Six Days' Campaign facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Six Days Campaign
Part of the 1814 campaign in north-east France
Lithograph of the Battle of Montmirail
Date 10–15 February 1814 Location Northeastern France Result French victory (see Analysis)
Belligerents
France	Prussia  Russia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I	Gebhard von Blücher
Strength
30,000 men	50,000–56,000 men
Casualties and losses
3,400 men	17,750 men (in battle) 28,500 (in all) 36 guns

The Six Days Campaign was a series of important battles fought by Napoleon I of France in February 1814. This happened as the War of the Sixth Coalition was ending. Napoleon's enemies were getting very close to Paris, the capital of France.

During these six days, from February 10 to February 15, Napoleon won four major battles. He defeated the Army of Silesia, led by Gebhard von Blücher. These battles were the Battle of Champaubert, the Battle of Montmirail, the Battle of Château-Thierry, and the Battle of Vauchamps.

Napoleon had about 30,000 soldiers. Blücher's army was much larger, with 50,000 to 56,000 men. Even though he had fewer soldiers, Napoleon caused many more losses to Blücher's army. About 17,750 enemy soldiers were killed or wounded.

After these victories, Napoleon had to stop chasing Blücher's army. Another large enemy army, the Army of Bohemia, was moving towards Paris. Blücher's army, even though it was badly beaten, quickly got new soldiers. Just five days after their defeat at Vauchamps, Blücher's army was ready to fight again.

The Situation in 1814

By early 1814, the Sixth Coalition had defeated the French in Germany and Spain. This was part of the larger Napoleonic Wars. The Coalition armies were now ready to invade France itself. They planned to attack from the northeast and southwest.

Armies Invading France

Two main Coalition armies crossed into France from the northeast:

• The Army of Bohemia was a very large force. It had 200,000 to 210,000 soldiers from Austria, Russia, Bavaria, and Wurttemberg. Prince Schwarzenberg led this army. They crossed the Rhine River in December 1813.
• The Army of Silesia had 50,000 to 56,000 Prussian and Russian soldiers. Prince Gebhard von Blücher was their commander. They crossed the Rhine River in January 1814.

At the same time, the Duke of Wellington led another invasion. His army crossed the Pyrenees mountains into France from Spain. Napoleon had to leave some of his marshals, like Marshal Soult and Marshal Suchet, to defend southern France. Napoleon himself led the French defense in the northeast.

Napoleon had about 200,000 soldiers in total. However, many of them were busy fighting Wellington in Spain. Others were guarding the mountain passes. This meant Napoleon had less than 80,000 soldiers to defend the eastern and northeastern borders. Even with fewer soldiers, Napoleon had an advantage. He was fighting in his own country. His army could find food easily, and their supply lines were simple.

Before the Battles Began

Fighting in northeastern France was not clear-cut in January and early February. On January 29, 1814, Napoleon surprised Blücher at the Battle of Brienne. Napoleon almost captured Blücher.

After this, Blücher moved his army a few miles east. He found a strong position to defend. The Austrian army's advance group joined him there. Together, they decided to fight. They had no choice, as the roads behind them were too crowded to retreat.

Around noon on February 2, Napoleon attacked them. This started the Battle of La Rothière. The weather was terrible, with heavy snow. The ground was so soft that the French cannons, which Napoleon relied on, could not be used well. Snowstorms made soldiers lose their way. Cossack soldiers attacked many French groups. Even though the French caused more damage, Napoleon decided to retreat. He went to Lesmont, then to Troyes. Marshal Marmont stayed behind to watch the enemy.

The roads were in bad condition, and the enemy commanders were slow to act. So, no one chased Napoleon's army. But on February 4, Blücher was eager to act. He got permission from his king, Frederick III of Prussia, to move his army to the Marne River valley. A group of Cossacks was sent to protect his left side and stay in touch with the Austrians.

Blücher thought he was safe. He moved his army from Vitry along the Marne valley roads. His army groups were spread out. This made it easier to find food and shelter in the bad weather. On the night of February 7-8, Blücher was at Sézanne. He was on the exposed side to be closer to his sources of information. The rest of his army was spread out in four smaller groups. They were near Épernay, Montmirail, and Étoges. More soldiers were also on their way to join him.

