CHAPTER XVIII

THE WAR OF LIBERATION (1813-4).

The weight of the Napoleonic despotism lay heavy upon Europe, crushing alike her kings and her peoples. Besides England, which controlled the sea, Russia was the only remaining independent State. The British power was to be broken by the Continental Blockade; and in the spring of 1812 huge columns of armed men marched eastward to the subjection of Russia. Napoleon penetrated victoriously into that country, and made his way to Moscow. It looked as if the whole continent of Europe was to become French. For some time nothing was heard of the Grand Army. Then, on December 12, news reached Berlin that Napoleon had been forced to leave Moscow, and was in full retreat. Louder and louder grew the rumour of a terrible tragedy. But rumour fell far short of the reality. During the first weeks of 1813, broken masses of men, for the most part sick or wounded, crossed the Prussian frontier, begging and plundering as they went—soldiers, officers, even generals of the highest rank, wrapt in rags, frostbitten, hollow-eyed and wasted. This was all that was left of half-a-million of soldiers, all that was left of the Grand Army. At sight of such a disaster the mind of Germany was deeply moved; men felt that a new era was about to dawn; now was the time for action—now or never.

It was natural to expect assistance from four directions—from England, Sweden, Austria, and Russia. England was the implacable enemy of Napoleon. Allied with Spain, she had defeated his armies, advanced nearly to the frontier, and drawn off part of the French forces against herself. But, though her wealth gave her the means to help—a means subsequently used to effect in the Treaty of Reichenbach (June, 1813)—she could not herself carry on war in Germany. Sweden, long dragged at the heels of France, was now, under the guidance of Bernadotte, aiming at the acquisition of Norway, hitherto in the possession of Denmark. When Napoleon refused his consent to this act of robbery, Sweden went over to his enemies. At the end of 1812 the French ambassador received his passports; on March 13, 1813, a treaty was concluded with Great Britain; and, soon afterwards, 12,000 men landed in Swedish Pomerania, without, however, pushing further inland.

More important than Sweden was Austria. She was, it is true, in alliance with Napoleon, but she was longing to throw off his yoke, and was therefore merely keeping up an appearance of hostilities against Russia. At the end of January, 1813, Austria concluded a secret agreement with that country to cease hostilities, in consequence of which she withdrew her forces, without, however, any immediate rupture with Napoleon. She left Russia and Prussia to bear the first brunt of the new conflict, while she formed an army of more than 150,000 men, with which she proposed to play the part of peacemaker at the right time. By the middle of April Austria ceased to be an ally of France, and had begun to mediate as an independent Power. Her leading statesman, Count Metternich, endeavoured to strengthen his position through the Princes of the Rhine Confederation, proposing to Saxony, Bavaria, and Wurtemberg a kind of neutral league, which should aim at a peace ensuring the independence of Germany. But he only succeeded in winning over the King of Saxony for a short time; that monarch, dismayed by Napoleon’s threats, instantly collapsed, and submitted to him once more.

None of these three Powers, then, contemplated taking immediate action in Germany. Even victorious Russia played her own game. There were two parties in that country, one of which desired to terminate the war at the Prussian frontier, the other to carry it further. The champion of the former policy was the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Count Kutusoff; the latter was headed by the Tsar Alexander, who was strongly influenced by his German entourage and by the prospect of acting as deliverer of Europe. Alone, Alexander could hardly have carried his country with him; but he found Prussia on his side. With Prussia the decision really rested; and that country, as we shall see, pronounced in favour of war.

Even after the Russian disaster, Napoleon’s situation was by no means unfavourable. Besides France, he had with him Italy, Illyria, the Netherlands, and all Germany with the exception of Prussia. Against him were Russia and Prussia alone; the former weakened by war, ponderous in movement, unprepared for a struggle beyond her frontiers; the latter financially ruined, with her government in disorder and her military strength reduced. France, it is true, was almost depopulated by her many wars; her prosperity was injured by the Continental Blockade; a profound and passionate longing for peace was dominant among her people. The subject or allied nations, which had once welcomed the French with jubilation, now groaned under the foreign rule; even Italy, her racial ally, was in part hostile. But fear ruled them all; they murmured, but they obeyed. It was therefore probable that in the coming war Napoleon would be able to muster the larger force, while he also enjoyed the advantages of single command and of a military genius unequalled in history. No wonder if at first the King of Prussia was alarmed, and hesitated until his people almost forced him into this apparently hopeless war, by the side of an ally who had once before, at Tilsit, left him in the lurch. But, since Tilsit, the conditions were completely changed. It was no longer the Cabinets that waged war, but the nationalities revolting against the universal dominion of France.

When, on December 18, 1812, Napoleon entered Paris, his Ministers were agreed in advising the peace for which France, they asserted, was loudly clamouring. Napoleon made proposals for an armistice, but was unable to communicate with Alexander; and Austria’s mediation was of no effect. Nevertheless, in February, 1813, negotiations were actually begun, and continued without any formal rupture till June 4, when an armistice was concluded at Plaswitz. This fact is important. Time was required for the setting on foot of another Grand Army. While on the march to Russia, Napoleon had created certain cohorts, as they were called, for the defence of the Empire, numbering about 80,000 men. In November, 1812, he sent orders from Moscow for a new conscription for 1813; the levy (of 137,000 men) took place in the following January. Further levies raised the total demand to the enormous figure of 650,000 men; but this number was never attained; and there was great difficulty in providing a complement of trained officers, especially for the cavalry.

The result of Napoleon’s energy, grasp of detail, and unscrupulous­ness, was that by the end of April, 226,000 men, including the German and Italian troops, with 457 guns, were with the colours on the banks of the Elbe and the Weser; that the fortresses on the Vistula, the Oder, and the Elbe were strongly garrisoned; and that reinforcements were pouring in along all the roads from France. The infantry was, on the whole, of first-rate quality; the artillery was good; the cavalry alone was inadequate, both in men and horses. Napoleon had desired to make it specially strong, but at first it numbered only 15,000 men. Such were the forces employed in the spring campaign. Things were different in the following autumn, when it became evident that the military resources of France had been overstrained. There was an army, numerous indeed, but an army of the most heterogeneous description, flung together at haphazard, raw youths along with men over age, lacking in physique and discipline; while the corps of officers left, in the lower grades, much to be desired. Moreover, the troops never had their heart in the conflict, and were only kept together by a sense of military honour. In the higher commands there were grave defects. The marshals were glutted with glory and honours; they longed for rest and enjoyment; they feared defeat. Good tacticians there were among them, but no good strategists, except perhaps Davout. Napoleon himself was no longer what he had been. True, his genius remained; but his will, his decision, his self-confidence, even his health, had suffered. His life had been too full, and even his Titanic strength, mental and physical, had been affected by the efforts and the catastrophes of the Russian campaign.

Of Napoleon’s opponents the foremost was Russia. Her field-army numbered only about 110,000 men, including 30,000 cavalry. A ukase of February 5 commanded the formation of a strong reserve army; but this force was so slow in getting into shape that by the end of July only 68,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry, and five batteries were available for reserves and reinforcements; and of these a third was lost on the way. This was not enough to keep the numbers at the front even up to their own low level during the spring campaign. The army was composed of tried soldiers; but, as they were thrown together at random, the tie of comradeship was lacking.

Prussia had been brought to the verge of ruin by the Peace of Tilsit. Her territory was reduced to four provinces, her population to 4,500,000 souls; she was burdened with a war-debt of 120 millions; her army was limited to 42,000 men. But her very misfortunes helped her to revive. Under Scharnhorst’s direction a new, a national army was created. Then came the war of 1812. Prussia was obliged to supply an auxiliary corps to Napoleon; the leaders of the reorganisation were dissatisfied and resigned their posts; everything fell into stagnation and disorder. The consequence was that in 1813 Prussia was unable to raise her forces to a war footing as quickly as had been expected. Difficulties arose from the fact that part of the country was occupied by the Russians (with whom as yet there was no treaty), another part by the French; still more from the terrible want of money; finally, from the character of the King, and from that large section of the bureaucracy which expected all salvation to come from above.

This time, however, it was a question, not of kings and officials, but of the soul of a people. The Prussian nation had endured too much under the pitiless hand of the conqueror of Jena, and in the grim school of suffering had acquired a moral force which now revealed itself in its elemental power. The people were resolved to win back their highest possessions, their rights as men and citizens, by desperate combat if there were no other way. The enthusiasm for freedom and fatherland swept through the country like a pent-up mountain torrent. All classes, all ages, flew to arms; mere lads and grey-haired patriarchs, even young girls, entered the ranks. Those who could not offer their own lives on the altar of their country gave what they had. In a few weeks the country, impoverished as it was, contributed in free gifts the value of half-a-million of thalers (£75,000), and thus lightened—one may even say, made possible—the heavy task of the Government.

In the face of all this, King Frederick William maintained an attitude of shy detachment. He was conscientious and painstaking, but slow and hard to move, and pusillanimous in his decisions. He dreaded the revolutionary tendencies of a popular movement. The conviction that a terrible end was preferable to unending terrorism could not be expected in the representative of an hereditary dynasty. Many even of the best men, like Scharnhorst, at first found this popular violence but little to their taste; they regarded it as futile sentimentalism. But the popular pressure was too strong, and in the end it carried away both bureaucracy and Court. Scharnhorst was recalled to office; Gneisenau came to his aid; and in the Chancellor Hardenberg Prussia found the man who could steer her straight in her time of need.

A series of orders was issued, calling the troops under arms. The want of officers was met, so far as possible, by promoting cadets and non-commissioned officers. Though sorely hindered by want of money, of uniforms, and of equipment, the mobilisation of the field-army was almost completed by the end of March; but that of the reserve battalions, especially those of the Landwehr, was much in arrear. The Landwehr had been embodied by a royal order of March 17; but not a single corps took part in the spring campaign. A preliminary order for raising the Landstum was issued on April 21; but it was impossible to cany it out. One unique feature of the war was to be found in the “Free Corps”—divisions of patriotic volunteers, who, not being Prussians, could not serve in the Prussian line. The best known was that of Liitzow, raised by officers of Schill’s former corps. In this band Theodor Korner, the foremost singer of the War of Liberation, fought and fell. Altogether, the strength of the Prussian army, after complete mobilisation, was estimated at 250,000 men; but, at the beginning of the campaign, not more than 80,000 combatants could be mustered. Typhus had already made great gaps in the ranks. But with each stage of the advance the military enthusiasm of the people grew, and with it the military resources of the State. This explains the fact that, throughout the spring campaign, the fighting troops were steadily reinforced; and that, during the armistice, the strength of the whole army was considerably increased. Although in numbers and discipline the Russian army at first appeared the stronger, the Prussian troops, in spite of their inferior numbers and the large proportion of young soldiers, soon proved them­selves the more formidable. This was attested by Napoleon himself

What at the outset seemed so dishonourable—the presence of Prussian auxiliaries in the Russian campaign—had in the end the happiest result. The Prussian corps had operated on the left wing of the Grand Army, in the Baltic Provinces. It thus escaped the destruction that befell the main body, and was enabled to form a firm nucleus for the national force. The commander, General von York, was not on good terms with his superior, Marshal Macdonald. The King had privately expressed a wish that fighting with the Russians should be avoided so far as possible; while they on their part made similar proposals to the Prussians. Negotiations became more lively after the retreat of Napoleon. The King had, in August, directed York to break off from the French if they should be driven across the Prussian frontier, informing him further that he contemplated abandoning the French alliance, as soon as circumstances would permit. Thereupon, on December 30, 1812, York came to an arrangement with the Russian general, Diebitch, under which the Prussian corps was to remain neutral until orders arrived from the King, and the Russians were to be allowed to march freely over the Prussian frontier-roads. This purely military convention induced the Russians to continue the offensive, and, indirectly, led to the great popular rising in Prussia. York betook himself to the neighbourhood of Tilsit, Macdonald to Konigsberg, whence, on the appearance of the Russians, he removed to Danzig.

