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War of the Sixth CoalitionPart of Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Leipzig
Date 1812–1814
Location Europe
Result Coalition victory, Treaty ofFontainebleau, First Treaty of Paris
Bourbon Restoration;Napoleon's exile to ElbaVarious territorial changesBeginning of the Congress ofViennaHostilities resume with thereturn of Napoleon to power in1815
BelligerentsOriginal Coalition
Russia Prussia Austria United Kingdom Sweden Spain Portugal Sicily Sardinia
After Battle of Leipzig
French Empire
Italy Naples Duchy of
Warsaw[1]
Until January 1814
Denmark–Norway
War of the Sixth CoalitionFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Sixth Coalition)
In the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814), acoalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the UnitedKingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number ofGerman States finally defeated France and droveNapoleon into exile on Elba. After the disastrous Frenchinvasion of Russia, the continental powers joinedRussia, the UK, Portugal and the rebels in Spain. Withtheir armies reorganized, they drove Napoleon out ofGermany in 1813 and invaded France in 1814, forcingNapoleon to abdicate and restoring the Bourbons.
The War of the Sixth Coalition included the battles ofLützen, Bautzen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Leipzig(also known as the Battle of Nations), which was thelargest battle in European history before the First WorldWar. Ultimately, Napoleon's earlier setbacks in Russiaand Germany proved to be the seeds of his undoing, andthe Allies occupied Paris, forcing his abdication.
Contents
1 Invasion of Russia2 Formation of the Sixth Coalition3 War in Germany4 Peninsular War5 War in Denmark6 War in France7 Abdication and peace8 See also9 Notes10 Further reading11 External links
Invasion of Russia
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Saxony Bavaria Württemberg
Confederation ofthe Rhine (Many
member states
defected after Battle of
Leipzig)
Commanders and leaders Alexander I Michael Andreas
Barclay de Tolly Prince Wittgenstein Frederick William
III Gebhard von
Blücher Karl Schwarzenberg Arthur Wellesley,
1st Duke of Wellington Prince Charles John Karl Philipp von
Wrede[2]
Napoleon I Nicolas Oudinot Louis Nicolas
Davout Eugène de
Beauharnais Józef Poniatowski † Joachim Murat
Strengthapprox. 800,000,1,200,000+ afterNapoleon's allies defect
approx. 550,000. AfterGerman defection400,000
Map of Europe in 1812, in red theSixth Coalition.
In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia to compel EmperorAlexander I to remain in the Continental System. TheGrande Armée, consisting of as many as 650,000 men(roughly half of whom were French, with the remaindercoming from allies or subject areas), crossed the NemanRiver on 23 June 1812. Russia proclaimed a PatrioticWar, while Napoleon proclaimed a "Second PolishWar". But against the expectations of the Poles, whosupplied almost 100,000 troops for the invasion force,and having in mind further negotiations with Russia, heavoided any concessions toward Poland. Russian forcesfell back, destroying everything potentially of use to theinvaders until giving battle at Borodino (7 September)where the two great armies fought a devastating butinconclusive battle. Following the battle the Russianswithdrew, thus opening the road to Moscow. By 14September the French had occupied Moscow but foundthe city empty. Alexander I (despite having almost lostthe war by the standards of the time) refused tocapitulate, leaving the French in the abandoned city ofMoscow with little food, shelter (large parts of Moscowhad burned down) and winter approaching. In thesecircumstances, and with no clear path to victory,Napoleon was forced to withdraw from Moscow. Sobegan the disastrous Great Retreat, during which timethe retreating army came under increasing pressure dueto lack of food, desertions, and increasingly harsh winterweather, all while under continual attack by the Russianarmy led by CommanderinChief Mikhail Kutuzov, andother militias. Total losses of the Grand Army were atleast 370,000 casualties as a result of fighting, starvation and thefreezing weather conditions, and 200,000 captured. By November,only 27,000 fit soldiers were among those who crossed the BerezinaRiver. Napoleon now left his army to return to Paris and prepare adefence of Poland against the advancing Russians. The situation wasnot as dire as it might at first have seemed; the Russians had alsolost around 400,000 men and their army was similarly depleted.However, they had the advantage of shorter supply lines and wereable to replenish their armies with greater speed than the French,especially because Napoleon's losses of cavalry and wagons wereirreplaceable.
