Napoleon Endgame: France 1814 :Life History
Napoleon Endgame: France 1814 :Life History
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| Napoleon Bonaparte |
Napoleon Endgame In October 1813, Napoleon had suffered hisheaviest ever defeat - at Leipzig… the Battle of the Nations. Surviving French forces, exhausted, sick,and demoralized, retreated to the River Rhine, and prepared to defend France from invasion. But in November, the armies of the Sixth Coalitionpaused their advance, and Austrian foreign minister Metternich offered peace terms: ‘The Frankfurt Proposals’ would allow Napoleon to keep his throne, if France returned to her so-called ‘natural frontiers’.
It was the best offer Napoleon was likelyto get, now that his back was to the wall, and all Europe’s great powers were unitedagainst him. Even so, he did not accept the terms, he merelyagreed to reopen negotiations. To the Allies, and many in France itself,it proved that Napoleon would not listen to reason. The war went on, and by January 1814, Napoleon’ssituation looked even worse. Many of his besieged garrisons in the eastwere starved into surrender. Marshal Davout with 34,000 men in Hamburgwas now besieged.
Denmark, one of France’s last allies, wasinvaded by Bernadotte’s Swedish army, and made to join the Coalition. French troops evacuated the Netherlands, whichreasserted its independence after nearly 20 years of French control. In Italy, Eugène’s army faced a new enemy:Joachim Murat, King of napoleon - now marching north with 30,000 men, to honour his new alliancewith the Sixth Coalition. In Paris, Napoleon responded to the crisiswith a series of extreme measures: property taxes doubled, state salaries and pensionssuspended, 300,000 new conscripts called up… from a country already exhausted by 20 yearsof war. He ordered the release of Pope Pius (underFrench house arrest for the last five years), to try to shore up his support in Italy.
He even agreed to release Fernando, the Bourbonking of Spain, to take up his throne, in exchange for peace between France and Spain – a conditionthat Fernando was in no position to honour. But these concessions were too little, fartoo late. In January, two Coalition armies crossed theRhine into France: Blücher’s Army of Silesia… and Schwarzenberg’sArmy of Bohemia.
Outnumbered French forces in their path couldonly fall back. On 25th January, Napoleon said farewell tohis wife and son at the Tuileries Palace, before leaving for the front. He would never see either of them again. With just 70,000 men, he faced odds of four-to-one. Most of his troops were raw conscripts, somewithout uniforms, many just learning how to hold a musket. But for the first time in years, Napoleon’sarmy was so small that he’d be able to exercise direct command over all its movements.
The result would be one of the most audaciousand brilliant campaigns in history. Imagine Napoleon waging war in the 20th century: His cavalry replaced by armoured vehicles; cannon by attack helicopters; the Old Guard in heavy tanks. The Emperor… with air support. Could you take the lessons of Napoleon, and use them to dominate a modern, three-dimensional battlefield? War Thunder, The battle for France would be fought eastof Paris, mostly across Champagne: a flat region divided by the rivers Marne… andSeine… and their tributaries.
In late January fields were dusted with snow,and roads quickly turned to mud. Napoleon learned that the Coalition armieswere widely scattered, with part of Blücher’s army near Napoleon’s old college at Brienne. The Emperor advanced rapidly, hoping to trapand destroy part of Blücher’s army. But after a hard day’s fighting that costboth sides 3,000 casualties, Blücher was able to retreat towards Schwarzenberg’sarmy. That evening, Napoleon was nearly skeweredby a charging Cossack – saved only by General Gourgaud’s good shooting. As Napoleon tried to work out the enemy’smovements, Blücher, heavily reinforced by Schwarzenberg, made a surprise attack at LaRothière.
Allied troops advanced through swirling snowto assault the village, defiantly held by young French conscripts. One was so inexperienced that Marshal Marmonthad to personally show him how to load his musket during the battle. By late afternoon, Wrede’s Bavarian corpswas falling on Napoleon’s flank. Heavily outnumbered, Napoeon had no optionbut to retreat, having lost 5,000 casualties, and 73 guns, abandoned in the thick mud. The Allies’ frontal attacks meant theirlosses were greater. But by combining their armies, they’d defeatedNapoleon on French soil for the first time.
