The Battle of Leipzig took place on October 16-19, 1813. It was the largest in all history until the First World War. Not only the French fought on Napoleon’s side, but also the troops of the kingdoms of Saxony, Württemberg and Italy, the Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Warsaw and the Union of the Rhine. The troops of the entire VI anti-French coalition, that is, the Russian and Austrian empires, the kingdoms of Sweden and Prussia, opposed him. That is why this battle is also called the Battle of the Nations - regiments from almost all of Europe met there
Initially, Napoleon occupied a central position between several armies and attacked the nearest Bohemian, consisting of Russian and Prussian troops, hoping to defeat it before the others arrived. The battle unfolded over a large area, with battles taking place simultaneously over several villages. By the end of the day, the Allied battle lines were barely holding. From 3 o'clock in the afternoon they were basically just defending themselves. Napoleon's troops launched fierce attacks, such as an attempt to break through 10 thousand cavalrymen of Marshal Murat in the area of the village of Wachau, which was stopped only thanks to a counterattack by the Life Guards Cossack Regiment. Many historians are convinced that Napoleon could have won the battle on the first day, but he did not have enough daylight hours - it became impossible to continue attacks in the dark.
On October 17, local battles took place only for some villages; the bulk of the troops were inactive. 100 thousand reinforcements were coming to the allies. 54 thousand of them (the so-called Polish Army of General Bennigsen (that is, the Russian army coming from the territory of Poland)) appeared on this day. At the same time, Napoleon could only count on the corps of Marshal von Dubep, who never arrived that day. The Emperor of the French sent a proposal for a truce to the allies and therefore conducted almost no military operations that day - he was waiting for an answer. He was never given an answer.
On October 18, Naloleon's troops retreated to new, more fortified positions. There were about 150 thousand of them, considering that at night the troops of the kingdoms of Saxony and Württemburg went over to the enemy’s side. The Allied forces sent 300 thousand soldiers into the fire in the morning. They attacked all day, but were unable to inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy. They took some villages, but only pushed back, and did not crush or break through the enemy battle formations.
On October 19, Napoleon's remaining troops began to retreat. And then it turned out that the emperor was counting only on victory; there was only one road left for retreat - to Weissenfels. As usually happened in all wars up to the 20th century, retreat entailed the greatest losses.
For the second time in a short time, Napoleon gathered a huge army, and the second time he lost almost all of it. Also, as a result of the retreat after the Battle of the Nations, he lost almost the weight of the captured lands outside of France, so he no longer had any hope of putting such a number of people under arms for the third time. That is why this battle was so important - after it, the advantage in both numbers and resources was always on the side of the allies.
The Leipzig “Battle of the Nations,” which took place on October 16–19, 1813, became the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, surpassing in scale most battles throughout previous world history. However, little is known about it to the general reader, no significant literary works have been written, and no popular films have been made. In the new special project Warspot, we will introduce readers to the main events of this epoch-making battle, which had a great influence on the history of all of Europe.
On the way to Leipzig
Libertvolkwice
Lindenau
And again into battle
before leaving
Retreat
Dresden Gate
Torgau Gate
Gallic Gate
Napoleon Bonaparte. Painting by Paul Delaroche
Source: windeos.wordpress.com
After the death of Napoleonic Grand Army in Russia, Emperor Alexander I decided to move the war abroad and wage it to a victorious end. Napoleon quickly assembled a new army, not at all considering the matter lost. After the disaster of 1812, a powerful coalition took shape against him (Russia, England, Sweden and Prussia), and the satellites of France, who were not delighted with Bonaparte’s imperial policy, perked up... Austria, which had been mercilessly cut off by Napoleon in previous wars and wanted the restoration of old borders. It was within the old borders that its Chancellor Clemens Metternich wanted to see the Austrian Monarchy, and on June 26, 1813, he outlined to Napoleon the price of Austria’s neutrality in the future campaign. The proud French emperor refused, and soon Austria joined the ranks of the new, already sixth anti-Napoleonic coalition...
There was also unrest in other European countries that were still subject to Bonaparte. For the time being, the Kingdom of Naples did not cause Napoleon any concern, since his trusted man, Marshal Joachim Murat, ruled there. The latter, having returned from the disastrous Russian campaign, was no longer so confident in the lucky star of his emperor and decided to bargain with London and Vienna, offering his help in exchange for the Neapolitan throne for himself and his descendants... At first, the British showed some inflexibility and promised the marshal only some compensation for leaving them the throne. However, over time, London softened and made concessions. Moreover, the Austrian emperor also looked more favorably at Murat, who did not object to the marshal remaining on the throne. Murat's wife and the emperor's sister Caroline Bonaparte contributed to the alliance as best she could - she became the mistress of the Austrian ambassador Count von Mir. If the Murat couple had more time, the marshal’s career as a French military leader could have ended, but Bonaparte again called his subordinate into battle - this time near Dresden.
Despite all the setbacks, Napoleon's energy did not weaken. Already in May 1813, his new army defeated the Russians and Prussians at Weissenfels, Lützen, Bautzen, and Vursen. Bonaparte again seemed invincible. Despite the superiority in forces, in June 1813 the coalition asked the enemy for a truce for a period of two months - and received it. It immediately became clear that there was a weak link in the anti-Napoleonic alliance - Sweden, or rather its ruler. The Swedish prince at that time was the former general of revolutionary France and Marshal of the Empire Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. The army he led was only partially staffed by Swedes - most of its contingents were Prussians, British and Russians. Understandably, the Allies didn’t really like this. Nor did they like Bernadotte’s hints about granting him the French throne after the victory. In turn, the ex-marshal was unhappy that talk about the Norway promised to him was becoming less and less confident. The unity of the coalition was in question.
Napoleon had a chance to seize the initiative and impose a game on his opponents according to his own rules - but activity in different directions implied a dispersal of forces, and Bonaparte could not be with all the corps at the same time. The Allied commanders understood this very well, trying to avoid meeting with the emperor himself and hitting his marshals as hard as possible. This strategy bore fruit: at Kulm, General Joseph Vandam was defeated and captured; at Katzbach, Marshal Jacques Macdonald was defeated; near Grossbern the troops of Marshal Nicolas Oudinot were defeated; got it under Dennewitz "bravest of the brave" Marshal Michel Ney. Napoleon reacted philosophically to the news of the defeats of his subordinates, noting that “We really have a very difficult craft” and adding that, given time, he would write a manual on the art of war.
One way or another, the defeats inflicted on Napoleonic marshals reduced the strength of France, created a threat to the position of Napoleon himself and constrained his maneuver. Leaving Marshal Laurent de Saint-Cyr with part of the troops to defend Dresden, he himself retreated to Leipzig, hoping to lure one of the allied armies towards himself and defeat it. But not just one, not two, went to Leipzig - all the enemy armies rushed here to defeat the main forces of the great Corsican...
Battle of Leipzig, attack of Murat's cavalry. Roughly the same thing happened under Libertvolkwitz. Illustration for the book “History of the Consulate and Empire” by Adolphe Thiers, volume 4
North of Leipzig, Napoleonic troops were threatened by the Silesian and Northern armies of the Allies, and Bonaparte intended to force a general battle on one of them before the second arrived. From the south came the third, Bohemian army under the command of Field Marshal Karl Schwarzenberg, which was opposed by Murat's troops, covering the deployment of the main Napoleonic forces. Schwarzenberg's forces outnumbered the French by more than three times - Murat could only slowly withdraw and fight. The Marshal did even more than was asked of him: as a last resort, Napoleon allowed Leipzig to be surrendered, but Murat’s competent counterattacks made it possible not to do this. As a result, the military leader completed his mission - all 170,000 soldiers of Napoleon’s main army managed to turn around and prepare for battle.
