The Battle of Leipzig (also known as the Battle of the Nations, German Volkerschlacht bei Leipzig, October 16-19, 1813) is the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars and the largest in world history before the outbreak of World War I, in which Emperor Napoleon was defeated by the allied armies of Russia , Austria, Prussia and Sweden.
The battle took place on the territory of Saxony, on both sides it was attended by German troops. On the first day of the battle on October 16, Napoleon successfully attacked, but under pressure from superior Allied forces, he was forced to retreat to Leipzig on October 18. On October 19, Napoleon retreated to France with heavy losses. The battle ended the 1813 campaign with only France left under Napoleon's rule, leading to the Allied invasion of France in 1814 and Napoleon's first abdication.
After the Russian campaign of Napoleon, which ended in the destruction French army In the spring of 1813, Prussia rebelled against Napoleon. Russian-Prussian troops liberated Germany up to the Elbe River.
Napoleon, having recruited recruits to replace the veterans who died in Russia, managed to win two victories over the Russian-Prussian troops at Lützen (May 2) and at Bautzen (May 21), which led to a short-term ceasefire from June 4.
The armistice ended on August 11 with the entry into the war against Napoleon of Austria and Sweden. The resulting Sixth Coalition united Great Britain, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Austria, Sweden and part of the small German principalities against Napoleon. Unlike Napoleon's army, reduced to several hundred thousand, the combined forces of the coalition on east coast The Rhine, according to some sources, reached a million soldiers.
The coalition troops were divided into 3 armies: the Northern Army under the command of the Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte, the Silesian Army under the command of the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher and the Bohemian Army under the command of the Austrian Field Marshal Schwarzenberg. Russian troops made up significant contingents in all 3 armies, however, for political reasons, Tsar Alexander I did not require command for Russian generals.
Napoleon, in the battle of Dresden on August 27, drove the Bohemian Allied army back into Austria. Following the strategy of the Trachenberg Plan, the Allies avoided direct clashes with Napoleon, but successfully fought against his marshals, defeating Marshal Oudinot at Grosberen, Marshal MacDonald at the Katzbach, General Vandamm at Kulm and Marshal Ney at Dennewitz. Then there was a respite for three weeks, the parties gathered their strength.
In early October, the allies reinforced with fresh reinforcements and went on the offensive against Napoleon, who held the defense around Dresden in eastern Saxony. The Silesian army of Blucher bypassed Dresden from the north and crossed the Elbe north of Leipzig. It was joined by the Northern Army of Bernadotte, who was extremely sluggishly advancing the army entrusted to him. The Bohemian army of Schwarzenberg bypassed Dresden from the south and also moved towards Leipzig, behind Napoleon's lines.
Napoleon, leaving a strong garrison in Dresden and putting up a barrier against the Bohemian army, rushed to Leipzig, hoping to first defeat Blucher and Bernadotte. Prussian troops advanced from the north of Wartenburg, Russian and Austrian troops from the south and west, Swedish troops from the north, in the second echelon after the Prussians.
Napoleon was looking for a decisive battle, since the allied strategy of attrition of forces provided them with an advantage due to much greater resources. According to historians, fatal for Napoleon was the tactical reassessment of his troops, exhausted by previous battles and many days of transition, and the strategic underestimation of the military power of the allies. Due to incorrect information, he doubted the presence of the Austrian Bohemian Army. Napoleon also mistakenly believed that the Russo-Prussian Silesian army was much further north than it actually was.
Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte was the commander-in-chief of the French army. Despite his defeat in the Russian campaign of 1812, he still held sway over half of continental Europe. Behind a short time he managed to increase the number of French troops in the east from 30 to 130 thousand, taking into account the troops of the allies - up to 400 thousand, although it was not possible to restore the former cavalry. Near Leipzig, Napoleon had 9 infantry corps (more than 120 thousand), the Imperial Guard (3 infantry corps, cavalry corps and artillery reserve, up to 42 thousand in total), 5 cavalry. corps (up to 24 thousand) and the garrison of Leipzig (about 4 thousand). In addition to the French, Napoleon's army consisted of Germans, Poles, Italians, Belgians, and Dutch.
Józef Poniatowski The Polish contingent (8th infantry corps, about 5 thousand), which remained loyal to Napoleon, was commanded by the nephew of the King of Poland Stanisław August, Prince Józef Poniatowski. Like most Poles, Poniatowski welcomed the Peace of Tilsit, considering it the first step towards the independence of Poland under the protectorate of France. Having distinguished himself at the siege of Danzig and near Friedland, he was appointed Minister of War of the provisional government of Poland, and in 1808 - Commander-in-Chief of the Polish troops. Participated in the Russian campaign, fought at Borodino. After the retreat from Russia, he remained loyal to Napoleon, and on the first day of the Battle of the Nations he became the only foreigner to receive a marshal's baton from Napoleon's hands. At the same time, the territory of Poland was under the rule of Tsar Alexander I.
King Friedrich August I of Saxony was forced to side with Napoleon. According to the Treaty of Tilsit, Saxony received the Cottbus district, taken from Prussia, as well as the Duchy of Warsaw, formed from the Polish lands that belonged to Prussia, which marked the beginning of friction with Prussia. As soon as the Prussian-Russian troops entered Saxony in 1813, Friedrich-August fled Dresden, fearing to lose the crown in the event of a Prussian victory. Friedrich-August's advisers, Langenau and Count Senft, were in favor of rapprochement with Austria, but the king refused, knowing that Austria would demand renunciation of the rights to the Duchy of Warsaw. On April 20, 1813, a secret convention was signed with Austria, as a result of which Friedrich-August refused to help Napoleon with cavalry and forbade the opening of the Torgau fortress for French troops, which stopped Ney's movement to Berlin. After Napoleon's victory at Lützen, Friedrich-August dismissed Senft and asked Napoleon for forgiveness in a handwritten letter. When Napoleon left Dresden on October 7, Friedrich-August followed him with his family. The Saxon division was part of the 7th infantry. corps.
