Battle of Champaubert

Battle of Champaubert in the afternoon of 10 February 1814. In the foreground are Doumerc's cuirassiers and in the background are Marmont's and Ney's infantry.

Date	10 February 1814
Location	Champaubert, France 48°52′51″N 3°46′33″E / 48.8809°N 3.7759°E / 48.8809; 3.7759Coordinates: 48°52′51″N 3°46′33″E / 48.8809°N 3.7759°E / 48.8809; 3.7759
Result	French victory

Belligerents

Imperial France

Russian Empire

Commanders and leaders

Napoleon

Auguste de Marmont

Zakhar Olsufiev
(POW)

Units involved

Imperial Guard

VI Corps

I Cavalry Corps

IX Corps

Strength

15,000–30,000, 120 guns

3,700–5,166, 24 guns

Casualties and losses

200–600

2,400–3,294, 9–21 guns

The Battle of Champaubert (10 February 1814) was the opening engagement of the Six Days' Campaign. It was fought between a French army led by Napoleon and a small Russian corps commanded by Lieutenant General Count Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev. After putting up a good fight, the Russian formation was effectively destroyed; the survivors escaped into the woods while Olsufiev became a French prisoner. Champaubert is located in France, 46 kilometres (29 mi) west of Châlons-en-Champagne and 69 kilometres (43 mi) east of Meaux.

After defeating Emperor Napoleon at the Battle of La Rothière, the two main Allied armies under Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg and Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher separated. Schwarzenberg's southern advance was slow while the Prussian field marshal's march represented a more serious threat to Paris. Leaving part of his forces to hold off Schwarzenberg, Napoleon massed 30,000 troops to deal with Blücher, who allowed his 57,000-man army to become badly spread out. Allied lapses in communication and Blücher's overconfidence left Olsufiev's corps isolated near Champaubert when Napoleon's army lunged from the south to deal it a crippling blow.

On 1 February 1814, Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher with 80,000 Allied troops from his own Army of Silesia and Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia defeated Napoleon and 45,000 French soldiers in the Battle of La Rothière. This setback seriously shook the French army's morale. Each side suffered about 6,000 casualties but the Allied captured 50–60 artillery pieces. The Allies were delighted by their victory, though it might have been more complete if all their reserves had been committed to the battle. At this time, the Allied generals made the questionable decision to separate their armies. Blücher's army would advance from Châlons-sur-Marne toward Meaux while Schwarzenberg's army operated on a more southerly route from Troyes toward Paris.

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Wikipedia