Battle of Laon

Battle of Laon
Part of the Campaign of France of the Sixth Coalition
Napoleon and his staff are returning from Soissons after the battle of Laon, by Ernest Meissonier
Date 9–10 March 1814[1] Location Laon, France 49°33′57″N 3°37′14″E / 49.5658°N 3.6206°E / 49.5658; 3.6206 Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
France	Prussia, Russia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte	Gebhard von Blücher August von Gneisenau Friedrich von Bülow Ferdinand von Wintzingerode
Strength
37,000[2]–50,000[1]	90,000[2]–100,000[1]
Casualties and losses
6,000–6,500[2][1]	3,500[1]–4,000[3]
class=notpageimage| Location within France

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

200km
125miles

Paris

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Bar-sur-Aube

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  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Laon (9–10 March 1814) was the victory of Blücher's Prussian army over Napoleon's French army near Laon. During the Battle of Craonne on 7 March, Blücher's army was forced to retreat into Laon after a failed attempt to halt Napoleon's east flank. Along the way to Laon, reinforcements from Russian forces under Ferdinand von Wintzingerode and a Prussian corps led by Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow joined the defensive. Blücher opted to face Napoleon at Laon because it was the site of a strategically important road junction, and because of its highly defensible position.