The Battle of the Nations near Leipzig is one of the main battles of the Napoleonic Wars. It took place in Saxony on October 4-7, 1813. The rivals in the battle were the troops of Napoleon and the army of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition.
Battle background
Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812 ended in complete failure. This led to the creation of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition by the emperor's opponents. It included Russia, England, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden.
The first major battle between rivals took place near Bautzen, the winner of which was the French army. The troops of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition managed to defeat Napoleon near Grosberen, Katzbach, Dennewitz and Kulm. In 1813, the allies went on the offensive against Dresden and Saxony, and soon the famous battle of the peoples near Leipzig took place.
The situation on the eve of the battle
In order to understand the reasons for Napoleon's retreat andthe defeat of his troops, one should consider the situation in which the battle of peoples near Leipzig took place. The year 1813 became quite difficult for Saxony. In autumn, 3 allied armies advanced on this territory: the Northern (under the command of the Swedish Crown Prince J. Bernadotte), the Bohemian (Austrian Field Marshal K. Schwarzerber) and the Silesian (Prussian General G. Blucher). Also, the Polish Army (General L. Bennigsen), which was temporarily in reserve, arrived at the battlefield.
Napoleon initially expected to strike at the disengaged troops, but the rapidly changing situation, lack of strength and time forced him to abandon his intentions. The army of the French emperor is stationed in the Leipzig area.
Composition and strength of opponents
A person unfamiliar with the history of this battle may have a question: "Why is the battle of Leipzig called the battle of nations?". The fact is that on the side of Napoleon, the French, Poles, Dutch, Italians, Saxons and Belgians participated in the conflict. At the same time, Austrians, Swedes, peoples of the Russian Empire, Prussians, Bavarians were part of the Allied forces.
The French army included 200 thousand soldiers and had 700 guns. About 133 thousand soldiers fought in Bohemian, who had 578 ammunition. The Silesian army included 60 thousand fighters, and the Northern one - 58 thousand, which had 315 and 256 guns, respectively. The Polish army had 54 thousand soldiers and 186 ammunition.
Events of October 4
Battle of the nations in 1813 near LeipzigThe volume began on the site where the Bohemian army was stationed. Even before the start of the battle, it was divided into three groups. The main blow to the French was to be delivered by the first unit under the command of M. B. Barclay de Tolly. During the offensive on the morning of October 4, this group captured a number of settlements. But the Austrians refused M. B. Barclay de Tolly in support and they were forced to retreat.
Napoleon's cavalry corps under the command of I. Murat began a breakthrough in the area with. Wachau. With the help of the Cossack regiment led by I. E. Efremov, who was part of the army of Alexander I, the French army was pushed back to its original position.
Other Napoleonic units repelled enemy attacks in the area of Wiederitz and Meckern. With the onset of night, hostilities in all directions ceased. The positions of the opponents by the end of the battle had not actually changed. During the battles, the rivals lost approximately 30 thousand people each.
Results of the first day
On the first day, the battle of nations near Leipzig ended in a draw. Both sides received private victories (the Napoleonic army at Lidenau and Wachau, the allied army near Mekerne), which did not affect the overall situation. But the position of the troops of the anti-French coalition was better due to the fact that units of Bennigsen and Bernadotte came to their aid. Napoleon could only count on the small corps of the Rhine.
Events of October 5
There was no military action that day. Only in the north did Blucher's army capture the villages of Oytritssh and Golis and come close toLeipzig. At night, Napoleon regrouped the army in order to bring it closer to the city. As a result, the French army was deployed on a defensive arc near Leipzig. In turn, the Allies surrounded the Napoleonic army in a semicircle: Silesian - in the north, Northern and Polish - east, Bohemian - south.
Events of October 6
The battle of peoples near Leipzig continued on the morning of October 6th. On this day, the French army occupied defensive positions, and with the loss of important points, made successful counterattacks. The psychological state of Napoleon's troops was undermined by the unexpected transition of the Saxon division and the Württemberg cavalry to the Allied side. Their betrayal led to the depopulation of the central positions, but the emperor managed to quickly transfer the reserve there and stabilize the situation. The attacks of the army of the anti-French coalition were also not particularly successful. This was due to attacks at different times and uncoordinated, with complete inactivity of reserve units.
The main battles that day took place near Probstgeide, Zuckelhausen, Holzhausen, Dösen, Paunsdorf and Lösnig. By the end of the day, the French managed to hold their positions on almost all flanks except the center. But they lost almost their entire combat kit and Napoleon understood that such a situation would lead to the complete death of the army.
Events of October 7
On the morning of October 7, Napoleon's army began to retreat. The Allies did not set out to defeat the French army on the approaches to Elster, they sent their forces to storm Leipzig. For this, three columns were created, which quicklymoved towards the city. Local residents made a request not to start the battle, but the anti-French coalition demanded the complete surrender of Napoleon. At lunchtime, the allies stormed the city walls.
The French command was deliberately to blow up the bridge over the Elster in order to cut off their army from the allied and give it the opportunity to escape. But he was landed in the air ahead of time and some parts remained in the city. They had to swim to safety. Many soldiers died right in the water. Among them was Marshal Yu. Ponyatovsky. Toward evening, the army of the anti-French coalition managed to take Leipzig.
The aftermath of the battle
The total losses of Napoleon amounted to about 60 thousand soldiers, about the same number of soldiers lost the anti-French coalition. The imperial troops managed to avoid complete defeat to a greater extent due to the fact that the actions of the allies were not coordinated and the European rulers often could not come to a consensus.
The political consequences of the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig are of paramount importance. The year 1813 turned out to be quite difficult for Napoleon. The failure at the Battle of Leipzig was followed by the collapse of the Confederation of the Rhine. After the liberation of Germany, hostilities spread to French territory. In March, Paris was taken by the allies and the restoration of monarchical power took place in the country.
Memory of the Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig (Battle of the Nations) is one of the most significant in the history of the Napoleonic Wars. It is also referred to as the "battle of the threeemperors"
In memory of this battle in Germany in 1814, a magnificent celebration was held.
In 1913, the grandiose monument "Monument to the Battle of Nations" was opened in Leipzig.
Not far from it, the St. Alexis Church was also erected, where soldiers who fell in battle are buried today. It should be noted that during the GDR, the monument was planned to be destroyed, as it was considered a glorification of German nationalism. However, over time, it began to be perceived as a symbol of friendship with Russia and the authorities decided to preserve the monument.
Also, a commemorative coin (3 marks) was issued for the 100th anniversary of the battle.
Today, Leipzig houses several museums dedicated to history of the great battle.