On January 11, 1813, Murat, King of Naples, the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army, now practically annihilated, transferred his head-quarters to Posen, where, six days later, he was replaced by the Viceroy Eugene. The military situation at this time was as follows. The extreme left of the French position rested on Danzig, a fortress garrisoned by 30,000 men, of whom a third part were sick or con­valescent. The right wing consisted of the Austrian auxiliary corps under Schwarzenberg and the 7th corps (Saxons and French) under Reynier, in all about 40,000 men, who retired upon Warsaw. In the centre lay the fortress of Thom, with a garrison of 4000 men. The French thus practically held the line of the Vistula. Behind it lay Eugene with a field-army of 16,000 men, mostly unfit for service. Behind the Oder stood Lagrange who, with 10,000 men, had to guard the Mark of Brandenburg and the fortresses on the Oder. Grenier’s division, about 18,000 strong, was hastening from Italy towards Berlin.

Against these insufficient and widely-scattered forces the Russians could mass about 110,000 men. Their army, on crossing the Niemen, broke up into four divisions. Wittgenstein, with 30,000 men, pursued the fragments of the Grand Army towards Konigsberg and Elbing; on January 13 he crossed the Vistula, despatched a portion of his troops to operate against Danzig, and marched with the rest to Stargard in Pomerania; here he halted in order to effect a junction with the second corps, 20,000 strong, which, under command of Tchitchagoff, was approaching slowly by way of Thom. Farther south Kutusoff, with 30,000 men, was marching from Lyk upon Plock; while Miloradovitch, with about 30,000 men, followed Schwarzenberg and Reynier.

Eugene employed the time allowed him by the slowness of the Russian movements in strengthening and reorganising his army. He could do nothing with the troops which had just come from Russia, except to use them as garrisons for the Prussian fortresses; with the rest, about 12,000 men, he stood fast at Posen. Schwarzenberg, however, evacuated Warsaw without a struggle, and marched, not eastwards to Kalisch, but southwards to Cracow under the pretext of covering Galicia. Eugene received no help from the Prussians, whose secret understanding with the Russians became more and more apparent. Consequently, though Grenier’s division reached Berlin, where it was combined with that of Lagrange to form a new corps (the 11th), under Gouvion Saint-Cyr, the growing disaffection of the inhabitants was such that this corps dared not abandon the Mark. When, therefore, Tchitchagoff reached Bromberg, when Wittgenstein’s light troops began to raid the country far in Eugene’s rear, and the French troops had suffered two reverses, the Viceroy’s position became untenable; and on February 12 he was forced to evacuate Posen. On the 18th he reached the Oder at Frankfort, where his position was rendered more secure by the neighbourhood of Saint-Cyr. Shortly before that date, on the 13th, Reynier had been surprised by the Russians and so severely handled that he reached the fortress of Glogau with only 9000 men. Thus the French line of defence was pushed back to the Oder.

The action of York was highly embarrassing for the King of Prussia. Ostensibly he was Napoleon’s ally; and the French occupied his country, as we have seen, up to the Vistula. No one could be more anxious than Frederick William to shake off the oppressive French yoke; but he dared not move in any direction, such was his fear of Napoleon, and his dread lest failure should endanger the very existence of his State. His hopes, for the present, were limited to an acceptable peace; and with this view he turned to Vienna. Not until he perceived that nothing was to be hoped for in that quarter did he begin to look eastward to Russia. In order not to break with France, he informed the French ambassador that York’s action had aroused his surprise and indignation, and followed this up by sending a special envoy to Paris with instruc­tions to pacify Napoleon; he even ordered York’s dismissal. But the officer who informed Murat of this order travelled on to the Emperor Alexander and proposed an alliance.

A double game of this sort was the natural resource of the weak; and Hardenberg played it very skilfully. He managed to explain away every proceeding on the grounds of necessity and the repellent attitude of France; and he was fortunately able to convince Saint-Marsan, the French ambassador at Berlin, who involuntarily played the part of a friendly reporter. It was, however, clearly necessary to get the King away from Berlin, where he was in constant danger from the French garrison. A report was therefore spread that he was going to Breslau, there to raise a new contingent for Napoleon. In Berlin a High Com­mission of Regency was established to represent the sovereign in case of sudden need. On Feb. 22 Frederick William left Potsdam unmolested, and reached Breslau on the 25th. He was now free to act, and firmly determined to risk everything for the rehabilitation of his kingdom. As Austria hung back, he was forced to join with Russia, in the hope that events would bring Austria into line. But the utmost caution was required. The object was to put Napoleon in the wrong, and to give the King an appearance of being forced to side with Russia against his will. Accordingly the Prussian ambassador in Paris, after setting forth the difficulties of Frederick William’s position, made sundry demands which it was certain the Emperor would refuse; while General Knesebeck was sent to the Tsar with full powers to conclude an alliance.

For some time the negotiation made little progress; on the one hand, because Russia demanded a large slice of Polish (formerly Prussian) territory; on the other, because Frederick William still shrank from decisive action. Eventually these hindrances were overcome—a result to which Napoleon’s continued ill-treatment of Prussia contributed; and on February 26 an offensive and defensive alliance was concluded at Kalisch. Russia undertook to furnish 150,000 men and Prussia 80,000; while the Tsar pledged himself, in a secret article, to restore Prussia to the political and financial position which she held previous to 1806. It was agreed that Prussia should be enlarged by acquisitions in northern Germany. The treaty was not published till March 13, when Prussia declared war against France.

Even more important than the Russian alliance was the strengthening of the national forces, a process which had been pushed forward by all possible means since the King’s arrival in Breslau. The volunteer Jager divisions were quickly formed; and all exemptions from military service were abolished. The country was divided into four military departments, with a military and a civil governor over each. The recreation of the Prussian army was, for the time being, concluded by the issue of regulations for the organisation of the Landwehr.

Meanwhile important events were happening elsewhere. York had transferred his head-quarters from Tilsit to Konigsberg, where he took over the functions of Governor-General of East and West Prussia, and raised his weakened corps to the effective footing of 20,000 men. Those provinces being occupied by the Russians as officially hostile territory, they deputed as their representative Baron vom Stein, who, as a former Prussian minister and now adviser of the Tsar, was admirably fitted to watch over the interests of both States. He ordered a meeting of the General Diet of the Prussian Estates, which, under York’s influence, decided on the establishment of a militia force of 20,000 men, a reserve of 13,000, and a general levy (Landsturm), in which all men from eighteen to forty-five were to serve. Then York, in agreement with , Wittgenstein, transferred his troops to the left bank of the Vistula. The conclusion of the alliance with Russia, though it was not yet made public, hastened their movements. During the advance the Russians remained in front; for until March 13 the Prussians were not to engage in overt hostilities against the French, and even then to avoid them so far as possible.

On February 18, as we have seen, the Viceroy Eugene had reached Frankfort on the Oder with 12,000 men, and had effected a junction with Saint-Cyr’s force of 18,000. The fortresses on the Oder—Stettin, Küstrin, and Glogau—as well as that of Spandau near Berlin, were strongly garrisoned. Russian scouts, under Tchernitcheff and Tettenborn, had already crossed the Oder; and on the 20th the latter had even pushed his way into Berlin, where fighting went on in the open streets. But, as the capital could not be held with cavalry alone, the Russians retreated northwards, carefully watching all roads leading to Berlin. These events in his rear made a very sensible impression upon Eugene. He left his vanguard on the Oder, and betook himself and his main army to Berlin and the neighbourhood, entering the capital on February 22. Thus he practically abandoned the line of the Oder, and that without any necessity; for Wittgenstein had not as yet approached the river ; Kutusoff, with the main army, was a long way off at Kalisch; and Sacken remained in Poland with about 20,000 men. As yet the Prussians had not declared war. In these circumstances Eugene ought to have continued to hold the line of the Oder. He was able to mass on that river 40,000 men and 122 guns; while in Magdeburg a new corps was being formed, which by March 1 amounted to 23,000 men. But general uncertainty and fear of a popular rising drove him to retreat. Meanwhile Wittgenstein had come up; and his van-guard, having crossed the Oder on March 1 and 2, pressed on to Berlin. Eugene did not wait for him, but in the night of March 3-4 fell back upon Wittenberg towards the Elbe. He and his 30,000 men had retreated before about 12,000 Russian light troops, and abandoned without a struggle the capital of Prussia.

Meanwhile the Prussian forces in Silesia, drawn from various parts of the kingdom, had been raised to 25,000 men. The command was given to Blucher, whose courage and energy inspired unbounded trust. But he was essentially a practical soldier, not given to wide-reaching plans and strategy; therefore the two most talented officers in the Prussian service were associated with him—Schamhorst as chief of the staff, and Gneisenau as quarter-master-general.

Things were now so far advanced that the Russo-Prussian alliance could be carried into effect. Kutusoff took command of the combined armies. Wittgenstein, with York and Billow, led the right wing; it numbered 50,000 men, and was to march upon Magdeburg by way of . Berlin. The left wing was under Blucher’s command. It included Winzingerode’s Russian corps and the Prussian corps, in all 40,000 men. Dresden was its objective. Kutusoff took a middle route with the reserve, the so-called main army, numbering hardly 40,000 men.

Early in March the Viceroy completely abandoned the line of the Oder and fell back on that of the Elbe, where he soon received reinforcements. His main body he transferred to Magdeburg and Dresden. Distance also obliged him (March 12) to abandon Hamburg, which was entered bv Tettenborn and his Cossacks amid the jubilations of the inhabitants. Napoleon, disapproving of many of Eugene’s measures, ordered him to collect 80,000 men before Magdeburg, making that point a centre from which to defend the line of the Elbe. This led to the withdrawal of most of the French troops from Saxony.

An energetic offensive was obviously the right strategy for the Allies. This was what the Prussians desired, but the advance was stayed because the van-guard was too weak, and Kutusoff, contrary to agreement, remained at Kalisch. Wittgenstein and Blucher, however, approached the Elbe. Through the massing of the French forces at Magdeburg their position at Dresden was so far weakened that they were compelled to evacuate the Saxon capital, which was occupied by Blucher. Soon afterwards York’s van-guard appeared east of Magdeburg; and the lower Elbe was crossed by light troops. Napoleon, well knowing the importance of the lower Elbe, appointed Davout governor of that district, and gave the command in Bremen to Vandamme. On April 1 General Morand, having crossed the Weser, occupied Luneburg with 2800 men and nine guns. Here he was surprised by Domberg’s and Tchernitcheff’s light troops, and his force was annihilated. It was but a small affair, but its moral effects were far-reaching. It was the first real victory won on German soil; and the news was received with general rejoicing. Unfortunately, on the very next day, Davout appeared with a superior force, and drove Dornberg and Tcheniitcheff back across the Elbe.

There was brisk fighting at Magdeburg also. Here, on April 2, Eugene crossed the Elbe with about 45,000 men, forced Borstell to retire, and took up a position with his centre at Nedlitz. Wittgenstein determined to attack him on the 5th with 20,000 men. In three places the advanced French forces were engaged, and were everywhere defeated. Eugene lost in killed and wounded 700 men, besides 1000 prisoners. The next night he began to retreat. His attempt to recover Berlin and scatter the forces of the Allies was feebly executed, and altogether miscarried. Bulow and Borstell followed his retreat, with the object of watching Magdeburg. York, with the Russians, marched up the Elbe to Roslau and Dessau, where a bridge was built over the river. The further plan of campaign was that Wittgenstein should operate in conjunction with Blucher to the west of the Elbe; but, as the enemy had over 50,000 men in Magdeburg, BlÜcher dared not lose touch with Bulow. York reached Kothen on April 10, while Eugene occupied the left bank of the Saale, and approached the Harz mountains with his main army. Meanwhile Blucher had reached Leipzig and the Mulde, where he was compelled to halt, as the French were said to be gathering in force about Hof and Erfurt. All he could do was to make himself master of the territory between the Elbe and the Saale, and to keep in close touch with Wittgenstein.

