The Battle of the Peoples near Leipzig (1813)

The battle of the peoples near Leipzig is one of the main battles of the Napoleonic wars. It took place in Saxony from October 4 to 7, 1813. Napoleon's troops and the army of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition fought in the battle.

Background of the battle

The Russian campaign of Napoleon in 1812 ended in complete failure. This led to the creation of the opponents of the Emperor of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition. It included Russia, England, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden.

The first major battle between rivals was held at Bautzen, the winner of which was the French army. The troops of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition succeeded in smashing Napoleon under Grosberen, Katzbach, Dennewitz and Kulm. In 1813, the Allies launched an offensive against Dresden and Saxony, and the famous battle of the peoples of Leipzig was soon held.

Situation on the eve of the battle

In order to understand the reasons for Napoleon's retreat and the defeat of his troops, one should consider the situation in which the people's battle took place near Leipzig. 1813 became quite heavy for Saxony. In the autumn, three allied armies came to this territory: Northern (under the command of the Swedish Crown Prince J. Bernadotte), Bohemian (Austrian Field Marshal K. Schwarzerber) and Silesian (Prussian General G. Blucher). Also, the Polish army (General L. Bennigsen), temporarily in reserve, arrived at the battlefield.

Napoleon originally intended to strike at the disunited troops, but the rapidly changing environment, lack of strength and time forced him to abandon his intentions. The army of the French emperor was located in the area of Leipzig.

Composition and strength of opponents

A person unfamiliar with the history of this battle, the question may arise: "Why is the Battle of Leipzig called the battle of the nations?" The fact is that on the side of Napoleon in the conflict involved the French, Poles, Dutch, Italians, Saxons and Belgians. At the same time, the Austrians, Swedes, the peoples of the Russian Empire, the Prussians, the Bavarians were part of the Allied forces.

The French army included 200 thousand soldiers and had 700 guns. In Bohemia fought about 133 thousand soldiers, who had 578 ammunition. The Silesian army included 60,000 fighters, and the Northern Army included 58,000 men, who had 315 and 256 guns, respectively. In the Polish army there were 54 thousand soldiers and 186 ammunition.

The events of October 4

The Battle of the Peoples in 1813 under Leipzig began the volume on the site where the Bohemian army was stationed. Even before the battle began, it was divided into three groups. The main blow to the French was to be inflicted by the first part under the command of MB Barclay de Tolly. During the offensive on the morning of October 4, this group captured a number of localities. But the Austrians refused to MB. Barclay de Tolly in support and they were forced to retreat.
Cavalry Corps of Napoleon under the command of I. Murat began a breakthrough in the area of. 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 thrown back to the starting position.
Other Napoleonic units repulsed the attacks of opponents in the Wiederitz and Mekkern areas. With the coming of night, fighting on all tracks ceased. The positions of the opponents did not actually change by the end of the battle. During the battle, rivals lost about 30 thousand people each.

First Day Results

On the first day, the people's battle near Leipzig ended in a draw. Both sides received private victories (the Napoleonic army at Lidenau and Wachau, the allied one at 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 they were helped by the parts of Bennigsen and Bernadotte. Napoleon could only count on a small corps of the Rhine.

The events of October 5

On this day, military action was not conducted. Only in the north the army of Blucher took possession of the villages of Oitritzsch and Golis and came very close to Leipzig. At night Napoleon regrouped the army in order to bring her closer to the city. As a result, the French army placed on a defensive arc not far from Leipzig. In turn, the Allied forces surrounded the Napoleonic army with a semicircle: the Silesian Army in the north, the North and the Polish in the east, and the Bohemian in the south.

Events October 6

The battle of the peoples near Leipzig continued on the morning of October 6. On that day, the French army took 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 Wuerttemberg cavalry to the side of the Allies. Their betrayal led to the emptying of the central positions, but the emperor managed to quickly move the reserve there and stabilize the situation. Attacks by the army of the anti-French coalition were also not very successful. This was due to the simultaneous and uncoordinated offensives, with the complete absence of spare parts.
The main battles that day were held at Probstgeide, Tsukelhausen, Goltsgauzen, Dosen, Paunsdorf and Lösnig. By the end of the day the French managed to hold their positions on almost all flanks, except for the center. But they lost almost all of their combat kit and Napoleon realized that such a situation would lead to the complete destruction of the army.

The events of October 7

On the morning of October 7, Napoleon's army began to retreat. The Allies did not set out to break the French army on the approaches to Elster, they directed their forces to storm Leipzig. For this, three columns were created, which quickly moved to the city. Local residents made a request not to start the battle, but the anti-French coalition demanded Napoleon's complete surrender. At lunch, the Allies stormed the city walls.
The French command was deliberately to blow up the bridge across Elster in order to cut off its army from the allied and allow it to be saved. But he was landed ahead of time and some parts remained in the city. They had to save themselves by swimming. Many soldiers died right in the water. Among them was Marshal Yury Ponyatovsky. Toward evening, the armies of the anti-French coalition succeeded in taking Leipzig.

Consequences of the Battle

The total loss of Napoleon was about 60 thousand soldiers, about the same number of fighters lost the anti-French coalition. Imperial troops managed to avoid complete defeat, largely due to the fact that the actions of the allies were not coordinated and European rulers often could not come to a common opinion.

The political consequences, to which the battle of peoples under Leipzig led, are of paramount importance. The year 1813 was difficult for Napoleon. The failure in the Battle of Leipzig was followed by the disintegration of the Rhine Union. After the liberation of Germany, military operations spread to the territory of France. In March, the allies took Paris and the restoration of monarchical power took place in the country.

Memory of the Battle of Leipzig

The Battle of Leipzig (the battle of the peoples) is one of the most significant in the history of Napoleonic wars. It is also referred to as the "battle of the three emperors"
In memory of this battle in Germany in 1814 a magnificent celebration was held.
In 1913 in Leipzig was opened a grand monument "Monument to the Battle of the Nations."

Not far from it was also erected the Holy-Alexievsky temple, where today fallen soldiers are buried. It should be noted that at the time of the GDR the monument was planned to be destroyed, as it was considered a glorification of German nationalism. However, over time, it was perceived as a symbol of friendship with Russia and the authorities decided to preserve the monument.
Also commemorative coin (3 stamps) was issued to the 100th anniversary of the battle.
Today in Leipzig there are several museums dedicated to the history of the great battle.