Battle of Kulm
- See Battle of Chlumec for the 1126 battle at Kulm
Battle of Kulm | |||||||
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Part of the Alexander Kotzebue | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France |
Russia Austria Prussia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Dominique Vandamme | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
32,000[2]–37,000[1] |
Initially: 15,000–16,000[3] Totally: 103,000[a] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
13,000 to 25,000[b] Details: 9,000 killed or wounded; 8,000 captured; 81 guns; 2 Imperial Eagles; 2 guidons.[1] |
11,000 to 12,319[c] Details: 11,000 killed or wounded; 1,000 captured.[1] | ||||||
The Battle of Kulm was fought near the town Kulm (Czech: Chlumec) and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition. A French corps under General Dominique Vandamme attacked Alexander Osterman-Tolstoy's Russian corps on 29 August. The next day, Friedrich von Kleist's Prussian corps hit Vandamme in the rear while Russian and Austrian reinforcements attacked the French front and left. Vandamme was defeated with the loss of between 13,000 and 25,000 men and 82 guns.
Background
Following the French
Battle
On 29 August, Vandamme, with 34,000 soldiers and 84 guns at his disposal, attacked Russian formations forming a rearguard for the retreating Coalition army, at 14,700[
Casualties
The French lost between 13,000 and 25,000 of the pursuing force of 34,000, including Vandamme, and almost all of his artillery, 82 of his 84 guns, were captured. The allies lost approximately 11,000 soldiers killed or wounded.[5]
In Vandamme's corps there were two
Aftermath
While Marshal
Insults
According to a French anecdote, after the battle Vandamme was brought to and accused by Emperor Alexander I of Russia of being a brigand and plunderer. He retorted, "I am neither a plunderer nor a brigand, but in any case, my contemporaries and history will not reproach me for having murdered my own father." This statement apparently hinted at the widespread belief that Alexander I was implicated in the murder of his father, Emperor Paul I.[6]
The battlefield today
The battlefield is mostly built over. There is a large monument topped with a lion next door to the Hotel Napoleon.
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Bodart 1908, p. 456.
- ^ a b c d Clodfelter 2008, p. 178.
- ^ a b c Velichko et al. 1915, pp. 384–388.
- ^ Eggenberger 1985, p. 224.
- ^ a b c Leggiere 2015, p. 9.
- ^ Marbot 2011, p. 375.
Sources
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- Clodfelter, M. (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0786433193.
- Leggiere, Michael V. (2015). Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany: The Franco-Prussian War of 1813. Cambridge University Press.
- Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin (2011). The Memoirs of General Baron de Marbot. Vol. II. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-24913-1. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- Velichko, Konstantin; Novitsky, Vasily; Schwarz, Alexey; Apushkin, Vladimir; Schulz, Gustav (1915). Sytin Military Encyclopedia (in Russian). Vol. 14. Тип. Т-ва И.Д. Сытина. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
Further reading
- Nadzieja, Jadwiga (1998). Lipsk 1813. Warsaw: Bellona. pp. 57–59. ISBN 83-11-08826-8.
External links
- Battle of Kulm
- Memoirs of the Duke Rovigo
- Media related to Battle of Kulm at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of Dresden |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Kulm |
Succeeded by Battle of San Marcial |