Napoleon's Six Day War

By January 26, 1814, the Austro-Russian-German Allied Corps, invading France to overthrow Napoleon, had gathered in the space between the right tributaries of the Seine Marne and Obome, about 200 km east of Paris .

On January 29, 1814, Napoleon attacked the Blucher army, the weakest of the 2 allied ones, near Brienne and forced it to retreat several kilometers south to a more advantageous position on the heights of Tran, where Blucher joined with the Main (Bohemian) army of the Austrian field marshal Schwarzenberg . Losses in the battle of Brienne on both sides amounted to 3 thousand people.

The balance of power after the union of allied forces leaned to the side of the 6th coalition, and the Russian emperor Alexander I insisted on the offensive. The troops under the command of Blucher drove Napoleon from a position near La Rotier on February 1 . Opponents lost 6 thousand soldiers. Napoleon retreated to Troyes beyond the rivers Ob and Seine , on whose banks strong rearguards were left to hide and secure this movement.

Building on success, the Allies decided to move to Paris . Schwarzenberg's main army was to advance along the Seine valley, with Napoleon's main forces in front of him. Blucher's Silesian army moved to Paris through the valley of the Marne River (flows into the Seine near Paris), having in front of it the weak corps of the French marshals MacDonald and Marmont .

Because of the sluggishness of Schwarzenberg, whose reason was not military necessity, but the desire of the Austrian cabinet to maintain a balance of forces in Europe, the defeated French army calmly restored forces in Troyes until February 6 , replenished with reinforcements, and then moved to Nozan, leaving a 40-thousandth screen under command of Marshals Victor and Oudinot against Schwarzenberg. Schwarzenberg’s main army was performing all the time incomprehensible maneuvers, as a result of which it was advancing at an extremely slow pace.

At the same time, Blucher, by contrast, developed a vigorous pursuit of MacDonald's weak corps with the goal of cutting him off from Napoleon . During the offensive, Blucher's army drove MacDonald away, but was scattered by the corps at a great distance, and due to the lack of cavalry, Blucher did not have information about the movements of the French army. There was a gap between the Main Allied Army, which was stamping on the spot near Troyes , and Blucher, which did not allow Blucher to receive reinforcements and help from Schwarzenberg in time.

Napoleon decided to attack the weakest allied army on the flank - the Blucher army, scattered along the Marne and also came closer than 100 km to Paris . Having joined Marmont's corps on the morning of February 10 and marching over the Saint-Gond swamps, he went to the town of Champobert, suddenly finding himself on the internal communications of the Blucher army. Thus began a series of victories of Napoleon over the Silesian armies of Blucher, which was called among historians the 6-day war .

• February 9, 1814 - Napoleon marched from Nogent to Blucher's army.
• February 10, 1814 - the battle of Champothever - the complete defeat of the Russian corps of Olsufiev (3700 people with 25 guns)
• February 11, 1814 - the battle of Montmiral - the defeat of the Russian corps of Osten-Saken (14 thousand), supported by the Prussian brigade of York (4 thousand).
• February 12, 1814 - The Battle of Chateau Thierry - the defeat of the corps of York (18 thousand) and Osten-Saken (11 thousand)
• February 13, 1814 - Napoleon rested his army at the Chateau Thierry. Blucher pushed the corps of Marshal Marmont to Woshan.
• February 14, 1814 - the battle of Woshan - the defeat of the Russian corps of Kaptsevich and the Prussian corps of Kleist (in total up to 20 thousand).

By February 10, the Russian corps of the infantry general Osten-Saken (14 thousand soldiers) from the Blucher army was located west of the rest of the corps, near Laferté (about 75 km east of Paris), where, according to the plan, he cut MacDonald from Napoleon. The Prussian corps of General York (18 thousand soldiers), hanging on the tail of MacDonald, missed the latter beyond the Marne River and was located north of the Chateau Thierry .