On October 15, Napoleon deployed his troops around Leipzig, with most of his army (about 110 thousand) south of the city along the Pleise River (German Plei?e), from Konnewitz (German Konnewitz) to Markkleeberg (German Markkleeberg), then further east through the Wachau (German: Wachau) and Liebertwolkwitz (German: Liebertwolkwitz) to Holzhausen (German: Holzhausen). Corps Bertrand (12 thousand) at Lindenau (German: Lindenau) covered the road to the west. In the north were the troops of marshals Marmont and Ney (50 thousand).
The Allies by this time had about 200 thousand soldiers available, since Colloredo's 1st Austrian Corps and Bennigsen's Russian Polish Army were just pulling up to the battlefield, as well as Crown Prince Bernadotte with the Northern Army. The forces of the allies consisted primarily in the Bohemian army, which included Tsar Alexander I and the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III.
According to the plan of Commander-in-Chief Schwarzenberg, the main part of the army was to overcome the resistance near Konnewitz, break through the swampy lowland between the Elster (German: Elster) and Pleise rivers, bypass the right flank of the French and take the shortest western road to Leipzig. About 20 thousand soldiers under the command of the Austrian Marshal Giulai were to attack the western suburb of Leipzig, Lindenau, and Blücher attacked Leipzig from the north, from Schkeuditz.
After the objections of Alexander I, who pointed out the difficulty of forcing such a territory, Schwarzenberg received only 35 thousand Austrians from the 2nd Corps of Merfeldt under the general command of Crown Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Homburg to carry out his plan. The 4th Austrian corps of Klenau, the Russian troops of Wittgenstein and the Prussian corps of Kleist, under the overall command of the Russian general Barclay de Tolly, were to attack the French head-on from the southeast. Thus, the Bohemian army was divided by rivers and swamps into three parts: in the west, the Austrians of Giulaia, another part of the Austrian army operated in the south between the rivers Elster and Pleise, and the rest of the Bohemian army under the command of Barclay from the southeast.
October 16 turned out to be overcast. Even before dawn, the Russian-Prussian army of Barclay de Tolly began to advance and at about 8 o'clock in the morning opened artillery fire on the enemy. The vanguard columns of the allies launched an offensive against the positions of the French troops.
Russian (Helfreich's 14th division) and Prussian (12th brigade and 4 battalions of the 9th brigade) troops under the command of Kleist at about 9.30 captured the defended by Marshal Augereau and Polish prince Poniatowski Markleeberg: four times they were driven out of there and four times they again took it by storm.
Battle on the Wahaut Heights. V. Moshkov, 1815. The village of Wachau (German: Wachau), located to the east, where troops were stationed under the command of Napoleon himself, was also taken by the Russians (2nd Infantry Corps, 5200 people; Palen's cavalry - hussars, uhlans and Cossacks, 2300 people ) and Prussian (9th Brigade, 5800 people) troops under the command of Russian General Eugene of Württemberg. However, due to losses from the shelling of French artillery, the Wachau was again abandoned by noon. Several battalions entrenched themselves in the forest on the border with the village.
The 5th Russian division of Mezentsov (5 thousand people), the Prussian 10th (Pirch, 4550 people) and the 11th brigades (Zieten, 5360 people) under the overall command of Gorchakov and the 4th Austrian corps Klenau (24 500 people) advanced on Libervolkwitz, defended by the 5th infantry. the Lauriston corps (13,200 men, 50 guns) and the MacDonald corps (18,000 men). After a fierce battle for every street, the village was taken, but both sides suffered heavy losses. After reinforcements approached the French in the form of the 36th division, the allies were forced to leave Liebervolkwitz by 11 o'clock.
The entire Allied front was so weakened by the battle that it could only with difficulty defend its original positions. The operation of the Austrian troops against Konnewitz also did not bring success, and in the afternoon Schwarzenberg sent the Austrian corps to help Barclay de Tolly.
Napoleon decided to launch a counteroffensive. Around 3 p.m., 8-10 thousand French cavalry under the command of Murat tried to break through the central Allied front at the Wachau. They managed to break through to the hill on which the Allied monarchs and Schwarzenberg were located, but they were stopped by the Russian guards and the Allied cavalry rushing to the rescue.
The offensive of the French infantry also ended in failure. corps of Loriston on Guldengossa. When Schwarzenberg realized the strategic importance of this position, he ordered the reserve units under the command of Grand Duke Konstantin to be brought up to it.
Brandenburg hussars near MöckernThe attack of Giulai's troops on Lidenau was also repulsed by the French general Bertrand, but the Silesian army achieved important success. Without waiting for the approach of Bernadotte's Northern Army, Blucher gave the order to join the general offensive. Near Wiederitz (German: Wideritz) and Mökern (German: Mockern), his troops encountered fierce resistance. The Polish General Dombrovsky, who defended the first village, kept it from being captured by the Russian troops of Lanzheron all day long. The 17,000 men under Marmont defending Möckern (German: Mockern) were ordered to abandon their positions and march south to the Wachau, causing them to leave the well-fortified positions in the north. Upon learning of the approach of the enemy, Marmon decided to detain him and sent a request for help to Ney.
The Prussian General Yorck, who commanded the 20,000th corps in this sector, took the village after many attacks, losing 7,000 soldiers. Marmont's corps was destroyed. Thus, the front of the French troops north of Leipzig was broken through, Napoleon's two corps were diverted from participation in key battle at the Wachau.
As night falls fighting quieted down. The offensive cost the Allies about 20,000 dead and wounded. Despite successful Allied counterattacks near Güldengossa and in the University Forest (near the Wachau), most of the battlefield remained with the French. They pushed back the Allied troops from the Wachau to Gülgengossa and from Liberwollwitz to the University Forest, but were unable to break through the front. In general, the day ended without much advantage for the parties.
In the battles ahead, Napoleon failed to defeat the enemy. Reinforcements of 100,000 soldiers were sent to the allies, while the French emperor could only count on von Duben's corps. Napoleon was aware of the danger, however, hoping for family ties with Emperor Franz, he did not leave the extremely vulnerable position near Leipzig. Through the Austrian general Merfeldt, captured at Konnevitz, late at night on October 16, he conveyed his terms of truce - the very ones that had already brought him peace in August. However, this time the allies did not honor the emperor with an answer. According to some researchers, the offer of a truce turned out to be a serious psychological mistake of Napoleon - the allies, disappointed by the results of the previous day, believed in the weakness of the French if the emperor was the first to offer peace.
