Battle of Montmirail

Battle of Montmirail
Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition
Battle of Montmirail
Date 11 February 1814 Location Montmirail, France Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire	Russian Empire Kingdom of Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I	Fabian Osten-Sacken Ludwig Yorck
Units involved
Imperial Guard VI Corps	VI and XI Corps I Corps
Strength
20,000, 36 guns	18,000, 90 guns ½ of 18,000, 16 guns
Casualties and losses
2,000	2,800, 13–17 guns 900

The Battle of Montmirail (11 February 1814) was fought between a French force led by Emperor Napoleon and two Allied corps commanded by Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg. In hard fighting that lasted until evening, French troops including the Imperial Guard defeated Sacken's Russian soldiers and compelled them to retreat to the north. Part of Yorck's Prussian I Corps tried to intervene in the struggle but it was also driven off. The battle occurred near Montmirail, France during the Six Days Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. Montmirail is located 51 kilometres (32 mi) east of Meaux.

After Napoleon crushed Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev's small isolated corps in the Battle of Champaubert on 10 February, he found himself in the midst of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's widely-spread Army of Silesia. Leaving a small force in the east to watch Blücher, Napoleon turned the bulk of his army to the west in an attempt to destroy Sacken. Unaware of the size of Napoleon's army, Sacken tried to smash his way east to join Blücher. The Russians managed to hold their ground for several hours, but were forced back as more and more French soldiers appeared on the battlefield. Yorck's troops belatedly arrived only to be repulsed, but the Prussians distracted the French long enough to allow Sacken's Russians to join them in a withdrawal to the north. The following day would see the Battle of Château-Thierry as Napoleon launched an all-out pursuit.

Background

On 1 February 1814, Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher commanding 80,000 Allied soldiers from his own Army of Silesia and Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia defeated Napoleon with 45,000 French troops in the Battle of La Rothière.^[1] Elated by their triumph, the Allied commanders devised a new plan whereby Schwarzenberg advanced from Troyes toward Paris while Blücher operated on a more northerly axis from Châlons-sur-Marne toward Meaux. The two armies would be linked by Peter Wittgenstein's corps and a scouting force led by Alexander Nikitich Seslavin. Within a few days the cautious Schwarzenberg began pulling Wittgenstein's troops to the south. Believing the war was almost over, the Blücher pressed rapidly west after a smaller French force under Marshal Jacques MacDonald.^[2] Unknown to the Prussian field marshal, on 5 February Schwarzenberg switched Seslavin's force from the right flank to the extreme left flank without informing Blücher. Since he lacked a liaison officer with Seslavin, the Prussian was unaware that a dangerous gap yawned on his left flank.^[3]

Until 6 February, Napoleon planned to strike a blow against the Army of Bohemia. But that day the French emperor received intelligence that Blücher was moving on Paris, via Meaux. Since MacDonald was too weak to stop Army of Silesia, Napoleon was compelled to deal with Blücher first. While sending out patrols to determine the precise whereabouts of the Prussian field marshal's army, Napoleon sent Marshal Auguste de Marmont with 8,000 troops to Sézanne. On 8 February these were joined by part of the Imperial Guard and a large force of cavalry. On the same day MacDonald's patrols reported that Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg was near Épernay with 18,000 men. When, on the morning of 9 February, Napoleon received news from Marmont that Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken was near Montmirail with about 15,000 troops, the French army lurched into action.^[4]

Napoleon, shown with his marshals and staff, leads his army over roads made muddy by days of rain. Though his empire was crumbling, Napoleon proved to be a dangerous opponent in the Six Days Campaign.

Marshal Claude Perrin Victor with 14,000 men, consisting of his own corps, a force under Etienne Maurice Gérard and cavalry, would hold Nogent-sur-Seine.^[4] Marshal Nicolas Oudinot with 20,000 men including the newly-formed VII Corps, a 5,000-man Young Guard division, National Guards and a cavalry force under Pierre Claude Pajol was instructed to guard the bridges at Bray-sur-Seine, Montereau, Pont-sur-Yonne and Sens. At this time, Napoleon had only 70,000 soldiers to confront about 200,000 Allies. With Victor and Oudinot watching Schwarzenberg, Napoleon decided to act against Blücher who he assumed to have 45,000 troops.^[5]