Not till March 7 did the Russian main army begin its march from Kalisch into Saxony. It numbered only 32,000 men, and could not expect to be reinforced by more than 30,000 reserves before the end of May. On March 18 it reached Bunzlau in Silesia, where Kutusoff soon afterwards died. Blucher thus found himself crippled as before, the more so since, in spite of all the efforts of his scouts, the enemy’s designs remained obscure. Wittgenstein was in a similar situation. It was known that Napoleon had gathered a powerful army on the middle Rhine, and that it had begun to march eastward. When Wittgenstein received more certain intelligence of the movements of the enemy's main army towards Erfurt, he began (March 20) to draw nearer to Blucher on his left. The latter also concentrated his forces in order to effect a junction with the rest of the Allies.

As the news from the west grew more and more threatening, Schamhorst proposed to abandon the defensive, and to attack at once. It was however determined that the main army should cross the Elbe and accept battle on the left bank, presumably between Leipzig and Altenburg. Wittgenstein proposed, in this case, to fall suddenly on one of the hostile columns during their approach. Schamhorst looked forward gloomily to the future ; he thought that they would all be too late.

It cannot be denied that the Allies showed themselves incapable of using the favourable moment when the main French army was still distant. Blucher’s and Wittgenstein’s united forces amounted to 65,000 men, a strength amply sufficient to engage Eugene, drive him from Magdeburg, and fight him in the open field. The opportunity had now passed; their front was, it is true, strengthened by the Russian main army, but this reinforcement could not compare with the masses which Napoleon brought into the field. Previously they would have had to deal with an opponent by no means eager for the fight; now they had to contend against the genius and invincible resolution of the Emperor.

As for Napoleon, while with indefatigable zeal he was gathering together an immense army in France, he kept his eye all the time on Germany. About the middle of March he was thinking of crossing the Elbe, and relieving Danzig. This was a survival of his Russian schemes, and had little prospect of success. The situation of the French in Germany was growing steadily worse; consequently Napoleon found himself compelled to meet the enemy on the Elbe and to protect Saxony. He therefore concentrated two armies, a main army under the command of Marshal Ney on the lower Main, and another not far from Magdeburg under Eugene, which served to secure the middle Elbe and could also advance south-eastward into Saxony. The two armies might effect a junction behind the Saale. On April 15 the army of the Main began its march, while an Italian corps approached from the south. On the 16th Napoleon left Paris. He stayed in Mainz till the 24th, in order to overcome the various difficulties which obstructed the raising of the new army. His plan was as follows. The army of the Elbe, about 60,000 strong, was to take up a defensive position, guarding the Thuringian Forest; the army of the Main, comprising over 105 ,000 men, was to concentrate at Erfurt under Napoleon’s command; while the Italians and Bavarians, 40,000 strong, approached from the south by way of Coburg. Napoleon had thus a force of more than 209,000 men, with which he hoped to engage and defeat the far weaker enemy in the neighbourhood of Leipzig. From three directions the troops pressed forwards towards the lower course of the Saale, between Halle and Jena. On April 25 Napoleon joined the main army at Erfurt, which five days later appeared on the banks of the Saale; while the Allies took up a position behind the Elster and the Pleisse, extending from Leipzig to Altenburg on the east. The Emperor had at his disposal 145,000 men, including 10,000 cavalry and 400 guns. The Allies at the most could only muster 80,000 men. A swift and decisive victory was required by Napoleon if he was to recover his reputation ; and this victory seemed secure. All he had to do was to press forward.

On May 1 he crossed the Saale, and marched straight on Leipzig. As Napoleon had no precise information about the enemy’s position, he hoped, by marching in this direction, to turn their right wing, drive it in upon the centre, and crush it by a series of heavy blows. He therefore kept his main force in a central position near Kaja and Lutzen. At 5 a.m. on May 3 the movement began. Napoleon succeeded in pressing back the Allies on the left and occupying Leipzig. Further south, his centre advanced towards the Elster with its front to the east. As none of the enemy’s forces were to be found here, Napoleon betook himself to Leipzig. Suddenly a violent cannonade was heard on his right flank from the direction of Gorschen. The Emperor at once took in the situation, and, while holding Leipzig, turned his whole force against the enemy. The Allies had taken up a position somewhat south of Leipzig, supposing that Napoleon would approach by way of Zeitz. When it became known that he was advancing by Lutzen, and, it was supposed, in extended columns, Wittgenstein determined to attack him in the flank, while Kleist was to make an attempt on Leipzig. The army began its march during the night; but it was 11 a.m. before it reached a point south of Gross-Gorschen, where it formed three lines, with Blucher in the front and the Russian Guard in the rear. The troops were so fatigued that they had to rest an hour. At midday Blucher advanced upon Gross-Gorschen, surprised the French at that point, and routed them; but behind the village he encountered a stubborn resistance. At one o’clock the whole line was engaged, from Klein-Gorschen to Steinsiedel. At first the Allies had a numerical superiority, but French reinforcements kept coming up. At 2.30 p.m. Napoleon, with the Guard, appeared behind Kaja. The fighting was extremely severe, especially round Gross-Gorsehen and Kaja; but the superior forces of the French steadily gained the upper hand, and at 6 p.m. Napoleon ordered a general advance. In spite of desperate resistance, the Allies were forced at 7 p.m. to retire in a direction southward of Gross-Gorschen. In the centre the battle was lost.

Under cover of night the defeated army pulled itself together. The Russian Guard, 11,000 strong, had taken no part in the struggle; and a large Russian corps, that of Miloradovitch, remained inactive at Zeitz. Wounded as he was, Blucher hurled eleven squadrons upon the enemy during the night, but they were repulsed. The Allies withdrew in perfect order, and subsequently crossed the Elbe at Dresden and Meissen. The French lost 18,000 men, the Allies only 10,000, exclusive of the slightly wounded. During the pursuit many more fell out, so that eventually Napoleon, on reaching the Elbe, had 35,000 men less than when he crossed the Saale—a proof of the bad moral of his army.

Early on May 4 Napoleon pressed on with the main army towards Dresden, while Ney with an auxiliary force operated on the left. The pursuit, however, was not effective; it was not till a week later that the French occupied Dresden-Neustadt. Meanwhile Ney pushed back the Prussians under Billow; and, at Napoleon’s bidding, the Saxon fortress of Torgau surrendered. The Allies were in bad case. Each laid the blame of their defeat on the other. The Prussians were for pressing northwards to guard Berlin ; the Russians for marching eastwards to Breslau, in order to remain near to Russia and Austria. The armies were about to separate, when Frederick William, knowing this would be fatal, gave in. Leaving the defence of Berlin to Bulow’s weak corps, the combined forces slowly moved to Bautzen, and took up a position on the heights behind that town, where they were joined by Barclay with 13,000 men. Napoleon remained in Dresden till the 17th to strengthen and organise his army. His main force amounted finally to 120,000, Ney’s army to 85,000; the army of the lower Elbe under Davout numbered 30,000. Against these forces the Allies, with Bulow s corps, could only muster 110,000 men.

Napoleon, on being informed of the movements of the Allies, determined to attack and defeat them in conjunction with Ney. His troops advanced cautiously towards Bautzen, until it became clear that the Allies intended to accept battle there. On May 19 the French main army deployed west and north-west of Bautzen, with the Spree in their front. Ney was on the march with two corps, his object being to turn the Allied right. Wittgenstein, unaware that Ney had more than one corps, planned to attack him unexpectedly with the forces under Barclay and York. Soon after 1 p.m. the fight began. During its course, Barclay committed the blunder of first ordering York to abandon his position, and then bidding him resume it. This second advance led to a fierce straggle, which lasted, with varying fortunes, till 11 p.m. The attempted surprise had failed; and during the night the Russians and Prussians fell back on the main body.

The position of the Allies was now as follows. In front of them flowed the Spree, as yet a shallow stream, its banks crowned in the centre by the town of Bautzen. Their main force rested on the heights above the town, while their advanced posts reached to the Spree. They numbered 92,000 men, including 30,000 Prussians. Gortchakoff’s Russians were on the left, Blucher in the centre, and Barclay on the right wing; the Russian Guard formed the reserve. The position was a strong one, but too extensive, and it was broken up into three ill- connected portions; moreover the ground was unfavourable for cavalry. The weakest point was on the right, which was incompletely covered. This was the very point that was threatened by Ney.

At noon on May 20 Napoleon crossed the Spree and attacked the Allies¹ advanced posts, in order to prevent them from withdrawing on the approach of Ney. He shrewdly aimed at deferring the decision until the next day, when his second army would come into action. By nightfall Bautzen and the ground in front of it were won from the Allies. The Russian left wing appeared to be seriously threatened; whereupon 4000 men of the reserve were sent to its relief. Napoleon’s plan for the 21st was admirably conceived. At daybreak a fierce attack was made on Gortchakoff’s division; and Nev speedily followed suit on the right. Supposing that the issue would be decided on the left, Alexander sent thither another 5000 of the Guard, thus reducing the reserve at the very outset to 6000 men. Napoleon’s tactics were entirely successful on the Allied left, where the Russians were fully occupied till evening. He was equally triumphant on the right. Here the Russians had to meet the enveloping attack of Ney’s superior force; they received no reinforcements, and were pushed back in spite of a fierce resistance. Finally Blucher was forced to intervene in order to wrest the important position of Preititz from the French. It was now midday. Napoleon’s centre began to move. The Prussians made a desperate but ineffectual defence; their right was turned. Meanwhile Ney’s force had increased to 45,000 men. In full strength he hurled himself upon Preititz, took it, and, attacking Blucher in front and flank, forced him to retire. Had Ney continued his advance against the Prussians, they would have been destroyed; but he failed to grasp the situation. Part of the centre still held its ground firmly; and thus Blucher gained time to extricate himself from his perilous position. The French, however, again made a general advance, and the Allies withdrew from the field. They retreated in good order, without losing a single gun. The losses during the three days amounted to about 20,000 on both sides. A second time Napoleon had conquered, but again the victory was indecisive.

Still fighting, the Allies slowly retired, protected by their powerful cavalry. Almost daily there was fierce rear-guard fighting. It was evident that from a military point of view the Allies were still strong; on the other hand, in the field of diplomacy they showed a deplorable lack of unanimity Wittgenstein was now replaced by Barclay, who was disinclined to risk another battle and advised the abandonment of Silesia, if necessary, and a retreat to Poland. The Prussians, on the other hand, were for defending Silesia and remaining in the neighbourhood of the Austrian army. Alexander was won over to this plan. The army swung round to the north-east, and on the 30th took its stand on the heights of Pilsen, not far from Schweidnitz. The northern provinces of Prussia were thus abandoned to the enemy.

Elsewhere the successes of the French were slight. Generals and troops were dispirited by the unbroken strain and fruitless fighting with an enemy ready at any moment to fall upon them with its superior cavalry. Ney, in a fit of ill-temper, actually sent in his resignation. The French advanced but slowly; and so firmly did the Allies maintain their ground that Bertrand and Macdonald even fell back. Napoleon despatched one division to Breslau and another, under Oudinot, to Berlin. Bulow had mustered 30,000 men, including a large body of militia, for the defence of the capital. Supposing that he had a small force to deal with, he attacked Oudinot on the 28th, but was repulsed. Victor also now turned northwards. If Oudinot had made an energetic advance, it would have gone hardly with the Prussians; but his slowness allowed Bulow to take up a strong position at Luckau, where he re­pulsed Oudinot with the loss of 2000 men.