Sunday, October 17, went for the most part calmly, only in the north, Blucher's troops, having taken the villages of Oitritz (German: Eutritzsch) and Golis (German: Golis), came close to Leipzig.
At 2 p.m., the Allied military council met in the village of Zestevit. At the same time, a message was received about the arrival of the Polish army of Benningsen (54 thousand). Schwarzenberg wanted to resume the battle immediately, but Benningsen said that his soldiers were too tired from the long march. It was decided to resume the offensive at 7 am the next day.
To reinforce Benningsen's army, she was given the 4th Austrian corps of Klenau, the 11th brigade of Ziten and Platov's Cossacks, which increased its number to 75 thousand soldiers.
At 2 am on October 18, Napoleon left his old positions, which were almost impossible to defend due to the lack of troops, and retreated to a distance of one hour from Leipzig. The new position was defended by 150 thousand soldiers, which was clearly not enough to repel the allies, who at that moment had 300 thousand soldiers with 1400 guns. Despite this, the battles on October 18 were extremely fierce and far from successful for the allies in all sectors. At 7 o'clock in the morning, Schwarzenberg gave the order to advance.
Napoleon, leading the troops from the headquarters at the Stötteritz tobacco mill (German: Stotterlitz), defended himself much more fiercely than was necessary to cover the retreat. The allied columns went on the offensive unevenly, some of them moved too late, because of which the blow was not delivered along the entire front at the same time. The Austrians advancing on the left flank under the command of the Crown Prince of Hesse-Homburg attacked the positions of the French near Dölitz (German: Dolitz), Dösen (German: Dosen) and Lösnig (German: Losnig), trying to push the French back from the river. Playa. Dölitz was taken first, and at about 10 o'clock Dösen was taken. The Prince of Hesse-Homburg was seriously wounded, and Colloredo took command. The French troops were pushed back to Konnewitz, but there they came to the aid of two divisions sent by Napoleon under the command of Oudinot. The Austrians were forced to retreat, leaving Dösen behind. Regrouping, they again went on the offensive and captured Lösning by lunchtime, but they failed to retake Konnewitz, defended by the Poles and the young guard under the command of Oudinot and Augereau.
A stubborn battle broke out near Probstheida (German: Probstheida), defended by Marshal Victor from the columns of Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon sent the Old Guard and Drouot's artillery guards there (about 150 guns). The Old Guard tried to develop a counteroffensive to the south, but was stopped by artillery fire, located on a small hill 500 meters from the battlefield. Until the end of daylight, the Allies failed to take Probstheid, the battle continued after dark.
Around 2 p.m. on the right flank, Benningsen's army, which went on the offensive late, captured Zuckelhausen (German: Zuckelhausen), Holzhausen and Paunsdorf (German: Paunsdorf). In the assault on Paunsdorf, despite the objections of Bernadotte, units of the Northern Army, the Prussian corps of Bülow and the Russian corps of Winzingerode also participated. Parts of the Silesian army under the command of Langeron and Sacken captured Schönefeld and Golis. In the battle near Paunsdorf, a new weapon was used for the first time - English rocket batteries, England's contribution to the Battle of the Nations (they were part of the Northern Army).
In the midst of the battle, the entire Saxon division (3 thousand, 19 guns), which fought in the ranks of the Napoleonic troops, went over to the side of the allies. A little later, the Württemberg and Baden units did the same. The consequences of the Germans' refusal to fight for Napoleon are figuratively conveyed by the following quotation:
“A terrible void gaped in the center of the French army, as if the heart had been torn out of it.”
By evening, in the north and east, the French were pushed back to the distance of a 15-minute march from Leipzig. After 6 hours, the onset of darkness ceased hostilities, the troops prepared to resume the battle the next morning. Already after Napoleon gave the order to retreat, the head of his artillery presented a report according to which 220 thousand cores were used up in 5 days of fighting. There were only 16 thousand left and no delivery was expected.
Schwarzenberg doubted the need to force a still dangerous opponent into a desperate battle. Giulai was ordered only to watch the French and not attack Lindenau. Thanks to this, the French general Bertrand was able to use the road to Weissenfels (German: Weissenfels), through Lindenau in the direction of Halles, where the convoy and artillery were pulled after him. At night, the retreat of the entire French army, guards, cavalry, corps of Victor and Augereau began, while MacDonald, Ney and Lauriston remained in the city to cover the retreat.
Since Napoleon, when planning the battle, counted only on victory, insufficient measures were taken to prepare for the retreat. At the disposal of all the columns was only one road to Weissenfels.
The Allied disposition for October 19 was drawn up with the expectation that the battle would continue. Alexander's proposals to force Plyayse and Blucher to allocate 20 thousand cavalry to pursue the enemy were rejected. When the morning fog cleared, it became clear that the assault on Leipzig would not be needed. The King of Saxony sent an officer with a proposal to surrender the city without a fight if the French troops were guaranteed 4 hours to retreat. Alexander rejected it and sent his adjutants to the columns with orders to advance at 10 am.
According to the British envoy Cathcart, the King of Saxony sued for peace when the Allies had already begun bombarding the city. The Russian general Tol, who delivered the answer of Alexander I to the king, was forced to organize protection for the Saxon king from Russian soldiers who began to storm the palace.
The retreating French army prematurely blows up the bridge. Engraving of the 19th century. While the French army squeezed through the western Randstadt Gate in a crowd and Napoleon himself could only hardly get out of the city, Russian troops under the command of Lanzheron and Saken captured the eastern suburb of Halles (German: Halles), the Prussians under the command of Bülow - the suburb of Grimmas (German: Grimmas), the southern gate of the city - Peterstor - were taken by the Russian troops of Bennigsen. Panic among the remaining defenders of the city reached a peak when the Elsterbrücke bridge in front of the Randstadt Gate was mistakenly blown up. Hearing the cries of "Hurrah!" advancing allies, the sappers hastily blew up the bridge, despite the fact that there were still about 20 thousand Frenchmen left in the city, including MacDonald, Poniatowski, Lauriston. Many, including Marshal Poniatowski, died during the retreat, the rest were taken prisoner.
