The Battle of the Peoples at Leipzig is one of the mainbattles during the Napoleonic wars. It took place in Saxony on October 4 - 7, 1813. Napoleon's troops and the army of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition fought in the battle.
Russian campaign of Napoleon in 1812culminated in a complete collapse. 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 rivalstook place under Bautzen, the winner of which was the French army. The troops of the Sixth Anti-French Coalition succeeded in defeating 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.
In order to understand the reasons for the retreatNapoleon and the defeat of his troops, we should consider the situation in which the people's battle took place near Leipzig. The year 1813 became quite difficult for Saxony. In autumn, 3 allied armies came to this territory: Northern (under the command of the Swedish Crown Prince J. Bernadotte), Bohemian (Austrian Field Marshal C. Schwartzerber) and Silesian (Prussian General G. Blucher). Also, the Polish army (General L. Bennigsen), temporarily in reserve, arrived at the battlefield.
Наполеон изначально рассчитывал нанести удары по disunited troops, but the rapidly changing environment, lack of strength and time forced him to abandon his intentions. The army of the French emperor settled in the area of Leipzig.
A person unfamiliar with the history of this battle,the question may arise: "Why is the Battle of Leipzig called the Battle of the Peoples?" 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.
Французская армия включала в себя 200 тысяч and had 700 guns. In Bohemia fought about 133 thousand soldiers, who had 578 ammunition. The Silesian army included 60,000 fighters, while 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.
Битва народов в 1813 году под Лейпцигом началась volume at 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 inflict 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 settlements. But the Austrians refused MB. Barclay de Tolly in support and they were forced to retreat.
Napoleon's Cavalry Corps under the command ofI. 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 the starting position.
Other Napoleonic units repulsed attacksopponents in the field of Widerits and Mekkern. 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.
On the first day of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzigended 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.
В этот день военные действие не велись.Only in the north Blucher's army 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 it closer to the city. As a result, the French army placed on a defense arc not far from Leipzig. In turn, the Allied forces surrounded the Napoleonic army with a semicircle: Silesian - in the north, Northern and Polish - in the east, Bohemian - in the south.
The Battle of the Peoples near Leipzig continued in the morning 6October. On this day, the French army took defensive positions, and with the loss of important points made a successful counterattack. 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 depletion 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 offensive, with complete inactivity of the reserve units.
The main battles took place on that dayProbstgeide, Tsukelhausen, Goltzgauzen, 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.
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 the assault on Leipzig. For this were created three columns, which quickly moved to the city. Local residents asked not to start the battle, but the anti-French coalition demanded the complete surrender of Napoleon. At lunchtime, the Allies stormed the city walls.
French command was intentionally blow upthe bridge over Elster, to cut off his army from the ally and allow it to escape. But he was landed prematurely and some parts remained in the city. They had to swim. Many soldiers died right in the water. Among them was Marshal Y. Ponyatovsky. In the late afternoon, the army of the anti-French coalition managed to take Leipzig.
Общие потери Наполеона составили около 60 тыс.soldier, about the same number of fighters lost 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 coherent and European rulers often could not come to a common opinion.
Politicalthe consequences that led the battle of the peoples under Leipzig. The year 1813 turned out to be quite difficult for Napoleon. The failure of the Battle of Leipzig was followed by the collapse of the Rhine Union. After the liberation of Germany, hostilities spread to the territory of France. In March, the Allies took Paris and the country was restored to monarchical power.
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 three emperors.”
In memory of this battle in Germany in 1814 a magnificent celebration was held.
In 1913, in Leipzig, the grand monument “Monument to the Battle of Nations” was opened.
Not far from it also erected Aleksievskythe temple where soldiers who fell in battle are buried today. It should be noted that at the time of the GDR, the monument was planned to be destroyed, since it was considered the glorification of German nationalism. However, over time, it became perceived as a symbol of friendship with Russia and the authorities decided to preserve the monument.
Also, on the 100th anniversary of the battle, a commemorative coin was issued (3 marks).
Today in Leipzig there are several museums dedicated to the history of the great battle.
