“The French (column) advancing up a narrow street … found themselves
at the entrance to the village square besides the church.
Across the 30 yards of open space was a column, or more accurately,
a mass of Russian infantry pouring out onto the cobbles. The Russians,
seeing the enemy appear, directed a badly aimed volley and
refused to advance further. The two bodies of men now faced each other,
hurling musket balls and insults at each other, but neither showed
the slightest enthusiasm to charge home, despite the best efforts
of their officers.” – P. Heath
Battle of La Rothiere : Napoleonic Wars The 1st of February 1814 marks the Battle of La Rothiere in the 6th Coalition War when Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher’s 82,000 Allied infantry and 24,000 cavalry defeated Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s 30,000 French infantry and 13,500 cavalry.
Following Napoleon’s failure to trap Blücher at Brienne, he remained inactive. Blücher and his army retreated south to La Rothiere, then further south to Trannes Heights. On January 30-31, a large Allied force converged on Trannes.
Tsar Aleksándr I Pávlovich led 40,000 Russian infantry with 11,500 cavalry. Field Marshal Prince Karl zu Schwarzenberg led 15,000 Habsburg infantry and 3,500 cavalry. Field Marshal Grand Duke Karl Philipp von Wrede led 13,000 Bavarian infantry with 2,000 cavalry. General Major Prince Friedrich Wilhelm von Württemberg led 12,000 Württemberger infantry accompanying 2,500 cavalry. King Friedrich Wilhelm III led 2,000 Prussian infantry with 4,800 cavalry.
Napoleon wanted to go to Troyes, but the Lesmont bridge was destroyed and as a result needed repairs.
Marshal Marmont was unaccounted for. Napoleon wished to wait for him. To buy time, he deployed south of Brienne in a semi-circle. Dienville on the Aube River held his left. La Rothiere held his center. Petit-Mesnil held his right. Further east he dispersed his men into Chauménil (east of Petit), La Giberie (south of Chau.) and Mortvilliers (north of Chau).
These men were right angled to his main line. They were spread very thin.
The Allies were divided.
Schwarzenberg was wary of frontally engaging Napoleon. He wished to retreat & gather additional Habsburgs in the area. Friedrich & the Tsar pushed to attack. To wait would let Napoleon grow stronger or escape. It was best to attack while he was isolated. Blücher was especially aggressive. Under pressure, Schwarzenberg agreed. On 31 January, Blücher was unanimously elected Commander-in-Chief. They would attack.
At 09:00, 1 February, Napoleon reached La Rothiere. The night had been quiet. Marmont arrived. The bridge was fixed. At 11:00, Napoleon ordered retreat. At 12:00, scouts reported 3 large Allied columns marching on him. He ordered his men into place. Conditions were awful. The prior day’s snow melted, turning roads into a quagmire. Guns, men & wagons bogged down. It began snowing, severely limiting vision. Napoleon rode south & saw the Allied force. He had to fight.
The battle unfolded in various independent conflicts.
Gerard’s division (3,400 foot) held Dienville. Blücher sent Giulay’s III Corps (12,000 foot, 1,500 horse) to seize it. This would threaten Napoleon’s right. He would have to commit men from his reserve, taking pressure off the Allied assault on La Rothiere. Giulay planned to advance up both riverbanks & encircle Dienville. Just south of it, Unienville village guarded a bridge to the river’s far bank.
At 13:00, Pflüger’s brigade (7 battalions, No. 7 & 8 Inf.) attacked Unienville. Its garrison of 50 fell back. Fresnel’s div. (6,300 foot) crossed & marched up the far bank. Napoleon sent Ricard’s div. (3,500 foot) to aid Gerard. Boudin’s brigade (1,800, 22e, 69e, 136e, 138e, 142e, 144e & 145e Ligne) garrisoned several houses on the far bank. Pflüger attacked. Limited terrain prevented proper deployment. Boudin repelled him, then counterattacked, driving him off.