By one o'clock in the afternoon the city was completely liberated.
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 combined Austro-Bavarian corps under the command of the Bavarian General Wrede tried to cut off the retreat of the French army on the way to the Rhine near Frankfurt, but on October 31 was repulsed by Napoleon with losses in the battle of Hanau. On November 2, Napoleon crossed the Rhine to France, and two days later the allied armies approached the Rhine and stopped there.
Shortly after Napoleon's retreat from Leipzig, Marshal Saint-Cyr surrendered Dresden with all its huge arsenal. Except for Hamburg, where Marshal Davout was desperately defending himself, all other French garrisons in Germany surrendered before the beginning of 1814. Subject to Napoleon Confederation of the Rhine The German states collapsed, Holland was liberated.
In early January, the Allies launched the 1814 campaign with an invasion of France. Napoleon was left alone with France against advancing Europe, which led in April 1814 to his first abdication.
The French army, according to rough estimates, lost 70-80 thousand soldiers near Leipzig, of which about 40 thousand were killed and wounded, 15 thousand prisoners, another 15 thousand were captured in hospitals, and up to 5 thousand Saxons went over to the Allied side. In addition to combat losses, the lives of the soldiers of the retreating army were carried away by a typhus epidemic. It is known that Napoleon was able to bring back to France only about 40 thousand soldiers. Among the dead was Marshal of France Jozef Poniatowski (nephew of the King of Poland Stanislaw Poniatowski), who received his marshal's baton only two days before the fateful day. 325 guns went to the Allies as a trophy.
Allied losses amounted to 54 thousand killed and wounded, of which 22,600 Russians, 16,000 Prussians, 15,000 Austrians and only 180 Swedes.
Russian losses are confirmed by the inscription on the wall of the gallery military glory in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the hero is mortally wounded Patriotic War Lieutenant General Neverovsky. Lieutenant-General Shevich and 5 other major generals were also killed. For the battle, the Order of St. George of the 2nd degree was received by 4 generals. An exceptionally high rating, given that only one person was awarded the Order of the 2nd degree for the Battle of Borodino, and in just 150 years of the existence of the Order, the 2nd degree was awarded only 125 times.
October 4 - 7 (16 - 19) in the Leipzig region (Saxony) during the war of the 6th anti-French coalition against Napoleonic France.
The military-political situation that preceded the Battle of Leipzig was favorable for the allied powers. Exhausted by continuous wars, France had limited opportunities to supply the army, replenish its reserves. The plan of the allies was to encircle and destroy the French army, which was near Leipzig.
By the beginning of the battle, only the Bohemian (133 thousand people, 578 guns; commander of the Austrian field marshal) and Silesian (60 thousand people, 315 guns; commander of the Prussian general field marshal) approached this area. The Northern Army (58 thousand people, 256 guns; commander of the Swedish crown prince) was in Halle (30 km north of Leipzig), and the Polish (54 thousand people, 186 guns; commander Russian general from the cavalry) - in Waldheim (40 km east of Leipzig). As part of the four armies of the allies was St. 300 thousand people (Russians - 127 thousand, Austrians - 89 thousand, Prussians - 72 thousand, Swedes - 18 thousand people) and 1385 guns. The army of Napoleon I (French, Polish, Dutch, Saxon, Belgian, Italian and other troops) consisted of approx. 200 thousand people (according to other sources, about 150 thousand people) and 700 guns.
On October 4 (16) one of the greatest battles era Napoleonic Wars, which went down in history under the name "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 - about 200 thousand people and 893 guns.
The Allied command, at the insistence of three monarchs (Russian -, Prussian - and Austrian -), decided in the morning to attack the enemy from the south with the forces of the Bohemian army, which was divided into 3 groups and a general reserve. The first grouping of the infantry general) (Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops - a total of 84 thousand people, 404 guns) was supposed to attack the enemy on the Seifertshain, Grebern front; the second detachment of the Austrian field marshal-lieutenant M. Merfeldt (the Prussian corps and Austrian reserves - a total of 30 thousand people, 114 guns) - to operate between the Pleiss and Elster rivers, seize the crossings and hit the right flank of the Napoleonic troops; the third detachment of the Austrian general (Prussian and Austrian troops - a total of 19 thousand people) - to capture Lindenau and the crossing over the Elster west of Leipzig; Silesian army - attack Leipzig from the north on the Möckern-Mokkau front.
Napoleon, realizing the numerical superiority of the allied armies, decided to defeat the armies of Schwarzenberg and Blucher facing him before approaching the battlefield of the armies of Bernadotte and Bennigsen. Therefore, he decided to attack the Allied Bohemian army first, hoping that the rest of their troops that day would not be able to participate in the battle. For this, he allocated 5 infantry, 4 cavalry corps and 6 guard divisions. The command of the entire group (122 thousand people) was entrusted to the marshal. For subsequent actions against the Northern and Silesian armies, Napoleon advanced north of Leipzig 2 infantry and 1 cavalry corps (a total of 50 thousand people) under the general command of the marshal. At Lindenau, the general's corps (12 thousand people) was deployed with a front to the west.
The course of the battle 4 (16) October. On the morning of October 4 (16), the battle began with the cannonade of allied batteries. The first from the Bohemian army went on the offensive with several columns of Barclay de Tolly's group, which occupied their starting position in the morning on the Gros-Pesna, Grebern line. The offensive was reduced to a series of stubborn battles for Libertvolkwitz, Wachau and Markkleberg, as well as for the crossing at Konniewitz. The 14th division of the general and the Prussian (12th brigade and four battalions of the 9th brigade) troops under the command of a lieutenant general captured the village of Markkleberg, defended by marshals Ch. Augereau and Yu. Poniatovsky. This village changed hands four times.
