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Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813 (Campaigns and Commanders, 1) PDF

401 Pages·2002·3.79 MB·English
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Napoleon and Berlin Campaigns and Commanders CAMPAIGNS AND COMMANDERS General Editor Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Advisory Board Lawrence E. Babits, East Carolina University, Greenville James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University, College Station Victor Davis Hanson, California State University, Fresno Robert M. Epstein, U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas David M. Glantz, Carlisle, Pennsylvania Jerome A. Greene, National Park Service Herman Hattaway, University of Missouri, Kansas City Eugenia C. Kiesling, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York Timothy K. Nenninger, National Archives, Washington, D.C. Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington Napoleon and Berlin The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813 Michael V. Leggiere To my mother and father This book is published with the generosity of Edith Kinney Gaylord. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Leggierre, Michael V., 1969– Napoleon and Berlin:the Franco-Prussian war in north Germany, 1813/ Michael V. Leggiere. p. cm. — (Campaigns and commanders; 1) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8061-3399-6(alk. paper) 1. Napoleonic Wars, 1800–1815—Campaigns—Germany. 2. Wars of Liberation, 1813–1814—Campaigns—Germany. 3. Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769–1821—Military leadership. 4. France. Armée. Grande Armée—History. 5. France—History, Military—1789–1815. I. Title. II. Series. DC236.L44 2002 940.2æ742æ90431—dc21 2001048068 Text design by CF Graphics Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813is Volume 1in the Campaigns and Commanders series. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and dura- bility of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞ Copyright © 2002by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Pub- lishing Division of the University. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix 1. France and Prussia 3 2. The Sixth Coalition 28 3. The Defense of Berlin 55 4. Luckau 70 5. Muskets, Saddles, and Shoes 89 6. Axes, Spades, and Water 104 7. Plans and Preparations 120 8. Opening Moves 141 9. Groß Beeren 160 10. The Politics of Dissension 177 11. Dennewitz 189 12. At the Rubicon 212 13. Crossing the Rubicon 229 14. Leipzig 256 Conclusion 278 Notes 299 Bibliography 357 Index 371 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations Photographs All photographs are courtesy of the Anne S. K. Brown Military Col- lection, Brown University Library. Emperor Napoleon I 8 Marshal Louis-Nicholas Davout 18 Gen. Hans David Ludwig von Yorck 33 Marshal Michel Ney 52 Gen. Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow 56 Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France and Crown Prince of Sweden 62 Marshal Nicolas Charles Oudinot 75 Gen. Henri-Gatien Bertrand 163 Gen. Jean-Louis-Ebénézer Reynier 167 Gen. Jean-Toussaint Arrighi 172 Gen. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher 233 Gen. August Wilhelm Anton von Gneisenau 251 viii ILLUSTRATIONS Maps The German Theater of War in 1813 xiv Wittenberg and the Surrounding Area xv Prussia in 1806 10 Europe in 1812 26 The Situation on 25April 1813 50 The Nuthe-Notte Defense Zone 59 The Situation on 19May 1813 68 Hoyerswerda and the Surrounding Area 77 Luckau and the Surrounding Area 83 The Situation at the End of the Armistice 137 Übersichtskarte 144 Oudinot’s Advance 150 The Situation on 21August 1813 152 The Situation on 20and 21August 1813 154 The Situation on 22August 1813 158 The Battle of Groß Beeren, 23August 1813 165 The Battle of Hagelberg, 27August 1813 183 The Situation on 26August 1813 190 The Situation on 30August 1813 191 The Situation on 6September 1813 196 The Battle of Dennewitz, 6September 1813 201 The Situation on 19September 1813 240 The Situation on 25September 1813 246 The Situation on 9October 1813 260 The Situation on 13October 1813 263 Leipzig and the Surrounding Area 269 The Battle of Leipzig, 19October 1813 274 Preface Astudy of French military operations in North Germany not only highlights the breakdown of Napoleonic strategy in 1813but con- stitutes a fascinating study in coalition warfare, international relations, and civil-military relations.1 In early 1813 Prussia faced a choice between dependency on France or on Russia. At the moment of Napoleon’s greatest calamity, the Prussian army pushed the state into a war of liberation. Not only did the Prussian army pressure the monarch, but a patriotic uprising swept the kingdom as well. To meet the demands of modern war, save his capital, and liberate his country, the conservative Prussian king Frederick William III reluctantly and momentarily embraced a popular uprising that transformed the strug- gle from a dynastic conflict to a national war: a Franco-Prussian war.2 The growing patriotic movement, made evident by anti-French demonstrations, influenced public opinion, especially the attitude of the educated classes. Despite Frederick William’s “diplomatic anxiety and his dislike of the patriots’ enthusiasm, the king was pressured into sup- porting a patriotic liberation struggle.”3 Nineteenth-century German historians referred to the war against Napoleon in 1813as a struggle for freedom, a Befreiungskrieg, or war of liberation. A popular uprising occurred in Prussia, which, according to historian Paul Schroeder, “was broad and deep enough to be called

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