Formation of the Sixth Coalition
The Convention of Tauroggen was a truce signed 30 December1812 at Tauroggen (now Tauragė, Lithuania), between Generalleutnant Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg onbehalf of his Prussian troops (who had been compelled to augment the Grande Armée during the invasion
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Battle of Hanau.
of Russia), and by General Hans Karl von Diebitsch of the Russian Army. According to the Treaty of Tilsit,Prussia had to support Napoleon's invasion of Russia. This resulted in some Prussians leaving their army toavoid serving the French, like Carl von Clausewitz, who joined Russian service. When Yorck's immediateFrench superior Marshal MacDonald, retreated before the corps of Diebitsch, Yorck found himself isolated.As a soldier his duty was to break through, but as a Prussian patriot his position was more difficult. He hadto judge whether the moment was favorable for starting a war of liberation; and, whatever might be theenthusiasm of his junior staffofficers, Yorck had no illusions as to the safety of his own head, andnegotiated with Clausewitz. The Convention of Tauroggen armistice, signed by Diebitsch and Yorck,"neutralized" the Prussian corps without consent of their king. The news was received with the wildestenthusiasm in Prussia, but the Prussian Court dared not yet throw off the mask, and an order wasdespatched suspending Yorck from his command pending a courtmartial. Diebitsch refused to let thebearer pass through his lines, and the general was finally absolved when the Treaty of Kalisch (28 February1813) definitely ranged Prussia on the side of the Allies. Seeing an opportunity in Napoleon's historicdefeat, Prussia reentered the war, proclaiming a crusade of German Liberation against Napoleonic France.
On 9 January 1812, French troops occupied Swedish Pomerania to end the illegal trade with the UnitedKingdom from Sweden, which was in violation of the Continental System. Swedish estates wereconfiscated and Swedish officers and soldiers were taken as prisoners. In response, Sweden declaredneutrality and signed a secret treaty with Russia against France and Denmark–Norway on 5 April. Later on18 July, the Treaty of Örebro formally ended the wars between the United Kingdom and Sweden andRussia. On 3 March 1813, after the United Kingdom agreed to Swedish claims to Norway, Sweden enteredan alliance with the United Kingdom and declared war against France, and on June the same year theformer formally entered the coalition.[3]
War in Germany
Napoleon vowed that he would create a new army as large as that he had sent into Russia, and quickly builtup his forces in the east from 30,000 to 130,000 and eventually to 400,000. Napoleon inflicted 40,000casualties on the Allies at Lützen (2 May) and Bautzen (20–21 May 1813) but he himself lost about thesame number of men during those encounters. Both battles involved total forces of over 250,000 – makingthem some of the largest conflicts of the wars so far.
The belligerents declared an armistice from 4 June 1813 and lastinguntil 13 August, during which time both sides attempted to recoverfrom approximately quarter of a million losses since April. Duringthis time Allied negotiations finally brought Austria out in openopposition to France (like Prussia, Austria had slipped from nominalally of France in 1812 to armed neutral in 1813). Two principalAustrian armies were deployed in Bohemia and Northern Italy,adding 300,000 troops to the Allied armies. In total the Allies nowhad around 800,000 frontline troops in the German theatre with astrategic reserve of 350,000.
Napoleon succeeded in bringing the total imperial forces in the region up to around 650,000 (although only250,000 were under his direct command, with another 120,000 under Nicolas Charles Oudinot and 30,000under Davout). The Confederation of the Rhine furnished Napoleon with the bulk of the remainder of theforces with Saxony and Bavaria as principal contributors. In addition, to the south Murat's Kingdom ofNaples and Eugène de Beauharnais's Kingdom of Italy had a combined total of 100,000 men under arms. In
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Spain an additional 150–200,000 French troops were being steadily beaten back by Spanish and Britishforces numbering around 150,000. Thus in total around 900,000 French troops were opposed in all theatresby somewhere around a million Allied troops (not including the strategic reserve being formed inGermany).
Following the end of the armistice Napoleon seemed to have regained the initiative at Dresden, where hedefeated a numericallysuperior allied army and inflicted enormous casualties, while sustaining relativelyfew. However at about the same time Oudinot's thrust towards Berlin was beaten back, and the Frenchsustained several defeats in the north at Grossbeeren, Katzbach and Dennewitz. Napoleon himself, lackingreliable and numerous cavalry, was unable to fully take advantage of his victory, and could not avoid thedestruction of a whole army corps at the battle of Kulm, further weakening his army. He withdrew witharound 175,000 troops to Leipzig in Saxony where he thought he could fight a defensive action against theAllied armies converging on him. There, at the socalled Battle of Nations (16–19 October 1813) a Frencharmy, ultimately reinforced to 191,000, found itself faced by three Allied armies converging on it,ultimately totalling more than 430,000 troops. Over the following days the battle resulted in a defeat forNapoleon, who however was still able to manage a relatively orderly retreat westwards. However as theFrench forces were pulling across the Elster, the bridge was prematurely blown and 30,000 troops werestranded to be taken prisoner by the Allied forces.