On October 13, the Allies decided to test the French's strength by planning a reconnaissance mission near the village of Libertvolkwice. The coalition had enough troops, so they decided not to save money - 60,000 people moved towards the enemy: two Russian infantry corps, the cavalry of Lieutenant General Count Peter Palen (Sumskoy, Grodno, Lubensky hussar regiments, Chuguevsky Uhlan regiment), battery of Major General Nikitin (1700 men and 12 guns), ten squadrons of Prussian cavalry (Neimark Dragoons, East Prussian Cuirassiers and Silesian Lancers regiments, horse battery No. 10) and the reserve cavalry of General Friedrich Roeder. The attackers were supported by the Russian Cossack detachment of Matvey Platov, the Prussian corps of Kleist and the Austrian corps of Klenau. According to the plan, the latter was supposed to attack French positions on the right flank, but by October 13 he did not have time to reach the position, and the attack was postponed to the next day.
On October 14, the troops of both sides met. On the right flank of the French, between the villages of Konnewitz and Markkleeberg, the position was occupied by the 8th Infantry Corps of Prince Jozef Poniatowski, consisting of Poles (according to various sources, from 5,400 to 8,000 people). On the heights from Markkleeberg to Wachau was Marshal Claude-Victor Perrin's 2nd Infantry Corps (15,000–20,000 men). The heights from Wachau to Libertvolkwitz were occupied by the infantry of Marshal Jacques Lauriston from the 5th Corps (12,000–17,000 people). The 4th and 5th cavalry corps were located at Libertvolkwice under the command of division generals Sokolnitsky and Pazhol (the 4th corps was staffed by Poles). Behind the main body of French troops, the 9th Infantry Corps of Marshal Pierre Augereau occupied the position. Directly in front of Leipzig there were over 60,000 people, not counting the arriving French troops from other armies (Napoleon himself arrived in the city in the afternoon). In the first line the enemy was met by 40,000–50,000 people.
The battle began on the morning of October 14. On the right wing of the French, a battle broke out between Palen's cavalry units and Poniatowski's troops, which continued with varying success. At this time, Nikitin’s battery showered cannonballs on the French who were at Libertvolkwitz. Noticing a Russian battery that had separated from the main Allied troops, Murat sent units of the 5th Cavalry Corps towards it. The Sumy hussars tried to resist the attack, but they were instantly overpowered. All the allied cavalry that could be deployed rushed to the rescue of the hussars (including the Chuguev Uhlan Regiment, the Grekov Cossack Regiment, the East Prussian Regiment, the Silesian and Brandenburg Cuirassiers). Murat did not keep himself waiting, also throwing all his cavalry into battle.
The ensuing battle was like a chaotic dump, where each regiment acted on its own, without a single plan, tactical refinements or flank coverage - each approaching unit simply rushed into a frontal attack. Realizing the meaninglessness of this massacre, Palen weakened the pressure of his wing, transferring part of the troops to the right (closer to the center of the battle) under the cover of two Prussian horse batteries. French artillery, concentrated on the heights near Wachau, methodically destroyed all living things on the Allied left flank, but Prussian guns and Nikitin's battery did not allow it to make a hole in the center of the Allied forces. At approximately 14:00, Klenau's corps managed to flank the French, and its guns opened deadly fire on Libertvolkwitz. The Allied cavalry pushed back the French cavalry, but could not withstand the fire of Napoleonic cannons and retreated on its own.
In general, the Battle of Libertwalkwitz ended in favor of the French - they lost up to 600 people killed and wounded, while the Allied losses were incomparably greater: the 4th Austrian Corps alone lost a thousand people.
Postcard "Battle of Wachau", October 16, 1813
Source: pro100-mica.dreamwidth.org
After a stubborn battle near Libertvolkwice, there was some calm on the battlefield - on October 15, both sides pulled up reserves, gathering forces together. Having received reinforcements in the form of the corps of General Jean Rainier, Napoleon managed to concentrate up to 190,000 people near Leipzig. Allied troops settled around the outskirts of Leipzig, taking the city in a semi-ring and controlling the northern, eastern and southern approaches to it. By October 16, the number of coalition armies amounted to about 300,000 people (Northern, Bohemian and Silesian armies), and the Polish army of General Leontius Bennigsen was approaching.
The battle began on the morning of October 16 south of Leipzig - coalition troops went on the offensive, forcing the French vanguard to retreat and suppressing the French batteries advanced forward with artillery fire. But when the Allies approached the very outskirts occupied by the French, they were met by heavy artillery fire. An attempt to advance near the village of Konnewitz encountered difficulties in crossing - all the fords were shot through by the French. The Allies managed to occupy Wachau (Eugene of Württemberg's corps), Markkleeberg (Kleist's corps), Libertvolkwitz and Kolmberg (Klenau's troops), but that was where the successes ended. Moreover, the French launched a counterattack and drove the allies out of everywhere except Wachau, inflicting heavy losses on them.
By noon, Napoleon managed to completely disrupt the enemy offensive plan in the south, push back the allied forces and launch a counteroffensive. The goal of the French commander-in-chief was to bypass the right flank of the allies, break through the center of the Bohemian army with cavalry and cut it off from other coalition troops. In the center, the French cavalry attacked the villages of Gossa and Auengheim. It was planned to bypass the right flank of the Allied forces at Seifersgain, but the French did not succeed in this.
The attack in the center was the most furious. Undaunted, Murat personally led four cuirassier divisions, supported by Pajol's dragoons. A grandiose cavalry attack, in which 12,000 horsemen took part at once, swept away everything in its path. The artillerymen of Arakcheev's battery suffered significant damage, the front was broken through, and this breakthrough had to be immediately plugged with reserves. Reserve artillery also entered the battle, from both sides. From the French side there was the roar of 160 guns of General Drouot's guards artillery, which with heavy fire destroyed the Prussian reinforcements being transferred to the center. On the Allied side, the reserve artillery of Major General Ivan Sukhozanet responded.
At the same time, the Austrians organized a counterattack on the left flank against the French right flank. Having overthrown Poniatowski’s corps, Austrian troops launched an attack on Markkleeberg and retook it.
The loss of Markkleeberg, as well as the constant need to monitor the left flank, did not give Napoleon the opportunity to build on his success in the center. The French advance stalled. The Sukhozanet artillery suffered losses, but completed the task. The Russian infantry also performed well, surviving under a hail of cannonballs. All that the French could do was to gain a foothold in Auengheim for a short time. Soon Napoleonic troops had to abandon their captured positions, and the coalition army held Markkleeberg.
Colorized engraving from the 19th century. Battle of Leipzig
Source: pro100-mica.dreamwidth.org
In terms of its scale, the Battle of Lindenau turned out to be significantly smaller than the other battles on October 16, but if the Allies were successful, it could become a turning point in the entire war. Lindenau is a small village west of Leipzig, its “western gate”. Despite the importance of this point, it was guarded by only four French battalions. From the Allies’ side, the twenty-thousand-strong Austrian corps of Lieutenant-Field Marshal Ignaz Gyulai was approaching this small detachment... A quick victory for the Austrians could have closed Napoleon’s path home.