In fact, the Army of Silesia had 57,000 soldiers, including 18,000 under Yorck at Château-Thierry, 20,000 under Sacken near La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and 19,000 under Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev, Peter Mikhailovich Kaptzevich and Friedrich von Kleist at Champaubert, Vertus and Bergères-lès-Vertus.^[6] However, Blücher's army was spread across a front of 44 miles (71 km) and Napoleon might count on the help of the 10,000 men under MacDonald.^[7] Napoleon striking force numbered 30,000 men and 120 guns.^[8] It consisted of Marmont's corps, two Young Guard divisions led by Marshal Michel Ney, the I Cavalry Corps, two Old Guard divisions under Marshal Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, part of the Guard Cavalry and Jean-Marie Defrance's independent cavalry division. Mortier was ordered to bring up the rear.^[9]

Fearing that Napoleon would offer battle near Nogent, Schwarzenberg asked his colleague Blücher to send Kleist's corps south to help. So the Prussian field marshal ordered Kleist, Kaptzevich and Olsufiev to converge on Sézanne on 10 February. Riding with Kleist and Kaptzevich, Blücher led them south from Vertus toward Fère-Champenoise, planning to turn west from there to Sézanne. After days of rain, the roads were swamped, but the French country people assisted the army in dragging Napoleon's cannons through the mud. The French army fell on Olsufiev's small corps with crushing force in the Battle of Champaubert on 10 February. With only 5,000 men and 24 guns, the Russian general unwisely held his ground; Olsufiev ended the day as a French prisoner and his corps was nearly destroyed.^[5] The 1,500 survivors were formed into three or four ad hoc battalions.^[10]

Battle

Advance to contact

Ludwig Yorck

Blücher was near Fère-Champenoise when heard that Olsufiev's corps was wrecked; he immediately ordered Kleist and Kaptzevich to undertake a night march back to Vertus. The Prussian field marshal ordered Yorck to march to Montmirail while holding the important bridge over the Marne River at Château-Thierry in case a retreat was necessary. During 10 February, Sacken advanced west to Trilport where there was a bridge over the Marne. Blücher recalled Sacken, instructing him to march east to Montmirail to rendezvous with Yorck, then clear the highway between there and Vertus. Blücher neglected to mention anything to Sacken about escaping over the Marne.^[11]

Fabian Osten-Sacken

Napoleon ordered MacDonald to move east from Trilport. At 7:00 pm, the emperor instructed Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty with two divisions of cavalry to march west to capture Montmirail, followed at 3:00 am by Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard's division of Marmont's corps. Ney's Young Guard divisions would move in their wake at 6:00 am while Mortier's Old Guard would march directly from Sézanne to Montmirail. Jean François Leval's division was detached from Oudinot and ordered to march to Montmirail via La Ferté-Gaucher. Napoleon posted Marmont at Étoges with Joseph Lagrange's division and the I Cavalry Corps to observe Blücher.^[11] Using his central position, Napoleon hoped to smash Sacken and Yorck in isolation and with their backs to French-held bridges over the Marne.^[12]

Yorck sent a dispatch to Blücher expressing doubt whether he could join Sacken at Montmirail because his soldiers were too worn out to march on the night of 10–11 February. Instead, Yorck promised to move south to Viffort on the road to Montmirail. When he received his orders, Sacken destroyed the bridge at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and began marching east at 9:00 pm on the 10th. By 9:00 am the following day, Russian corps commander's leading elements were clashing with French patrols east of Viels-Maisons. The French had driven Sacken's Cossacks under Akim Akimovich Karpov out of Montmirail early that morning. At 9:00 am Yorck reached Viffort and was skirmishing with French cavalry.^[13] With the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre bridge broken to the west and unknown forces looming to the east, Sacken was in serious danger of being trapped. Understanding this, Yorck sent a staff officer to his Russian colleague to warn him that his Prussians would be late to the battlefield. Due to the muddy roads, the heavy Prussian field guns and a brigade had to be left behind. Yorck's messenger recommended that Sacken retreat north to Château-Thierry.^[14]

Sacken would have none of it. Against the advice of his own staff who urged him to move closer to Yorck,^[15] the Russian commander deployed his army corps with its main weight to the south. Strictly following his orders, Sacken determined to smash his way east through Montmirail. At the start of the battle Napoleon was significantly outnumbered and could only defend with 5,000 Old Guard infantry, 4,500 cavalry, Ricard's division and 36 guns. Because of the bad condition of the roads and the exhaustion of the soldiers, it was not clear whether French reinforcements or Yorck's Prussians would first arrive on the field. Napoleon was taking a huge risk.^[16]

