Möckern – French Right

Napoleon had chosen Leipzig as his central position to defeat the widely separated Allied armies as they advanced to give battle. His first target was the Army of Bohemia advancing from the south. Early on the 16th, Napoleon had ordered …

1813-10-16

510

Napoleon had chosen Leipzig as his central position to defeat the widely separated Allied armies as they advanced to give battle. His first target was the Army of Bohemia advancing from the south. Early on the 16th, Napoleon had ordered Marmont’s Corps to join him at Wachau to provide the needed numerical superiority. Later in the day, General Drouot’s grand battery had destroyed two Russian divisions, opening the gap for a crushing final attack, but Marmont’s corps had not arrived. The reason – Blücher, Napoleon’s implacable enemy, had advanced from the north more quickly than anticipated, and the arrival of Blücher’s advanced guard required Marmont to turn back to face the approaching Prussians and Russians. The French had drawn up between Möckern and Podelwitz, when Blücher decided to go on the offensive. Langeron’s Russians were ordered to move forward on Gross and Klein Wiederitzsch. Dombrowski’s Poles were already in possession of the both villages when the Russian columns advanced. The Russians greatly outnumbered the Poles, but many of the Poles were veterans of years of combat in Spain. The Poles, fighting fiercely from within the village houses, stopped the first advance, and then counterattacked effectively. A larger second Russian advance took Gross Wiederitzsch, but the Poles, aided by the timely arrival of Delmas’ division, retook the village and the nearby Birkenholz Wood. Hoping for a breakthrough, Langeron had ordered his Russian cavalry to charge, but a counter charge by the Polish and French cavalry also sent the Russian cavalry to the rear. Late in the day, Delmas was forced out of the wood, and one final massive Russian push forced the outnumbered Poles to abandon the villages and retire to Eutritzsch.

Möckern, Germany

The Battle of Möckern was a series of heavy clashes between allied Prusso-Russian troops and Napoleonic French forces south of Möckern. It occurred on 5 April 1813. It ended in a French defeat and formed the successful prelude to the "Liberation War" against Napoleon.

Wikipedia: Battle of Möckern

French

Prussians/Russians

Sixth Coalition