However, one could only dream of speed - Gyulai was in no hurry to take active actions, expecting such from his neighbors. Only after the Austrian commander realized that fighting had broken out in the south did he come to his senses and begin moving troops to Lindenau, but it was too late. Napoleon sent the entire 4th Corps of General Henri Bertrand to the village, which immediately dug in. The approaching Austrian troops encountered stubborn resistance. The Austrians' attempt to take Lindenau failed, although they were one step away from success. The Allied plan to spring the trap and destroy Napoleon's army in Leipzig failed.
By evening, after a difficult battle, Gyulai was forced to withdraw his troops. Despite the fact that it was not possible to cut Napoleon off from France, the Austrian corps achieved a positive result, pinning down significant French forces through its actions. And Napoleon was already sorely lacking in reserves...
Battle of Mökern, October 16, 1813. Painting by Keith Rocco
Source: pro100-mica.dreamwidth.org
On the northern flank of Napoleon's troops, the corps of Marshal Auguste Marmont was supposed to deploy between the villages of Radefeld and Liedenthal, thus becoming the vanguard of the entire army. The author of this plan was Marmont himself, but Napoleon decided otherwise and placed the marshal's troops in reserve. Needless to say, such a “change of horses at the crossing” disrupted all of Marmont’s plans. Moreover, the French, who began to retreat from already occupied lines, were “encouraged” by the attacks of the vanguard of the Silesian Army under the command of Field Marshal Gebhard Blucher. The retreat of the French forces accelerated, and as a result, Marmont's troops settled down, resting their left flank on the village of Mekern, and their right flank on the village of Eiterich and the small river Richke.
Positions near the village of Klein Wiederich were occupied by other units of the Napoleonic army - the Poles of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, who covered the road to Duben (along which reinforcements arrived to Napoleon - in particular, the 9th division of General Antoine Delmas).
Blücher planned to strike the French left flank, break through the defenses at Meckern and reach Leipzig. Before the battle, he admonished his fighters with these words:
“Whoever is not killed today or is happy to the point of madness, then he fought like a dishonorable scoundrel!”
The Prussians quickly drove the French out of Liedenthal and attacked Mekern with all their might. Anticipating such a development of events, Marmont built a layered defense, and the protection of the village itself was provided to sailors from the 21st division of General Lagrange. At 14:00, an attack began on the positions at Mekern, which received the full force of the Prussian attack. The French fought fiercely, their batteries shot at the attackers literally point-blank, but they still managed to reach the artillery positions and capture them. In the village itself, the French fought for literally every house and front garden. But strength breaks strength, and as a result, Marmont’s soldiers were driven out of Mekern, suffering heavy losses.
The capture of the village was difficult for the Prussians: General Johann York had to throw all the forces of his corps at Mekern, and his ranks were mercilessly thinned by French artillery. At one point in the battle, when a counterattack by French troops overturned the Prussian ranks, York was able to stabilize the situation and push back the enemy. At this time, the French began to have problems with the loyalty of the German contingents - Norman's 25th light cavalry brigade, staffed by Württembergers, was fighting poorly.
A fierce battle broke out in the center. Russian troops pushed back Dombrowski's units, which occupied positions at Klein-Widerich, and they had to retreat to Eiterich. Having regrouped his forces and strengthened by the approaching division of Delmas, Dombrovsky went on the attack to regain lost positions. This time he succeeded, threatening the communications of the entire Silesian army. However, the French could no longer hold back the superior enemy forces. Dombrowski retreated to Eiterich and Golis, and part of the artillery parks and convoys of the 3rd Corps, which were covered by Delmas' division, fell into the hands of the allies. On the morning of October 17, Dombrovsky was knocked out of Eiterich. Blücher was triumphant: he had won a major victory, and the scales began to tip towards the Allies.
Allied monarchs during the Battle of Leipzig.
On October 17, an operational pause occurred - both sides were reinforced with reinforcements and equipped combat positions. True, these reinforcements were absolutely disproportionate in quantity. The Northern Army of the Swedish Prince Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (up to 60,000 soldiers) approached the allies, the Bohemian Army was reinforced by the corps of General Hieronymus Colloredo, and the next day they expected the arrival of the Polish Army of General Leontius Bennigsen, numbering about 50,000 people. A messenger went from the Russian Emperor Alexander I to Bennigsen with the following message:
“The battle scheduled for the next day will be fought on the anniversary of the victory won at Tarutino, which marked the beginning of the success of Russian weapons. The Emperor expects the same tomorrow from your talents and combat experience.”
During this time, Napoleon was approached by the only 7th Corps of Rainier, numbering 12,637 people, half consisting of Saxons, whose reliability, like other Germans, was already low. Napoleon understood the insignificance of his reinforcements and began to prepare for a retreat. To gain time, he sent the captive General Merveldt to the Austrian emperor with a proposal for a truce. By sending a parliamentarian only to the Austrians, Napoleon hoped to quarrel between the allies, who did not trust each other too much. Bonaparte failed to deceive his enemies. Later, the Austrian Chancellor Metternich wrote:
“On the 18th [October] I rejoiced in one of my most beautiful triumphs. At 6 o'clock in the morning Merveldt arrived, whom N. [Napoleon] instructed to ask for mercy. We answered him with a huge victory.”
The Russian and Austrian emperors did not want to give the enemy a break and decided to continue the fight as soon as possible. On the night of October 17-18, Franz I and Alexander I held a prayer service to the Almighty for the granting of victory, and the next day a new grandiose battle was to begin.
Battle of Schönefeld October 18, 1813. The author of the picture is Oleg Parkhaev
Source: pro100-mica.dreamwidth.org
On October 18, the French were preparing to retreat - collecting horses for the convoys, getting rid of everything unnecessary. In the south, French troops began to abandon the positions they had held since October 16 and take up defensive positions just to the north, between Connewitz and Probstgade.
In the morning, Bennigsen's troops took place between Schwarzenberg's Bohemian Army and Bernadotte's Northern Army. The French left the villages of Colmberg and Baalsdorf themselves, but soldiers of the Bohemian and Polish armies had to force them out of the villages of Holtzhausen and Zuckelhausen. Snarling, the French even managed to knock out Russian units from Baalsdorf. But since the numerical superiority was clearly on the side of the coalition, the Napoleonic army slowly retreated to Probstgade and Stätritz. To avoid being surrounded, the French had to leave Steinberg.
To the south, parts of the Bohemian Army (General Wittgenstein's corps) encountered heavy enemy fire near Probstgade and suffered heavy losses. An attempt to cut off the troops retreating from Holtzhausen from the main Napoleonic forces also did not bring success.
In parallel with this, the Austrians made attempts to dislodge the troops of the newly-minted Marshal of France Jozef Poniatowski from the villages of Delitz, Deze and Lessnig. The Marshal was rescued by the Young Guard divisions under the command of Marshal Charles Oudinot, and the coalition troops failed to advance. At the same time, the troops of General Gyulay, who had almost cut off French communications, left in the direction of Grebern, freeing the French to retreat. At the same time, Blücher's Silesian army became bogged down in battles at Pfafendorf and the Gales outpost.