Combat

Battle of Montmirail, 11 February 1814

Sacken's strength was variously given as 18,000 men and 90 guns by David G. Chandler,^[16] 14,000 soldiers and 80 guns by George Nafziger,^[17] and 18,000 soldiers by Francis Loraine Petre. Prussian staff officer Karl Freiherr von Müffling credited the Russians with 20,000 troops while another German officer counted 16,300 men and 90 guns.^[15] Sacken led two infantry and one cavalry corps. The foot soldiers belonged to Alexander Ivanovich Tallisin's VI Corps with the 7th and 18th Infantry Divisions and Ivan Andreievich Lieven's XI Corps with the 10th and 27th Infantry Divisions and a brigade from the 16th Division. The cavalry corps included Sergei Nicholaevich Lanskoi's 2nd Hussar Division and Semyon Davydovich Pandschulishev's 3rd Dragoon Division. Alexey Petrovich Nikitin directed three batteries of 12-pound cannons and four batteries of 6-pounders.^[17] Tallisin was acting corps commander in place of Alexey Grigoryevich Scherbatov who was ill.^[15] The cavalry corps was directed by Ilarion Vasilievich Vasilshikov.^[18]

According to Chandler and Petre, Napoleon's greatest strength during the battle was 20,000 men.^[19][15] Nafziger arrived at a larger total of 27,153 soldiers.^[20] The cavalry was made up of the 2,582 troopers of the 1st Guard Cavalry Division under Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais, the 2,164 sabers of the 3rd Guard Cavalry Division under Louis-Marie Laferrière-Levêque and the 896 horsemen of Defrance's division. The infantry numbered 4,133 men from Claude Marie Meunier's 1st Young Guard Division, 2,840 soldiers from Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial's 2nd Young Guard Division, 4,796 men from Louis Friant's 1st Old Guard Division, 3,878 soldiers from Claude-Étienne Michel's 2nd Old Guard Division and 2,917 men from Ricard's 8th Infantry Division. Finally, Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes led either 3,535 horsemen from the 2nd Guard Cavalry Division^[21] or 4,947 infantry from the 3rd Young Guard Division.^[20]

The Petit Morin River flows west on the southern margin of the battlefield, which was mostly rolling terrain covered by several woods. Just north of the Petit Morin there was a forest which anchored the French left flank. On the northern fringe of the forest was the village of Marchais-en-Brie. Farther north was the east-west highway. Napoleon placed Ricard's division in columns east of Marchais. Two of Ricard's battalions were detached and posted north of the highway in the Bailly Wood. Behind Ricard were Ney's two Young Guard divisions under Meunier and Curial. In reserve was Friant's division in battalion columns at 100-pace intervals.^[20] To keep Sacken and Yorck from linking up, the French emperor deployed Friant's division where the Château-Thierry road met the main east-west highway, with Defrance's cavalry on his right. Farther north, blocking the Château-Thierry road was Nansouty^[14] who had overall command of the Guard cavalry divisions.^[17]