The village of Wachau, located to the east, where troops were stationed under the command of Emperor Napoleon himself, was also taken by the Russians (2nd infantry corps and general's cavalry) and Prussian (9th brigade) troops under the command of the duke. However, due to losses from the shelling of French artillery, the Wachau was again abandoned by noon. Several battalions entrenched themselves in the forest on the border with the village.
The 5th Russian division of General, the 10th Prussian brigade of Major General G. Pirch and the 11th Prussian brigade of Lieutenant General G. Ziten under the general command of Lieutenant General and the 4th Austrian Corps of General of Cavalry I. Klenau advanced on the village of Libertvolkwitz, which was defended by the 5th Infantry Corps of General J. Lauriston and the Marshal's Corps. After a fierce battle for every street, the village was taken, but both sides suffered heavy losses. After reinforcements approached the French in the form of the 36th division, the allies were forced to leave Libertvolkwitz by 11 o'clock.
On the right flank, the column of the Austrian General I. Klenau occupied Mount Kolmberg, on the left - the Prussian Lieutenant General F. Kleist broke into Markkleberg. In the current situation, Napoleon decided to break through the center of the combat formation of the Allied troops in the direction of Gossa. At 15 o'clock, the cavalry of I. Murat (10 thousand people), with fire support from artillery (160 guns of General A. Drouot), dealt a powerful blow. The French cuirassiers and dragoons, with the support of the infantry, crushed the Russian-Prussian line, overturned the battle formations of the division of Prince E. Wurtenberg lined up in a square and broke through the center of the allies. Pursuing the fugitives, they found themselves 800 paces from the headquarters of the allied sovereigns. This success convinced Napoleon that the victory had already been won. The authorities of Leipzig were ordered to ring all the bells in honor of the triumph. However, the battle continued. The cavalry detachment of Lieutenant General P.P. was sent against Napoleon's cavalry. Palena, a grenadier division from the corps and a Prussian brigade from the corps of F. Kleist. Before the reinforcements approached, the enemy was held back by a company of Russian artillery and the Life Guards Cossack regiment under the command of a colonel. A Russian 112-gun battery under the command of a major general was advanced into the intervals between the infantry.
Hood. Bekhlin. Attack of the Cossack Life Guards near Leipzig. 1845 Museum of the history of the Don Cossacks
Napoleon saw how fresh Allied reserve divisions stopped Murat and closed the gap in the Allied positions. Determined to prevail at all costs before the arrival of the troops of Bernadotte and Bennigsen, he gave the order to advance on the weakened center of the allies with the forces of foot and horse guards. However, the attack of the Austrians on the right flank of the French changed his plans and forced him to send part of the guard to help Prince Yu. Poniatowski, who could hardly hold back the blows. After a stubborn battle, the Austrians were driven back, and their commander, Count Merfeldt, was captured.
The offensive of the troops of the Austrian Marshal Gyulai on Lidenau was also repulsed by the French general Bertrand.
In another section of the battle in the area of Wiederitz and Möckern, General Blucher attacked the troops of Marshal O.F. Marmon, who with 24 thousand soldiers held back his onslaught. The Polish General J. Dombrovsky, who defended the village of Videritz, kept it from being captured by the Russian troops of the general all day. One of the last attacks showed the courage of the Prussians. Major General G. Gorn led his brigade into battle, giving them the order not to shoot. Under the drumbeat, the Prussians launched a bayonet attack, and the general himself with the Brandenburg hussars cut into the French columns. The 17,000 soldiers under the command of Marshal Marmont defending Möckern were ordered to leave their positions and proceed south to the Wachau, as a result of which they left the well-fortified positions in the north. The Prussian general who commanded a 20,000-strong corps in this area, after many attacks, took the village, losing 7,000 soldiers. Marmont's corps was destroyed. So the front of the French troops north of Leipzig was broken through. When the first day of the battle ended, Blucher's soldiers made themselves barriers from the corpses of the dead, determined not to give the French the occupied territories.
As night fell, the fighting subsided. Despite successful Allied counterattacks near Güldengossa and near the village of Wachau, most of the battlefield was left to the French. They pushed back the Allied troops from the Wachau to Gülgengossa and from Libertwolkwitz, but were unable to break through the front. In general, the first day of the battle did not reveal the winners, although the losses on both sides were huge (about 60 - 70 thousand people). On the night of October 5 (17), fresh forces of Bernadotte and Bennigsen approached Leipzig. The Allied forces now had a double numerical advantage over Napoleon's forces.
Battle of Leipzig. Position of the troops on October 4 (16), 1813
Actions 5 (17) October. The next day, both sides removed the wounded and buried the dead. Taking advantage of the lull and realizing the impossibility of defeating a numerically superior enemy, Napoleon summoned the captured General Merfeldt and released him with a request to convey to the Allies a proposal for peace negotiations, to which the Allies did not respond. In general, this day passed calmly, only in the north the troops of Field Marshal Blucher, having taken the villages of Oitritsch and Golis, came close to Leipzig. On the night of October 6 (18), Napoleon began to regroup the army, trying to pull the troops closer to the city. By morning, his troops had an almost circular arrangement on the Konnewitz, Holzhausen, Zweinaundorf, Schönefeld, Pfaffendorf, Lindenau lines, deploying at a distance of about 4 km from Leipzig on a front of 16 km approx. 150 thousand people and 630 guns.
The course of the battle on October 6 (18). On October 6 (18) at 8 o'clock in the morning, the allies launched an offensive. Their columns went on the offensive unevenly, some of them moved too late, because of which the blow was not delivered along the entire front at the same time. The Austrians advancing on the left flank under the command of Crown Prince F. of Hesse-Homburg attacked the French positions near Dölitz, Dösen and Lösnig, trying to push the French back from the Plaise River. Dölitz was taken first, and at about 10 o'clock Dösen was taken. The Prince of Hesse-Homburg was badly wounded and Field Marshal Lieutenant took command. The French troops were pushed back to Connewitz, but there they came to the aid of two divisions sent by Napoleon under the command of a marshal. The Austrians were forced to retreat, leaving Dösen behind. Regrouping, they again went on the offensive and captured Lösnig by lunchtime, but they failed to retake Konnewitz, defended by the Poles and the Young Guard under the command of Marshals Oudinot and Augereau.