At 15:30, Giulay sent Csollich’s brigade (3,772, No. 1 & 41 Inf.) to aid Pflüger. They drove Boudin back to Dienville. Fournier’s brigade (1,700, 2e, 4e, 6e & 16e Légère, 40e & 50e Ligne) arrived, saving Boudin from being overrun. Giulay sent Hohenlohe’s div. (7,200) up the near bank. Dufour’s div. (3,400) held this village sector. Bad terrain kept him from deploying his guns. But he was well fortified. Giulay’s guns had little effect. He launched 5 failed assaults that day.
At 12:00, Württemberg drove into the French outposts at Petit-Mesnil. This secured Blücher’s flank for the La Rothiere assault. At 14:00, Stockmayer’s brigade (No. 9 Jägers, No. 10 Lichte) & 900 cavalry (No. 2 Chasseurs à Cheval) attacked La Giberie. The French cavalry withdrew, abandoning 2 infantry battalions. Stockmayer broke them, capturing 130. The No. 2s seized La Giberie at 15:30. Forestier’s brigade (46e & 93e Ligne) retook it at 16:00. They drove Stockmayer downhill.
Württemberg, unable to see developments, panicked.
He reported 10,000 enemies & requested aid from Blücher & Wrede (further north). Blücher sent Raevsky’s Russian Grenadier Corps (8,000 foot). An argument started. Barclay de Tolly argued that Sacken needed the Grenadiers more. He ordered the 2nd Div. back. Its commander protested. Blücher hadn’t signed Tolly’s order. The confused Corps halted. Soon, events at La Rothiere forced Blücher to recall them.
A French battery deployed at La Giberie. Their gunfire & the ground at the plateau’s bottom impeded Württemberg. Blücher had sent his adjutant, August von Nostitz, to reassure the Tsar (Württemberg was a relative). South of Petit, Notstiz met Biron’s Prussian Garde du Corps (2,000 horse). He ordered them into action. They charged & seized the battery, relieving the pressure on the Württembergers. They reformed & attacked. At 16:30, Stockmayer retook La Giberie.
Wrede’s V Corps (18,000 foot, 3,600 horse) attacked Morvilliers at noon. Marmont’s VI Corps (LaGrange’s 4,868 foot, Doumerc’s 1,900 horse) held it. 3 Allied divisions seized Beauvoir farm. Joubert’s brigade fell back to Ajou Wood in Napoleon’s rear. At 16:00, Wrede received Württemberg’s plea for help. He sent the 1st Szekler Grenzers (2 bns) to take Chauménil. Its French garrison (2 bns) fell back by 17:00. Marshal Victor barricaded himself into Petit. At 19:00, Wrede brought up 2 batteries. He exchanged fire with 16 French guns, guarded by Doumerc. 3 Allied cavalry regiments routed him & captured them. LaGrange formed squares. Poor visibility prevented further action.
At 13:00, Sacken’s Russians (22,000 foot, 7,500 horse) reached La Rothiere. Duhesme’s div. (4,200 foot, 24e Légère, 19e, 37e & 56e Ligne) it. Nikitin placed his guns close to Duhesme’s pickets & opened fire. French guns, placed on both sides of the village, returned fire. Thickening snowfall severely reduced visibility & accuracy. After 30 minutes, Sacken & Blücher both appeared. The Russians cheered loudly & prepared to attack.
Terrain & weather prevented Sacken from using all of his men at once. They came in waves.
Dietrich’s brigade (4 bns, 11th & 36th Jägers) came first. At 15:00, they attacked in 2 columns, driving in Duhesme’s outposts. Reaching the village, they were fired on from the houses. They tried deploying into lines to return fire. Accurate French fire made this difficult. Behind them came 2 columns – Scherbatov’s VI (8,000 foot) & Olsufiev’s IX (6,000) Corps.
A witness wrote, “Heedless of the heavy fire of the enemy, the infantry neither halted nor wavered for an instant. Without firing a single shot our regiments advanced in perfect order, & that of the Dnieper, which led the Prince’s column, was headed by the regimental singers. …The attacks we have described were, in the beginning, visible to the Tzar, but as they went on, the troops were soon hidden from his view by a dense cloud of smoke, from the centre of which was heard only the roar of artillery.”
