Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube

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Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Date March 20, 1814 – March 21, 1814
Location Arcis-sur-Aube, France
Result Austrian victory
Combatants
France Austrian Empire
Commanders
Napoleon I of France Field Marshal Schwarzenberg
Strength
20,000 rising to 28,000 43,000 rising to 80,000
Casualties
3,000 4,000
War of the Sixth Coalition
Lützen – Bautzen – Großbeeren – Katzbach – Dresden – Kulm – Dennewitz – Leipzig – Hanau – La Rothière – Champaubert – Montmirail – Château-Thierry – Vauchamps – Montereau – Craonne – Laon – Arcis-sur-Aube – Paris


The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube was fought on 20 to 21 March, 1814, and resulted in a Austrian victory under Field Marshal Schwarzenberg against the French under Napoleon Bonaparte.


Contents

[edit] Background

The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube was Napoleon’s last battle against the Allies in the Sixth Coalition fought during the campaign in France. Faced with converging Allied Armies, Napoleon decided to attack Field Marshal Schwarzenberg's Austrian troops before attacking General Blücher’s lines of communications on the upper Marne.

[edit] Battle

Early on the 20th of March Napoleon set out for Arcis-sur-Aube (believed to be weakly held by the Austrians) in order to break out towards the Marne. By 11:00 AM on the 20th, Marshal Ney and General Sébastiani with 20,000 troops had forced Field Marshal Wrede’s 43,000 troops out of the Town of Arcis in bitter fighting[1]. By 1:00 PM Napoleon arrived along the northern bank of the Aube River and crossed the bridge. A bitter cavalry action developed in the late afternoon and into the night. During the night Schwarzenberg brought up and deployed 80,000 troops to face the French[2]. Napoleon received reinforcements during the night, including units of the Imperial Guard, two cavalry formations, and one division from VIIth Corps commanded by Marshal Oudinot, giving 28,000 total troops[2]. Schwarzenberg, suspecting a trap and as of yet unaware of his numerical advantage, did not attack until 3:00 PM on the 21st of March. By the time Schwarzenberg attacked Napoleon realized he was not facing a small Allied force, he broke contact with the enemy and ordered most French troops to re-cross the Aude River. A French rear guard commanded by Marshal Oudinot, bitterly held off the Austrians until 6:00 PM, before falling back in good order and blowing the bridge over the Aude River behind them. The Austrians made no effort to pursue the retreating French, overnight the French were able to link up near Ormes with other French forces.

[edit] Conclusion

The battle cost the French 3,000 casualties and the Austrians 4,000 casualties[3]. On the 25th of March the Allies defeated Marshal Marmont and Marshal Mortier at La-Fere-Champenoise, and three days later linked up with Blücher at Meaux. The Allies ignored Napoleon’s attempts the attack their lines of communications, and marched on Paris, which the Allies occupied on the March 31.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Taylor. pg.357
  2. ^ a b Chandler. The Campaigns of Napoleon. pg.997
  3. ^ Chandler. The Campaigns of Napoleon. pg.998

[edit] References

  • Chandler, David. Dictionary of the Napoleonic wars. Wordsworth editions, 1999.
  • Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. Scribner, 1966.
  • Taylor, Brian. The Empire of the French. Spellmount, 2006.




[edit] See also


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