Napoleon in 1812

22. Battle of Le’pzg - 7

Nevertheless, the fact that Blucher was a very competent and demanding commander itselfcould not be denied,Aslongasthe troops he was commanding

were determined and guarding the river, it was hard even for Napoleon to defeat them andcross the river.

'You're such an unpleasant, vicious and abominable old man. You've been living like that inthis world and intheother foralong time.'

While Napoleon was bitterly thinking of his long-standing bad relationship, his chief of staffBerthier came tohim.

"Now that things have come to this, it seems inevitable to revise the strategy. How do you plan to operate the corps after that, Your Majesty?"

"I want to hear what you think first."

"If you're asking about my opinion... It would be to temporarily block the entire area of Lindenau. And I recommend you to move to Wachau with the main forces of the corps, while leaving only some defensive forces here."

Berthier's opinion eventually meant giving up the attack route through the White Elster River and changing the main battlefield.

Originally, the topog raphy of the river was absolutely disadvantageous to the attacking side, but now even the number of defenders was higher.

Berthier was insinuating that there was no need to fight on an unfavorable battlefield. It was advice from a first-class chief of staff who rarely made mistakes.

"However, if we stay still while occupying the west bank of the river, our enemies will feel uncomfortable."

The distance between the village of Lindenau and the city of Leipzig was only 4km. If the French army was holding this village, the allies would have no choice but to send troops to retake it.

It was a close threat to them. In this way, strategies that deliberately weakened the power in the field while occupying a major base and inducing enemy attacks were also a type that appeared frequently on the battlefield.

Napoleon's thinking was very open-minded, and he did not drag on a strategy that had already failed.

Some officers, who were worried that they might show pride for nothing, expressed their opinions at ease on the Emperor's much more forward-looking attitude than expected.

As the head of the command showed clear thinking and receptive attitude in this way, people below him were able to freely express their thoughts without being tied to their positions. Compared to 1812, the imperial military staff had become incredibly flexible.

"Currently, the number of enemies in the southern part of Leipzig, identified by the Duke of Reggio (Nicolas Oudinot), is about 40,000. On the other hand, the number of their troops engaged with the Duke of Dalmatia (Jean-de-Dieu Soult) is a little less than 30,000. However, this is the number of enemy soldiers exposed through combat or intelligence, and there may actually be more than this."

"If we move the army on our side, the enemies will respond immediately. Concealment of information is more important than ever when moving troops, and for intelligence management..."

"That's good, but in the end, it's worth considering trying to concentrate our firepower in an all-out war. In this battle, we overwhelmed their artillery, right? Next time, if we use the cavalry..."

In the words of the officers, there were quite a few concrete and feasible solutions. It was enjoyable just to hear the fresh and unconventional opinions of new officers.

'They must have dispatched a lot of spies around our camp. Even if we move the corps a little bit, they will figure it out right away and come up with countermeasures... So, is there a way? That's a very simple question,1

As the discussion continued, Napoleon smiled quietly. The officers who noticed it stopped talking among themselves and looked at the Emperor's mouth,

"Gentlemen, do you remember the Battle of Hrodna?"

"Of course, Your Majesty! How can we forget the greatest and most dramatic victory of the Empire?"

"The battle reports contain the answer to the current situation."

Napoleon spoke to the officers, who had puzzled expressions.

"The main battlefield will change, But the soldiers don't have to move. The troops will not be transferred, and the officers who command them will still carry out their duty to protect this place."

"Your Majesty! Then, how...?"

Napoleon replied with a smile.

"I will go to Wachau alone."

Napoleon's Corps, which started from Paris with a total of 107,000 soldiers, defeated the Swedish troops with 46,000 of them and occupied the village Lindenau.

There were also soldiers who engaged in skirmishes with the allies led by Blucher to cross the White Elster River. The rest of the troops were equally divided between Oudinot and Soult.

The number of soldiers deployed in their corps was not small, and combined, it was more than the troops led by Napoleon himself, but their combat power was definitely lower. It should have been seen as a second-tier power.

But the military was where the leader's magic worked. How a second-tier power could be stronger than the first-tier power depended on who commanded them.

That was the power of the commander himself. The Emperor would go to the village of Wachau alone? The officers who attended the meeting all opposed it. It was a very dangerous thing to do, and such a decision did not mean changing the main battlefield.

"Did you not say that my existence was the greatest power of the corps, but now you are changing your words? What would be the most reliable way to change the main battlefield if not moving the greatest power of the corps?"

"But, but your Majesty...!"

"I will move with some of the soldiers of the Old Guard, the most loyal warriors in the Empire. As long as they are around, there will be absolutely no danger for me, so rest assured."

Napoleon, who resisted the dissuasion of the officers, arrived at the village of Wachau, where Oudinot's Corps was stationed, along with more than 100 people, including attendants and guards, and immediately took over the command of the corps from Oudinot.

And the military staff conducted a bold maneuver that no one expected. At the dawn of May 23, 1818, the army, which unofficially changed its name from Oudinot's Corps to Napoleon's Corps, moved.

2.4km east of Wachau was the village of Liebertwolkwitz, which ran through the forest. It was where the Coalition members had deployed many defensive forces to keep the French in check,

Naturally, the defense was tight, and preparations for the offensive were thorough, so it served as an outpost to protect Leipzig.

