Battle of Lützen (1813) facts for kids
The Battle of Lützen (fought on May 2, 1813) was a big battle where Napoleon I of France led his French army to victory against an army of countries that had teamed up against him. This group was called the Sixth Coalition.
The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, tried to stop Napoleon from taking the city of Leipzig. He attacked the French army near Lützen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, which surprised Napoleon. But Napoleon quickly got his act together and ordered his troops to try and surround the enemy. After a long day of tough fighting, Wittgenstein's army was almost surrounded, so they had to retreat. The French couldn't chase them because they didn't have enough cavalry (soldiers on horseback).
The next big fight happened at Bautzen about three weeks later.
Quick facts for kids Battle of Lützen |
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| Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
 Napoléon with his troops. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France Kingdom of Italy Hesse |
 Russia Prussia |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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| Strength | |||||||
| 78,000-145,000 372 guns |
70,000-96,000 552 guns |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 19,655–22,000 | 11,500–30,000 | ||||||
Contents
Setting the Scene: Before the Battle
After Napoleon's army had a terrible time in Russia in 1812, many countries joined forces against France. This new group included Britain, Sweden, Prussia, and Russia. Napoleon quickly put together a new army of over 200,000 soldiers. Many of these were new recruits, and he didn't have many horses because most of his old army and horses were lost in Russia.
Napoleon crossed the Rhine river into Germany. He wanted to meet up with the rest of his old army and quickly defeat this new alliance before it became too strong.
Napoleon's Plan and a Surprise Attack
On April 30, Napoleon crossed the Saale river. He was moving towards Leipzig from the west and southwest. His plan was to get inside the enemy's lines, split their forces, and defeat them one by one. However, because he didn't have enough cavalry and his scouts didn't find out enough information, he didn't know that the Russian and Prussian armies were gathering on his right side.
The Prussian scouts reported that the French army was spread out. The enemy commander, Wittgenstein, planned to attack near Lützen. He hoped to cause a lot of damage to Napoleon's army and win a victory that might convince Austria to join the Coalition. The day before the battle, one of Napoleon's important generals, Jean-Baptiste Bessières, was sadly killed by a cannonball while checking out the area.
Marshal Michel Ney's group of soldiers (called the III Corps) was supposed to hold the right side near Lützen. They were caught by surprise when the enemy attacked. Ney's III Corps had five large groups of infantry (foot soldiers) and a cavalry brigade. Three of these groups were around Lützen, and one was in four villages to the southeast. Another group was a mile to the west. Other French groups were also nearby, ready to support.
The Battle Begins
The Prussian attack started a bit late, with General Blücher leading his soldiers around 11:30 AM. He expected to find only a few thousand French soldiers, but instead, he found a whole division (a very large group). Blücher paused his attack, brought up his cannons, and started firing around noon.
Fierce Fighting for the Villages
Marshal Marmont, to the west, heard the cannons and moved his soldiers towards the fight. After about 40 minutes of cannon fire, Blücher sent in a group of soldiers that pushed the French out of the village of Großgörschen. Then, another group and cavalry captured Kleingörschen and Rahna. Marshal Ney quickly led one of his groups from Lützen and counterattacked, taking back Kleingörschen and Rahna. Blücher sent in his last group of soldiers around 2:00 PM, which forced the French out of Kleingörschen again and then moved towards Kaja. Blücher was injured, and General von Yorck took command of the Prussian forces.
Napoleon was actually visiting the site of an old battle from 1632, explaining it to his staff, when he heard the cannons. He immediately stopped his tour and rode towards the sound of the fighting. Arriving around 2:00 PM, he quickly understood the situation and ordered his forces to gather together. He sent Ney a steady stream of reinforcements, who took positions in and around the villages south of Lützen.
Napoleon's Counterattack
Around 4:00 PM, Yorck sent in the recently arrived Prussian reserve soldiers. Wittgenstein and Yorck kept pushing Ney in the middle. Control of the villages changed hands many times as both sides sent in more troops. The King of Prussia even personally led a charge that took the village of Rahna. By 5:30 PM, the Coalition held almost all the villages, except for Kaja, which was still being fought over. Once Bertrand's soldiers arrived from his right and Macdonald's soldiers from his left, Napoleon no longer had to worry about his sides being attacked.
Once the Coalition's attack had stopped, Napoleon struck at the perfect moment. While he had been sending more soldiers to Ney, he had also brought more cannons from his Imperial Guard to join the guns of the III and VI Corps. General Antoine Drouot gathered these into a huge group of about 100 cannons, called the Grande Batterie. These cannons fired a powerful barrage at the middle of Wittgenstein's army.
Napoleon had gathered his Imperial Guard behind these cannons. Around 6:00 PM, he sent them in a counter-attack, led by Marshal Mortier, right into the center of the enemy. This pushed the Coalition forces out of the villages. A Prussian cavalry attack and the coming darkness slowed the French attack, allowing the main Coalition army to retreat in good order. Because the French didn't have enough cavalry, they couldn't chase the retreating enemy.
Napoleon lost about 19,655 men, with many killed or wounded. The Prussians lost at least 8,500 men, and the Russians lost 3,500 men. By nightfall, the Tsar and Wittgenstein weren't fully convinced they had lost. However, they retreated after hearing that Leipzig had fallen, leaving Napoleon in control of Lützen and the battlefield.
What Happened Next
Napoleon showed his great skill in pushing back the Russian and Prussian forces at Lützen. However, his victory came at a high cost, which had a big impact on the war. Lützen was followed by the Battle of Bautzen eighteen days later. Napoleon won again, but he lost another 22,000 men, which was twice as many as the Russian and Prussian army lost.
The intense fighting in these two battles made Napoleon agree to a temporary break in fighting, called an armistice, on June 4. This agreement gave the allies time to organize and re-equip their armies. More importantly, it encouraged Britain to give Russia and Prussia money to help with the war, totaling seven million pounds. This financial help was a huge boost for the war against Napoleon.
Another important result of the battle was that it encouraged Austria to join the allied group when the armistice ended. This dramatically shifted the balance of power in favor of the Coalition. Because of these events, Napoleon later felt that the truce he agreed to after Lützen and Bautzen was what led to the end of his power in Germany.
During the Battle of Lützen, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, one of the smartest Prussian generals, was injured. Even though his wound was small, the quick retreat meant he didn't get proper treatment. This led to a bad infection, and he sadly died.