Believing Napoleon would now retreat towardsParis, the Allies decided to advance along two routes, to ease pressure on the roads: Blücher would take a northern route alongthe Marne; Schwarzenberg would follow the Seine. But dividing their armies again… would playright into Napoleon’s hands. After two days to reorganise, Napoleon continuedhis retreat to Nogent, where he learned that the Allies had split their armies.
Not only that, they were advancing at differentspeeds: the aggressive Blücher racing ahead, while the more cautious Schwarzenberg laggedbehind. Leaving Oudinot and Victor to guard the Seinebridges and delay Schwarzenberg, Napoleon raced north through mud and rain with 30,000men. The Army of Silesia was strung out on themarch, oblivious to the danger it was in. First Napoleon fell on General Olsufiev’sRussian Ninth Corps at Champaubert, destroying it, taking its commander and 2,000 men prisoner. The next morning he marched on General Osten-Sacken’sforce near Montmirail. This was a much larger force, with two infantryand one cavalry corps, and was expecting support from Yorck’s Prussian First Corps. But the Prussians were late… and Sacken’stroops could not withstand the French onslaught.
At this desperate hour, the Emperor’s eliteOld Guard were no longer held back, but were often thrown into the thick of the fighting. By the end of the day Napoleon had inflictedanother 3,500 casualties – twice his own losses – and the Allies were in rapid retreat. Napoleon had ordered Marshal Macdonald tocut off the enemy’s escape, by seizing the Marne bridge at Château-Thierry.
But Yorck’s Prussians got there first. The next day Napoleon could only batter theirrearguard, as the enemy fled across the Marne, destroying the bridge behind them. Sending Marshal Mortier to rebuild the bridgeand continue the pursuit, Napoleon doubled-back to re-join Marmont, who had been left to keepwatch on Blücher. Napoleon attacked at Vauchamps, using GeneralGrouchy’s cavalry to outflank Blücher’s army, which was soon in headlong retreat. A merciless French pursuit inflicted 6,000Prussian and Russian casualties. Napoleon lost just 600 men. Napoleon had taken on an enemy army almosttwice his size, and beaten it four times in just six days.
Blücher had lost an estimated 15,000 casualtiesin battle, and another 15,000 in smaller engagements, as stragglers, or deserters. For now, the Army of Silesia had been scattered,and neutralised. But in the south, Marshals Victor and Oudinothad not been able to prevent Schwarzenberg’s Army of Bohemia from crossing the Seine inthree places. Austrian troops were now just 40 miles fromParis. Leaving Mortier and Marmont to keep watchon Blücher, Napoleon raced south. Schwarzenberg, alarmed by news of Blücher’sdefeat, and of Napoleon’s approach, immediately ordered a retreat. It was too late for Wittgenstein’s advanceguard, routed at Mormant, with 2,000 casualties.
Napoleon sent Victor’s Second Corps to seizethe bridge at Montereau, but was so infuriated by its slow progress that he sacked Victor,and gave his corps to General Gérard. The next day, at the Battle of Montereau,the French drove the Allied Württemberg corps back across the river with 30% losses. According to some accounts, the Emperor sightedthe French cannon himself, as he had at Lodi, 18 years before. Napoleon had the Allies on the run. But how long could it last? Even as fighting continued, negotiations between France and the Coalition reopened at Châtillon-sur-Seine on 5th February.
The Allied terms were now more severe: a returnto France’s frontiers of 1791, which meant the additional loss of Belgium – a humiliationthat Napoleon refused to accept. Instead he tried to revive the Frankfurt Proposals– hoping to play for time, and to split the Coalition, whose war aims varied from Britain’s hard line… to Austria’s more ambiguous position. But this hope was thwarted by British foreignsecretary Lord Castlereagh. On 1st March, he persuaded the Allies to signthe Treaty of Chaumont. In it, Russia, Prussia, Austria and GreatBritain agreed to keep 150,000 troops in the field, and not to negotiate separately withFrance, while Britain added the sweetener of a 5 million pound subsidy to be sharedamong the Allies. The treaty’s secret articles specified commonwar aims, including the future independence of the Germanstates, Switzerland, and Italy, while Spain was to be returned to the Bourbons, and Hollandto the House of Orange. The four powers even agreed that once they’ddefeated Napoleon, they’d form a 20-year defensive alliance to maintain peace in Europe– a sign of their newfound commitment to each other.