Napoleon defeated an army of his former ally Bavaria at the Battle of Hanau before pulling what was left ofhis forces back into France. Meanwhile Davout's corps continued to hold out in its siege of Hamburg, whereit became the last Imperial force east of the Rhine.
The Allies offered peace terms in the Frankfurt proposals in November 1813. Napoleon would remain asEmperor of France, but it would be reduced to its "natural frontiers." That meant that France could retaincontrol of Belgium, Savoy and the Rhineland (the west bank of the Rhine River), while giving up control ofall the rest, including all of Poland, Spain and the Netherlands, and most of Italy and Germany. Metternichtold Napoleon these were the best terms the Allies were likely to offer; after further victories, the termswould be harsher and harsher. Metternich's motivation was to maintain France as a balance against Russianthreats, while ending the highly destabilizing series of wars.[4]
Napoleon, expecting to win the war, delayed too long and lost this opportunity; by December the Allies hadwithdrawn the offer. When his back was to the wall in 1814 he tried to reopen peace negotiations on thebasis of accepting the Frankfurt proposals. The Allies now had new, harsher terms that included the retreatof France to its 1791 boundaries, which meant the loss of Belgium. Napoleon adamantly refused.[5]
Peninsular War
Meanwhile, Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington finally broke the French power in Spain and forced theFrench to retreat over the Pyrenees and into France itself. In a strategic move, Wellington planned to movehis supply base from Lisbon to Santander. The AngloPortuguese forces swept northwards in late May andseized Burgos; they then outflanked the French army, forcing Joseph Bonaparte into the valley of the RiverZadorra. At the Battle of Vitoria, 21 June, the 65,000 French under Joseph were routed by 53,000 British,27,000 Portuguese and 19,000 Spaniards. Wellington pursued and dislodged the French from SanSebastián, which was sacked and burnt.
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All the participants of the War of the Sixth Coalition.Blue: The Coalition and their colonies and allies. Green:The First French Empire, its protectorates, colonies andallies.
The allies chased the retreating French, reaching the Pyrenees in early July. Soult was given command ofthe French forces and began a counteroffensive, dealing the allied generals two sharp defeats at the Battleof Maya and the Battle of Roncesvalles. Yet, he was put again onto the defensive by the British army andits Portuguese allies, lost momentum, and finally fled after the allied victory at the Battle of Sorauren (28and 30 July).
The Battle of the Pyrenees saw Wellingtonfighting very far from his supply line andwinning by a mixture of manoeuvre, shock andpersistent hounding of the French forces.
On 7 October, after Wellington received news ofthe reopening of hostilities in Germany, the alliesfinally crossed into France, fording the Bidasoariver. On 11 December, a beleaguered anddesperate Napoleon agreed to a separate peacewith Spain under the Treaty of Valençay, underwhich he would release and recognize FerdinandVII as King of Spain in exchange for a completecessation of hostilities. But the Spanish had nointention of trusting Napoleon, and the fightingcontinued.
The Peninsular War went on through the allied victories of Vera pass, the Battle of Nivelle, the Battle ofNive near Bayonne (10–14 December 1813), the Battle of Orthez (27 February 1814) and the Battle ofToulouse (10 April). This last one was after Napoleon's abdication.
In Spain, the French forces were harassed and hounded constantly by a large element of the Spanishpopulation. The French forces, having to deal with this guerilla war, infighting among its marshallate, andthe British campaign by the Duke of Wellington based in the Peninsula, were eventually forced to retreatinto France after large losses of troops, culminating in the abdication of Napoleon and his banishment to theIsle of Elba.
War in Denmark
In December 1813, the Swedish army attacked Danish troops in Holstein. General Anders Skjöldebranddefeated the Danes at Bornhöved on 7 December 1813. Three days later, the Danish Auxiliary Corps scoreda victory over the Swedes at Sehested. However, the Danish victory could not change the course of war.
On 14 January 1814, the Treaty of Kiel was concluded between Sweden and Denmark–Norway. By theterms of the treaty, Norway was to be ceded to the king of Sweden. However, the Norwegians rejected this,declaring independence and adopting their own constitution on 17 May. On 27 July, Swedish forcesinvaded Norway. After a short war, an armistice (the Convention of Moss) was concluded on 14 August.
Norway agreed to enter into a personal union with Sweden as a separate state with its own constitution andinstitutions, except for the common king and foreign service. The Union between Sweden and Norway wasformally established on 4 November 1814, when the Parliament of Norway adopted the necessaryconstitutional amendments, and elected Charles XIII of Sweden as king of Norway.