Forces

Russian Order of Battle

Russian Army Corps: Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken

• Reserve Artillery: General-major Alexey Petrovich Nikitin
  • Position Battery Nr. 13
  • Light Battery Nr. 28
• VI Corps: General-Leutnant Alexander Ivanovich Tallisin
  • 7th Division: General-major Nikolay Gregoryevich Scherbatov
    • Brigade: Colonel Kritschinikov
      • Moscow Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Pskov Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: Colonel Augustov
      • Libau Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Sophia Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: Colonel Dieterich
      • 11th Jager Regiment, one battalion
      • 36th Jager Regiment, one battalion
  • 18th Division: General-major Bernodessov
    • Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel Blagovenzenko
      • Dneiper Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Vladimir Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: General-major Heidenreich
      • Kostroma Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Tambov Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: General-major Metcherinov
      • 28th Jager Regiment, one battalion
      • 32th Jager Regiment, one battalion
  • Corps Artillery:
    • Position Battery Nr. 10
    • Light Batteries Nrs. 19 and 24
• XI Corps: General-major Ivan Andreievich Lieven
  • 10th Division: General-major Sass
    • Brigade: General-major Sokolovsky
      • Jaroslav Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Kursk Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Bieloserk Infantry Regiment, two battalions
    • Brigade: Colonel Achlestischev
      • 8th Jager Regiment, one battalion
      • 39th Jager Regiment, one battalion
  • 16th Division:
    • Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel Selivanov
      • Kamchatka Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Okhotsk Infantry Regiment, one battalion
  • 27th Division: General-Leutnant Maxim Fyodorovich Stavitsky
    • Brigade: Colonel Lewandowsky
      • Odessa Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Vilna Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: Colonel Alexejev
      • Simbrisk Infantry Regiment, one battalion
      • Tarnopol Infantry Regiment, one battalion
    • Brigade: Colonel Kalogruivoff
      • 49th Jager Regiment, one battalion
      • 50th Jager Regiment, one battalion
  • Corps Artillery:
    • Position Battery Nr. 18
    • Light Battery Nr. 34
    • Light Battery Nr. 35
• Cavalry Corps: General-Leutnant Ilarion Vasilievich Vasilshikov
  • 2nd Hussar Division: General-major Sergei Nicholaevich Lanskoi
    • Brigade: General-major Waddolski
      • Akhtyrsk Hussar Regiment, six squadrons
      • Marioupol Hussar Regiment, five squadrons
    • Brigade: Colonel Dmitri Vasilievich Vasilshikov
      • White Russia Hussar Regiment, four squadrons
      • Alexandria Hussar Regiment, five squadrons
  • 3rd Dragoon Division: General-major Semyon Davydovich Pandschulishev
    • Brigade: General-major Ushakov
      • Smolensk Dragoon Regiment
      • Kurland Dragoon Regiment
    • Brigade: General-major Umanez
      • Tver Dragoon Regiment
      • Kinburn Dragoon Regiment
      • Horse Artillery Battery Nr. 18
    • Brigade: General-major Akim Akimovich Karpov II
      • Karpov II Don Cossack Regiment
      • Semintschikov IV Don Cossack Regiment
      • Lukowken II Don Cossack Regiment
      • Kuteinikov IV Don Cossack Regiment
      • Grekov I Don Cossack Regiment
      • Saint Petersburg Opolchenie Cossack Regiment
      • 4th Ukrainian Cossack Regiment
      • 2nd Kalmuck Regiment
  • Corps Artillery:
    • Horse Artillery Batteries Nrs. 6 and 7

Source: Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. pp. 601–603. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.

Prussian Order of Battle

Prussian I Corps: Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg

• 1st Brigade: General-major Otto Karl Lorenz von Pirch
  • 1st East Prussian Grenadier Battalion
  • Silesian Grenadier Battalion
  • Leib Grenadier Battalion
  • West Prussian Grenadier Battalion
  • 13th Silesian Landwehr Regiment, four battalions
  • East Prussian National Cavalry, four squadrons
  • 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 2
• 2nd Brigade: Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Warburg - not engaged
• 7th Brigade: General-major Heinrich Wilhelm von Horn
  • Leib Infantry Regiment, 1st, 2nd and Fusilier Battalions
  • 4th Silesian Landwehr Regiment, two battalions
  • 15th Silesian Landwehr Regiment, two battalions
  • Brandenburg Hussar Regiment
  • 6-pounder Foot Battery Nr. 3
• 8th Brigade: Prince Wilhelm of Prussia - not engaged
• Corps Cavalry: Colonel Georg Ludwig von Jürgass - not engaged

Source: Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. pp. 601–603. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.

Notes

1. Smith 1998, pp. 491–493.
2. Chandler 1966, pp. 964–965.
3. Petre 1994, p. 46.
4. Chandler 1966, pp. 966–967.
5. Chandler 1966, pp. 968–969.
6. Petre 1994, pp. 56–57.
7. Petre 1994, p. 55.
8. Chandler 1979, p. 87.
9. Petre 1994, p. 53.
10. Nafziger 2015, p. 609.
11. Petre 1994, pp. 60–61.
12. Chandler 1979, pp. 286–287.
13. Petre 1994, p. 62.
14. Petre 1994, p. 63.
15. Petre 1994, p. 64.
16. Chandler 1966, pp. 970–971.
17. Nafziger 2015, p. 144.
18. Nafziger 2015, p. 602.
19. Chandler 1966, p. 973.
20. Nafziger 2015, p. 146.
21. Nafziger 2015, pp. 599–600.

References

• Alison, Archibald (1842). History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution to the Restoration of the Bourbons 10. Paris: Baudry's European Library. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
• Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan.
• Chandler, David G. (1979). Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York, N.Y.: Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-523670-9.
• Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.
• Petre, F. Loraine (1994) [1914]. Napoleon at Bay: 1814. London: Lionel Leventhal Ltd. ISBN 1-85367-163-0.
• Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

External reference

• The Napoleonic Guide to the Battle of Montmirail
• La bataille de Champaubert, Montmirail-Marchais et Vauchamps

Coordinates: 48°53′45″N 3°28′51″E / 48.8958°N 3.4807°E