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Introduction
The Battle of Leipzig is the emblematic moment of 1813, a sort of bloody highwater point, marking the transition of the war from central Europe to France. And though it is a moment which attracts attention, it was preceded by 10 months of diplomatic chicanery and exceedingly vicious fighting in appaling weather conditions. This multiform dossier focuses on and attempts to recount and explain those momentous events of 1813. Read on…
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Commentary
“Napoleon in 1813” by Peter Hicks
October 2013
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Timeline
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Biographies
HEADS OF STATE
– FRANCIS II (I), Emperor of Austria
– FREDERICK WILLIAM III (1770-1827) King of Prussia
– WURTEMBERG, Frederick I of (1754 – 1816), ElectorMILITARY FIGURES
– BARCLAY DE TOLLY, Michael Andreas, Prince, Russian military commander
– BERG, Burhardt Maximovic (Bernhardt Magnus)
– BERNADOTTE, Jean-Baptiste-Jules (1763-1844), Marshal
– BLÜCHER, Gebhardt Leberecht von (1742-1819) Prussian military commander, Prince of Wahlstadt
– CHERNICHEV, Aleksander (1786-1857), Russian General
– DAVOUT, Louis Nicolas (1770-1823)
– KLEIST VON NOLLENDORF, Friedrich (Friedrich Heinrich Ferdinand Emil Graf Kleist von Nollendorf)
– LAW DE LAURISTON, Jacques Alexandre
– MACDONALD, Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre, Duc de Tarente, Maréchal
– PONIATOWSKI, Józef, Prince, Polish general and Maréchal de l’Empire
– SCHARNHORST (Gerhard-Johann-David von), 1755-1813
– SCHWARZENBERG, Karl Philip von, prince (1771-1820), Austrian field marshal, commander in chief of the allied armies in 1814
– YORCK VON WARTENBURG (Johann-David-Ludwig, Count), 1759-1830, Prussian General
DIPLOMAT
– METTERNICH-Winneburg-zu Beilstein, Clemens Wenzel Lothar, Graf von (1773-1859)
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Images
Pictures on the theme of the Battle of Leipzig
– The Battle of Lützen (2 May, 1813), engraving by Edme Bovinet, 19th century.
– Victories and Conquests: “Affaire de Leipzig”, print by Charles-Etienne Motte, 19th century.
– Battle of Leipzig, 18 October, 1813, anonymous print, 19th century.
– Battle of Leipsick. Poniatowsky’s Death, 19 October, 1813, anonymous print, 19th century.
– The French Retreat after the Battle of Leipsick, print by François-Louis Couché and Claude Pigeot, 19th century.
Two paintings by Alexander Ivanovitch Sauerweid
The Russian painter Alexander Ivanovich Sauerweid (1783-1844), well known for his battle paintings (most likely at Tsarskoye Selo, St-Petersburg) painted two paintings of the Battle of Leipzig, one of which is in the National Museum of Tsarskoye Selo, St-Petersburg, the other is in the National Artillery Museum, also in St Petersburg.
1813 and the lead up to the Battle of Leipzig
After a mad-cap dash in sledges and post-chases, Napoleon finally reached Paris and began preparing to meet the Russian threat. The news of the defeat in Russia was beginning to filter throughout Europe, and erstwhile French allies were beginning to consider their interest. The battle may have been lost, but the war was definitely not over.
