First Battle of Bar-sur-Aube

First Battle of Bar-sur-Aube
Part of the Campaign of France of the Sixth Coalition
French Old Guard infantry in combat wearing their bearskin caps.
Date 24 January 1814[1] Location Bar-sur-Aube, French Empire 48°16′N 04°43′E / 48.267°N 4.717°E / 48.267; 4.717 Result See § Aftermath section
Belligerents
France	Austria Württemberg
Commanders and leaders
Édouard Mortier	Ignaz Gyulai Prince of Württemberg
Strength
13,000[1]–14,200 50 guns	Austria: 15,000 56 guns Württemberg: 12,000–13,000 24 guns Total: 25,000[1]–28,000 80 guns
Casualties and losses
700[1]–1,700 killed, wounded, or captured	1,000–1,400[1] killed, wounded, or captured
class=notpageimage| Location within France

War of the Sixth Coalition:
Campaign in north-east France

200km
125miles

Paris

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Bar-sur-Aube

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  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The First Battle of Bar-sur-Aube (24 January 1814) was fought during the War of the Sixth Coalition when Marshal Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise's corps of French Imperial Guards defended against an Austrians corps under Ignaz Gyulai and a Württemberger corps led by Crown Prince Frederick William of Württemberg. After holding his main defensive positions in stiff fighting, Mortier withdrew his elite troops during the night and retreated to Troyes. Bar-sur-Aube is located 53 kilometres (33 mi) east of Troyes.

The 1814 Campaign opened with an invasion of eastern France by the main Coalition army led by Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg and a second army led by Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The weak French defending forces were pushed back without too much trouble, except for Mortier's guardsmen near Langres. These crack troops made a fighting withdrawal to Bar-sur-Aube where they offered battle in a strong position. Two days after the clash, Emperor Napoleon joined his reeling forces and the major fighting began.