A split in the Coalition had been Napoleon’slast, best hope for a favourable peace. That was gone... And news from across the country was bleak. French cities were surrendering to the Allieswithout a fight: Nancy, Dijon and Mâcon had all fallen. In the south, Wellington defeated Marshal Soult at Orthez, forcing him to fall back on Toulouse.
Two weeks later, as British troops approachedthe city of Bordeaux, it declared loyalty to France’s Bourbon kings. The mayor himself rode out to greet the British bearing a white cockade – the sign of Bourbon allegiance. Napoleon’s hope for ‘a nation in arms’to resist the Allies had not materialised. Allied troops, particularly Cossacks, oftenrobbed French civilians, and committed some atrocities. French peasants took revenge when they could– but there was no guerrilla war to mirror what French troops had encountered in Spainor Russia.
The chief desire among ordinary French peoplewas for peace, at almost any price. Any talk of Napoleon’s defeat in late Februarywas premature. The French Emperor was driving Schwarzenberg’sArmy of Bohemia before him, even though it was twice his size. But Schwarzenberg scrambled to safety behindthe River Aube. Napoleon knew he had to land another decisiveblow soon, so turned his attention back to Blücher. After an aborted attempt to join forces withSchwarzenberg, Blücher had decided to resume his advance on Paris – gathering reinforcementsen route – and with only Marmont and Mortier’s weak corps to oppose him. Leaving Marshal Macdonald in command in thesouth, Napoleon set off to intercept Blücher, covering 60 miles in 3 days along terribleroads, choked with mud. At Napoleon’s approach, Blücher retreatedacross the Marne, burning the bridges behind him. 24 hours later they’d been rebuilt by French engineers, and Napoleon was poised to crush Blücher against the Aisne River… becausethe major crossing point, at Soissons, was held by a Franco-Polish garrison.
But after just a day’s fighting, the garrisoncommander at Soissons tamely surrendered, allowing Blücher to escape. Napoleon continued his pursuit across theAisne, still hoping to cut off the Army of Silesia. But at Craonne, he encountered Russian troopsin a strong defensive position. The Russians fought stubbornly. The French finally forced the enemy to withdraw,but only at the cost of 6,000 casualties, including many irreplaceable veterans from Napoleon’s Guard. Napoleon pushed on to Laon.
But by now Blücher had concentrated his forces,98,000 troops in all, and outnumbered Napoleon two-to-one. French attacks were repulsed, while Marmont’scorps was caught off-guard by a late Allied counter-attack, and routed. Napoleon was lucky to avoid a much heavierdefeat: Blücher, usually aggressive to the point of recklessness, was unwell, and hadbeen told Napoleon’s army was twice as big as it was, leading him to act with unusualcaution. Laon was a heavy blow to Napoleon – 6,500casualties he could not afford. Undaunted, he fell back to Soissons, and aftera brief moment to reorganise… he marched on the city of Reims, which had just fallento Saint-Priest’s Russian corps. In a whirlwind assault, Napoleon retook thecity. Saint-Priest himself was mortally wounded,his corps routed.
Meanwhile in the south, Schwarzenberg hadresumed his offensive as soon as he found out Napoleon had gone north. In heavy fighting, he’d driven Oudinot and Macdonald back from the River Aube. Five days later, the Allies had recaptured Troyes… as Macdonald retreated behind the River Seine. Now, after four days to rest and reorganisehis battered army, Napoleon was coming south once more. Schwarzenberg, emboldened by news of Napoleon’ sdefeat at Laon, decided that this time he would stand and fight. Napoleon advanced on Arcis-sur-Aube, ignoringreports that the enemy was not retreating, as he believed, but gathering for battle. As heavy fighting broke out, Napoleon stillbelieved he faced only the enemy rearguard. It was a nasty surprise to discover that hefaced the entire might of the Army of Bohemia: 28,000 men against 80,000. In desperate fighting, Napoleon personallyrallied fleeing troops, and exposed himself to enemy fire, having his horse killed underhim by an exploding shell. But the odds were too great.