Fighting also took place in Bernadotte's Northern Army sector. The village of Schönefeld was stormed by units of General Alexander Langeron, the future mayor of Odessa. The fighting continued until the evening - for every house, yard and cross in the cemetery. By nightfall the French were driven out of the village by superior forces.
But the real disaster for France was something else. The Saxons of the 7th Corps and the Württembergers of Norman's division, defending in the sector of the Northern Army, finally made the choice to direct their bayonets against Napoleon. For the French, the unreliability of the Saxons was no secret - Rainier warned Ney about this, but he ignored all the warnings. This was a strong blow for Napoleon; a contemporary wrote: “Until this moment, he remained calm, behaved as usual. The misfortune that happened did not affect his behavior in any way; only despondency was reflected on the face". The sarcastic Byron would later write about the betrayal of the Saxons:
"From the lion Saxon smarmy jackal
He ran to the fox, to the bear, to the wolf."
13th year in history -
1813
"BATTLE OF PEOPLES" - this is the name of the historical battle of Leipzig,
won by coalition troops from Napoleon in October 1813,
belongs to Colonel of the Prussian General Staff Baron Müfling.
An eyewitness to the battle reports that on October 16, the Allied armies moved towards Leipzig in a powerful stream. Those present were captivated by the unusual spectacle, which resembled a migration of peoples.
At this time, Müfling named the upcoming battle
"the great battle of nations."
This name went down in history (Steffens, Was ich erlebte, VII, S. 295)
“Thus the four-day battle of nations near Leipzig decided the fate of the world.”
Sauerweid - Battle of Leipzig (19th century)
"Battle of the Nations" - the war of the sixth coalition against Napoleon
AfterRussian campaign of 1812 which ended in destructionFrench army, in the spring of 1813 Prussia rebelled against Napoleon . Russian-Prussian troops liberated Germany up to the Elbe River.
Napoleon, recruiting recruits to replace those killed inRussia veterans, managed to win 2 victories over Russian-Prussian troops under Lützen (May 2) and under Bautzen (May 21 ), which led to a brief ceasefire with June 4, 1813.
The truce is over11th August entering the war against Napoleon Austria and Sweden . The resulting Sixth coalition united against Napoleon Austria, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Swedenand part of the small German principalities.
The coalition forces were divided into 3 armies: the Northern Army under the command of the Swedish Crown PrinceBernadotte, Silesian army under the command of a Prussian field marshal Blucher and Bohemian army under the command of an Austrian field marshal Schwarzenberg . Russian troops made up significant contingents in all 3 armies, but for political reasons the emperor Alexander Idid not require command for Russian generals.
Although Russian troops were commandedgenerals , of which the most influential wasBarclay de Tolly, Emperor Alexander I interfered with operational management.
Alexander became the main creator Sixth coalition 1813 against Napoleon.
Invasion of Napoleonic armies in Russia was perceived by Alexander not only as the greatest threat to Russia, but also as a personal insult, and Napoleon himself became his personal enemy. Alexander one by one rejected all peace proposals, as he believed that this would devalue all the sacrifices made during the war. Many times the diplomatic character of the Russian monarch saved the coalition. Napoleon considered him an “inventive Byzantine”, a northern Talma, an actor who can play any significant role.
HEROES OF THE "BATTLE OF PEOPLES"
Russian historical painting, 1813 - The feat of the grenadier of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment L. Korenny in the battle of Leipzig in 1813.
Artist - Babaev Polidor Ivanovich - State. Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Military Encyclopedia: Volume X111 Type. I.D. Sytin, St. Petersburg, 1913
Root Leonty is a grenadier of the 3rd Grenadier Company of the Life Guards of Finland. n., battle hero. near Leipzig 4-6 Oct. 1813; accomplished a feat so outstanding that it became known to the entire army, and it was brought to the attention of Napoleon. The story about K.’s feat is recorded as follows from the words of eyewitnesses: “In the battle. near Leipzig, when Finland. n. drove the French out of the village of Gossy, and the 3rd battalion of the regiment went around the village and fought. regiment commander Gervais and his officers were the first to climb over the stone. fence, and the rangers rushed after them, already chasing the French; but, being surrounded by numerous enemy, firmly defended their place; many officers were wounded; then K., transplanting the battle. commander and wounded
battle commander and his wounded commanders through the fence, he himself gathered the daring, desperate. the rangers and began to defend them while other rangers rescued the wounded officers from the battlefield. K. with a handful of dashing shooters stood strong and held the battlefield, shouting: “don’t give up, guys.” At first they fired back, but the large number of the enemy constrained ours so much that they fought back with bayonets... everyone fell, some killed and others wounded, and K. was left alone. The French, surprised, are brave. They shouted to the huntsman to surrender, but K. responded by turning the gun, taking it by the barrel and fighting back with the butt. Then several unpleasant bayonets laid him down in place, and all around this hero lay all our desperately defending people, with heaps of the French they had killed. We all mourned, the narrator adds, for the brave “Uncle K.” In a few days, to the greatest. joy of the entire regiment, “Uncle K.” emerged from captivity covered with wounds; but, fortunately, the wounds were not serious. This honors the French, who inflicted only light wounds on him, respecting his exemplary courage.” Covered with 18 wounds, K. returned to the regiment and told about his time in captivity, where the fame of his outstanding bravery spread throughout the French. troops, and he himself was introduced to Napoleon, who was interested in seeing the Russian. miracle hero. K.’s action was so greatly admired. regiment that he put Finland in the order for his army. Gren-pa is an example to all his soldiers. In the history of the Life Guards Finlyandsk. The following song about the hero K., composed by his comrades, is given:
We remember Uncle Korenny,
He lives in our memory,
It happened, against some enemy
He'll fight with the guys.
Then the damask steel will move,
Hand-to-hand combat will boil,
The blood of the enemy will flow like a stream,
And Korennoy rushes forward;
Alexander I Karl Schwarzenberg
The commander-in-chief of the allied forces was considered the Austrian field marshal PrinceKarl Schwarzenberg . Descendant of an ancient family, in campaign 1805 fought successfully at the head of the division near Ulm against the French. DuringRussian campaign of 1812 commanded the Austrian auxiliary corps (about 30 thousand) consisting ofGrand Army of Napoleon . He acted extremely carefully and managed to avoid major battles with Russian troops. After the defeat of Napoleon in Russia did not participate in active hostilities, but covered the rear of the retreating French corps of General Rainier. After joining Austria to the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in August 1813 appointed commander of the Allied Bohemian army. IN battle of Dresden The Bohemian army was defeated and retreated to Bohemia, where she remained until the beginning of October. He created a reputation for himself as a cautious commander who knew how to maintain good relations with monarchs.