In other words, in order for the French to go to Leipzig, they had to occupy this place, The officers of Oudinot's corps expected Napoleon to attack this place immediately, but he ordered an advance to a place they had never thought of.

"We hit Kolmberg first."

Kolmberg was a village further east than Liebertwolkwitz. At the same time, it was also the place where reserve forces were staying, waiting to quickly support Liebertwolkwitz's and Galgenberg's defenders in case of crisis.

Like in the Battle of Hrodna, Napoleon came here with nothing but his body, leaving the emblem of the French Emperor symbolizing him in Lindenau.

The Coalition's spies focused on Lindenau, where Napoleon was thought to stay. It was their caution to deal with the enemy who could not be left alone for a moment.

Meanwhile, the French troops in the village of Wachau, where Napoleon was actually in, were only under relatively light surveillance, Thanks to this, the movement of the new corps was much more free and allowed bold maneuvers to be carried out.

Napoleon, who set up a detached unit with only light troops, immediately left the main forces of the corps and followed a semicircle to bypass the village of Liebertwolkwitz. And without being caught in their sight, he immediately ordered to attack Kolmberg.

Guarding Kolmberg were the Brigade commander Olsufiev and Russian troops, who had never imagined the French would attack this location at this point.

Napoleon drew their attention with the Hussar Regiment and other light cavalry, and then quickly hit the empty heavy army to capture Olsufiev and his officers, leading the battle to victory.

After securing 2,000 prisoners in a single surprise attack, Napoleon's next goal was the allied forces in Liebertwolkwitz.

"They are blind people who don't even know where we are, how many numbers we have, how we will attack, and who our commander is, Let's simply smash them and move on to our original destination,"

Napoleon's prediction soon became a reality. Upon hearing the news that Kolmberg had been attacked, reinforcements sent from Liebertwolkwitz approached in line, unaware that they were in danger. Their troops moving that way were attacked by Napoleon's detached unit.

The detached unit, which succeeded in completely annihilating them with a perfect tactic, by devouring the flanks from the front and rear while surrounding the reinforcements, marched the way the reinforcements came.

And Oudinot, who was still in Wachau, also responded as planned and attacked Liebertwolkwitz.

Usually, this kind of offensive would not have been possible, It was reckless to hit with fewer troops a place equipped with defense facilities such as trenches, stone walls, bastions, and artillery.

However, the first thing was that once Napoleon's detached unit had cut off their reinforcements, the number of defensive forces in the village of Liebertwolkwitz had decreased significantly.

The second was the tactical effect added by the fact that the French were attacking at the same time in the east and west, not in only one direction.

Above all, the difference in power was overturned when Napoleon, the last third factor, was added to lead the French army to battle. In addition, luck followed Napoleon.

"The elite cavalry regiment of the Kingdom of Wiirttemberg has arrived! They are waving the banner of the Allies!"

Wurttemberg's cavalry was joining the Battle of Leipzig to help the French. They appeared on the western plains of Liebertwolkwitz exactly at the most optimal time.

"Immediately send them orders to turn left and neutralize the enemy's artillery! Victory is not far away! If the enemies' shelling decreases, we can launch an all-out attack!"

Napoleon's judgment was right. As Wurttemberg's elite cavalry regiment trampled on Liebertwolkwitz's battery and messed it up, the front firepower of the Coalition, which was not supported by artillery, rapidly weakened.

Aiming for this moment, the French forces attacked from all directions, and the weakest rear of the Coalition troops collapsed and the battlefield turned completely.

At 7:30 p.m. on May 23, 1818, Napoleon ended the day's battle by declaring victory in the center of the town of Liebertwolkwitz.

In the series of battles, the French suffered only about 1,500 casualties, but at least 10,000 were killed or wounded in the Coalition forces, and more than 4,000 soldiers were taken prisoner. The morale of the French army soa red to th e sky.

Napoleon had the best day, but he did not slow down the attack. Now was the perfect time, as the Coalition command in Leipzig had not yet grasped the situation. On May 24, 1818, he immediately launched an offensive against the remaining outpost, Galgenberg Hill.

Major General York, the commander of the hill's defense, fought hard taking advantage of the topographical advantage, but the morale of the troops had long fallen to the ground at the news of the defeat from all sides. It was the result of Napoleon exaggerating his achievements to shake them,

With such a clear difference in the will of soldiers to fight, the difference in terrain had now become insignificant, The Coalition's troops were defeated again, and the number of captured prisoners increased day by day.

When Pyotr Bagration, the com mander of the Russian military, grasped the situation in the south and led the corps himself, the defense line of Wachau-Galgenberg-Liebertwolkwitz had already been completely handed over to Napoleon.

One piece of news arrived in Leipzig while Bagration shouted in anger. Blucher had a face paler than before, but his expression brightened when he opened the letter.

"You're finally here... The time has finally come to counterattack these damn French and Nabot!"

The letter was ful I of dense words and letters, but only a few of them made Blucher so excited.

...omitted... Alexander I, Friedrich Wilhelm III and Levin August von Bennigsen arrived at the city of Grima...

It was a weight that could turn the tide of the Battle of Leipzig,

TL notes

Here's a map with the approximate locations of the main troops and battles: Google Maps