At the end of the second day, Napoleon wasforced to order the retreat. Napoleon believed his army was now too weakto take on the Allies directly. So he decided to change strategy. He would march into the rear of the Alliedarmies, join up with some of his isolated garrisons, and cut the enemy’s lines of communication, forcing them to abandon their advance on Paris. But the Allies, until now always one stepbehind Napoleon, had just received crucial information. Talleyrand. The most brilliant French diplomat of theage, and the most slippery. He’d served France’s monarchy, the Revolution,then Napoleon… until in 1807 he fell out irrevocably with the Emperor over foreignpolicy. He now believed that Napoleon was draggingFrance into ruin, and worked behind the scenes to ensure his downfall. From Paris, he wrote to the Russian Emperor Alexander at Allied headquarters, informing him that in the capital, support for Napoleon was crumbling, and the city’s defences had been completely neglected. He urged the Allies to march immediately onParis, without allowing Napoleon to distract them.
Talleyrand’s information was confirmed whenthe Allies intercepted a report from Napoleon’s chief of police, General Savary, ু forthe Emperor: “The treasury, arsenals, and powder storesare empty. We are completely at the end of our resources. The population is discouraged and discontented,wishing peace at any price.” As Napoleon advanced on Saint-Dizier, theAllies sent General Witzingerode and 10,000 cavalry to harass his army, and to screentheir own movements… then began their march on Paris. At Fère-Champenoise, they collided with Marmontand Mortier’s corps, advancing to join Napoleon. An entire National Guard division, 5,000 men,was virtually wiped out, as the marshals suffered a crushing defeat. Napoleon feared that the fall of Paris wouldbe a fatal blow to his regime. His political authority, and ability to wagewar, might not recover.
So when he received news of the Allies’movements, he tore up his plans, and ordered a forced march back to Paris, intending tolead its defence in person. Napoleon’s wife and son were evacuated fromthe capital, along with most of his ministers. His brother Joseph, the ex-King of Spain,was in charge of the city’s defences, but had done little. Paris was awash with rumours of treacheryand defeat. Marmont and Mortier were able to reach Parisbefore the Allies, adding their troops to the garrison. It now totalled 37,000 men, including somehardened veterans of the Guard – but many more young conscripts, while a third werepart-time soldiers of the National Guard. The Allies had 120,000 seasoned troops outsidethe city.
And given the urgency of taking Paris before Napoleon could intervene, their elite guards and grenadier divisions would lead the way. On 30th March they began their assault fromthe north. Heavy fighting raged throughout the day. The city’s defenders fought bravely, inflictingseveral thousand casualties on the advancing enemy. But defeat was inevitable. That night, to save Paris from destruction,Marshal Marmont agreed to surrender the city, on condition the garrison was permitted toleave with its weapons. At the Hôtel des Invalides, the 71-year oldMarshal Sérurier oversaw the burning of 1,400 flags and standards captured from France’senemies, as well as Frederick the Great’s sword and sash, so they would not fall intoAllied hands. Napoleon was just 15 miles from Paris whenhe was informed of the city’s surrender.
He sat, with his head in his hands, for 15minutes. On 31st March 1814, France’s enemies marchedinto Paris for the first time since the Hundred Years’ War. Parisian crowds cheered the three Allied monarchs,bringers of peace. Everyone in Paris was suddenly a royalist,once more. Above all they cheered for Emperor Alexanderof Russia, now hailed as Europe’s saviour. Don cossacks bivouacked on the Champs-Élysées. Allied troops generally behaved well. 35 miles away, Napoleon was at Fontainebleau with 36,000 men, all of them hungry and exhausted after their 100-mile forced march. Never theless, Napoleon began planning an immediateadvance on Paris.
But for the first time, he faced unanimousopposition from his ministers, and marshals, including Ney, Macdonald, Oudinot and Berthier. They reminded him of his oath to act for thegood of France. He accused them of disloyalty, acting onlyto save themselves. They told him the war was lost, and he mustabdicate - in favour of his son, if possible. On 4th April Marshal Marmont surrendered hisentire corps to the Coalition, which was marched over to the enemy lines, against the wishesof many of its officers and men. This was a devastating blow to Napoleon, andencouraged the Allies to reject his offer of a conditional abdication in favour of hisson.