Napoleon Bonaparte Jozef Poniatowski
Commander-in-ChiefFrench army there was an emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte . Despite the defeat inRussian campaign of 1812 , he still ruled over halfcontinental Europe . In a short time, he managed to increase the number of French troops in the east from 30 to 130 thousand, taking into account the Allied troops - up to 400 thousand, although to restore the previous The cavalry failed. Near Leipzig Napoleon had 9 infantry Poles of Stanisław August Napoleon and Poniatowski near Leipzig - artist January Sukhodolsky HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES The battle ended with Napoleon's retreat across the Rhine to France. After the defeat of the French near Leipzig, Bavaria went over to the side of the 6th coalition. The united Austro-Bavarian corps under the command of the Bavarian General Wrede tried to cut off the retreat of the French army on the approach to the Rhine near Frankfurt, but on October 31, it was repulsed by Napoleon with losses in the Battle of Hanau. On November 2, Napoleon crossed the Rhine into France, and two days later the allied armies approached the Rhine and stopped there. In memory of the Battle of the Nations, a monument to the Battle of the Nations was built in Leipzig in 1898-1913. Funding came from a specially founded lottery, as well as donations. In close proximity to the monument there is a Napoleon stone. On October 18, 1813, Napoleon located his command headquarters at this place. During the GDR era, the country's leadership pondered for a long time whether it was worth demolishing the monument, which seemed to be a symbol of German nationalism. However, due to the fact that the monument also glorified the “Russian-German brotherhood in arms”, it was abandoned. In 2003, work began on its restoration, which should be completed by the double anniversary of the monument in 2013. Materials used: N.S. Ashukin, M.G. Ashukina - Winged words, 1987.
Soon after Napoleon's retreat from Leipzig, Marshal Saint-Cyr surrendered Dresden with its entire huge arsenal. Apart from Hamburg, where Marshal Davout desperately defended himself, all other French garrisons in Germany surrendered before the beginning of 1814. The Rhine Confederation of German states, subject to Napoleon, collapsed, and Holland was liberated.
In early January, the Allies began the 1814 campaign with an invasion of France. Napoleon was left alone with France against an advancing Europe, which led to his first abdication in April 1814.
January 1, 1813 in the presence of the Emperor Alexandra I The Russian army crossed the river. Neman to continue the fight against Napoleon outside the Russian Empire. The Russian Tsar demanded immediate and constant pursuit of the enemy. Alexander believed that it was not enough to take revenge on Napoleon for the defeats and humiliations of previous years by simply expelling him from Russia. The king needed complete victory over the enemy. He dreamed of leading the sixth coalition and becoming its leader. His dreams were coming true. One of the first diplomatic successes of the Russians was the transition of Prussia to the camp of opponents of the French emperor. February 16-17, 1813 M.I. Kutuzov in Kalisz and the Prussian baron K. Hardenberg in Breslau, a treaty of alliance was drawn up and signed between the two countries.
On February 27, the main forces of the Russian army entered Berlin. On March 15, Dresden fell. Soon, through the joint efforts of Russian and Prussian partisans, the territory of central Germany was cleared of the French.
The first major battles between the Allies and Napoleon (at Lützen and Bautzen) ended in victory for the French. As a commander, Napoleon had no equal. The defeated Allied forces were forced to retreat. However, Napoleon also saw that victory would not come easily to him. The battles were stubborn and bloody. Both sides fought courageously, wanting to win at all costs.
In the spring of 1813, a truce was concluded between the Allies and Napoleon, which ended at the end of July. Having rejected the peace proposals of the coalition, Napoleon wanted to continue the fight. "All or nothing!" - that was his motto. Such steps forced Austria, which had not yet sided with the emperor’s enemies, to declare war on him on August 10 and openly join the sixth coalition. However, Napoleon confirmed his slogan with a new brilliant victory. On August 14-15, 1813, the Battle of Dresden took place. The allies were defeated and began to retreat in disorder. Their losses were three times greater than the French. Panic began among the allied monarchs. The ghost of a new Austerlitz loomed behind them. But soon defeats gave way to victories. On August 17-18, the Battle of Kulm took place. In this battle, the retreating Russian units defeated the pursuing corps of General D. Vandam. Up to 5 thousand people were taken prisoner, Vavdam and his headquarters in addition. After such successes, the Allies perked up and began to concentrate forces near Leipzig for a decisive battle.
By the beginning of October, members of the sixth coalition had approximately 1 million soldiers. The main forces of the Allies were concentrated in 4 armies: 1) Bohemian - under the command of K.F. Schwarzenberg; 2) Silesian - under the command of Blucher; 3) Northern Army - under the command of the Swedish Crown Prince (former Napoleonic Marshal) J.B. Bernadotte and 4) the Polish army under the command of the Russian general Bennigsen. The total strength of these armies was 306 thousand people and 1385 guns. (Troitsky N.A. Alexander 1 and Napoleon. M., 1994. P. 227.) Prince Schwarzenberg was considered the official commander-in-chief of the allied forces, who was subordinate to the advice of three monarchs - Russian, Prussian and Austrian. The plan of the coalition was to encircle and destroy Napoleon's army of up to 180 thousand people with 600-700 guns in the Leipzig area with the forces of all armies.
Napoleon, realizing the numerical superiority of the allied armies, decided to defeat the armies of Schwarzenberg and Blucher facing him before the armies of Bernadotte and Bennigsen approached the battlefield.
On October 16, one of the greatest battles of the Napoleonic Wars era began on the plain near Leipzig, which went down in history as the “Battle of the Nations.” By the beginning of the battle, Napoleon had, according to various sources, from 155 to 175 thousand people and 717 guns, the allies had about 200 thousand people and 893 guns.
At 10 a.m. the battle began with a cannonade from allied batteries and an allied advance on the village of Wachau (Wachau). In this direction, Napoleon concentrated several large batteries and infantry forces, which repulsed all Allied attacks. At this time, the center of the Bohemian army tried to cross the river. Place to attack around the French left flank. However, the opposite bank of the river was dotted with guns and French riflemen, who with well-aimed fire forced the enemy to retreat.
During the first half of the day, the battle went on with varying degrees of success in all areas of the battle. In some places, the allies managed to capture several sectors of the enemy’s defenses, but the French and their allies, straining their forces, launched counterattacks and threw the enemy back to their original positions. At the first stage of the battle, the Allies failed to break the courageous resistance of the French and achieve decisive success anywhere. Moreover, he skillfully organized the defense of his positions. By 15:00 Napoleon had prepared a springboard for a decisive offensive and breakthrough of the allied center.
Initially hidden from the enemy's eyes, 160 guns, on the orders of General A. Drouot, brought down hurricane fire on the breakthrough site. “The earth shook from an unbearable, deafening roar. Individual houses were blown away like a hurricane; in Leipzig, eight miles away, windows in their frames were ringing.” (Heroes and battles. Public military-historical anthology. M:, 1995. P. 218.) Exactly at 15 o’clock a massive attack of infantry and cavalry began. Against Murat's 100 squadrons, several battalions of Prince E. of Württenberg, weakened by Drouot's cannonade, lined up in a square; and opened grapeshot fire. However, French cuirassiers and dragoons, with the support of infantry, crushed the Russian-Prussian line, overthrew the Guards Cavalry Division and broke through the Allied center. Pursuing the fleeing, they found themselves 800 steps from the headquarters of the allied sovereigns. This stunning success convinced Napoleon that victory had already been won. The Leipzig authorities were ordered to ring all the bells in honor of the triumph. However, the battle continued. Alexander 1, realizing earlier than others that a critical moment had arrived in the battle, ordered the I.O. battery to be sent into battle. Sukhozanet Russian division N.N. Raevsky and the Prussian brigade of F. Kleist. Until reinforcements arrived, the enemy was held back by a company of Russian artillery and Life Cossacks from Alexander’s convoy.