Blucher's headquarters was in Berge near Vertyu , where the commander expected the approach from the Rhine of the Prussian corps of Kleist and the Russian 10th infantry. Kaptsevich corps. Both corps, according to the plan, were supposed to approach Cezanne, starting on February 10 , and together with the Olsufiev corps, form a force of 19 thousand soldiers. However, on February 9, Napoleon drove the Cossacks Karpov out of Cezanne, and the corps of Kleist and Kaptsevich were severely delayed due to poor roads (season of debauchery ) and tired soldiers. ^[one]

Near Champaubert, not far from the headquarters of Blucher, was the Russian 9th infantry. Olsufyev’s corps, greatly weakened by previous battles and the lack of normal supply. Due to the lack of personnel, the Olsufyev’s corps was significantly weaker than a fully equipped division, numbering 3,700 soldiers with 24 guns ^[2] .

Napoleon's army consisted of 2 divisions of the Old Guard ( Mortier , 8 thousand), 2 divisions of the Young Guard ( Ney , 6 thousand), the corps of Marmont (6 thousand): a total of 20 thousand infantry. Cavalry, there were 10 thousand .: Guards Cavalry Pears (6 thousand), 1st Cavalry. Corps (2 thousand) and Defrance Corps (2 thousand). In total, Napoleon had about 30 thousand soldiers and 120 guns at his disposal, according to Napoleon himself in a letter dated February 9 ^[3] .

In the same letter to Paris, Napoleon outlined his campaign plan to his brother Joseph :

“I estimate the strength of the enemy in 45 thousand Silesian army and 150 thousand army of Schwarzenberg, including irregular troops. If I am successful in defeating Blucher’s army, then, having made it incapable of fighting for several days, I will be able to bypass Schwarzenberg’s army with 70 or 80 thousand soldiers ... If I’m not strong enough to attack him, I can at least "hold him back overnight, or 3 weeks, until the opportunity for new combinations."

In a letter to his brother Joseph on February 9, Napoleon said that he hoped to defeat the 15,000-strong Osten-Saken corps near Montmiral. However, the Osten-Sacken corps on February 9 left Montmiral and was much west, near Laferté, and under Champaubert ( French Champaubert ) Napoleon came across Olsufiev’s small corps.

Olsufyev had no cavalry and therefore could not set up long-range patrols. On the morning of February 10, it became known about the unexpected appearance of significant enemy forces from the south, from the side of Cezanne. The first attacks of the French were repulsed, but soon Olsufiev was forced to draw all available forces into the battle, taking a position between the villages of Bayeux and Banne, where until noon they managed to repel the scattered attacks of the suitable troops of Napoleon.

Around noon, Napoleon himself arrived with a guard on the battlefield. The attacks resumed with a vengeance, and at about 13.30 the village of Bayeux was in the hands of the French. At a military council, Russian generals spoke out for a retreat to Vertu, to join Blucher. However, an order came in from Commander Blucher , according to which Olsufiev was to defend Champober until the last, as a point linking Blucher's main apartment with other parts of his army. To the rescue of Olsufiev, on the orders of Blucher, other corps of the Silesian army — York and Osten-Saken — were to move.

The stubborn resistance of the Russians made Napoleon think of Blucher's strong reserves. Moreover, Napoleon erroneously exaggerated the number of Russians to 18 thousand, which forced him to take roundabout maneuvers instead of quickly destroying the Russian corps with a frontal attack in order to cut off the likely escape routes east ( Etoges ) to Blucher and west ( Montmiral ) to Osten-Saken. In one skirmish, Olsufiev himself was captured. The command was taken by the commander of the 15th division, Major General Kornilov. About 1700 people from the Olsufiev corps removed their wounded and went to Blucher's location. It was possible to save all the banners and 15 guns.

According to Kornilov’s report, Olsufyev’s 9th building lost 2,000 dead and captured, and more than 270 wounded were brought to their own. In battle, 9 out of 24 guns were lost. Subsequently, the remains of the 9th corps were attached to the 10th corps of Kaptsevich .

After the defeat of the Olsufyev’s corps, Napoleon quickly turned west the next day on February 11 , leaving Marmont’s detachment as a barrier against Blucher , and occupied Montmiral, where different roads converged, formerly allies.

The Russian corps of the general-from-infantry Osten-Saken , who had moved to the rescue of Olsufiev, totaled 14 thousand soldiers ^[4] . Later, already during the battle, he was joined by the Prussian brigade from the corps of York in 4 thousand soldiers ^[4] .