Two days later, he abdicated without conditions. “The Allied Powers having proclaimed thatthe Emperor Napoleon is the only obstacle to the re-establishment of peace in Europe,the Emperor Napoleon, faithful to his oath, declares that he renounces, for himself andhis heirs, the thrones of France and Italy and that there is no personal sacrifice, includinghis life, that he is not ready to make in the interests of France.” Napoleon’s abdication was formalised bythe Treaty of Fontainebleau, by which he was allowed to keep the title of Emperor, becomesovereign of the small island of Elba, and retain a bodyguard of 400 men. News came too late to prevent Wellington’sattack on Toulouse, leading to a costly and pointless battle, with more than 7,000 casualties.
The night after his abdication, Napoleon triedto commit suicide, using the poison that had been made for him in Russia, in case of capture. But it had lost its potency, and he survived. Two weeks later, Napoleon bade farewell tohis Old Guard at Fontainebleau Palace, and began his journey into exile. The Napoleonic Wars, which had raged on landand sea for eleven years, seemed finally at an end. The death toll is unknown, but historiansestimate that 2 to 3 million lives were lost across Europe. Most soldiers died not in battle, but fromdisease. Many thousands were left maimed and disfigured. For most of this period, Napoleon was masterof Europe: imposing treaties on defeated enemies, redrawing frontiers, overthrowing old regimesand making new kings. He was the last figure in history to combinetotal political power with frontline, military genius - in the mould of Alexander, and Caesar. But it seemed Napoleon’s reign was to endin abject military defeat. However - exile on Elba did not prove to Napoleon’staste.
...........................Life History.......................
Denmark, one of France’s last allies, wasinvaded by Bernadotte’s Swedish army, and made to join the Coalition. French troops evacuated the Netherlands, whichreasserted its independence after nearly 20 years of French control. In Italy, Eugène’s army faced a new enemy:Joachim Murat, King of napoleon - now marching north with 30,000 men, to honour his new alliancewith the Sixth Coalition. In Paris, Napoleon responded to the crisiswith a series of extreme measures: property taxes doubled, state salaries and pensionssuspended, 300,000 new conscripts called up… from a country already exhausted by 20 yearsof war. He ordered the release of Pope Pius (underFrench house arrest for the last five years), to try to shore up his support in Italy.
He even agreed to release Fernando, the Bourbonking of Spain, to take up his throne, in exchange for peace between France and Spain – a conditionthat Fernando was in no position to honour. But these concessions were too little, fartoo late. In January, two Coalition armies crossed theRhine into France: Blücher’s Army of Silesia… and Schwarzenberg’sArmy of Bohemia.
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| Napoleon Bonaparte |
The result would be one of the most audaciousand brilliant campaigns in history. Imagine Napoleon waging war in the 20th century: His cavalry replaced by armoured vehicles; cannon by attack helicopters; the Old Guard in heavy tanks. The Emperor… with air support. Could you take the lessons of Napoleon, and use them to dominate a modern, three-dimensional battlefield? War Thunder, The battle for France would be fought eastof Paris, mostly across Champagne: a flat region divided by the rivers Marne… andSeine… and their tributaries.
In late January fields were dusted with snow,and roads quickly turned to mud. Napoleon learned that the Coalition armieswere widely scattered, with part of Blücher’s army near Napoleon’s old college at Brienne. The Emperor advanced rapidly, hoping to trapand destroy part of Blücher’s army. But after a hard day’s fighting that costboth sides 3,000 casualties, Blücher was able to retreat towards Schwarzenberg’sarmy. That evening, Napoleon was nearly skeweredby a charging Cossack – saved only by General Gourgaud’s good shooting. As Napoleon tried to work out the enemy’smovements, Blücher, heavily reinforced by Schwarzenberg, made a surprise attack at LaRothière.
Allied troops advanced through swirling snowto assault the village, defiantly held by young French conscripts. One was so inexperienced that Marshal Marmonthad to personally show him how to load his musket during the battle. By late afternoon, Wrede’s Bavarian corpswas falling on Napoleon’s flank. Heavily outnumbered, Napoeon had no optionbut to retreat, having lost 5,000 casualties, and 73 guns, abandoned in the thick mud. The Allies’ frontal attacks meant theirlosses were greater. But by combining their armies, they’d defeatedNapoleon on French soil for the first time.