A stubborn battle flared up near Probstgeide. This village, which had a stone fence, was an important center of French defense. There were four companies of infantry in the village, strong batteries were located on the sides, and behind the village were the corps of Loriston and Victor. The attack on Probstgeide was carried out simultaneously from the southwest and east by two brigades of Kleist's corps. The Prussian infantry broke in from the east, but, met by buckshot, was forced to retreat. The attack was repeated by the troops of the Prince of Württemberg. During the attack, only 1800 people remained from his 2nd Corps. From the side of Libertvolkwitz, the 3rd division of the prince broke into the village, followed by the troops of Gorchakov and Kleist. However, Napoleon with the Old Guard knocked them out, after which the French troops went on the offensive, but were stopped by grape fire.
At about 2 p.m. on the right flank, the Polish army of General Bennigsen, which went on the offensive, captured Zuckelhausen, Holzhausen and Paunsdorf. Parts of the Northern Army, the Prussian corps of the general and the Russian corps of the general also participated in the assault on Paunsdorf. Parts of the Silesian army under the command of the generals Langeron and captured Schönefeld and Golis.
In the midst of the battle, the Württemberg (Major General K. Norman), Saxon (Major General A. Rissel), Baden and Westphalian troops went over to the side of the Allies. The Saxons even turned their weapons against the French.
By evening, in the north and east, the French were pushed back to the distance of a 15-minute march from Leipzig. The ensuing darkness stopped the fighting, the troops prepared to resume the battle the next morning. Commander-in-Chief Schwarzenberg doubted the need to continue the battle. Therefore, the Austrian General Gyulai was ordered only to watch the French. Thanks to this, the French general Bertrand was able to use the road to Weissenfelds, where the convoy and artillery were pulled behind him. During the night, the retreat of the entire French army, guards, cavalry and corps of Marshals Victor and Augereau began, while Marshals MacDonald, Ney and General Lauriston remained in the city to cover the retreat.
Battle of Leipzig. Position of the troops on October 6 (18), 1813
Actions 7 (19) October. Since Napoleon, when planning the battle, counted only on victory, he did not take sufficient measures to prepare for the retreat. At the disposal of all the columns was only one road to Weissenfelds.
But the allies also made a serious mistake by not allocating enough forces west of Leipzig, which allowed the enemy to retreat unhindered.
While the French army squeezed through the western Randstadt Gate, Russian troops under the command of Generals Lanzheron and Osten-Sacken captured the eastern suburb of Halles, the Prussians under the command of General Bülow - the suburb of Grimmas, the southern gate of Leipzig - Peterstor - were taken by the Russian troops of General Bennigsen. Panic among the remaining defenders of the city reached a peak when a bridge over the river was blown up by mistake. Elster, located in front of the Randstadt Gate. Hearing the cries of "Hurrah!" advancing allies, French sappers hastily blew up the bridge, despite the fact that about 20 thousand Frenchmen remained in the city, including marshals MacDonald and Poniatowski and General Lauriston. Many, including Yu. Poniatovsky, who received the marshal's baton two days before the battle, died during the retreat, the rest were taken prisoner. By the end of the day, the allies had captured the entire city.
The retreat of the French army after the battle of Leipzig, October 19, 1813. Colorized engraving of the 19th century.
In the four-day Battle of Leipzig, the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, both sides suffered heavy losses.
The French army, according to various estimates, lost 70-80 thousand soldiers, of which about 40 thousand were killed and wounded, 15 thousand were captured, and another 15 thousand were captured in hospitals. Another 15-20 thousand German soldiers went over to the side of the allies. It is known that Napoleon was able to bring back to France only about 40 thousand soldiers. 325 guns went to the Allies as a trophy.
Allied losses amounted to 54 thousand killed and wounded, of which up to 23 thousand Russians, 16 thousand Prussians, 15 thousand Austrians and 180 Swedes.
Monument in memory of the Battle of Leipzig and its reflection in the "Lake of Tears Shed for Fallen Soldiers"
The decisive role in the victory of the Allied armies was played by the actions of the Russian troops, who bore the brunt of the battle. The battle of Leipzig, which received the name “battle of the peoples” due to the composition of the nationalities participating in it, ended in victory allied states, however, its results could have been more difficult for Napoleon if the allied command had not missed the opportunity to completely defeat the enemy.
Xp am-monument of Russian glory in Leipzig. 1913 Architect V.A. Pokrovsky
Schwarzenberg, who was entrusted with the overall command of the allied armies, actually failed to fulfill the functions of commander in chief, and the council of the three emperors did not provide full-fledged leadership in the combat operations of the allied forces. This hindered the implementation of broad operational plans, led to indecision in actions, and the reservation of large masses of troops that were inactive on the battlefield. The battle deprived France of a number of territorial gains in Europe and hastened the fall of Napoleon. Shortly after Napoleon's retreat from Leipzig, the marshal surrendered Dresden with all its huge arsenal. Except for Hamburg, where Marshal Davout was desperately defending himself, all the other French garrisons in Germany surrendered before the beginning of 1814. The Confederation of the Rhine of the German states, subject to Napoleon, collapsed, the French evacuated from Holland.
Johann Peter Kraft. Prince Schwarzenberg informs the allied monarchs of the victory in the "battle of the peoples" at Leipzig. 1817 Museum of Military History, Vienna.
In early January, the Allies began the 1814 campaign with an invasion of France. Napoleon was left alone with France against the advancing Europe, which led in April 1814 to his first abdication.
So the Prussian colonel general staff Baron Müfling named the historic battle (October 16-19, 1813) near Leipzig. After the end of the battle, Colonel Müfling fell to the lot to write the corresponding report of the Prussian General Staff, dated October 19, 1813. And in this report he used words that, according to the testimony of his entourage, he had already spoken earlier, on the eve of the battle. In particular, he wrote: "Thus the four-day battle of peoples near Leipzig decided the fate of the world."
