The battle of peoples near Leipzig is one of the main battles of the period of the Napoleonic Wars. It took place in Saxony on October 4–7, 1813. The rivals in the battle were Napoleon’s troops and the army of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition.
Battle background
Napoleon’s Russian campaign in 1812 ended in complete collapse. This led to the creation of opponents of the emperor Sixth anti-French coalition. It included Russia, England, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden.
The first major battle between the rivals took place near Bautzen, the winner of which came the French army. The troops of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition managed to defeat Napoleon at Grosberen, Katzbach, Dennevits and Kulm. In 1813, the Allies went on the offensive on Dresden and Saxony, and soon the famous battle of peoples near Leipzig took place.
The situation on the eve of the battle
In order to understand the reasons for the retreat of Napoleon and the defeat of his army, one should consider the situation in which the battle of peoples near Leipzig took place. The year 1813 was difficult enough for Saxony. In the fall, 3 allied armies attacked this territory: Northern (under the command of the Swedish crown prince J. Bernadot), Bohemian (Austrian field marshal K. Schwarzerber) g and Silesian (Prussian general G. Blucher). Also, the Polish Army (General L. Bennigsen), temporarily in reserve, arrived at the scene of the battle.
Napoleon initially hoped to strike at the disunited troops, but the rapidly changing situation, lack of time and energy forced him to abandon his intentions. The army of the French emperor is located in the Leipzig area.
Composition and strength of rivals
A person unfamiliar with the history of this battle may ask: “Why is the battle of Leipzig called the battle of the 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, the Allied forces included Austrians, Swedes, peoples of the Russian Empire, Prussians, Bavarians.
The French army included 200 thousand soldiers and had 700 guns. About 133 thousand soldiers who had 578 ammunition fought in Bohemia. The Silesian army included 60 thousand soldiers, and the Northern Army - 58 thousand, which had 315 and 256 guns, respectively. The Polish army had 54 thousand soldiers and 186 ammunition.
October 4 events
The battle of peoples in 1813 near Leipzig began in the area 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 inflict the first part under the command of M. B. Barclay de Tolly. During the offensive on the morning of October 4, this group took possession of a number of settlements. But the Austrians refused M.B. Barclay de Tolly in support and they were forced to retreat.
The cavalry corps of Napoleon 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 thrown 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 did not actually change at the end of the battle. During the battles, rivals lost approximately 30 thousand people each.
First day results
On the first day, the battle of peoples at Leipzig ended in a draw. Both sides received private victories (the Napoleonic army under Lidenau and Wachau, the allied one near Mekern), 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 parts of Bennigsen and Bernadot came to their aid. Napoleon could only count on the small Rhine corps.
October 5th Events
There were no military operations on that day. Only in the north, Blucher's army captured the villages of Oytritsch and Golis and came close to Leipzig. At night, Napoleon regrouped the army in order to bring it closer to the city. As a result, the French army deployed on a defensive arc near Leipzig. In turn, the Allies surrounded the Napoleonic army with a semicircle: Silesian in the north, Northern and Polish in the east, Bohemian in the south.
October 6th Events
The battle of peoples near Leipzig continued on the morning of October 6. On this day, the French army held 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 side of the Allies. Their betrayal led to a fall in central positions, but the emperor was able to quickly throw a 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 the simultaneous and inconsistent attacks, with the complete inaction of the reserve units.
The main battles on this day took place at Probstgade, Zuckelhausen, Goltzgauzen, Desen, Paunsdorf and Lesnig. By the end of the day, the French managed to maintain a position on almost all flanks, except for the center. But they lost almost their entire combat set and Napoleon understood that such a situation would lead to the complete destruction of the army.
October 7 events
On the morning of October 7, Napoleon’s army began to retreat. The Allies did not aim to defeat the French army on the approaches to Elster, they sent 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 the complete surrender of Napoleon. At lunch, the Allies stormed the city walls.
The French command was intentionally blowing up a bridge over Elster in order to cut off its army from the allied one and to enable it to escape. But he was landed ahead of time and some parts remained in the city. They had to escape by swimming. 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.
Aftermath of the battle
Napoleon’s total losses amounted to about 60 thousand soldiers, about the same number of fighters 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 common opinion.
Of crucial importance are the political consequences that the battle of peoples at Leipzig led to. The year 1813 turned out to be quite complicated for Napoleon. The failure of the battle of Leipzig was followed by the collapse of the Rhine Alliance. After the liberation of Germany, hostilities spread to France. In March, Paris was taken by the allies and a restoration of monarchical power took place in the country.
The memory of the Battle of Leipzig
The battle of Leipzig (the battle of peoples) is one of the most significant in the history of the 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, a grandiose monument “Monument to the Battle of the Peoples” was opened in Leipzig.
Not far from it, the St. Alexis Church was also erected, where soldiers who died in battle are buried today. It should be noted that during the GDR, the monument was planned to be destroyed, since it was considered a glorification of German nationalism. However, over time, they began to perceive it as a symbol of friendship with Russia, and the authorities decided to preserve the monument.
Also, to the 100th anniversary of the battle, a commemorative coin (3 stamps) was issued.
Today in Leipzig there are several museums dedicated to the history of the great battle.