Prelude to Leipzig

    Napoleon soon realized that his bluff had been called.  Far from driving the enemy apart and defeating him in detail, it now behooved the French Emperor to move every available man to Leipzig with all speed to forestall the arrival of two large enemy army groups from opposite directions.  From this moment Napoleon was without any doubt compelled to adapt a complete strategic defensive and to curtail even his tactical offensives.  As early as the 12th  he had sent Marmont with the VIth Corps toward Taucha near Leipzig in readiness to sustain Murat, who was still fighting south of the city; the Guard would be hard on his heels.  "All my army will be putting itself in motion; all of it will have arrived [near Leipzig] by morning of the 14th, and I shall be able to fight the enemy with 200,000 men."

  At three in the morning of the 14th , Berthier received his master's definitive orders for a general concentration on Leipzig.  Four hours later, Napoleon was writing Macdonald: "My Cousin, I hope the you will arrive here [Duben] in good time today.  It is necessary to cross the river at once.  There can be no doubt that during tomorrow - the 15th - we shall  be attacked by the Army of Bohemia and the Army of Silesia.  March with all haste, therefore, and if you hear a cannonade make for the sound of the guns.  The Army of Silesia is debouching by way of Halle and Zorbig."  This letter reveals that Napoleon had abandoned almost all hope of keeping his two major adversaries apart.  

 

However, the indications were that Bernadotte was still dragging his heels well to the rear of Blucher - although regrettably the Crown Prince had not, after all, fallen back over the Elbe - and the Emperor still hoped that his concentrated army would prove strong enough to defeat Schwarzenberg before Blucher could make his counterbalancing presence fully felt.

   ~ The Campaigns of Napoleon, Dr. David Chandler, 1966, pp. 919-922

 

The Battle of Nations
 is scheduled for May 15, 16, & 17, 2026

Nanaimo, BC, Canada 
There will be an After Action Report (AAR) here
at Murdock'S MarauderS 

La manoeuver sur les derrieres - active map

 

map from Dr D. Chandler

This strategy, implemented dozens of times by Napoleonic armies, forms the basis for many 'operational depth' attack plans.  From the WWI original German attack to the 'cauldron' that was the focus point of bewegungskrieg plans used in WWII and the Operation Desert Storm used in Iraq in 1991.

I have taken a bit of time to generate a little video exploring the basic aspects of this stratagem.

How have you incorporated such a strategy into your games?

Travelogue XVI: French Army Museum III Uniforms

 

the next sections were filled with uniforms and
artworks of the Napoleonic period

first up was a gallery dedicated to the
military musicians of the Napoleonic period

uniform examples

and instruments along with selections of
sound files of many of the instruments
being played

kings guard

flag of the "maison du roi"
or household guards of the French King

while mentioned here, in the Sun King's
court, Vauban was to remain a respected
French officer beyond the Royalist period
we will see more of his works presented later

marshal's baton - with bees
my camera work needs improvement

last of the Sun King's presentation
as this was a barracks, hospital and chapel
established by the King, later taken over
by the French Army after the revolution

better and closer photo set of a Marshal's
Baton of the Napoleonic era
with all the bees

Bonaparte's Egyptian Uniform
my bride was most interested in the
manufacture of such lace and embroidery

Jeanne Lannes was one of the
Marshalate that was to be embalmed
and included in the hall of heroes
planned to be at Les Invalides

some of Lannes uniforms

including 'state dress'

imperial regalia

a gold plated bee

officers uniforms

Generals uniforms

Davout

Eugene de Beauharnais
son of Empress Josephene

one of Emperor Bonaparte's horses

the imperial horse blanket

more of the Marshalate

guardes des honneur

the Dutch "red" Lancers

medal examples

 

La Salle, the greatest Hussar of the period, died in the saddle, as he stated all good hussars must do.

There was a gallery dedicated to his times.

along with an exhibit of personal items
some things familiar to game players eyes

these next three images are of an enormous mural
depicting the battle of Borodino

I used my camera's panorama feature to try and capture
this 30-36' wide painting

a dragoon helm and cloak
survivors of the advance, battles
and retreat out from Russia in 1812

examples of heavy cavalry armor

French Imperial Eagles

more of the Napoleonic bees

some Eagles survived with
battle scars

the end came

final camp bed used in exile

13 Oct 1840
the French Squadron arrives to return
Napoleon to France from St Helena

Grouchy and a return to Royal France
incorporating republic insignia
now stars on the Marshal's Baton

up next ... the reign of Napoleon III and
war in Crimea