The report immediately became widely known, which determined the fate of the expression "battle of nations."
VICTORY FROM NAPOLEON WERE RUSSIAN GUARDS
In October 1813, the united army of the Sixth Coalition approached Leipzig, numbering over 300 thousand people (127 thousand Russians; 90 thousand Austrians; 72 thousand Prussian and 18 thousand Swedish troops) with 1385 guns.
Napoleon was able to field approx. 200 thousand, which, in addition to the French troops, included Italian, Belgian, Dutch, Polish units under the command of the Napoleonic marshal and nephew of the Polish king Stanislaw August, Prince Jozef Poniatowski, military formations of the states of the Confederation of the Rhine and the troops of Frederick I of Württemberg. The artillery of the Napoleonic army consisted of over 700 guns. …
On October 4 (16), the Allied Bohemian Army of Schwarzenberg, consisting of 84 thousand under the command of the Russian General M. Barclay de Tolly, launched an offensive in the main direction along the Wachau-Libertwolkwitz front. Against the advancing allied forces, Napoleon deployed 120 thousand people. After a massive artillery preparation and fierce fighting, by 15 o'clock in the afternoon the French cavalry overturned the allied infantry columns. Barclay de Tolly covered the resulting frontal gap with parts of the Russian guard and grenadiers from the reserve of the Bohemian army, which, in fact, wrested victory from the hands of Napoleon. Despite the clear success of the battle on October 4 (16), the French troops did not manage to defeat the troops of the Bohemian army before the Allied reinforcements arrived.
On the afternoon of October 4 (16), the Silesian army advanced north of Leipzig under the command of the Prussian Field Marshal G. Blucher, consisting of 39 thousand Prussian and 22 thousand Russian troops with 315 guns and forced the French troops to withdraw from the Meckern - Wiederich line.
Combat losses on the first day of the battle were huge and amounted to approx. 30 thousand people on each side.
By the night of 4 (16) October, two allied armies advanced into the combat area: the Northern, under the command of the Swedish crown prince Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (the future king of Sweden, Charles XIV Johan), consisting of 20 thousand Russians, 20 thousand Prussians and 18 thousand Swedish troops with 256 guns, and the Polish army of the Russian general L. Bennigsen, consisting of 30 thousand Russian and 24 thousand Prussian troops with 186 guns. French reinforcements amounted to only 25 thousand people.
On October 5 (17), Napoleon, having assessed the situation not in his favor, turned to the leadership of the allies with a proposal for peace, but there was no answer to this. The whole day of October 5 (17) was spent in the evacuation of the wounded and the preparation of both opposing sides for the decisive battle.
On the morning of October 6 (18), the allied forces went on the offensive along the entire front in the southern, eastern and northern directions. The French army stubbornly held its position throughout the day in a fierce battle against the superior advancing forces of the allied forces.
Heavy fighting continued throughout the next day. In the midst of the battle, the Saxon corps, fighting on the side of the French army, in in full force went over to the side of the allies and deployed his cannons against the Napoleonic troops. By the night of October 7 (19), Napoleon was forced to give the order to retreat through Lindenau, west of Leipzig.
THE FEAT OF THE GRENADER ROOT
Babaev P. I. The feat of the grenadier of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment Leonty Korenny in the battle of Leipzig in 1813. 1846
The painting is dedicated to the famous events in Russian history - the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. Main character paintings - the grenadier of the third grenadier company of the Life Guards of the Finnish Regiment Leonty Korennoy. In 1812, L. Korennoy was awarded the insignia of the Military Order of St. George for his bravery in the Battle of Borodino. The feat, which served as the plot for Babaev's painting, was accomplished by L. Korenny a year later - in the battle near Leipzig. At one point in the battle, a group of officers and soldiers was surrounded by superior French forces. L. Korennoy with several grenadiers decided to give the commander and wounded officers the opportunity to retreat and, thereby, save their lives, while they themselves continued to fight. The forces were not equal, all the comrades of L. Root were killed. Fighting alone, the grenadier received 18 wounds and was captured by the enemy.
Napoleon, having learned about the feat of L. Root, met with him personally, after which he issued an order in which he set L. Root as an example to his soldiers, calling him a hero, a model for French soldiers. After the soldier recovered, he was released to his homeland by personal order of Napoleon. In his native regiment, for his courage, Root was promoted to ensign and became the standard bearer of the regiment. He was also granted a special silver medal on the neck with the inscription "For the love of the Fatherland." Later, the courage of Root was imprinted on revolvers (in the form of a gilded decoration), which were awarded to officers who distinguished themselves in the years Crimean War during the defense of Sevastopol. The feat of L. Korennoy became widely known in Russia.
BIGGEST BATTLE
In the four-day Battle of Leipzig, the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, both sides suffered heavy losses.
The French army, according to various estimates, lost 70-80 thousand soldiers, of which about 40 thousand were killed and wounded, 15 thousand were captured, another 15 thousand were captured in hospitals. Another 15-20 thousand German soldiers went over to the Allied side. It is known that Napoleon was able to bring back to France only about 40 thousand soldiers. 325 guns went to the Allies as a trophy.
Allied losses amounted to 54 thousand killed and wounded, of which up to 23 thousand Russians, 16 thousand Prussians, 15 thousand Austrians and 180 Swedes.
The decisive role in the victory of the Allied armies was played by the actions of the Russian troops, who bore the brunt of the battle.
Temple-monument of Russian glory in Leipzig. 1913 Architect V.A. Pokrovsky
For four days, from October 16 to October 19, 1813, a grandiose battle unfolded on the field near Leipzig, later called the Battle of the Nations. It was at that moment that the fate of the empire of the great Corsican Napoleon Bonaparte, who had just returned from an unsuccessful eastern campaign for himself, was being decided.