Believing Napoleon would now retreat towardsParis, the Allies decided to advance along two routes, to ease pressure on the roads: Blücher would take a northern route alongthe Marne; Schwarzenberg would follow the Seine. But dividing their armies again… would playright into Napoleon’s hands. After two days to reorganise, Napoleon continuedhis retreat to Nogent, where he learned that the Allies had split their armies.
At this desperate hour, the Emperor’s eliteOld Guard were no longer held back, but were often thrown into the thick of the fighting. By the end of the day Napoleon had inflictedanother 3,500 casualties – twice his own losses – and the Allies were in rapid retreat. Napoleon had ordered Marshal Macdonald tocut off the enemy’s escape, by seizing the Marne bridge at Château-Thierry.
But Yorck’s Prussians got there first. The next day Napoleon could only batter theirrearguard, as the enemy fled across the Marne, destroying the bridge behind them. Sending Marshal Mortier to rebuild the bridgeand continue the pursuit, Napoleon doubled-back to re-join Marmont, who had been left to keepwatch on Blücher. Napoleon attacked at Vauchamps, using GeneralGrouchy’s cavalry to outflank Blücher’s army, which was soon in headlong retreat. A merciless French pursuit inflicted 6,000Prussian and Russian casualties. Napoleon lost just 600 men. Napoleon had taken on an enemy army almosttwice his size, and beaten it four times in just six days.
Blücher had lost an estimated 15,000 casualtiesin battle, and another 15,000 in smaller engagements, as stragglers, or deserters. For now, the Army of Silesia had been scattered,and neutralised. But in the south, Marshals Victor and Oudinothad not been able to prevent Schwarzenberg’s Army of Bohemia from crossing the Seine inthree places. Austrian troops were now just 40 miles fromParis. Leaving Mortier and Marmont to keep watchon Blücher, Napoleon raced south. Schwarzenberg, alarmed by news of Blücher’sdefeat, and of Napoleon’s approach, immediately ordered a retreat. It was too late for Wittgenstein’s advanceguard, routed at Mormant, with 2,000 casualties.
Napoleon sent Victor’s Second Corps to seizethe bridge at Montereau, but was so infuriated by its slow progress that he sacked Victor,and gave his corps to General Gérard. The next day, at the Battle of Montereau,the French drove the Allied Württemberg corps back across the river with 30% losses. According to some accounts, the Emperor sightedthe French cannon himself, as he had at Lodi, 18 years before. Napoleon had the Allies on the run. But how long could it last? Even as fighting continued, negotiations between France and the Coalition reopened at Châtillon-sur-Seine on 5th February.
The Allied terms were now more severe: a returnto France’s frontiers of 1791, which meant the additional loss of Belgium – a humiliationthat Napoleon refused to accept. Instead he tried to revive the Frankfurt Proposals– hoping to play for time, and to split the Coalition, whose war aims varied from Britain’s hard line… to Austria’s more ambiguous position. But this hope was thwarted by British foreignsecretary Lord Castlereagh. On 1st March, he persuaded the Allies to signthe Treaty of Chaumont. In it, Russia, Prussia, Austria and GreatBritain agreed to keep 150,000 troops in the field, and not to negotiate separately withFrance, while Britain added the sweetener of a 5 million pound subsidy to be sharedamong the Allies. The treaty’s secret articles specified commonwar aims, including the future independence of the Germanstates, Switzerland, and Italy, while Spain was to be returned to the Bourbons, and Hollandto the House of Orange. The four powers even agreed that once they’ddefeated Napoleon, they’d form a 20-year defensive alliance to maintain peace in Europe– a sign of their newfound commitment to each other.
A split in the Coalition had been Napoleon’slast, best hope for a favourable peace. That was gone... And news from across the country was bleak. French cities were surrendering to the Allieswithout a fight: Nancy, Dijon and Mâcon had all fallen. In the south, Wellington defeated Marshal Soult at Orthez, forcing him to fall back on Toulouse.
Two weeks later, as British troops approachedthe city of Bordeaux, it declared loyalty to France’s Bourbon kings. The mayor himself rode out to greet the British bearing a white cockade – the sign of Bourbon allegiance. Napoleon’s hope for ‘a nation in arms’to resist the Allies had not materialised. Allied troops, particularly Cossacks, oftenrobbed French civilians, and committed some atrocities. French peasants took revenge when they could– but there was no guerrilla war to mirror what French troops had encountered in Spainor Russia.
