a b Leipzig : Battle of Leipzig : Napoleonic Wars : Bonaparte : Bernadotte : Charles : Blucher
  4. ^ a b c Battle of Leipzig 1813 : Battle of Nations : Napoleon : Schlacht : Bataille
  5. ^ Battle of Leipzig 1813 : Battle of Nations : Napoleon : Schlacht : Bataille
  6. ^ William Cathcart (first edition 1850) Commentaries on the War in Russia and Germany in 1812 and 1813, London: J. Murray. Reissue: Demi-Solde Press, ISBN 1-891717-14-6.
  7. ^ Battle of Leipzig 1813 : Battle of Nations : Napoleon : Schlacht : Bataille
  8. ^ Battle of Leipzig 1813 : Battle of Nations : Napoleon : Schlacht : Bataille

References

External links

Coordinates A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified in three coordinates, using mainly a spherical coordinate system: 51°15′00″N 12°38′24″E / 51.25°N 12.64°E

Categories: Battles of the Napoleonic Wars | Battles involving Sweden | Battles involving Austria | Battles involving Prussia | Battles involving Russia | Battles involving Poland | Battles involving Saxony | Battles involving France | Conflicts in 1813 | 1813 in Austria | 1813 in France

 

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