If the Guinness Book of Records existed 200 years ago, then the peoples under Leipzig would have entered it in four indicators at once: as the most massive, the longest in time, the most multinational and the most overloaded with monarchs battle. The last three indicators, by the way, have not been beaten so far.
fateful decision
The catastrophic campaign of 1812 did not mean a collapse Napoleonic Empire. Having put under arms young conscripts ahead of schedule and gathered a new army, Bonaparte in the spring of 1813 launched a series of counterattacks on the Russians and their allies, regaining control over most of Germany.However, having concluded the Plesvitsky truce, he lost time, and after it ended, the anti-Napoleonic coalition was replenished with Austria and Sweden. In Germany, Bonaparte's strongest ally remained Saxony, whose king Frederick Augustus I was also the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, recreated on the ruins of Poland.
To protect the Saxon capital of Dresden, the French emperor allocated the corps of Marshal Saint-Cyr, he sent the corps of Marshal Oudinot to Berlin, MacDonald's corps moved east to hide from the Prussians. This dispersal of power was alarming. Marshal Marmont expressed his fear that on the day when Napoleon won one major battle, the French will lose two. And I wasn't wrong.
On August 23, the Northern Allied Army defeated Oudinot at Grosberen, and on September 6 defeated Ney, who replaced him, at Dennewitz. On August 26, Blücher's Silesian army defeated Macdonald at the Katzbach. True, on August 27, Napoleon himself defeated the main Bohemian army of Prince Schwarzenberg, which inadvertently poked his head towards Dresden. But on August 30, the retreating Bohemian army at Kulm smashed the Vandam Corps that had turned up under its feet. The Allied command decided to refrain from fighting Napoleon himself, but to smash the large formations that had separated from his main forces. When such a strategy began to bear fruit, Napoleon decided that a pitched battle should be forced on the enemy at all costs.
Drawing out bizarre pirouettes of maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, Bonaparte and the armies of the allies from different sides approached the point where the fate of the campaign was to be decided. And this point was the second largest city of Saxony Leipzig.
Two steps away from victory
Having concentrated the main forces south and east of Dresden, Bonaparte expected to attack the enemy's right flank. His troops stretched out along the Plaise River. Bertrand's corps (12,000) stood at Lindenau in case Bennigsen's so-called Polish Army appeared from the west. The troops of Marshals Marmont and Ney (50 thousand) were responsible for the defense of Leipzig itself and were supposed to repel Blucher's offensive in the north.
On October 16, already at 8 o'clock in the morning, the Russian corps of Eugene of Württemberg attacked the French at the Wachau, which crumpled Napoleon's whole plan. Instead of crushing the right flank of the allies, the most fierce battles broke out in the center. At the same time, the Austrian corps of Giulai activated in the northwest, completely absorbing the attention of Marmont and Ney.
At about 11 o'clock, Napoleon had to throw into battle the entire young guard and one division of the old. For a moment, it seemed that he had succeeded in turning the tide. A "large battery" of 160 guns unleashed "a barrage of artillery fire unheard of in the history of wars in terms of its concentration," as Russian General Ivan Dibich wrote about it.
Then 10 thousand of Murat's horsemen rushed into battle. At Meisdorf, his riders rushed to the very foot of the hill, on which was the headquarters of the allies, including two emperors (Russian and Austrian) and the king of Prussia. But even those still had “trump cards” in their hands.
Alexander I, having reassured his fellow crowned men, advanced to the threatened area the 100-gun Sukhozanet battery, Raevsky's corps, the Kleist brigade and the life Cossacks of his personal escort. Napoleon, in turn, decided to use the entire Old Guard, but his attention was diverted by the attack of Merfeld's Austrian corps on the right flank. That's where the "old grumblers" went. They rolled out the Austrians and even captured Merfeld himself. But time was lost.
October 17 was for Napoleon a day of reflection, and unpleasant reflections. In the north, the Silesian army took possession of two villages and was clearly going to play the role of a “hammer” the next day, which, having fallen on the French, would flatten them to the “anvil” of the Bohemian army. Even worse was that by the 18th, the Northern and Polish armies were supposed to arrive on the battlefield. Bonaparte had only to retreat on the shore by leading his troops through Leipzig and then ferrying them across the Elster River. But to organize such a maneuver, he needed another day.
Treason and fatal mistake
On October 18, with all four of their armies, the Allies expected to launch six coordinated attacks and surround Napoleon in Leipzig itself. It all didn't start very smoothly. The commander of the Polish units of the Napoleonic army, Jozef Poniatowski, successfully held the line along the Plaisa River. Blucher was actually marking time, not having received timely support from Bernadotte, who took care of his Swedes.Everything changed with the advent of Bennigsen's Polish Army. The 26th division of Paskevich, which was part of it, at first constituted a reserve, ceding the right of the first attack to the Austrian corps of Klenau. Paskevich subsequently spoke very caustically about the actions of the allies. First, the Austrians marched past his troops in even ranks, with their officers shouting to the Russians something like: “We will show you how to fight.” However, after a few canister shots, they turned back and again, in orderly ranks, returned back. “We made an attack,” they said proudly, and they no longer wanted to go into the fire.
The appearance of Bernadotte was the final point. Immediately after this, the Saxon division, the Württemberg cavalry and the Baden infantry went over to the Allied side. In the figurative expression of Dmitry Merezhkovsky, "a terrible void gaped in the center of the French army, as if the heart had been torn out of it." It was said too strongly, since the total number of defectors could hardly exceed 5-7 thousand, but Bonaparte really had nothing to close the gaps that had formed.
In the early morning of October 19, Napoleon's units began to retreat across Leipzig to the only bridge over the Elster. Most of the troops had already crossed over, when at about one in the afternoon the booby-trapped bridge suddenly flew into the air. The 30,000-strong French rearguard had either to die or surrender.
The reason for the premature explosion of the bridge was the excessive fearfulness of the French sappers, who heard the heroic “Hurrah!” soldiers of the same division of Paskevich who broke into Leipzig. Subsequently, he complained: they say, the next night, “the soldiers did not let us sleep, they dragged the French out of Elster, shouting: “They caught a big sturgeon.” These were drowned officers, on whom they found money, watches, etc.”
Napoleon with the remnants of his troops retreated to the territory of France, in order to continue and finally lose the fight next year, which was no longer possible to win.
