Battle of Leipzig
Fought over three days from 16 to 19 October 1813 on the flat plain surrounding Leipzig, the Battle of the Nations was the largest battle in European history before the First World War, involving some 600,000 combatants. A Coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Sweden, commanded by the Austrian Field Marshal Schwarzenberg with the Tsar and King of Prussia present, brought some 380,000 men against Napoleon's 185,000 — a disparity that made the result, ultimately, a foregone conclusion. Napoleon fought brilliantly on the first two days, checking Coalition attacks from multiple directions, but could not break through to exploit success and was losing men he could not replace. On the third day, Saxon troops and artillery — mid-battle — defected to the Coalition, punching a hole in the French line that accelerated the retreat. Napoleon began withdrawing through Leipzig on 19 October; the single bridge over the Elster River was blown prematurely with tens of thousands of troops still in the city. Marshal Poniatowski, newly made Marshal of France, drowned in the river. French losses exceeded 70,000; the Confederation of the Rhine collapsed within days as its princes defected. Leipzig ended French dominance of Germany and opened the Allied invasion of France that produced Napoleon's first abdication in April 1814.
- Year: 1813 CE
- Category: Military