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Russian cossacks in Paris in 1814
Napoleon's exile to Elba, from aBritish engraving, 1814.
War in France
After retreating from Germany, Napoleon fought a series of battles, including the Battle of ArcissurAube,in France, but was steadily forced back against overwhelming odds. During the campaign he had issued adecree for 900,000 fresh conscripts, but only a fraction of these were ever raised. In early FebruaryNapoleon fought his Six Days' Campaign, in which he won multiple battles against numerically superiorenemy forces marching on Paris. However, he never managed to field more than 70,000 troops during thisentire campaign against more than half a million Allied troops. At the Treaty of Chaumont (9 March) theAllies agreed to preserve the Coalition until Napoleon's total defeat. The Allies entered Paris on 30 March1814 after a short battle.
Abdication and peace
Napoleon was determined to fight on, proposing to march on Paris. His soldiers and regimental officerswere eager to fight on. But Napoleon's marshals and senior officersmutinied. On 4 April, Napoleon was confronted by his marshals andsenior officers, led by Ney. They told the Emperor that they refusedto march. Napoleon asserted that the army would follow him. Neyreplied, 'The army will follow its chiefs.'
Napoleon abdicated on 11 April 1814 and the war officially endedsoon after, although some fighting continued until May. The Treatyof Fontainebleau was signed on 11 April 1814 between thecontinental powers and Napoleon, followed by the Treaty of Parison 30 May 1814 between France and the Great Powers includingBritain. The victors exiled Napoleon to the island of Elba, andrestored the Bourbon monarchy in the person of Louis XVIII. TheAllied leaders attended Peace Celebrations in England in June,before progressing to the Congress of Vienna (between September1814 and June 1815), which was held to redraw the map of Europe.
See also
The Hundred Days or the War of the Seventh Coalition
Notes
1. ^ Duchy of Warsaw as a state was in effect fully occupied byRussian and Prussian forces by May 1813, though most Polesremained loyal to Napoleon
2. ^ Commanded Bavarian forces nominally allied to the French Empireuntil Bavaria defected to Allied cause on 8 October 1813
3. ^ Merriman, John (1996), "A History Of Modern Europe" W.W.Norton Company, p. 579.
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4. ^ J. P. Riley (2013). Napoleon and the World War of 1813: Lessons in Coalition Warfighting(http://books.google.com/books?id=beq3AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA206). Routledge. p. 206.
5. ^ Stephen T. Ross, European Diplomatic History 17891815: France against Europe (1969) pp 342344
Further reading
Cate, Curtis. The War of the Two Emperors: The Duel Between Napoleon and Alexander: Russia,1812 (Random house, 1985)Delderfield, Ronald Frederick. Imperial sunset: The fall of Napoleon, 181314 (Stein and Day, 1984)Leggiere, Michael V. The Fall of Napoleon: Volume 1, The Allied Invasion of France, 18131814.Vol. 1 (Cambridge University Press, 2007)Lüke, Martina (2009). "AntiNapoleonic Wars of Liberation (1813–1815)". In Ness, Immanuel. TheInternational Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500–present. Malden, MA: WileyBlackwell.pp. 188–190. ISBN 9781405184649.Muir, Rory. Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815 (Yale U.P. 1996)Riehn, Richard K. 1812: Napoleon's Russian campaign (1990)Rothenberg, Gunther Erich (1999). The Napoleonic Wars. London: Cassell. ISBN 0304359831.Riley, Jonathon P. Napoleon and the world war of 1813: lessons in coalition warfighting(Psychology Press, 2000)Spring, Lawrence. 1812: Russia's Patriotic War (2009)
External links
Napoleon, His Armies and Tactics (http://web2.airmail.net/napoleon/index.html)Collection of historical eBooks about the War of the Sixth Coalition (German)(http://www.lexikus.de/index.php?PHPSESSID=fdmldjf2hu80lbmk50u3cjcga4&page=thema&thema=11)
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Categories: Napoleonic Wars 1810s conflicts 1810s in France 1810s in EuropeWars involving Austria Wars involving Bavaria Wars involving Denmark Wars involving FranceWars involving Italy Wars involving the Kingdom of Naples Wars involving NorwayWars involving Portugal Wars involving Prussia Wars involving Russia Wars involving SaxonyWars involving the Kingdom of Sicily Wars involving Spain Wars involving SwedenWars involving the United Kingdom Wars involving Württemberg Conflicts in 1812Conflicts in 1813 Conflicts in 1814
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