That night, Blücher's headquarters were surprised again. Blücher learned that Napoleon himself was marching to attack his spread-out groups. He also found out that the Cossacks protecting his side had left two days earlier. This left his army completely open to attack. Blücher quickly retreated towards Étoges, trying to gather his scattered soldiers.

The Six Days Campaign Battles

Napoleon moved very quickly. He attacked Lieutenant General Olssufiev's Russian IX Corps at the Battle of Champaubert on February 10. The Russians lost 4,000 soldiers, and their General Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev was captured. The French lost only about 200 soldiers.

This victory placed the French army between Blücher's lead group and his main army. Napoleon then focused on the lead group. He defeated Osten-Sacken and Yorck at the Battle of Montmirail on February 11. The Coalition forces lost 4,000 soldiers, while the French lost 2,000. Napoleon attacked them again the next day at the Battle of Château-Thierry. The Prussians lost 1,250 soldiers, and the Russians lost 1,500 soldiers and nine cannons. The French lost about 600 soldiers.

After these wins, Napoleon turned his attention to the main part of the Army of Silesia. On February 14, he defeated Blücher at the Battle of Vauchamps near Étoges. Napoleon chased Blücher's army towards Vertus. The Prussians lost 7,000 soldiers and 16 cannons. The French lost about 600 soldiers.

These defeats forced the entire Silesian army to retreat. Napoleon left some soldiers with Marshals Mortier and Marmont to deal with them. He then quickly returned to Troyes.

What Happened Next

After his successful campaign against Blücher, Napoleon quickly moved south. He went to face Prince Schwarzenberg's army. Schwarzenberg's forces were much larger than Napoleon's, with six times more soldiers. But when Schwarzenberg heard Napoleon was coming, he ordered his army to retreat. He left a small group of soldiers, called a rearguard, to fight the French at the Battle of Montereau. This rearguard was led by the Prince of Württemberg.

On February 22, the Coalition leaders held a meeting near Troyes. They were worried by Napoleon's recent victories. They offered Napoleon a truce, which is a stop to fighting. The terms would let him keep his throne if France returned to its 1791 borders. Napoleon refused this offer. He would only agree if they accepted the terms he had proposed in 1813.

On February 28, the Coalition armies started to advance again. Napoleon continued to defeat parts of both Schwarzenberg's and Blücher's armies. After six weeks of fighting, the Coalition armies had not gained much ground.

However, after the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube on March 20, Napoleon realized he could not keep fighting this way. His army was shrinking, and the Austrians outnumbered him greatly. He had two choices:

• He could go back to Paris and hope the Coalition would make a deal. Capturing Paris with a French army defending it would be hard for the enemy.
• He could leave Paris to his enemies, like the Russians had left Moscow to him two years earlier. He would then move east to Saint-Dizier. There, he would gather any soldiers he could find. He would also try to get the people to rise up against the invaders. Then, he would attack the enemy's supply lines.

Napoleon decided to move east. A letter explaining his plan was captured by his enemies. The Coalition commanders met on March 23. At first, they decided to follow Napoleon. But the next day, Tsar Alexander I of Russia and King Frederick of Prussia, with their advisors, changed their minds. They realized Napoleon's army was weak. They decided to march straight to Paris, which was then an open city. They would let Napoleon do his worst to their supply lines.

The Coalition armies marched directly to the capital. Marshals Marmont and Mortier gathered what soldiers they could. They took a position on the Montmartre heights to fight the enemy. The Battle of Paris ended when the French commanders saw that fighting more was useless. They surrendered the city on March 31. Just as this happened, Napoleon was rushing towards Fontainebleau to join them.

Napoleon was forced to give up his power without any conditions. He signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Napoleon was sent away to the island of Elba. Louis XVIII became the new king of France. The Treaty of Paris was signed on May 30, 1814. This treaty officially ended the War of the Sixth Coalition.