Battle of Leipzig

Battle of the Nations
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition
Battle of Leipzig by Vladimir Moshkov
Date 16–19 October 1813 Location Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony 51°20′N 12°23′E / 51.333°N 12.383°E / 51.333; 12.383 Result Coalition victory Territorial changes France loses complete control of all territories east of the Rhine Rhine Confederation is dissolved Invasion of France in 1814 imminent
Belligerents
Russia  Austria  Prussia  Sweden Mecklenburg-Schwerin  Saxony[a]  Württemberg[a]  United Kingdom[b]	France Baden Duchy of Warsaw  Italy Westphalia Naples  Saxony[a]  Württemberg[a]
Commanders and leaders
Karl von Schwarzenberg Francis I Alexander I Barclay de Tolly Levin von Bennigsen Peter Wittgenstein Frederick William III Gebhard L. von Blücher Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte	Napoleon Pierre Augereau Louis-Alexandre Berthier Jacques MacDonald Auguste de Marmont Édouard Mortier Michel Ney Nicolas Oudinot Honoré Vial † Claude Victor-Perrin Jacques Lauriston (POW) Józef Poniatowski † Joachim Murat Frederick Augustus I
Strength
16–17 October: 257,000[2] 1,400 guns[2] 18–19 October: 365,000[2] 145,000 115,000 90,000 25,000 6,000[3] 1,500 guns[2]	16–17 October: 177,000[2] 700 guns[4] 18–19 October: 195,000[2] 160,000[4] 40,000 15,000 10,000 700 guns[2]
Casualties and losses
54,000–80,000[c] Official allied estimates:[5][8] circa 30,000 23,225 21,500 208 29 generals and 1,896 officers[6]	60,000–79,000[d] 38,000 killed and wounded 30,000–36,000 captured (15,000 wounded) 5,000–6,000 Saxons defected 325 guns 66 generals and 2,414 officers[6]
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

War of the Sixth Coalition:
German campaign

200km
125miles

19

18

17

Leipzig

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

  

  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Leipzig^[e] (French: Bataille de Leipsick; German: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, [ˈfœlkɐˌʃlaxt baɪ̯ ˈlaɪ̯pt͡sɪç] ^ⓘ; Swedish: Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations,^[14] was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I and Karl von Schwarzenberg, decisively defeated the Grande Armée of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine (mainly Saxony and Württemberg). The battle was the culmination of the German Campaign of 1813 and involved 560,000 soldiers, 2,200 artillery pieces, the expenditure of 400,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, and 133,000 casualties, making it the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, and the largest battle in Europe prior to World War I.

Decisively defeated again, Napoleon was compelled to return to France while the Sixth Coalition kept up its momentum, dissolving the Confederation of the Rhine and invading France early the next year. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba in May 1814.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).