The French had better luck on the lower Elbe under the cautious Davout. That district was to have been defended by the Russian general Wallmoden; but he was inadequately supported, and, finding the Danish forces on the enemy’s side, he abandoned Hamburg, which the French reoccupied on May 30. But risings in the rear of the French constantly imperilled their communications; Prussian and Russian partisans scoured the country beyond Halberstadt; and on June 7 a body of 6000 men actually penetrated into Leipzig.

On the other hand, Napoleon, whose main army now extended over a front some 28 miles long, threatened the allied line of retreat with his left wing. The position of the Allies was bad; they were in danger of being forced back upon Austrian territory. But suddenly there came a complete change. So early as May 18 Napoleon had despatched General Caulaincourt to Alexander to treat for peace. On June 1 it was agreed, through Austria’s mediation, to suspend operations on the morrow for thirty-six hours. Finally, on June 4, at Plaswitz, the Powers consented to an armistice to last till July 20, a period afterwards prolonged for another month.

The question arises: What were the causes that led to the armistice? Napoleon has indicated two—his want of cavalry and the doubtful attitude of Austria. Evidently he overestimated the strength of Austria, or did not realise the deplorable condition of. the allied forces. His own troops had proved insufficiently trained; though he had won two victories, he had lost 25.000 men more than his opponents, and he had 30,000 men in hospital. His ammunition was exhausted, his com­missariat inadequate; guerrilla bands harassed his communications : and. worst of all, his marshals desired peace. An armistice, Napoleon hoped, would give him time to complete and reorganise his army, to win back Austria, and possibly to divide Russia and Prussia.

But the Allies were in still worse case. Their numbers had sunk very low: they suffered all manner of want; the Russian and Prussian commanders were always at odds. The long retreat, the incessant fighting, and the want of supplies, had weakened the discipline of the troops; they had been driven back almost to the frontier; the hopes of defeating a Napoleon were almost at an end. There could be no question that rest was far more necessary for the Allies than for the French, who, with one supreme effort, might possibly have touched their goal. If, nevertheless, Napoleon concluded an armistice, this proves that he was no longer the general he had been, that he no longer possessed that confidence and iron will which had riveted victory to his banners. The Armistice of Plaswitz was one of the gravest errors of his life; its acceptance sealed the preliminary conditions of his fall.

The armistice was not the prelude of peace, but a season of preparation for the decisive campaign. On both sides the work was carried forward with the greatest zeal. The Allies succeeded in winning over Sweden and the Crown Prince with the promise that his army should be reinforced by strong Russian and Prussian contingents. To arrange with England was more difficult, for Anglo-Prussian relations were traversed by Guelph interests in Hanover; nevertheless British subsidies were sent. The most important Power to gain was Austria. Metternich had kept up relations both with the Allies and with France. He was aware of Napoleon’s pretensions, but was not anxious to see Russia’s position made too strong; it was to the advantage of Austria that both Powers should be confined within their natural limits. This end he tried to gain by intervention, with a view to ending the war. On June 7 he proposed certain definite bases of peace, to which the Treaty of Reichenbach, made during the armistice, added the important undertaking that, if the conditions therein laid down were not accepted by July 20, Austria would declare war on France.

The proposals made by Austria were that the grand-duchy of Warsaw and the Confederation of the Rhine should be abolished ; that the Illyrian provinces should be restored to Austria: that the Hanse Towns and other portions of northern Germany annexed in 1810 should be restored; and that Prussia should be replaced in a position as good as that which she had in 1805. These terms were by no means unfavourable to Napoleon; but he could not bring himself to renounce his dream of universal sovereignty. Even the disastrous defeat of Vittoria (June, 1813), 522 Austria joins the alliance. Allied forces and plans. [1813 while it encouraged the Allies, could not break down his obstinacy. Metternich finally sent an ultimatum, fixing August 10 as the limit of time for Napoleon’s reply. On the 12th Austria declared war. It was well for Europe that Napoleon’s ambition allowed no change of conditions at the crucial moment. At the head of a powerful army he still hoped to defeat a loose coalition.

Nobody was more pleased with the turn of events than the Prussian and German patriots, inspired as they were by a profound and passionate resolve. Speaking of this time, at St Helena, Napoleon said, “ I saw the decisive hour drawing near; my star waned; and I felt the reins slipping from my hands.” Military preparations were pressed forward. On the renewal of war, the whole force of Prussia amounted to 271,000 men; and that number was raised to 300,000 in the course of the year. It was indeed a nation in arms.

The Russian field-army now numbered 184,123 men and 639 guns; the Prussian 161,764 men and 362 guns; the Austrian 127,345 men and 290 guns; the Swedes, the Anglo-Germans, and the Mecklenburgers, 38,871 men, and 90 guns—in all 512,103 men and 1381 guns. If to these are added the reserves and the available Austrian troops in Italy, amounting to 350,000 men, we have a total of 860,000 combatants. But Napoleon, on his side, had summoned the strength of France and the Rheinbund to his camps in Saxony, Silesia, and the Mark, to the number of nearly 700,000 men—a large part, it is true, being unservice­able recruits. Both armies presented a strange mixture of nationalities, but Napoleon’s troops were all drilled on the French system ; they were armed alike; and, excepting the Rheinbund troops, were mostly commanded by French officers. The French had the advantage in the military experience of their senior officers; their artillery also was superior, but their cavalry was inferior to that of the Allies. Lastly, the French were guided by one sole will, while the Allies were crippled by divided command and divergence of interests.

Various plans of operations were discussed by the Allies. Eventually a scheme, the so-called Reichenbach plan, was accepted by Russia, Prussia, and Sweden, and subsequently by Austria. Its purport was that three armies should be formed, the largest, known as the main army, in Bohemia, under Austrian command; the second, about 120,000 men, in the Mark, under the Crown Prince Bernadotte; and a third, of 50,000 men, under Prussian command, in Silesia. They were only to accept battle if their superiority were undoubted. If the enemy en masse should attack one of the armies, it was to retreat while the other two advanced quickly, with a view to pressing hard upon his flanks and communications. The whole plan proved that the Allies did not dare to close with so great a strategist as their opponent.

Napoleon was expected to begin the attack in Bohemia. He deferred the formation of a plan till the last moment. Then he determined to adopt the line of the Elbe and its fortresses as his base; to retain 300,000 men, facing east and south, to watch the enemy’s movements in Saxony and Silesia; and to despatch 110,000 to attack Berlin and the Swedish Crown Prince. Napoleon thus abandoned all idea of a rapid offensive, and allowed himself to be seduced, apparently by hatred of his late marshal and of the Prussian capital, into a side movement which could lead to nothing decisive. The youthful conqueror of Marengo would have acted very differently.

The Russian and Prussian troops succeeded in joining the Austrians before the termination of the armistice, thus bringing up the army in Bohemia to a total of 254,000 men with 692 guns. The chief command was given to Prince Karl von Schwarzenberg. The three sovereigns were at his head-quarters; and, as he acted with their consent, he possessed a certain authority over both the other armies. Schwarzenberg was a man of honour and devoted to duty, but he had neither self-confidence nor talent for supreme command; and his generalship was over-cautious, dilatory, and uncertain. This led the self-satisfied Alexander to interfere not unfrequently in an arbitrary manner; and many others put in their word. It was under these conditions that a Council of War was held on August 17, by which it was determined to advance with three columns upon Leipzig. But as Dresden, not Leipzig, was the decisive point, this meant losing touch with the army of Silesia, and giving the enemy a chance to invade Bohemia.

On August 22 Schwarzenberg crossed the frontier of Saxony and occupied the Erzgebirge, then turned towards Dresden. To his astonish­ment he met with no serious resistance, for Napoleon, with the Guards, had marched off to attack Blucher. Dresden was covered only by Saint-Cyr’s corps; and, if Schwarzenberg had pushed on with speed and resolution, the Saxon capital must have fallen. But he was half-hearted; and it was not until the afternoon of the 25th that the Allies, to the number of 80,000, stood before the gates of Dresden. Even then they did not attack at once, thinking they had plenty of time; and yet the defenders could already see the camp-fires of the approaching French. The favourable moment had passed. Napoleon was at first badly in­formed as to the movements of his opponents, and supposed their main forces to be in Silesia. He hesitated for a time, but finally decided to advance into Silesia with 180,000 men, to beat the Silesian army, and to return to Dresden in time to prevent its fall.

After the departure of the Russian and Prussian divisions, the forces which remained in Silesia, near Breslau, consisted of a Prussian corps of 38,000 men under York, and three Russian corps numbering 66,500, about 105,000 men in all, with 339 guns. They were commanded by Blucher, a very different man from Schwarzenberg. A good tactician, but ignorant of strategy, he passionately hated Napoleon, and was probably the only general who did not fear him. Scharnhorst having died from the effects of a wound, his place as BlÜcher's adviser was taken by Gneisenau, a far-seeing, courageous, and talented man, who, by much study of Napoleon’s campaigns, established the principles of the modem art of war. The higher Russian officers, especially Langeron, were mostly lukewarm; Sacken, though brave and impetuous, was inclined to insubordination. Unfortunately, too, the self-willed, egotistical York was on bad terms both with Blucher and with Gneisenau. It was only the common purpose and the firm and prudent conduct of Blucher that kept together these conflicting forces.

The struggle in Silesia was severe. On August 18 Macdonald was forced to abandon the line of the Katzbach; and the French army of the Bober, though numerically superior, was pressed back. Three days later Napoleon arrived, at once took the offensive, and repulsed the Allies with the loss of 2000 men. Blucher instantly perceived whom he had to deal with, and therefore retreated, according to the general plan of campaign, but so as to keep close to the enemy. By the 23rd the French onset grew weaker; and BlÜcher supposed they had given up the pursuit. As a matter of fact, they were advancing all along the line; they repulsed the Allies in three successive fights, and continued their forward movement on the following day.

The situation of the Silesian army was now very serious. Provisions, equipment, and clothing were insufficient; the troops were tired out; in spite of great sacrifices they were unable to hold their ground. BlÜcher feared that his army would be destroyed piecemeal, and determined to try the desperate remedy of a pitched battle. On August 23 Napoleon had hurried back to Dresden with a portion of his army, handing over the command of the remaining troops to Macdonald. The Marshal despatched 34,000 men in a side direction, and crossed the Katzbach and the Neisse with 67,000 men, intending to fall upon Blucher’s flank. As the Prussians also advanced, the two armies came unexpectedly into collision. In consequence of the heavy rain the river Neisse was running bank-high. The French crossed the swollen torrent, and climbed up the steep right bank. Falling into disorder, they were attacked by York’s corps at close quarters before they could gain a foothold on the plateau. A fierce fight ensued; the Prussian cavalry were forced to give way, but the Russian squadrons broke through the French flank and rear and decided the battle. The French cavalry were flung back upon their own infantry; and the whole force was driven in confusion down the hollow lanes and precipitous slopes. Prussian batteries placed on the edge of the plateau fired into the disorganised masses hemmed in by the torrent below. Darkness alone put an end to the work of destruction.

The French were beaten, but it was only their centre that had been engaged on the high ground; their left wing had not come up. It was the pursuit which turned the partial into a decisive defeat. The French were hampered in their retirement by the rivers; their retreat became a rout. The Prussians also suffered terribly owing to the weather; hunger and want of clothing and ammunition hindered the pursuit. On the 29th Macdonald crossed the Bober; finally, after another fierce fight at Bunzlau, the river Queiss separated the two armies.

BlÜcher now received the news of Napoleon's victory at Dresden (August 26-27). Fearing that the Emperor would hasten to relieve the army of the Bober, the Prussian general left his main army on the Queiss, and with his van-guard only pressed on Macdonald, who at last succeeded in concentrating his army at Gorlitz. On September 1 Blucher was able to report that Silesia was free, and that 103 guns, 250 ammunition waggons, and 18,000 prisoners had been taken. If Prussian generalship had not yet attained its full perfection, it had already demonstrated its cardinal principles—reckless employment of all forces, cooperation of all branches of the service, energetic use of cavalry, and strenuous pursuit.