The chief desire among ordinary French peoplewas for peace, at almost any price. Any talk of Napoleon’s defeat in late Februarywas premature. The French Emperor was driving Schwarzenberg’sArmy of Bohemia before him, even though it was twice his size. But Schwarzenberg scrambled to safety behindthe River Aube. Napoleon knew he had to land another decisiveblow soon, so turned his attention back to Blücher. After an aborted attempt to join forces withSchwarzenberg, Blücher had decided to resume his advance on Paris – gathering reinforcementsen route – and with only Marmont and Mortier’s weak corps to oppose him. Leaving Marshal Macdonald in command in thesouth, Napoleon set off to intercept Blücher, covering 60 miles in 3 days along terribleroads, choked with mud. At Napoleon’s approach, Blücher retreatedacross the Marne, burning the bridges behind him. 24 hours later they’d been rebuilt by French engineers, and Napoleon was poised to crush Blücher against the Aisne River… becausethe major crossing point, at Soissons, was held by a Franco-Polish garrison.
But after just a day’s fighting, the garrisoncommander at Soissons tamely surrendered, allowing Blücher to escape. Napoleon continued his pursuit across theAisne, still hoping to cut off the Army of Silesia. But at Craonne, he encountered Russian troopsin a strong defensive position. The Russians fought stubbornly. The French finally forced the enemy to withdraw,but only at the cost of 6,000 casualties, including many irreplaceable veterans from Napoleon’s Guard. Napoleon pushed on to Laon.
But by now Blücher had concentrated his forces,98,000 troops in all, and outnumbered Napoleon two-to-one. French attacks were repulsed, while Marmont’scorps was caught off-guard by a late Allied counter-attack, and routed. Napoleon was lucky to avoid a much heavierdefeat: Blücher, usually aggressive to the point of recklessness, was unwell, and hadbeen told Napoleon’s army was twice as big as it was, leading him to act with unusualcaution. Laon was a heavy blow to Napoleon – 6,500casualties he could not afford. Undaunted, he fell back to Soissons, and aftera brief moment to reorganise… he marched on the city of Reims, which had just fallento Saint-Priest’s Russian corps. In a whirlwind assault, Napoleon retook thecity. Saint-Priest himself was mortally wounded,his corps routed.
Meanwhile in the south, Schwarzenberg hadresumed his offensive as soon as he found out Napoleon had gone north. In heavy fighting, he’d driven Oudinot and Macdonald back from the River Aube. Five days later, the Allies had recaptured Troyes… as Macdonald retreated behind the River Seine. Now, after four days to rest and reorganisehis battered army, Napoleon was coming south once more. Schwarzenberg, emboldened by news of Napoleon’ sdefeat at Laon, decided that this time he would stand and fight. Napoleon advanced on Arcis-sur-Aube, ignoringreports that the enemy was not retreating, as he believed, but gathering for battle. As heavy fighting broke out, Napoleon stillbelieved he faced only the enemy rearguard. It was a nasty surprise to discover that hefaced the entire might of the Army of Bohemia: 28,000 men against 80,000. In desperate fighting, Napoleon personallyrallied fleeing troops, and exposed himself to enemy fire, having his horse killed underhim by an exploding shell. But the odds were too great.
At the end of the second day, Napoleon wasforced to order the retreat. Napoleon believed his army was now too weakto take on the Allies directly. So he decided to change strategy. He would march into the rear of the Alliedarmies, join up with some of his isolated garrisons, and cut the enemy’s lines of communication, forcing them to abandon their advance on Paris. But the Allies, until now always one stepbehind Napoleon, had just received crucial information. Talleyrand. The most brilliant French diplomat of theage, and the most slippery. He’d served France’s monarchy, the Revolution,then Napoleon… until in 1807 he fell out irrevocably with the Emperor over foreignpolicy. He now believed that Napoleon was draggingFrance into ruin, and worked behind the scenes to ensure his downfall. From Paris, he wrote to the Russian Emperor Alexander at Allied headquarters, informing him that in the capital, support for Napoleon was crumbling, and the city’s defences had been completely neglected. He urged the Allies to march immediately onParis, without allowing Napoleon to distract them.