Napoleon, after the separation of Marmont, had under the command of 20 thousand of the most combat-ready soldiers of the guard, according to his letter of February 10 from Champaubert ^[5] .

By February 11, Blucher had at Berge 14 thousand soldiers (including 400 cavalry) from the Prussian corps of Kleist and the Russian 10th infantry. Kaptsevich’s corps, however, disorganized by the rapid movement of Napoleon’s army, the Prussian field marshal remained in place, taking up a defensive position. As Baron Müffling of Blucher’s headquarters admitted, the field marshal had hoped that Osten-Saken would retreat in time in front of Napoleon to join with York, and in the worst case, the allied corps would safely leave for Marne . ^[6]

Osten-Saken chose to start a fight at 9 a.m. Only one Prussian brigade from the corps of York, without artillery, was able to catch up at 3 in the afternoon on the left flank of Saken. During a fierce battle, the Old Guard division, led by Frian, went around the village of Marche and occupied the village of Epin in the rear of the Russians, thus cutting the road for retreat. At the same time, another guards division of Ricard counterattacked Marche and knocked out the Russians from their position. The troops of Osten-Sacken had no choice but to retreat north towards the Chateau Thierry right along the field, muddy with mud. Trying to cut off the right flank of Saken, Napoleon broke through the center of the Russian location, but the Russian regiments were able to break through with bayonets. The French tried to organize the persecution by cavalry, but the thaw and the marshy woodland allowed the units of Saken to fight back and the next day take a new position on the road to the Chateau Thierry together with the Prussians of York.

Russian losses on this day amounted to from 3 to 4 thousand people, Napoleon lost from 2 to 3 thousand soldiers.

On the morning of February 12, the Allies took a position behind the stream in the vicinity of the village of Les Kakuret. The Prussian cavalry of General Ugrac pulled up to York, 2500 cavalrymen of General Germain approached Napoleon, who were sent by Marshal MacDonald .

Napoleon sent Marshal Ney along the direct Monmiral-Chateau-Thierry road, and he marched on the allies along the Biez-Maison-Chateau-Thierry bypass, which turned out to be unprotected. Napoleon attacked 4 cav. divisions of Russian regiments, built in a square. The French managed to defeat the infantry square, so that the Allied soldiers escaped in the forest, where the cavalry could not pursue them. York ordered the Allied forces to retreat to the Chateau Thierry, to the place of crossing the Marne .

To cover the retreat to the other side of the Marne, 4 Russians and 3 Prussian battalions were deployed in front of the Chateau Thierry. Napoleon overwhelmed the rearguard with superior forces and soon threw him back to the Chateau Thierry. The battle on the streets of the town still continued when the bridge over the Marne was blown up. The Allied soldiers remaining in the Chateau-Thierry had no choice but to lay down their arms, but the pursuit of the corps of York and Osten-Sacken became impossible.

Napoleon sent an order to Marshal MacDonald , whom York had shortly before the battle drove for Marne, to return to the Chateau Thierry in order to attack the demoralized Allied forces on the other side of the Marne. MacDonald did not receive an order in time, and the corps of York and Saken unhindered moved to join Blucher.

Near Chateau Thierry, the Russians lost almost 1,500 people, the Prussians 1250 and the French only 600, according to estimates of the modern author D. Chandler. ^[7]

On this day, Napoleon gave rest to the troops, waiting for the restoration of the bridge over the Marne.

Blucher, who was cut off at his headquarters in Berge from his army, was gathering strength. On February 11, the corps of Kleist and Kaptsevich (a total of 15-17 thousand), as well as the remains of the crushed Olsufiev corps (1,500 soldiers) approached him with a delay. Blucher was afraid to attack Napoleon without strong cavalry, and only received on February 13 to reinforce 2 cavalry. regiment, decided to attack the corps of Marshal Marmont (6-8 thousand), set by Napoleon as a barrier.

Marmont began to retreat without a fight. Blucher was going to hit the rear of Napoleon, who, according to his disposition, should pursue the corps of York and Saken. Blucher did not know that these corps after the battle of Chateau Thierry were driven back for Marne .