We turn now to the army of the north, which consisted of 119,000 Prussians, Russians, and Swedes, under the command of Bernadotte, together with Tauenzien’s 4th Prussian corps, which, after deducting the garrison troops, comprised 33,000 men for action in the field. Tauenzien was independent, but he was directed to keep in touch with the Crown Prince, whose main forces consisted of Bulow’s Prussian corps of 38,000 men. Napoleon had appointed three divisions of his army to act against the army of the north—the Berlin army under Oudinot, with 63,000 men; Girard’s intermediate corps, with 13,500; and the army of the lower Elbe, about 35,000 men, under Davout.

The Crown Prince of Sweden had his political as well as his military ends; he was cunning, reserved, and untrustworthy; as a soldier, lie was a mixture of capacity and incapacity; moreover, fear of Napoleon, his former master in warfare, made him downright cowardly. Of his generals, Bülow, a clear-headed, enterprising commander, though self-willed and difficult to manage, was by far the most notable. The conflicting views of the Crown Prince and the Prussian generals were apparent from the first. Bernadotte certainly wished to cover Berlin; but he preferred retiring behind the shelter of the Havel and the Spree to being beaten by Napoleon. For the Prussians the defence of Berlin was the main point. They desired, therefore, if it must be, to leave their bones to bleach before and not behind the capital. But, as there seemed no serious risk in delay, the Crown Prince also remained in the south, until he received news on August 17 that the army of Oudinot, then in process of concentration, was all he had in front of him.

Napoleon was busy with Blucher and Schwarzenberg; but, as he stood in need of a moral success, lie ordered Oudinot to break through the combined army of the north and occupy Berlin. On August 21 the Marshal began to advance, and after two days’ fighting succeeded in passing the defiles and marshes of the Nuthe. The chief difficulty was overcome; and Oudinot, believing that he would meet with no serious resistance till he reached Berlin, continued his march in three divided columns. But things fell out otherwise. Bernadotte resolved to attack him with his whole army, while Tauenzien engaged the French right wing. Oudinot’s right therefore came into collision with the Prussians at Blankenfeld, and was repulsed. In the centre Reynier was victorious at Gross-Beeren, after which he imprudently bivouacked. Hardly were his troops encamped when Prussian shells burst suddenly in their midst. Billow had heard the sound of fighting. He first advanced his guns, the infantry taking up a position behind them. The village of Gross-Beeren and the windmill hill were stormed. A French counter-attack failed. Reynier was forced to give way ; the support of the left French column came too late; and Oudinot was forced to retire with the loss of 3000 men. Berlin was saved.

Unfortunately the pursuit was weak, partly through Bernadotte’s fault, partly through Bulow’s. The Crown Prince was hampered by his fear both of a renewed attack by Napoleon on his front and of a flank attack from a corps on his right. This was not, as Bernadotte supposed, Davout’s army, but Girard’s division, which on the 27th was encamped, about 9000 strong, at Hagelsberg, not far from Belzig. Against it the Crown Prince despatched the Prussian general Hirschfeld, with 12,000 men, all militia. He succeeded in surprising Girard, and all but annihilated his division. Only six battalions got away.

Meanwhile the main army of the Allies was drawn up before the Saxon capital, garrisoned by Saint-Cyr with only three divisions. Napoleon was approaching to its relief. Had the Allies made a comprehensive and energetic attack, they might have taken the place. Fighting actually began early on August 26, but was carried on in so slack and disconnected a fashion that Saint-Cyr was able to hold out till the arrival of reinforcements. Napoleon had been in Dresden since 9 a.m. He halted by the bridge over the Elbe and directed the reinforcements to their places as they came up. By 5 p.m. all his infantry had reached the left bank. He had despatched General Vandamme with a strong corps to Pirna, there to cross the Elbe and embarrass the retreat of the Allies. Meanwhile it was decided at headquarters to cease fighting; but, as Schwarzenberg gave no orders to that effect, the battle blazed out afresh about 4 p.m. The defeat of the Allies was a foregone conclusion. Their front was nearly two miles long: and there was on their side no unity of generalship, no connected movement, no clear aim. On the other side there was sound generalship, masterly use of the ground, the capacity to seize the decisive moment. When the Allies were worn out, the French began to attack. By nightfall the Allies had gained nothing, but, rather, had lost ground ; while Napoleon, on the other hand, had deployed all his forces and prepared for a steady advance.

The Allies were still 140,000 strong, and the next day were reinforced by 20,000, while Napoleon had only 120,000 men. But this numerical superiority was more than cancelled by the moral depression of the one side and the exaltation of the other. The Council of War, chiefly influenced by the King of Prussia, decided to stand firm the next day. Napoleon planned a comprehensive attack on both of the enemy’s wings, in order to drive Schwarzenberg into the difficult mountain country. This operation was facilitated by the fact that the left wing, 24,000 strong, was divided from the main army by the valley of Plauen. Meanwhile Vandamme had arrived at Pirna. At 7 a.m. on the 27th the French began to advance; and before long a fierce fight was raging. At 3 p.m. the allied left was completely beaten. Till then Schwarzenberg had held his ground, but now the defeat of his left wing began to tell. Schwarzenberg announced that want of the barest necessities compelled the Austrian army to retreat into Bohemia—a resolution which decided the fate of his allies. The retreat was to be made in three columns, the easterly consisting of the Russian and Prussian divisions, which were to move by Dohna to Teplitz the other two of Austrian troops. Accordingly, as circumstances permitted, the troops left the field. The losses of the Allies on the 27th amounted to 25,090 men, besides from 5000 to 6000 lost in the retreat. General Moreau, who had joined the Tsar, was killed in the battle.

On a pitch-dark night, amid torrents of rain, over rough and obstructed roads, marched the dense masses of the main army, fatigued, starving, and dejected. Under a hot pursuit their destruction would have been certain, especially that of the eastern column, which had been ordered to take the Pima road, already, in all likelihood, occupied by Vandamme. When Napoleon heard next day of the retreat, he deter­mined on an energetic pursuit. His first idea was to get ahead of the enemy with a strong force on the Pima road : subsequently he trans­ferred his main strength westward, where Murat was to fall upon the Austrians in flank and rear. Vandamme was to continue his march upon Teplitz. On the 28th, his advanced troops came up with the Russian rear-guard at Peterswald; the latter, however, held their ground till the whole column set out for Nollendorf. Fierce rear-guard actions were fought, first at Nollendorf, and later at Kulm, which enabled the French to debouch from the hill country.

At this point the Russian general Ostermann received a letter from the King of Prussia, describing the perilous position of the main army with the Emperor Alexander, and requesting him to hold back the enemy. Seizing the last sheltered position, Ostermann risked the unequal combat. Meanwhile the King sent his adjutants in all directions to gather troops for the relief of the main army; and Alexander adopted a similar course. They hoped to collect by the next day (August 30) a force sufficient to check Vandamme's impetuous advance. In the interval, Ostermann, with his 15,000 men, was thrown on his own resources. In front of the Russians was the village of Priesten. The battle, which began about 10 a.m., grew hotter as the French forces increased. Three times Priesten was taken and lost. When, late in the afternoon, Vandamme advanced to the decisive attack, Duke Eugene of Wurtemberg hurled the cavalry against his flank. The French advance was checked, but they hoped to renew it next day with large reinforcements, for Vandamme believed that either Saint-Cyr or Mortier was ready to support him. More than 6000 Russians had fallen, but they had gloriously discharged their task. Strong reinforcements poured in, until the Allies could muster 50,000 men. A counter-attack was planned for the following day. Grave anxiety was felt for Kleist’s Prussian corps, which was still entangled in the hill country behind. But this very circumstance might be turned to advantage. Kleist was ordered so to direct his movement as to fall on Vandamme’s rear. In compliance with these instructions, and also because his own retreat was cut off, Kleist turned eastwards and took the same road by which the enemy had advanced before him.

Vandamme now stood before Kulm across the road, with his right wing resting on the high ground. The Allies resolved to throw their superior forces on his left and drive him up against the hills. If Kleist came up in time from Nollendorf in Vandamme’s rear, he would be sur­rounded on three sides. The battle began early on August 30. In spite of a stubborn resistance the Austrians were already succeeding in their aim when the sound of Kleist’s guns was heard. Having reached the heights of Nollendorf, he fell upon a French detachment between that place and Kulm, and brought his artillery into play. Recognising the dangerous nature of his position, Vandamme at once determined to unite all his forces at Kulm, and, if possible, break through the Prussian lines. But now the Russians and Austrians pressed forward. Before long all was in confusion, and at Kulm two French divisions laid down their arms. Meanwhile the main French force hurled itself upon the Prussians, and with the fury of despair swept three brigades out of their path; but, rushing forward in confusion, they encountered a fourth Prussian brigade, which completed their destruction.

Vandamme’s division was almost wiped out; 10,000 prisoners fell into the hands of the Allies, including Vandamme himself. The fact is that Napoleon had left him in the lurch. He had mistaken the direction taken by the enemy, and, when he ascertained the truth, he had delayed to send speedy help. The battle of Kulm marks a turning-point in the campaign; it cancelled Napoleon’s victory at Dresden and completed the effects of the reverses at Gross-Beeren and the Katzbach, to which indeed that of Kulm was partly due. At Kulm, for the first time, the com­bined efforts of the three allied nations had won a victory. Even the despondent Schwarzenberg began to hope; and Metternich finally broke off his secret relations with Napoleon.

Napoleon himself began to hesitate. He abandoned the Napoleonic method, which consisted in dealing rapid and crushing blows. He had, by his delay, forfeited the overwhelming success which a relentless pursuit of the allied army would have attained; now he thought of advancing again upon Berlin, but, as he dared not move so far from Dresden, he sent Nev instead. He himself meant to take up a central position near Hoyerswerda, which would enable him to fall upon Blucher’s right flank, to support Ney, and to cover Dresden. On September 3 he received news of the disaster that had befallen Macdonald, whereupon he advanced against Blucher; but the latter again withdrew beyond his reach. At the same time the Emperor received news that the army of Bohemia was again on the march, while his own troops were in extremity from hunger and want. He therefore abandoned his pursuit of Blucher and hurried back to Dresden, which he entered on the 6th. Meanwhile Saint-Cyr had yielded slowly to superior numbers. Napoleon reached the front on the 8th, and attacked and repulsed the enemy. The situation seemed to be improving, when news arrived of fresh disaster, the defeat of Ney at Dennewitz. Napoleon appeared to take it calmly, but he sent secret instructions to the Minister of War in Paris to take measures for the defence of the French frontiers.

Ney had had orders to move towards Juterbog on September 4, so as to attack Berlin in conjunction with the Emperor on the 9th or 10th. He found the French army, about 58,000 strong, on the right bank of the Elbe, in evil case; and he had no precise information as to the enemy. In obedience to his orders he set out on the 5th, and drove the Prussians under Tauenzien back upon Juterbog. Billow was further west; but in the night he moved eastward, and, unknown to the enemy, encamped within two miles of him. Early on the 6th, Tauenzien marched to join BÜlow with 9000 men, when he observed the French approaching, and took up a position on the high ground north of Dennewitz. Ney, not expecting any serious combat that day, had made no reconnaissances. His three corps set out at different times, and consequently arrived at long intervals on the battlefield.