From his headquarters on the hill near Thonberg, Napoleon saw how the allied reserves came into motion, how fresh cavalry divisions stopped Murat, closed the gap in the allied positions and essentially snatched the victory he had already celebrated from Napoleon’s hands. Determined to gain the upper hand at any cost before the troops of Berndot and Bennigsen arrived, Napoleon gave the order to send the forces of foot and horse guards to the weakened center of the Allies. However, an unexpected attack by the Austrians on the right flank of the French changed his plans and forced him to send part of the guard to the aid of Prince J. Poniatowski, who was having difficulty holding back the Austrian attacks. After a stubborn battle, the Austrians were driven back, and the Austrian general Count M. Merveld was captured.
On the same day, in another part of the battle, General Blucher attacked the troops of Marshal O.F. Marmona, who with 24 thousand soldiers held back his onslaughts. The villages of Mekern and Viderich changed hands several times during the battle. One of the last attacks showed the courage of the Prussians. General Horn led his brigade into battle, giving them orders not to fire. To the beat of drums, the Prussians launched a bayonet attack, and General Horn and the Brandenburg hussars charged into the French columns. French generals said later that they had rarely seen displays of such irrepressible courage as the Prussians showed. When the first day of the battle ended, Blucher's soldiers made barriers for themselves from the corpses of the dead, determined not to give up the captured territories to the French.
The first day of the battle did not reveal the winners, although the losses on both sides were enormous (about 60-70 thousand people). On the night of October 16–17, fresh forces of Bernadotte and Bennigsen approached Leipzig. The Allied forces now had a double numerical advantage over Napoleon's forces. On October 17, both sides removed the wounded and buried the dead. Taking advantage of the calm and realizing the impossibility of defeating a numerically superior enemy, Napoleon summoned the captured General Merveld and released him with a request to convey a peace offer to the allies. There was no answer. By the night
On the 17th, Napoleon ordered his troops to be pulled closer to Leipzig.
At 8 a.m. on October 18, the Allies launched an offensive. The French fought desperately, villages changed hands several times, every house, every street, every inch of land had to be stormed or defended. On the left flank of the French, Russian soldiers of Count A.F. Langeron village was repeatedly stormed. Shelfeld, whose houses and cemetery, surrounded by a stone wall, were perfectly adapted for defense. Twice driven back, Langeron led his soldiers at bayonet for the third time, and after a terrible hand-to-hand fight, he captured the village. However, the reserves sent by Marshal Marmont against him drove the Russians out of their position. A particularly fierce battle raged near the village. Probstade (Probstgate), in the center of the French position. The corps of General Kleist and General Gorchakov burst into the village by 15 o'clock and began to storm the fortified houses. Then the Old Guard was thrown into action. Napoleon himself led her into battle. The French drove the allies out of Probstade and launched an attack on the main forces of the Austrians. Under the blows of the guard, the enemy lines “crackled” and were ready to crumble, when suddenly, in the midst of the battle, the entire Saxon army, fighting in the ranks of Napoleonic troops, went over to the side of the allies. It was a terrible blow. “A terrible emptiness gaped in the center of the French army, as if the heart had been torn out of it,” is how A.S. figuratively described the consequences of this betrayal. Merezhkovsky. (Merezhkovsky A.S. Napoleon. Nalchik, 1992. P. 137.)
However, the battle continued until night. By the end of the day, the French managed to hold all the key defense positions in their hands. Napoleon still understood that he could not survive another day, and therefore on the night of
On October 18-19 he gave the order to retreat. The exhausted French army began to retreat through Leipzig across the river. Elster. At dawn, having learned that the enemy had cleared the battlefield, the Allies moved towards Leipzig. The city was defended by soldiers of Poniatowski and MacDonald. Loopholes were made in the walls, arrows were scattered and guns were placed in the streets, gardens and bushes. Every step cost the allies blood. The attack was cruel and terrible. Only in the middle of the day was it possible to capture the outskirts, knocking out the French from there with bayonet attacks. Panic began, at the same time the only bridge across the river. Elster flew into the air. It was blown up by mistake, because the soldiers guarding it, seeing the advance detachment of Russians breaking through to the bridge, lit the fuse in panic.
By this time, half of the army had not yet managed to cross the river. Napoleon managed to withdraw only about 100 thousand people from the city, 28 thousand had not yet managed to cross. In the ensuing panic and confusion, the soldiers refused to obey orders, some threw themselves into the water and tried to swim across the river, but either drowned or died from enemy bullets. Marshal Poniatowski (he received the marshal's baton for the battle on October 17), trying to organize an attack and retreat, was wounded twice, threw himself into the water on horseback and drowned. The allies who burst into the city finished off the frustrated army, killed, slaughtered, and captured. In this way, up to 13 thousand people were destroyed, 20 divisional and brigadier generals were captured along with 11 thousand French. The Battle of Leipzig is over. The Allied victory was complete and had enormous international significance. Napoleon's army was defeated, the second campaign in a row ended in failure. All of Germany rebelled against the conquerors. Napoleon realized that his empire was collapsing; The community of countries and peoples, welded together with iron and blood, was disintegrating. The peoples of the enslaved lands did not want to endure his yoke; they were ready to sacrifice the lives of their children just to throw off the hated conquerors. The Battle of Leipzig showed that the end of Napoleonic rule was near and inevitable.
Materials used from the book: “One Hundred Great Battles”, M. “Veche”, 2002
Literature:
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After the defeat in Russia and return to Paris, Napoleon developed vigorous activity to create a new army. It must be said that this was his peculiarity - during a crisis situation, Napoleon awakened enormous energy and efficiency. The Napoleon of the “model” of 1813 seemed better and younger than the emperor of 1811. In his letters sent to his allies, the monarchs of the Confederation of the Rhine, he reported that Russian reports should not be trusted; Of course, the Grand Army suffered losses, but remains a powerful force of 200 thousand soldiers. In addition, the empire has another 300 thousand soldiers in Spain. Nevertheless, he asked the allies to take measures to increase their troops.
In reality, in January Napoleon already knew that the Grand Army was no more. The chief of staff, Marshal Berthier, told him briefly and clearly: “The army no longer exists.” Of the half a million people who marched across the Neman six months ago, few returned. However, Napoleon was able to form a new army in just a few weeks: by the beginning of 1813, he gathered 500 thousand soldiers under his banner. True, France was depopulated; they took not only men, but also young men. On April 15, the French emperor went to the location of the troops. In the spring of 1813 there was still an opportunity to make peace. The Austrian diplomat Metternich persistently offered his mediation in achieving peace. And peace, in principle, was possible. Petersburg, Vienna and Berlin were ready for negotiations. However, Napoleon makes another fatal mistake - he does not want to make concessions. Still confident in his talent and the power of the French army, the emperor was convinced of victory. Napoleon hoped for a brilliant revenge already on the fields of Central Europe. He has not yet realized that defeat in Russia is the end of his dream of a pan-European empire. The terrible blow struck in Russia was heard in Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain. In fact, a turning point came in European politics - Napoleon was forced to fight with most of Europe. The armies of the sixth anti-French coalition opposed him. His defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Initially, Napoleon still won victories. The authority of his name and the French army was so great that the commanders of the sixth coalition lost even those battles that could have been won. On April 16 (28), 1813, death overtook the great Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. He actually died in combat. The whole country mourned his death. Pyotr Christianovich Wittgenstein was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of the Russian army. On May 2, 1813, the Battle of Lützen took place. Wittgenstein, initially having a numerical advantage over Ney's corps, acted indecisively. As a result, he dragged out the battle, and Napoleon was able to quickly concentrate his forces and launch a counteroffensive. The Russian-Prussian troops were defeated and were forced to retreat. Napoleon's forces reoccupied all of Saxony. On May 20-21, 1813, at the Battle of Bautzen, Wittgenstein's army was again defeated. The superiority of Napoleon's military genius over Wittgenstein was undeniable. At the same time, his army suffered greater losses in both battles than Russian and Prussian troops. On May 25, Alexander I replaced Commander-in-Chief P. Wittgenstein with the more experienced and senior Michael Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon entered Breslau. The Allies were forced to offer a truce. Napoleon's army also needed rest, the supply of the French troops was unsatisfactory, and he willingly agreed to a ceasefire. On June 4, a truce was concluded.