Upon learning of Blucher’s advance, Napoleon set off to the retreating Marmont with the army in the early hours of February 14, and at 9 a.m. connected with him at Montmiral. At exactly 3 a.m. Napoleon in the Chateau-Thierry dictated a letter to brother Joseph in Paris:

“ Now it is 3 o’clock in the morning ... The Duke of Ragusa [Marshal Marmont] was at Etoges yesterday and is retreating to Fromentiere ... I will begin immediately. By 8 in the morning I will be there. I intend to attack the enemy and hope to beat him well during the day and, thus, destroy his next corps ” ^[8] .

Napoleon found Marmont's corps behind Woshan, the village itself was occupied by the Prussians under the command of Tsiten . From 11 a.m., the French division of Ricardo attacked Voschan twice, but was repelled. Napoleon sent the cavalry of Marshal Pear to go around the village on the left, while the Lagrange division made a detour on the right. Five battalions of Citen retreated from the village, undergoing a powerful cavalry attack. Of these, only 500 survived.

At a decisive moment, the Levant’s division, which arrived from Spain, approached the French. Blucher, appreciating the superiority of the French in cavalry and making sure that Napoleon himself arrived with the army, built infantry in a square for the retreat. A few Prussian cavalry covered the flanks. Having stepped along the highway into a narrow passage between the forests, the square was converted into infantry columns on both sides of the highway. Artillery moved along the highway, firing back. By sunset Blucher's square in order to reach Champaubert.

However, the Pear cavalry went around Champober, intercepting the path of further retreat to Etozhu. Blucher's troops made a breakthrough. Guards French artillery stuck in the mud on bypass roads, so that the cavalry could not restrain Blucher's infantry. Two Russian battalions were cut down during the retreat, two Prussian regiments were unable to follow in columns and surrendered. By night, the Allied forces reached Etozh and continued on their way to the camp at Berge.

At 10 o’clock in the evening, Marshal Marmont sent the Levant’s division and cuirassier to quietly bypass Etozh on the left and fall at night on the allies scattered in the village. A sudden night attack on the closing rear guard, the Russian division, was a success. During the battle, a bridge fell across a swampy ditch, so that the soldiers cut off from the departed army were trapped. The commander of the Russian 8th Infantry Division Urusov was captured with his headquarters. 600 people from his division were also captured, the French captured 4 guns.

Losses of the allies amounted, according to various estimates, from 6 thousand to 8 thousand soldiers. According to the inscription on the 52nd wall of the gallery of military glory of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior , the Kaptsevich corps near Voshan lost 2 thousand people (in number it was 2 times smaller than the Kleist corps). Napoleon’s losses amounted to about 1,200 people, according to French sources. ^[9]

Blucher was able to organize defense and overnight only in Berge, from where he then retreated to Chalon, where he connected on February 17 with York and Osten-Sacken.

Napoleon's plan was to pursue Blucher to Chalon , destroy the remnants of his army, and then, having gathered all his forces in a fist, hit the rear of the Allied Main Army. The offensive of the Main Army, which already threatened Paris, forced Napoleon to lag behind Blucher.

Schwarzenberg repeated Blucher's mistake, scattering the corps at a great distance, which allowed Napoleon to defeat certain parts of the allies in a number of battles ^[10] . The largest of these was the battle of Montreux on February 18 . The allies offered Napoleon a truce, which he refused, trying to negotiate with the help of weapons more favorable conditions for peace. Schwarzenberg retreated to Troyes , where he joined with the Silesian army of Blucher, and then to the starting position of the offensive, in the area of Bar-sur-Ob and Bar-sur-Seine .

On February 23, 1814, Napoleon returned to Troyes , which he left 18 days ago after the defeat at La Rotier. As a result of the 6-day war, the initiative in the campaign passed into the hands of the French emperor.

• Le combat de Champaubert (French)
• Edward Cust, Annals of the wars of the nineteenth century, 1863, p.194-196
• F. Müffling, Passages from My Life: Together with Memoirs of the Campaign of 1813 and 1814, pub. in 1853, p. 128
• A. Alison, Lives of Lord Castlereagh ..., London, 1861, v. 2