Talleyrand’s information was confirmed whenthe Allies intercepted a report from Napoleon’s chief of police, General Savary, ু forthe Emperor: “The treasury, arsenals, and powder storesare empty. We are completely at the end of our resources. The population is discouraged and discontented,wishing peace at any price.” As Napoleon advanced on Saint-Dizier, theAllies sent General Witzingerode and 10,000 cavalry to harass his army, and to screentheir own movements… then began their march on Paris. At Fère-Champenoise, they collided with Marmontand Mortier’s corps, advancing to join Napoleon. An entire National Guard division, 5,000 men,was virtually wiped out, as the marshals suffered a crushing defeat. Napoleon feared that the fall of Paris wouldbe a fatal blow to his regime. His political authority, and ability to wagewar, might not recover.
So when he received news of the Allies’movements, he tore up his plans, and ordered a forced march back to Paris, intending tolead its defence in person. Napoleon’s wife and son were evacuated fromthe capital, along with most of his ministers. His brother Joseph, the ex-King of Spain,was in charge of the city’s defences, but had done little. Paris was awash with rumours of treacheryand defeat. Marmont and Mortier were able to reach Parisbefore the Allies, adding their troops to the garrison. It now totalled 37,000 men, including somehardened veterans of the Guard – but many more young conscripts, while a third werepart-time soldiers of the National Guard. The Allies had 120,000 seasoned troops outsidethe city.
And given the urgency of taking Paris before Napoleon could intervene, their elite guards and grenadier divisions would lead the way. On 30th March they began their assault fromthe north. Heavy fighting raged throughout the day. The city’s defenders fought bravely, inflictingseveral thousand casualties on the advancing enemy. But defeat was inevitable. That night, to save Paris from destruction,Marshal Marmont agreed to surrender the city, on condition the garrison was permitted toleave with its weapons. At the Hôtel des Invalides, the 71-year oldMarshal Sérurier oversaw the burning of 1,400 flags and standards captured from France’senemies, as well as Frederick the Great’s sword and sash, so they would not fall intoAllied hands. Napoleon was just 15 miles from Paris whenhe was informed of the city’s surrender.
He sat, with his head in his hands, for 15minutes. On 31st March 1814, France’s enemies marchedinto Paris for the first time since the Hundred Years’ War. Parisian crowds cheered the three Allied monarchs,bringers of peace. Everyone in Paris was suddenly a royalist,once more. Above all they cheered for Emperor Alexanderof Russia, now hailed as Europe’s saviour. Don cossacks bivouacked on the Champs-Élysées. Allied troops generally behaved well. 35 miles away, Napoleon was at Fontainebleau with 36,000 men, all of them hungry and exhausted after their 100-mile forced march. Never theless, Napoleon began planning an immediateadvance on Paris.
But for the first time, he faced unanimousopposition from his ministers, and marshals, including Ney, Macdonald, Oudinot and Berthier. They reminded him of his oath to act for thegood of France. He accused them of disloyalty, acting onlyto save themselves. They told him the war was lost, and he mustabdicate - in favour of his son, if possible. On 4th April Marshal Marmont surrendered hisentire corps to the Coalition, which was marched over to the enemy lines, against the wishesof many of its officers and men. This was a devastating blow to Napoleon, andencouraged the Allies to reject his offer of a conditional abdication in favour of hisson.
Two days later, he abdicated without conditions. “The Allied Powers having proclaimed thatthe Emperor Napoleon is the only obstacle to the re-establishment of peace in Europe,the Emperor Napoleon, faithful to his oath, declares that he renounces, for himself andhis heirs, the thrones of France and Italy and that there is no personal sacrifice, includinghis life, that he is not ready to make in the interests of France.” Napoleon’s abdication was formalised bythe Treaty of Fontainebleau, by which he was allowed to keep the title of Emperor, becomesovereign of the small island of Elba, and retain a bodyguard of 400 men. News came too late to prevent Wellington’sattack on Toulouse, leading to a costly and pointless battle, with more than 7,000 casualties.
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| Napoleon Bonaparte |
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| Napoleon Bonaparte |
...........................Life History.......................
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