Battle of Leipzig

Battle of the Nations
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition

Battle of Leipzig by Vladimir Moshkov (1815)
Date16–19 October 1813
Location51°18′44″N 12°24′48″E / 51.31222°N 12.41333°E / 51.31222; 12.41333
Result Coalition victory
Territorial
changes

Dissolution of the Rhine Confederation

  • France loses complete control of all territories east of the Rhine
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Units involved

Army of Silesia

Army of the North (1813-1814)

Army of Bohemia

Russo-Prussian Reserve

Southern Wing

Corps-Group Wittgenstein

Army of Poland (1813)

Northern Sector

Lindenau Leipzig Sector

Eastern Sector

Southern Sector

Strength

16–17 October:
257,000[2]
1,400 guns[2]
18–19 October:
365,000[2]

  • Russian Empire 145,000
  • Austrian Empire 115,000
  • Kingdom of Prussia 90,000
  • Sweden 25,000
  • Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 6,000[3]
1,500 guns[2]

16–17 October:
177,000[2]
700 guns[4]
18–19 October:
195,000[2]

  • First French Empire 160,000[4]
  • Kingdom of SaxonyKingdom of Württemberg 40,000
  • 15,000
  • Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic) 10,000
700 guns[2]
Casualties and losses

54,000–80,000[c]

Official allied estimates:[5][8]

  • Russian Empire c. 30,000
  • Kingdom of Prussia 23,225
  • Austrian Empire 21,500
  • Sweden 208


29 generals and 1,896 officers[6]

60,000–79,000[d]

  • 38,000 killed and wounded
  • 30,000–36,000 captured (15,000 wounded)
  • 5,000–6,000 Saxons defected

325 guns



66 generals and 2,414 officers[6]
Battle of Leipzig is located in Europe
Battle of Leipzig
Location within Europe
Map
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Maps: terms of use
200km
125miles
19
Siege of Hamburg from 24 December 1813 to 12 May 1814
18
Battle of Sehested from 10 December 1813
17
Battle of Hanau from 30 to 31 October 1813
Leipzig
16
15
Battle of Wartenburg on 3 October 1813
14
Combat of Roßlau on 29 September 1813
13
Battle of Altenburg on 28 September 1813
12
Battle of the Göhrde on 16 September 1813
11
Battle of Dennewitz on 6 September 1813
10
Battle of Kulm from 29 to 30 August 1813
9
Battle of Dresden from 26 to 27 August 1813
8
Battle of the Katzbach on 26 August 1813
7
Battle of Großbeeren on 23 August 1813
6
Battle of Luckau on 4 June 1813
5
Battle of Haynau on 26 May 1813
4
Battle of Bautzen (1813) from 20 to 21 May 1813
3
Battle of Lützen (1813) on 2 May 1813
2
Battle of Möckern on 5 April 1813
1
Siege of Danzig (1813) from 16 January to 29 November 1813
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Leipzig,[e] also known as the Battle of the Nations,[f] was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I and Karl von Schwarzenberg, decisively defeated the Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine (mainly Saxony and Württemberg). The battle was the culmination of the German Campaign of 1813 and involved 560,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and 133,000 casualties, making it the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, and the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.

Decisively defeated, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine and invading France early the next year. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Brett-James 1970, p. 183.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Chandler 1966, p. 1020.
  3. ^ Hofschröer 2012.
  4. ^ a b napoleonguide 2010.
  5. ^ a b Smith 2001, p. 298.
  6. ^ a b c d Bodart 1908, p. 461.
  7. ^ a b Jones 1990, p. 357.
  8. ^ Leggiere 2002, p. 276.
  9. ^ Clodfelter 2008, p. 178.
  10. ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 747.
  11. ^ Riotte.
  12. ^ scientificamerican 1898.
  13. ^ nytimes 1913.

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