Battle of Laubressel

Battle of Laubressel
Part of the Campaign of France of the Sixth Coalition
The battle of Laubressel, near Troyes
Date 3 March 1814 Location Laubressel, French Empire 48°17′59″N 4°12′46″E / 48.29972°N 4.21278°E / 48.29972; 4.21278 Result Coalition victory[1]
Belligerents
France	Austria Bavaria Russia Württemberg
Commanders and leaders
Jacques MacDonald Nicolas Oudinot	Karl von Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp von Wrede Peter Wittgenstein Prince of Württemberg
Strength
20,000[1]	32,000-50,000[1]
Casualties and losses
3,000[1] killed, wounded, or captured 7–11 guns lost	1,000[1]–1,500 killed, wounded, or captured
class=notpageimage| Location within France

War of the Sixth Coalition:
Campaign in north-east France

200km
125miles

Paris

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

Bar-sur-Aube

1

  

  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Laubressel (3 March 1814) saw the main Allied army of Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg mount a three-pronged converging attack on the weaker army of Marshal Jacques MacDonald. The French forces under Marshal Nicolas Oudinot bore the brunt of the fighting, in which the Allies tried to turn their left flank. The French abandoned Troyes and retreated west as a result of the action. The village of Laubressel is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) east of Troyes.

After the French victory at the Battle of Montereau on 18 February, Schwarzenberg's army withdrew behind the river Aube. When Napoleon moved north against Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's Army of Silesia, he left MacDonald and Oudinot to watch Schwarzenberg's army. After beating Oudinot at the Battle of Bar-sur-Aube, the Allies pressed the French back toward Troyes. At Laubressel, the Allies overpowered Oudinot's left wing. The Allies slowly pursued MacDonald's army, pressing it back to Provins before news of a victory by Napoleon brought Schwarzenberg's advance to a halt.