Battle of the Katzbach
Battle of the Katzbach | |||||||
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Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
Battle of the Katzbach by Eduard Kaempffer | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Prussia Russian Empire | French Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Army of Silesia | Army of the Bober | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
80,000[1]–95,000[2] | 60,000[1]–75,000[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,000 killed and wounded (battle) 22,000 (campaign)[3] |
Unknown casualties (battle) 30,000 (campaign)[3][4] 103 guns[4] | ||||||
The Battle of the Katzbach on 26 August 1813, was a major battle of the
Prelude
For the next five days, the Silesian Army engaged in a series of fierce and costly rearguard actions against the pursuing French forces, which were personally commanded by Napoleon.
Napoleon returned to Saxony on 23 August with the Guard,
When Blücher on 24 August learned that Napoleon was no longer in direct command of the pursuers, he at 7 pm that day ordered his army to turn back and use cavalry reconnaissance to find the enemy on 25 August.
Battle
The two armies stumbled upon one another at 9 am after MacDonald crossed the swollen Katzbach river.[18] A sudden flood cut away many of the bridges and destroyed the fords.[19] In the midst of the confusion and heavy rain, MacDonald seemed to recover first. Although his orders were to defend the flank of Napoleon's main force from Blücher, MacDonald decided to attack. He dispatched two-thirds of his army, about 60,000 men, in an attempt to flank the Russo-Prussian right. But confusion reigned again as the French columns found themselves too far apart to support one another.
Blücher ordered his right-wing to advance.[19] The muskets were too wet for firing and the battle was decided with cold steel.[19] The remaining 30,000 men of MacDonald's force, who were supposed to hold down the Coalition forces, were met by a heavy counter-attack by Prussian cavalry. Without support or reinforcement, the French II Cavalry Corps, Brayer's 8th Division from III Corps and Meunier's 2nd brigade were routed at 6.30 pm by Blücher's entire army.[20] The remnants of MacDonald's army retreated, with hundreds drowning in the Katzbach and the Raging Neisse which were in spate.[21]
Aftermath
Casualties
MacDonald's casualties on 26 August are unknown but by 1 September he had lost 30,000 men and 103 guns, including 12,000 killed and wounded and 18,000 captured.[2][4] Blücher's losses were some 1,000 men killed and wounded in the battle and 22,000 for the campaign.[3][4]
Analysis
Beyond the battle losses, the French strategic position had been weakened. Austria might have defected from the Allied coalition after Napoleon's victory at Dresden on 26–27 August.[19] News of Blücher's triumph revitalized the worried Allied leadership.[19] This, coupled with the defeats at Kulm, four days later, and Dennewitz on 6 September, would more than negate Napoleon's victory at Dresden.
Because of his victory, Blücher received the title of "Prince of Wahlstatt" on 3 June 1814.
The battle gave rise to a German saying, now obsolete: "Der geht ran wie Blücher an der Katzbach!" ("He's advancing like Blücher at Katzbach!"), referring to Blücher and describing vigorous, forceful behavior.
Notes
- ^ a b c Bodart 1908, p. 454.
- ^ a b c Clodfelter 2017, p. 166.
- ^ a b c Hofschröer 1993, p. 54.
- ^ a b c d Leggiere 2015, p. 9.
- ^ Robinson 1814.
- ^ Kelly 1831, p. 702.
- ^ Maude 1908, p. 175.
- ^ a b c d e Maude 1908, p. 176.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 225.
- ^ a b Leggiere 2015, p. 216.
- ^ a b Maude 1908, p. 177.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 191.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, pp. 191–192, 197.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 192.
- ^ a b c Leggiere 2015, p. 218.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, pp. 236–237.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, pp. 237–238.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 240.
- ^ a b c d e Maude 1908, p. 178.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, pp. 254–265.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 266.
References
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
- Hofschröer, Peter (1993). Leipzig 1813: The Battle of the Nations. London: Osprey. ISBN 978-1855323544.
- Leggiere, Michael V. (2015). Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany: The Franco-Prussian War of 1813 Volume II, The Defeat of Napoleon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-43975-7.
- Maude, Frederic Natusch (1908). The Leipzig Campaign, 1813. London: Swan Sonnenschein.
- Tucker, Spencer C. (2009). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. p. 1099. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5.
- Robinson, G. (1814). The New Annual Register: Or General Repository of History, Politics, Arts, Sciences, and Literature for the Year 1813.
- Kelly, C. (1831). History of the French Revolution: And of the Wars Produced by that ... Event ... Including a Complete Account of the War Between Great Britain and America; and the ... Battle of Waterloo. London. Biographical Sketches of the Heroes of Waterloo are appended.
External links
- a detailed account of the Battle of the Katzbach at historyofwar.org
- Media related to Battle of Katzbach at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of Großbeeren |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of the Katzbach |
Succeeded by Battle of Dresden |