The country near Dennewitz is a lofty table-land, intersected from west to east by the Ahebach, whose marshy banks could only be crossed by bridges at Dennewitz and Rohrbach. The rivulet thus cut across the French line of advance and divided the battlefield into two parts. When Bertrand had got past Dennewitz, he attacked Tauenzien, and after an hour’s fighting compelled him to give way. A cavalry charge temporarily relieved the pressure, and gave Billow time to throw himself on the French right. BÜlow’s first advance was repulsed, but, as fresh reinforcements appeared, he succeeded in gaining possession of the monument hill, an important point, and occupied it with 34 guns. The French line of battle was thus forced in a westerly direction, so that its centre now rested on the village of Dennewitz. The Prussian left now advanced, and after a fierce confiict drove Bertrand to retreat. Meanwhile Reynier’s corps came into aetion on the French left between Dennewitz and Gohlsdorf; Oudinot eame up later, and faced Borstell’s division, which had joined the Prussian line on the other side of Gohlsdorf. The French were now in overwhelming superiority; they recovered Gohlsdorf; and, as the Crown Prince was still two miles away, the battle was apparently won.

Ney, however, threw away his ehance. Failing to perceive that the decisive point was to the south, he ordered Oudinot to reinforce the troops on the northern bank of the stream. Oudinot obeyed, and withdrew his men from the front. At this moment the Prussians threw themselves in force upon Gohlsdorf, took it after a desperate struggle, and captured also the commanding position of the windmill hill. Reynier and Bertrand were now forced to abandon their positions; and Ney failed in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy’s lines. The arrival of reinforcements from the Crown Prince crushed the last efforts at resistance. Darkness and exhaustion put an end to the pursuit. The Prussian losses amounted to more than 10,000 men; the French lost 22,000 men and 53 guns.

The defeat at Dennewitz prevented the French army of the north from prosecuting the attack on Berlin, while it placed the Crown Prince in a position to molest the Emperor’s combinations—an opportunity which he neglected to use. It was Blucher’s flank march to the middle Elbe which brought about a turn of the tide. Further north, the course of the campaign was influenced by the reverses at Gross-Beeren and Dennewitz. In that quarter Davout commanded an army neither numerically formidable nor otherwise trustworthy. Napoleon had in­tended that Oudinot and Davout should simultaneously advance upon Berlin, the former from the south, the latter from the north. But the course of events had condemned Davout to comparative inactivity; and Oudinot’s defeat had forced him to withdraw further from Hamburg. Wallmoden was therefore able to cross the Elbe, and, defeating a French division on the Gohrde, to overrun Hanover. Hamburg became an isolated outpost.

We left Napoleon in the Erzgebirge, where tidings readied him of Ney’s defeat. He determined at first to continue his advance towards Bohemia, but subsequently, fearing to move too far from Dresden, he returned thither, directing Saint-Cyr to hold the crest of the Erzgebirge. Since the recommencement of hostilities, the Emperor had lost nearly 150,000 men, 300 guns, and an immense quantity of war materials. His communications were constantly disturbed by roving bands. It was almost impossible to provision his army; the hospitals were full to overflowing; the courage and efficiency of his troops diminished daily. The Emperor no longer attempted great enterprises; he restricted himself to taking advantages of the enemy’s mistakes, while he himself committed the grave blunder of clinging obstinately to Dresden, though his position there had become untenable.

The army of Bohemia was equally inactive. For some time no important movements took place. After the defeat at Dresden, it was considered desirable to withdraw Blucher from Silesia to Bohemia; and on September 11 orders were actually sent him to that effect. Fortunately, however, he remained in Silesia; and, with Saint-Cyr’s retreat to the crest of the Erzgebirge, the situation changed. Nevertheless, in spite of their numerical superiority, the Allies were still unwilling to come to close quarters, and attempted only minor operations. Hope lay rather with Blucher and the army of the north. Eventually the Prussian general succeeded in urging the Crown Prince, and finally the main army, to more energetic measures.

Napoleon found himself half surrounded by superior forces, which, with the army of Poland, amounted to 450,000 men. His position becoming increasingly critical, he finally abandoned the right bank of the Elbe, and drew up his army in a bent line, facing east along the river from Meissen to Konigstein, and south from the Erzgebirge to Freiberg. Hearing that the army of Bohemia was at last inarching to the north-west, towards Chemnitz and Leipzig—a plan which had more than once been taken up previously and dropped—he was in hopes that he would now be able to attack it, when news came that part of the army of Silesia was on the march. He expected an attack on Dresden, and discovered too late that Blucher had crossed the Elbe.

On September 3, Napoleon, abandoning his advance against Bohemia, had turned against Blucher, whose main force was at Gorlitz. Blucher received early information of the danger, and retired during the night. The Emperor reached Gorlitz, but returned to Dresden. Blucher now again advanced, and drove back Macdonald beyond Bautzen, but, with Napoleon so near him, did not feel equal to an energetic attack. He decided to await Bennigsen’s arrival, and then to push forward rapidly, and cross the Elbe between Torgau and Wittenberg. Bennigsen, with the army of Poland, at length reached Bohemia unobserved. The numerical superiority of the Allies was now such that a decisive battle became inevitable; but, as Schwarzenberg and the Crown Prince still hesitated, Blucher decided to force their hand. Leaving one corps to cover Silesia, he marched westward on the 26th. The Crown Prince declared himself ready to cross the Elbe with him, and restored the bridge over that river near the village of Elster. On hearing of this, Ney despatched Bertrand to Wartenburg, a town on the left bank of the Elbe opposite to Elster. Bertrand here assembled his whole corps, about 14,000 men, with 32 guns, in a position rendered almost impregnable by the surrounding marshes and water. An attack was only possible on the extreme right by the village of Bleddin. Bertrand, unaware that he had the army of Silesia in front of him, garrisoned this place with only 1500 men and six guns. With great difficulty the Allies succeeded in breaking through at this point, while the main French force was held fast at Wartenburg. The Prussians suffered fearful losses ; one battalion was reduced to sixty men. Bleddin taken, Blüeher gave orders to attack Wartenburg from this point. The Prussian divisions forced their way through water and morass into the French positions. Other divisions now advanced from different sides; and Bertrand was forced to beat a hasty retreat with heavy loss. The passage of the Elbe was accomplished. From the strategical point of view it was the most eventful action of the campaign.

The situation was completely changed by the simultaneous advance of two allied armies upon Leipzig, one from the north, the other from the south. Their object was to combine, Napoleon’s to frustrate their combination by defeating them singly. He had still 267,000 men; but he was obliged to divide his forces, employing the larger half for the attack, the smaller for the defence. In spite of this division, his offensive force was still a match for either of the hostile armies. He determined to hold Dresden and its environs with Saint-Cyr’s corps alone, and himself to advance with 160,000 men against Blucher and the Crown Prince, while the King of Naples was to hold up the slowly advancing array of Bohemia. After defeating the armies of the north, the Emperor intended to join Murat by way of Leipzig, and to crush Schwarzenberg.

On October 5 Napoleon set out against Blucher. He advanced to the district between the Mulde and the Elbe, while the Crown Prince crossed the Elbe near Dessau and inarched cautiously for a short distance along the left bank of the Mulde. On the 9th, near Duben, Napoleon almost caught the army of Silesia, which hardly succeeded in evading the attack of his immensely superior forces by falling back on the Crown Prince. Napoleon found himself in painful perplexity; he knew nothing of the enemy’s designs; he received bad news from Murat and Saint-Cyr. On the other side Blucher and the Crown Prince were at variance. Bernadotte was anxious to avoid fighting, and preferred to take shelter behind the Saale ; Blucher, on the other hand, wished to approach the army of Bohemia, to march on Leipzig, and, in combi­nation with the Crown Prince, to risk a battle. Eventually, nothing was left for Blucher but to cross the Saale at Halle. In his new position he confronted the French, with the Crown Prince behind him.

Meanwhile a French detachment crossed the Elbe at Wittenberg, dispersed the Prussians besieging that place, and took Dessau. The Emperor hoped that this movement would force the Crown Prince to withdraw to the right bank of the Elbe, leaving him free to fall upon the army of Bohemia with 200,000 men. But, learning that Blucher was still at Halle, and that the retreat of the Crown Prince was doubtful, he made up his mind that the time had come to concentrate his forces at Leipzig. The troops which had crossed the Elbe were therefore ordered to seize the bridges over that river, and then to march upon Leipzig, whither the French divisions on the left bank of the Elbe had already begun to move. The French occupation of Dessau had a depressing effect on the Crown Prince. Blucher begged him to march straight upon Leipzig; but he preferred a junction at Halle. Finally, on October 15, in accordance with orders received from head-quarters, the army of Silesia set out alone, following the right bank of the Elster in the direction of Leipzig.

Napoleon had hoped, by taking advantage of the inner lines, to beat the allied armies singly before they could effect a combination. But his design had failed; it was he who in the end was compelled to fall back on Leipzig, while the Allies pressed forward against it from the north and south. We left the army of Bohemia on the borders of Saxony. When joined by the army of Poland it numbered 240,000 men. But Schwarzenberg was incapable of an energetic offensive. Leaving Bennigsen and Colloredo to guard Bohemia, he commenced his north­westerly march on September 26; but his measures were so undecided and dilatory that he did not reach Altenburg till October 14. Nothing went right. Though the cavalry were exceptionally strong, they were not sent forward, but kept in the rear; the divisions continually fell into disorder; above all, Schwarzenberg dreaded an encounter with Napoleon, and endeavoured rather to manoeuvre the enemy out of Saxony. Such a scheme was foredoomed to failure. In spite of his great numerical superiority, he failed to tear asunder the veil which Napoleon had drawn over his operations against the northern army, and did nothing to hinder its eventual defeat. It was entirely owing to Blucher that, on October 14, the three allied armies were near enough together to be able to plan a combined attack for the 16th. Murat commanded the forces operating against the main army, but had only three weak corps at his disposal. Nothing but his own boldness and the enemy’s indecision enabled him to hold Schwarzenberg in check, and thus give the Emperor time to engage Blucher and Bernadotte.

On the 13th news was received at head-quarters of the conclusion of a treaty with Bavaria, also a despatch from Blucher saying that he was at Halle, with the Crown Prince in his neighbourhood. The despatch ended with these words: “ The three armies are now so close together that a simultaneous attack, on the point where the enemy has concentrated his forces, might be undertaken.” BlÜcher proved himself, now as ever, the propelling power. Schwarzenberg, however, could not make up his mind to any comprehensive movement against Leipzig, but persisted in his endeavour to avoid an encounter with Napoleon, with which aim he pushed his army a little to the left—a movement which would either have enabled the enemy, with superior numbers, to attack the allied forces separately, or to withdraw in time before being surrounded. At this point Russian influence intervened, and effected a combined movement upon Leipzig. Unfortunately it was carried out in three sections, on the right of the Pleisse, between the Pleisse and the Elster, and on the left of the Elster. Wittgenstein was to make a reconnaissance in force; and this led, on the 14th, to an engagement at Liebertwolkwitz, the greatest cavalry fight of the campaign.

Murat had at his disposal about 32,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 156 guns. These he posted on hilly ground south of Leipzig, his left resting on Liebertwolkwitz, his centre on Wachau, and his right on Markkleeberg. The range commanded the country stretching south, its highest point being the Galgenberg, between Liebertwolkwitz and Wachau. It thus formed a position well protected against an enemy approaching from the south. The Allies began the battle with in­adequate forces. Attacks and counter-attacks were made and failed; a turning movement was vainly essayed by Murat; a general advance of the French cavalry was repelled. Meanwhile the Austrian infantry had succeeded, after a hard struggle, in occupying the greater part of Liebert­wolkwitz ; but the French artillery prevented them from advancing further. At Wachau the fighting was indecisive. The cavalry attacks having failed all along the line, Murat pushed forward his infantry: but it was too late. The Allies were reinforced; and the French abandoned their attempt. Round Liebertwolkwitz the conflict raged till evening, when the Austrians evacuated the village. In the end, both armies retained their positions. Murat still held the heights, and thus secured for Napoleon an advantageous ground for the decisive battle; but his cavalry was severely shaken.

