His own army contained around 335,000 troops. Consequently, by August Napoleon faced an enourmous allied force of at least 515,000 men. He threw his hat into the corner of the room and launched a fierce tirade against the Austrian foreign minister, telling him ‘so you, too want war well, you shall have it.I can assure you that…next October we shall meet in Vienna then will it be seen what has become of your good friends, the Russians and the Prussians!’Īustria added 127,000 men to the coalition, and Prussia and Russia reinforced their armies.
Napoleon reacted furiously when Metternich presented these conditions to him. These included vacating Germany and Italy, recognising the independence of the Confederation of the Rhine and returning Prussia to its 1806 frontiers. Once again, Great Britain promised to pay substantial subsidies to Prussia and Russia, and Austria agreed to join the war if Napoleon refused to accept Metternich’s conditions for peace.
#EUROPEAN WAR 4 LEIPZIG CAMPAIGN SERIES#
In the Polish town of Reichenbach, a series of treaties were signed between Austria, Prussia, Great Britain and Russia. However, this armistice would prove to be far more beneficial for the allies, and became a key turning point in the war. The Emperor wanted to rest and replenish his army, as did the Prussians and the Russians. The Truce of Pläswitz was mediated by the Austrian minister Metternich. Consequently, the three armies signed a nine-week armistice on 4 June. Napoleon was fatigued by the campaign and had suffered substantial losses, despite winning two victories. Some of the heaviest fighting of the Napoleonic Wars occurred at Lützen and Bautzen, and both sides were shaken by the ferocity of these engagements. Both sides suffered around 20,000 casualties. Once again, the allies conducted a fighting retreat and managed to escape. He was unable to significantly penetrate the allied right flank. However, Ney advanced in the wrong direction and became preoccupied with capturing the village of Preititz. Napoleon continued to launch assaults against the Prusso-Russian army in an attempt to pin them down so that Ney could cut them off. The following day, Ney arrived on the battlefield, but he misunderstood his orders. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day, and by nightfall the French had taken the first allied lines of defence and most of the town. Around noon on the first day of the battle, the grande batterie launched a terrifying barrage against the allied lines, and Napoleon threw French columns against both sides of Bautzen. This would violate Austrian neutrality and force Francis to join the war on France’s side.
The Emperor hoped to cut off the allies’ line of retreat so that they would have to withdraw into Austria. The second column, led by Marshal Ney, was ordered to attack the allies vulnerable right flank. Napoleon led his grande armée east in two columns, the first of which attacked Bautzen head on. They made use of embankments left over from the Seven Years War and built entrenchments and redoubts in between several villages. The Prussians and Russians adopted a strong defensive position around the German town. The Battle of Lützen was not the decisive engagement Napoleon desperately sought.Įighteen days later, on the 20 May, the French and allied armies once again clashed at the Battle of Bautzen. His inexperienced army was enthusiastic but attacked in an uncoordinated fashion, and as a result suffered far heavier casualties than it should have. The day was certainly Napoleon’s, but he lost some 20,000 men to the allies 12,000. The Prussian and Russian army was forced to retreat but did so in good order owing to the Emperor’s lack of cavalry.
He then launched a devastating counterattack into the allied flank and bombarded Wittgenstein’s centre with a mass of artillery. Napoleon set a trap for the allied army, instructing Ney to fall back towards Lützen where he had deployed a strong force in a defensive position. Marshal Ney’s corps ran into 70,000 troops led by general’s von Blücher and Wittgenstein, who attacked his right flank.
However, on the 30 April Napoleon advanced towards Leipzig with the intention of driving a wedge between the allied armies. The Tsar appointed the respected general Wittgenstein to replace him, and he was made Commander-in-Chief of the allied army.ĭespite this setback, the allies advanced westwards, believing that their presence would encourage the Confederation of the Rhine to rebel against French rule. Russian Field Marshal Kutuzov, who had played a major role in expelling the French out of Russia in 1812, died on 28 April. The spring campaign of 1813 initially got off to a bad start for the allies.