The war resumed on August 11, but with a significant superiority in strength among the allies, who were joined by Austria and Sweden (they were promised Danish Norway). In addition, in mid-June London pledged to support Russia and Prussia with significant subsidies to continue the war. The commander-in-chief of the allied armies was the Austrian field marshal Karl Schwarzenberg. On August 14-15 (26-27), 1813, the battle of Dresden took place. Schwarzenberg's Bohemian army had a numerical advantage, he had significant reserves, but showed indecision, allowing Napoleon to seize the initiative. The two-day battle ended in heavy defeat for the allied forces, who lost 20-28 thousand people. The Austrian army suffered the greatest losses. The Allies were forced to retreat to the Ore Mountains. True, during the retreat, the allied troops destroyed the French corps of Vandam in the battle of August 29-30 near Kulm.
It should be noted that Wittgenstein and Schwarzenberg suffered defeats from Napoleon not only as a result of their mistakes. They were often not absolute commanders in the army, like Napoleon. Important people frequented the commander-in-chief's headquarters in anticipation of glory from the victory over the French ruler - Emperor Alexander, Grand Duke Constantine, Frederick William III, Franz I. All of them were military men and believed that the army could not do without “smart” advice. Together with them, a whole court of their advisers, generals, etc. arrived at headquarters. The headquarters was turned almost into a court salon.
The victories at Lützen, Bautzen and Dresden only strengthened Napoleon's faith in his star. He believed in his military superiority, underestimated the forces opposing him, and incorrectly assessed the fighting qualities of the enemy armies. It is clear that Wittgenstein and Schwarzenberg, as commanders, were much inferior to Napoleon, and the monarchs hostile to him understood even less in military strategy and tactics. However, Napoleon did not notice that new victories led to different consequences, for example, the victories at Austerlitz and Jena. The beaten Allied army only grew stronger after each defeat. The number of his enemies, their strength and determination to fight to a victorious end grew. Previously, victory in a decisive battle crushed the enemy army, the spirit of the country's political leadership, and predetermined the outcome of the campaign. The armies that fought with Napoleon's troops became different. In fact, Napoleon ceased to be a strategist in 1813, continuing to successfully resolve operational issues. His fatal mistake finally became clear after the so-called. "Battles of Nations".
September 1813 passed without significant battles, with the exception of another unsuccessful campaign of the French army under Marshal Ney to Berlin. At the same time, the position of the French army was deteriorating: a series of minor defeats, grueling marches and poor supplies led to significant losses. According to the German historian F. Mehring, in August and September the French emperor lost 180 thousand soldiers, mainly from disease and desertion.
At the beginning of October, the allied forces, strengthened by fresh reinforcements, went on the offensive against Napoleon, who held strong positions around Dresden. The troops were going to push his troops out of there with a wide outflanking maneuver from two sides at once. The Silesian Russian-Prussian army of Field Marshal Blucher (54-60 thousand soldiers, 315 guns) bypassed Dresden from the north and crossed the river. Elbe north of Leipzig. The Northern Prussian-Russian-Swedish army of Crown Prince Bernadotte (58-85 thousand people, 256 guns) also joined it. The Bohemian Austro-Russian-Prussian army of Field Marshal Schwarzenberg (133 thousand, 578 guns) left Bohemia, bypassed Dresden from the south and also moved towards Leipzig, going behind enemy lines. The theater of military operations moved to the left bank of the Elbe. In addition, already during the battle, the Polish Russian Army of General Bennigsen (46 thousand soldiers, 162 guns) and the 1st Austrian Corps Colloredo (8 thousand people, 24 guns) arrived. In total, the allied forces ranged from 200 thousand (October 16) to 310-350 thousand people (October 18) with 1350-1460 guns. The commander-in-chief of the allied armies was the Austrian field marshal K. Schwarzenber, he was subordinate to the advice of three monarchs. The Russian forces were led by Barclay de Tolly, although Alexander regularly intervened.
The French emperor, leaving a strong garrison in Dresden and setting up a barrier against the Bohemian army of Schwarzenberg, moved troops to Leipzig, where he first wanted to defeat the armies of Blucher and Bernadotte. However, they avoided battle, and Napoleon had to deal with all the allied armies at the same time. Near Leipzig, the French ruler had 9 infantry corps (about 120 thousand bayonets and sabers), the Imperial Guard (3 infantry corps, a cavalry corps and an artillery reserve, up to 42 thousand people in total), 5 cavalry corps (up to 24 thousand) and the Leipzig garrison (about 4 thousand soldiers). In total, Napoleon had approximately 160-210 thousand bayonets and sabers, with 630-700 guns.
Location of forces. On October 15, the French emperor deployed his forces around Leipzig. Moreover, most of his army (about 110 thousand people) was located south of the city along the Pleise River, from Connewitz to the village of Markleiberg, then further east through the villages of Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz to Holzhausen. 12 thousand General Bertrand's corps at Lindenau covered the road to the west. Units of Marshals Marmont and Ney (50 thousand soldiers) were stationed in the north.
By this time, the Allied armies had about 200 thousand bayonets and sabers in stock. Bennigsen's Polish army, Bernadotte's Northern army and Colloredo's Austrian corps were just arriving at the battlefield. Thus, at the beginning of the battle, the Allies had a slight numerical superiority. According to the plan of Commander-in-Chief Karl Schwarzenberg, the main part of the Allied forces was supposed to overcome the French resistance near Connewitz, pass through the swampy lowland between the Weisse-Elster and Pleisse rivers, bypass the enemy’s right flank and cut the shortest western road to Leipzig. About 20 thousand soldiers under the leadership of the Austrian Marshal Giulai were to attack the western suburb of Leipzig, Lindenau, and Field Marshal Blücher was to attack the city from the north, from Schkeuditz.
After objections from the Russian emperor, who pointed out the difficulty of moving through such territory (rivers, swampy lowlands), the plan was slightly changed. To implement his plan, Schwarzenberg received only 35 thousand Austrians. The 4th Austrian corps of Klenau, the Russian forces of General Wittgenstein and the Prussian corps of Field Marshal Kleist, under the general leadership of General Barclay de Tolly, were to attack the enemy head-on from the southeast. As a result, the Bohemian army was divided by rivers and swamps into 3 parts: in the west - the Austrians of Giulai, the second part of the Austrian army attacked in the south between the Weisse-Elster and Pleisse rivers, and the rest of the troops under the command of the Russian general Barclay de Tolly - in the southeast.