At the allied head-quarters it was decided to employ the next day in preparing for a great battle on the 16th. Blucher received orders to march upon Leipzig, and to effect a junction with an Austrian division at Markranstadt. On the loth the main army took up the positions which had been assigned as the starting-point for the operations of the 16th. On the 14th Napoleon had arrived at Leipzig. There were many reasons against his venturing on a decisive battle. His troops had suffered greatly, particularly the cavalry; the Rheinbund troops were disaffected and meditated desertion; the generals were sick of fighting. If, nevertheless, the Emperor stood firm, he did it trusting to his genius and his star. He hoped to annihilate Schwarzenberg before the army of the north could arrive. With Blucher in the field this was a rash hope; it failed, and the mistake proved fatal.

Napoleon still had 190,000 men with 734 guns, a force amply sufficient for victory, seeing that it was under single control; whereas, on the side of the Allies, a multiplicity of leaders destroyed the requisite unity of command. The allied armies numbered over 300,000 men, with 1335 guns. But, on the first day of battle, the Allies were short of 100,000 men, while only 18,000 were missing on the French side. On the other hand, the moral of the allied troops was decidedly superior. At last they were face to face with the arch-enemy, and could repay him with interest for the suffering he had inflicted on them. Less confidence was felt at head-quarters; Schwarzenberg, as usual, appeared to dread an encounter with the greatest of living commanders.

Napoleon directed General Bertrand to take up a position at Lindenau, west of Leipzig, with 10,000 men. A force numbering 50,000 was to cover Leipzig on the north; but, as the enemy was supposed to be still distant on this side, this force was to cooperate, if possible, with the main army. The latter, amounting to about 110,000 men, was drawn up in the form of a crescent south of the city, in much the same position as that already held by Murat, stretching from the banks of the Pleisse to Holz- hausen. Against this position the Allies advanced in a wide semicircle. There was a wide divergence in the views of their commanders. Schwarzenberg was for attacking from the west, so as to crumple up the Emperor's line and bar his retreat; but, in order to carry out this plan, they would have had to cross the Pleisse, between which and the Elster lay marshy impassable flats, where a few thousand men could have sufficed for the defence. This plan was therefore given up; and, by Alexander’s advice, the Russians and Prussians remained on the right bank of the Pleisse, while only the larger portion of the Austrian force crossed that river. The result was that the Allies had only 8-1,000 men on the main battlefield, which left them numerically inferior to the French; and that three separate engagements took place, at Lindenau, at Connewitz, and on the right bank of the Pleisse. As Schwarzenberg led the Austrian contingent, the supreme command in a manner devolved upon the Russian general Barclay. The monarchs of Russia and Prussia stationed themselves on the Wachtberg; Napoleon was at Wachau. The 16th of October dawned dull and cold; rain and mist partly hid the operations.

The Allies advanced in four columns. The attack was opened about 8.30 a.m. by Kleist’s Prussians, who after an hour’s fierce combat wrested Markkleeberg from the Trench. Meanwhile the second column, under Duke Eugene, advanced against Napoleon’s centre at Wachau. This village also fell; and the whole French line seemed to waver. Suddenly everything was changed. Napoleon appeared on the field, and at once took advantage of the scattered formation of the Allies. Sending 177 guns to the front at Wachau, he opened an overwhelming cannonade, under cover of which dense masses of infantry moved forward. After an obstinate resistance the Russians were forced back into the plain, where, having no cover, they were mown down by thousands. Meanwhile, on the east, Markkleeberg was several times lost and won; on the west the Austrians under Klenau captured Liebertwolkwitz, but had to surrender it again. The allied line began slowly to give way.

Napoleon now determined to break through the weakest part of the enemy’s line at Wachau, despatching Macdonald to turn their right. The sovereigns, recognising their danger, requested Schwarzenberg to transfer the Austrian reserves to the threatened quarter, and called up from the rear the Guards and grenadiers; but much time was lost before these orders were carried out. Between 12 and 1 o’clock the French advance began. Under cover of a murderous fire from 150 guns, 10,000 cavalry under Murat galloped forward. They divided into two parts, the smaller advancing against Kleist, the larger against Eugene. Behind the cavalry the Emperor massed his infantry, while Macdonald advanced on the French left. At first all went well. Murat’s powerful column rode down two battalions of infantry, took 26 Russian guns, dispersed a division of Russian cavalry of the Guard, and stormed on to within a few hundred paces of the Wachtberg, where the Emperor Alexander stood. If the infantry had followed up the charge, the battle would have been won. But at this point the cavalry, already in some disorder, were checked by a marsh between two lakes ; the defenders hurried up from all sides; and the French advance was stayed. Unsupported by reserves, one regiment after another turned round; the huge force streamed back, while the French guns fired indiscriminately upon friend and foe. The attack on the allied left shared the same fate; here, too, a fatal blow was all but dealt, when the Austrian reserves came up and checked the charge. It was doubtless owing to Napoleon's absence that the infantry had failed to come up at the right moment; and now the retreating squadrons prevented the foot from deploying. All they could do was to form square and repel the counter-attack. Sanguinary collisions occurred at various places ; and at 6 p.m. the battle in this part of the field ended in a furious cannonade.

Meanwhile the main Austrian force had been losing heavily and to no purpose among the swamps and thickets on the left bank of the Pleisse. Schwarzenberg at last recognised his error, and sent a detach­ment to the chief scene of action, whither he himself followed. On the extreme left, at Liudenau, the Austrians, in spite of their superiority, had no success. Thus, on the whole, the French had won the day, for they had repulsed the attack of the army of Bohemia; but they had gained no decisive victory, and this was all-important. Such a victory would have been theirs if Ney and Marmont had joined in the main battle. Napoleon called them up, but Marmont was engaged with Blucher; and Ney, who was already on the march, was forced to go to his colleague’s assistance. He arrived on the field too late, having dragged his corps—which might have decided the issue on the north, as on the south—backwards and forwards to no purpose.

Just as the cavalry charge at Wachau was at its height, a dull rumble was heard from the north. Berthier took it for a distant thunderstorm ; but Napoleon’s practised ear recognised the sound of guns, and knew what it meant. He turned his horse round, and rode full speed to Mocker ; hence his absence from Wachau at the decisive moment of the fight. Blucher had started early, and his steps were hastened by the sound of heavy firing at Wachau; but, as the Crown Prince gave him inadequate support, he was compelled to advance with great caution. He arrived when Marmont was on the point of starting; and the latter at once saw that everything depended on keeping him back. With this view he took up a strong position between Mockern and Eutritsch, posting forty guns behind the former village. Blucher, for his part, knew that the army of Bohemia must be relieved, and that therefore he must go forward without counting the cost. Six times did the Prussians under York attempt to storm Mockern, which was stubbornly defended by the French. A savage hand-to-hand struggle raged in the narrow village streets. House after house was taken; but the French artillery prevented a complete occupation, and even enabled their infantry to recover the larger part of the village. An attack on the heights behind Mockern was repelled with heavy loss; and the battle seemed lost. In this extremity, York hurled his cavalry upon the enemy; the charge was successful, and the French gave way. The infantry instantly followed up the attack; and Marmont’s forces fell back upon Leipzig in disorder.

The struggle for the possession of Mockern was the bloodiest episode of the whole war. The Prussian losses were estimated at between 5500 and 7000 men; those of Marmont were about the same. The total losses of the two armies cannot be exactly reckoned; approximately they were, on the side of the Allies, 88,000 killed and wounded, besides 2000 prisoners; on that of the French, the numbers were 23,000 and 2500 respectively. The “Battle of the Nations” had thus cost over 60,000 men. After the battle of Borodino, it was the most sanguinary in modern history.

On the morning of the 17th the allied armies stood ready to renew the struggle; but, as Napoleon did not attack, they put off the combat till the following day, when the arrival of the Crown Prince and Bennigsen would give them a crushing superiority. The only movement was made by Blucher, who drove the French further back upon Gohlis; but, as quiet reigned to the south of Leipzig, he too paused.

Napoleon’s position was clear enough. He had been mistaken about Blucher, and had gained no real victory at Wachau. Two courses alone were open to him, either to beat a speedy retreat, in order to extricate himself from the toils; or to resume the battle instantly, in order to make the most of his advantage over Schwarzenberg. He did neither, but gloomy and undecided, sat brooding over the prospect. Finally he despatched to his father-in-law, the Emperor of Austria, the offer of an armistice; but no answer was vouchsafed. While he hoped and waited, time went by; and his doom implacably approached.

In the evening of the 17th he decided to continue the battle on the morrow; but he despatched Bertrand to cover a possible retreat by securing the passages of the Saale. Mortier had orders to guard the pass of Lindenau; and the whole army was concentrated round Leipzig. The French line formed a sweeping semicircle on the south, west, and north sides of Leipzig, resting to the southward on the Pleisse at Losnig, to the northward on the Elster at Gohlis. The centre of this position, at Paunsdorf, was left weak, because Napoleon believed that the army of the north would not take part in the battle. The comparative strength of the forces had changed very much to his disadvantage. The French army numbered only about 135,000 men, of whom 5000 Saxons and Würtembergers subsequently deserted. The Allies were twice as strong; they were able in the course of the day to bring up about 268,000 men, of whom over 100,000 were fresh troops. Nevertheless, Napoleon, unaware of this fact, still hoped for victory.

Schwarzenberg had kept only a weak Austrian detachment on the left bank of the Pleisse. The main army was to the south of Leipzig, Blucher to the north. The space between was to be filled on the left by Bennigsen, when he arrived, on the right by the Crown Prince. But the latter was unwilling to expose himself unless Blucher made over to him Langeron’s corps and Saint-Priest’s division; that is to say, half the army of Silesia. It was an audacious demand; but the Field-marshal, with praiseworthy self-abnegation, was ready to grant anything, in order that the army of the north should go forward.

Schwarzenberg formed the main army in three columns. The first, under the Prince of Hesse-Homburg, was to drive the French from the Pleisse; the second, under Barclay, was to advance by way of Wachau ; the third, under Bennigsen, to the right of that position, was to push forward by way of Holzhausen and Stotteritz. The three attacks were to be made simultaneously at 7 a.m. ; but Bennigsen did not arrive till 2 p.m., nor the Crown Prince till 4 p.m.; while, in spite of the large number of troops available, the reserves were not brought into play. These circumstances, combined with a grievous lack of generalship at head-quarters, enabled Napoleon for some time to hold his own.

The Austrians, on the extreme left, began by capturing several villages, and won their way to Connewitz; but here they were again driven back by the Young Guard and the Poles, until the arrival of reinforcements enabled them to make another stand. It was a serious disadvantage to the Austrians that Barclay, their neighbour on the right, did not make a simultaneous advance. He found Wachau and Liebertwolkwitz unoccupied, but was met at Probstheida by a heavy fire. The Prussians and Russians forced their way into the village, and, though repeatedly driven out, had occupied the greater part of it, when the fire of 150 guns brought them to a halt. Shaken by this cannonade, they were attacked by the Old and the Young Guard with some line regiments, and driven from the village. The slaughter was so terrible that Schwarzenberg withdrew his troops, and left Probstheida to the French.

The cause of Barclay’s delay was his desire to await Bennigsen’s intervention. When the latter at length came up, he led a vastly superior force against Macdonald. The French made a desperate defence, especially at Holzhausen ; but numbers eventually told. All the neighbouring villages fell into the hands of the Allies; still they could make no further advance. To the left of Macdonald stood Reynier with the Saxons and Wurtembergers. Both, especially the Saxons, had long been disaffected; but the King had not dared to desert Napoleon. These troops now took the matter into their own hands, and the majority went over to the Allies. The rank and file received them with cries of joy, the generals with coldness. The King of Prussia remarked, “These gentlemen from Saxony are a little late; they could have saved us many men”. Reynier, left with only 4000 men, defended Paunsdorf obstinately, and till 4 p.m. kept the enemy at bay.

