Battle of Laon | |||||||
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Part of the Campaign of France of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
Napoleon and his staff are returning from Soissons after the battle of Laon, by Ernest Meissonier | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France |
Prussia, Russia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Napoleon I |
Gebhard von Blücher August von Gneisenau Friedrich von Bülow Ferdinand von Wintzingerode | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
37,000[2]–50,000[1] | 90,000[2]–100,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
6,000–6,500[2][1] | 3,500[1]–4,000[3] | ||||||
The Battle of Laon (9–10 March 1814) was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French army near Laon. During the Battle of Craonne on 7 March, Blücher's army was forced to retreat into Laon after a failed attempt to halt Napoleon's east flank. Along the way to Laon, reinforcements from Russian forces under Ferdinand von Wintzingerode and a Prussian corps led by Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow joined the defensive. Blücher opted to face Napoleon at Laon because it was the site of a strategically important road junction, and because of its highly defensible position.