October 16. At about 8 o'clock in the morning, the Russian-Prussian forces of General Barclay de Tolly opened artillery fire on the enemy. Then the vanguard units went on the attack. Russian and Prussian forces under the command of Field Marshal Kleist occupied the village of Markleyberg around 9.30, which was defended by Marshals Augereau and Poniatowski. The enemy drove the Russian-Prussian troops out of the village four times, and four times the allies again took the village by storm.
The village of Wachau, located to the east, where units were stationed under the command of the French Emperor Napoleon himself, was also taken by the Russian-Prussians under the overall command of Duke Eugene of Württemberg. True, due to losses from enemy artillery shelling, the village was abandoned by noon.
Russian-Prussian forces under the overall command of General Andrei Gorchakov and Klenau's 4th Austrian Corps attacked the village of Liebertwolkwitz, which was defended by the infantry corps of Lauriston and MacDonald. After a fierce battle for every street, the village was captured, but both sides suffered significant losses. After reserves approached the French, the allies were forced to leave the village by 11 o'clock. As a result, the Allied offensive was unsuccessful, and the entire front of the anti-French forces was so weakened by the battle that they were forced to defend their original positions. The offensive of the Austrian troops against Connewitz also did not bring success, and in the afternoon Karl Schwarzenberg sent an Austrian corps to help Barclay de Tolly.
Napoleon decides to launch a counteroffensive. At approximately 3 o'clock in the afternoon, up to 10 thousand French cavalrymen under the command of Marshal Murat made an attempt to break through the central positions of the Allies near the village of Wachau. Their attack was prepared by an artillery attack from 160 guns. Murat's cuirassiers and dragoons crushed the Russian-Prussian line, overthrew the Guards Cavalry Division and broke through the Allied center. Napoleon even considered that the battle was won. The French cavalrymen managed to break through to the hill on which the allied monarchs and Field Marshal Schwarzenberg were located, but were driven back thanks to a counterattack by the Life Guards Cossack Regiment under the command of Colonel Ivan Efremov. The Russian Emperor Alexander, realizing earlier than others that a critical moment had arrived in the battle, ordered the Sukhozanet battery, Raevsky's division and the Prussian Kleist brigade to be thrown into battle. The offensive of the 5th French Infantry Corps of General Jacques Lauriston on Guldengossa also ended in failure. Schwarzenberg transferred reserve units to this position under the leadership of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich.
The offensive of the forces of the Austrian Marshal Giulai (Gyulay) on Lidenau was also repelled by the French General Bertrand. Blucher's Silesian Army achieved serious success: without waiting for the approach of the Northern Army of the Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte (he hesitated, trying to save his forces to capture Norway), the Prussian field marshal gave the order to launch an offensive. Near the villages of Wiederitz and Mökern, his units encountered fierce enemy resistance. Thus, the Polish general Jan Dombrowski, who was defending Wiederitz, held his position all day, fighting off Russian troops under the command of General Langeron. 20 thousand The corps of the Prussian general York, after a series of attacks, captured Mökern, which was defended by Marmont’s corps. The Prussians showed great courage in this battle. Blucher's army broke through the front of the French troops north of Leipzig.
The first day did not reveal any winners. However, the battle was very fierce and losses on both sides were significant. On the night of October 16–17, fresh armies of Bernadotte and Bennigsen approached Leipzig. The Allied forces had an almost double numerical advantage over the forces of the French Emperor.
Position of troops on October 16, 1813.
17 October. There were no significant battles on October 17; both sides collected the wounded and buried the dead. Only in the northern direction, the army of Field Marshal Blucher took the villages of Oitritzsch and Golis, coming close to the city. Napoleon pulled his troops closer to Leipzig, but did not leave. He hoped to conclude a truce, and he also counted on the diplomatic support of his “relative” - the Austrian emperor. Through the Austrian general Merfeld, who was captured at Connewitz, late at night on October 16, Napoleon conveyed his truce terms to the enemies. However, they didn’t even answer.
October 18. At 7 a.m., Commander-in-Chief Karl Schwarzenberg gave the order to go on the offensive. The French troops fought desperately, villages changed hands several times, they fought for every street, every house, every inch of land. So, on the left flank of the French, Russian soldiers under the command of Langeron captured the village of Shelfeld from the third attack, after a terrible hand-to-hand fight. However, reinforcements sent by Marshal Marmont drove the Russians out of their position. A particularly fierce battle raged near the village of Probstheid, in the center of the French positions. By 15:00 the corps of General Kleist and General Gorchakov were able to break into the village and began to capture one house after another. Then the Old Guard and the Guards artillery of General Drouot (about 150 guns) were thrown into the battle. French troops drove the allies out of the village and attacked the main forces of the Austrians. Under the blows of the Napoleonic guard, the allied lines “crackled.” The French advance was stopped by artillery fire. In addition, Napoleon was betrayed by the Saxon division, and then by the Württemberg and Baden units.
The fierce battle continued until nightfall, the French troops held all the main key positions, but in the north and east the Allies came close to the city. The French artillery used up almost all its ammunition. Napoleon gave the order to retreat. Troops under the command of Macdonald, Ney and Lauriston remained in the city to cover the retreat. The retreating French army had only one road to Weißenfels at its disposal.
Position of troops on October 18, 1813.
October 19. The Allies planned to continue the battle to force the French to surrender. Reasonable proposals from the Russian sovereign to cross the Pleise River and Prussian Field Marshal Blücher to allocate 20 thousand cavalry to pursue the enemy were rejected. At dawn, realizing that the enemy had cleared the battlefield, the Allies moved towards Leipzig. The city was defended by soldiers of Poniatowski and MacDonald. Loopholes were made in the walls, arrows were scattered and guns were placed on the streets, among the trees and gardens. Napoleon's soldiers fought desperately, the battle was bloody. Only by the middle of the day did the Allies manage to take possession of the outskirts, knocking out the French from there with bayonet attacks. During the confusion surrounding the hasty retreat, sappers blew up the Elsterbrücke Bridge, located in front of the Randstadt Gate. At this time, about 20-30 thousand soldiers of MacDonald, Poniatowski and General Lauriston still remained in the city. Panic began, Marshal Jozef Poniatowski tried to organize a counterattack and an organized retreat, was wounded twice and drowned in the river. General Lauriston was captured, Macdonald barely escaped death by swimming across the river, and thousands of French were captured.
Battle of Grimm's Gate on October 19, 1813. Ernst Wilhelm Strasberger.
Results of the battle
The Allied victory was complete and had pan-European significance. Napoleon's new army was completely defeated, the second campaign in a row (1812 and 1813) ended in defeat. Napoleon took the remnants of the army to France. Saxony and Bavaria went over to the side of the Allies, and the Rhineland Union of German states, which was subject to Paris, collapsed. By the end of the year, almost all the French garrisons in Germany capitulated, so Marshal Saint-Cyr surrendered Dresden. Napoleon was left alone against almost all of Europe.
The French army lost approximately 70-80 thousand people near Leipzig, of which approximately 40 thousand were killed and wounded, 15 thousand prisoners, another 15 thousand were captured in hospitals, up to 5 thousand Saxons and other German soldiers surrendered.
The losses of the allied armies amounted to 54 thousand killed and wounded, of which about 23 thousand Russians, 16 thousand Prussians, 15 thousand Austrians and only 180 Swedes.
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