At this point the northern army struck in, the Prussians under Bulow in front. They stormed the burning village, but a further advance was repelled with loss: and Napoleon, coming up with the Young and the Old Guard, recaptured Paunsdorf. It was only for a time; the Allies were reinforced, and the place became untenable. The French retired; but, till night fell, they held their ground in the village of Stunz. The next village to Stünz was Schonefeld, which formed the key of the French position on the left bank of the Parthe, north of Leipzig. Here stood Marmont with his weakened corps. Langeron attacked him at 3 P.M.: and a conflict ensued, which, if possible, exceeded all the rest in violence. Finally Langeron engaged his entire corps; but not till nightfall did the French evacuate the village, in which there lay 10,000 killed and wounded men. Here, too, Bulow's advance finally told. On the extreme right Sacken led the attack, while York had charge of the reserves. The Russians, after some preliminary success, were driven back beyond Gohlis, so that the Prussians had to come to their relief and to storm the village again. Pfaffendorf fell after severe fighting. The French were at length forced back to their entrenchments before the Halle-gate of Leipzig.

The sun went down in thick wreaths of smoke amid the thunder of 1500 guns. Each side had lost about 25,000 men, the French rather less, the Allies rather more. Even now the battle, as a whole, was undecided. The French had repulsed every attack on their right wing: on their left and centre they had lost a number of villages; but it was only in front of Blucher that they were driven back upon Leipzig. Their line of retreat by Lindenau still remained open. The Allies could not claim a victory; rather they expected a renewal of the fight next day. Schwarzenberg gave orders accordingly. Blücher judged the situation more correctly, his opinion being that the essential thing was to block the enemy’s retreat. He made little impression on Sehwarzenberg, but Frederick William agreed that York should hasten on to Merseburg. York’s cavalry reached Halle by the following morning.

On a low stool by the watch-fire sat the Emperor of the French. He recognised that his position was untenable, and gave orders for the retreat. Then, utterly exhausted, he fell asleep. The directions which he appears to have given to construct bridges were not obeyed; and the army had to wind its way through the narrow streets of Leipzig, to pass out by a single gate, and to cross the river Pleisse at Lindenau by a single bridge. The operation necessarily took a long time. The retreat began at night, part of the troops being left to defend the outposts of the city as long as possible. The confusion was terrible ; all order was lost; Napoleon himself was carried away in the stream of fugitives.

At daybreak on October 19 the Allies perceived that the field was empty and the battle won. They marched in from all sides towards Leipzig, singing and rejoicing; but the possession of the city was disputed for hours, and the struggle was continued in the streets. On the Ranstadt bridge there was a fearful crush. It was already threatened by Sacken’s Russians, when suddenly it was blown into the air. This cut off the retreat of the troops who were still on the further side of the Pleisse. The Italian and Rheinbund troops laid down their arms, or turned them against their former comrades. The Poles and French, who acted as a rear-guard, made a desperate defence; when all was over, they flung themselves into the river. Many were drowned, among them the brave Marshal Poniatovski. Whole regiments and many generals, including Reynier, Lauriston, Bertrand, and Macdonald, were taken prisoners. But the victory was dearly bought. It was calculated that during the four days’ battle 120,000 men were killed or wounded. The losses of the Allies were even heavier than those of the French; and 20,000 sick lay in the hospitals of Leipzig.

Napoleon’s position was critical, all but hopeless. His line of retreat, or rather flight, passed across the left wing of the Allies; and almost the whole of Germany had to be traversed before a halt could be made. It was obvious that an energetic pursuit and an intelligent use of the resources offered by a hostile country were all that was needed to complete his annihilation. But neither was attempted. The Coalition was incapable of such swift and purposeful action. One Austrian detachment approached Napoleon’s flank obliquely, but effected nothing. York alone showed himself dangerous, by seizing the passages of the Saale and compelling the Emperor to take the route through the Thüringer Wald by Erfurt. At Eisenach a detachment of Blucher’s force vainly tried to stop his march. Instead of being allowed to press the pursuit, Blucher now received orders to march upon Giessen and Wetzlar, so as to oppose a possible passage of the Rhine at Coblenz ; but Napoleon hurried straight on to Mainz. Near Hanau his further progress was hindered by the Bavarian general Wrede with some 40,000 men. The Bavarians fought obstinately, but after a three days’ combat (October 29-31) they were thrust aside. The French continued their march, and on November 2 crossed the Rhine at Mainz. Lack of unanimity and feeble generalship on the part of the Allies had saved Napoleon’s army. But he had suffered serious additional losses on the wav, and brought back to France only about 70,000 men, of whom 30,000 soon afterwards fell victims to typhus, and many others wasted away. Within little more than a year, two French armies, amounting together to nearly a million of men, had perished.

The autumn campaign of 1813 was by no means a masterpiece of Napoleonic strategy. The Emperor met the Allies with an army of almost equal strength ; his generals were the most experienced in Europe, while two of the hostile armies were led by men of inferior ability; and yet he was completely defeated. The main causes of hi- defeats were in the man himself. His old genius still glowed within him, but he had left behind him in Russia his energy and his magic certainty of victory. Formerly his armies possessed both mobility and staying power; now he was tied and bound by the connexion with Dresden. Dresden offered many advantages; with it he held Saxony in his hand; but it lay too near the Erzgebirge, and too far from the enemy’s vulnerable points; and it was an unfortified town. Magdeburg, with its fortifications, would have made a better base of operations. Had it been occupied, the pusillanimous Schwarzenberg would have had to come out into the open field; Berlin would have been within attain­able distance; and the Emperor could have left the defence of the city to its own ramparts and its own guns. He would thus have been to a certain extent free, whereas now he was crippled in every movement.

Moreover, he was always evolving new plans, but executed none of them with energy, independence, and completeness. Instead of using to the full the advantages of inner lines, by first annihilating one opponent and then attacking the next, he kept making partial advances and strokes in the air, which fatigued his troops and finally led him to Leipzig. He even allowed his victory over the main army to be turned into the defeat of Kuhn. It must, however, be allowed that in the conduct of single battles he displayed far greater energy than in the strategic handling of his armies as a whole. A French officer, who was taken prisoner, said of the Emperor that his present strategy was strikingly different from the past; he had lost his old activity; he betrayed a great craving for comfort, especially for sleep; he was irritable and morose. In short, he resembled a sick Titan, suffering from some secret hurt; and his achievements were no longer proportionate to his renown.

Germany was now free to the Rhine; her territorial Princes returned to their capitals; only a few fortresses still remained in the hands of the enemy. It might have been expected that the Allies would have at once invaded France; on the contrary, there ensued a long pause in the military operations. Military and political reasons, the very nature of the Coalition, brought about a kind of armistice, a relaxation after the strain. The allied armies occupied the line of the Rhine; and the sovereigns of the Great Powers assembled at Frankfort, where their conflicting aims and wishes at once asserted themselves.

Austria had, in the meanwhile, fought victoriously in Italy, and fairly recovered her earlier position. The loss of her former Belgian possessions might now be counterbalanced south of the Alps. Thus she had no interest in the complete overthrow of Napoleon. On the contrary, to continue the war implied further sacrifices of men and money ; and its result could not be foreseen. If it ended favourably, it would advance the prospects of Russia and Prussia more than those of Austria. The Crown Prince of Sweden, who commanded the northern army, was opposed to the invasion of France. He could not forget that he had once been a French Marshal, and he had his eye on the French throne; but his influence was rendered comparatively ineffective by the fact that he aimed at the conquest of Norway, which involved war with Denmark. The army of Silesia, on the other hand, demanded an ener­getic offensive; but Blucher and Gneisenau were only generals, and Frederick William was anything but warlike. Timid and unenterprising, he chiefly aimed at preserving his army, his only defence among disaffected rivals. In the Russian head-quarters opinions were divided. Here many generals and diplomatists held that to continue fighting at an ever­increasing distance from their own frontier would bring little profit to Russia. The Tsar, on the other hand, was eager to press forward; he longed to counter Napoleon’s entry into Moscow by his own entry into Paris. Besides, the more strongly he figured as the tamer of the Revo­lution incarnate in Napoleon, the more would his voice weigh in the final settlement, when he meant to assert extensive claims to Polish territory. On this point Austrian and Prussian interests were naturally opposed to those of Russia. On the other hand, his warlike mood chimed in with that of Blucher, and of the Tory party now in power in England. For years her army had fought victoriously against Napoleon in the Peninsula; and Wellington had now crossed the Pyrenees with some 80,000 men, and occupied a firm position in the south of France.

The clash of so many opposing views might well have brought about an agreement with Napoleon; and Europe actually beheld the incredible spectacle of the four Powers making overtures to their vanquished enemy and offering him the “natural” boundaries of France. Early in Novem­ber a French envoy had two interviews with Metternich at Frankfort. The terms proposed by the Allies were that France should retire behind the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees, resigning her conquests in Germany. Italy, and Spain. This offer meant, practically, a return to the limits of 1797 ; it left Belgium, the left bank of the Rhine, Savoy and Nice, in the hands of France. But Napoleon could not abandon the dream of universal empire; he returned (Nov. 16) an evasive answer, suggesting a European Congress. A fortnight later, Caulaincourt practically accepted the terms, but it was now too late; the Allies had virtually withdrawn their offer. It may be doubted whether they had ever really agreed in making it. England was determined not to leave Antwerp in Napoleon’s hands; Prussian statesmen dreaded the presence of his armies on the Rhine ; the Tsar meant to dictate peace at Paris. The policy of Austria was, as usual, doubtful; but Metternich himself does not appear to have expected that Napoleon would yield. It was therefore with feelings of relief that most members of the Coalition heard the news of a decision which implied a fresh recourse to arms.

There were, however, military grounds which hindered an immediate continuance of active operations. The armies of the three eastern Powers were in bad case; those of the Rheinbund Princes who had come over had to be incorporated; and it was necessary to determine the further conduct of the war. Various plans of campaign were projected, the boldest being that of Gneisenau, which aimed at Paris as the final goal. The scheme proposed by the Emperor Alexander was eventually adopted in its essential features.

The allied forces were now distributed as follows: on the right, the army of the Crown Prince, 102,000 men and 316 guns, and the army of Silesia, under Blucher, 82,000 men and 312 guns; in the centre, the main army, under Schwarzenberg, 200,000 men and 682 guns; on the left, the Austro-Italian army, about 55,000 men, and that of Wellington, about 80,000 men. To these must be added about 100,000 men, not yet concentrated, who were to besiege the German fortresses still held by the French, making a total of about 620,000 men.

The forces at Napoleon’s disposal were numerically far inferior. Of the 400,000 men with whom he had begun the campaign, only about 70,000 had recrossed the Rhine. His position was far worse than it had been a year before. He had lost Germany, and with it the Rheinbund troops; and he could no longer carry on war in the enemy’s country. France, moreover, was becoming exhausted, while the strength of the Allies, now joined by Bavaria, Saxony, etc., was proportionately increased. A new army had to be created by means of reckless conscription. But the French people were tired of war; the men came in slowly ; and in December only about 53,000 troops were available for the defence of the Rhine, a line upwards of 300 miles in length. The Emperor’s embarrass­ments were increased by want of arms, ammunition, and horses, by the untrustworthiness of his marshals, and finally by a superfluity of fortresses in Holland and Belgium and on the frontier. His gravest fear was for Belgium, on account of the large factories of arms situated in that country; he therefore concentrated his chief force in that direction and on the lower Rhine. The upper Rhine and the Swiss frontier were insufficiently protected. Macdonald commanded the northern section of the frontier as far as Cologne, and Marmont the southern.