At this point, a division of Nansouty’s Guard Cavalry moved forward. He planned to surprise the Russian batteries. He hoped the snowfall would mask him. Nikitin saw him. The Jägers formed squares behind the guns. At 500 paces, the gunners fired canister & ran for the squares. The Jägers fired a few volleys. Nansouty failed to break them. He returned to his Corps. He summoned 3 Guard divs. (5,913 horse). He would hit Scherbatov’s & Olsufiev’s flanks in a pincer movement. The Guard shouted, “Vive l’Empereur!” They surged forward.
Sacken requested immediate cavalry support. Cavalry Corps commander Vasilchikov sent Lanskoy’s div. (750 horse, Akhtyrsk & Marioupol Hussars). Nansouty crushed them. He savaged Sacken’s flanks. Pire’s div. (3e Hussards, 14e, 26e & 27e Chasseurs à Cheval) helped. Pantschichscheff’s div. (1,500, Kinburn, Kurland, Smolensk & Tver Dragoons) arrived. Lanskoy formed alongside him. They charged Nansouty, driving him off & capturing 24 guns. They pursued him. Milhaud’s V Cavalry Corps (3,804) saved him. They charged the Russians in “squadron columns” & drove them off.
Sacken reformed his columns. Duhesme took advantage of the lull & charged the Jägers, driving them off. Sacken’s columns charged, driving Duhesme back. French cannister inflicted heavy losses. Sacken entered La Rothiere. Duhesme charged him. Soldiers used bayonets, fists & stones in a fierce street fight. It was then that Blücher ordered Giulay to seize Dienville. Sacken overran La Rothiere’s center & the nearby church. Duhesme still held its north.
Napoleon sent Ney’s Young Guard Infantry Corps. Ney shouted, “I will lead you!” He advanced. Rothemburg’s div. (4,950 foot, 5e – 8e YG Tirailleurs) crashed into Sacken. The shock was great. Most of the Russians fled without firing their muskets. Sacken’s reserve attacked & recaptured some lost ground. The French set up 4 guns near the church. The battery halted further Russian progress. Both sides met in the village square. The following scenario transpired:
“The French (column) advancing up a narrow street & as yet not knocked about by the ebb & flow of battle, found themselves at the entrance to the village square besides the church. Across the 30 yards of open space was a column, or more accurately, a mass of Russian infantry pouring out onto the cobbles. The Russians, seeing the enemy appear, directed a badly aimed volley & refused to advance further. The 2 bodies of men now faced each other, hurling musket balls & insults at each other. …neither showed the slightest enthusiasm to charge home, despite the best efforts of their officers.”
The 2 other YG divs. (6,973 foot, 1e – 8e YG Voltigeurs) entered La Rothiere, which was now burning. Nansouty & Pire charged Sacken’s columns. The French recaptured almost all of La Rothiere & nearly captured Sacken. At this point, he requested reinforcements. The previously described argument between Tolly & Württemberg happened. Blücher ordered the Russian Grenadiers, Cuirassiers & Guards forward. They reached La Rothiere & attacked.
Depreradovich’s (20 sqns, Leib & Sheval’ye Guards, Tsar & Tsarina Cuirassiers) & Kretov’s (18 sqns, Astrakhan, Glukhov, Pskov & Yekaterinoslav Cuirassiers) divs. slammed into Nansouty, Pire & Duhesme, shattering them. The Russians chased them in a gigantic column. Briche’s div. (1,250 horse, 2e, 6e, 11e, 13e & 15e Dragons) & some of the Guards attacked the column’s sides. They achieved little, losing 1,100 infantry, 900 cavalry & 18 guns. Only a few French reached Brienne.
With the French cavalry gone, Sacken renewed his assault. Paskevitch’s div. (6 bns) led it. Grimmer’s brigade (4,392 foot, No. 28 & 36 Inf.) marched behind him. The Astrakhan & Malen’kaya Rossiya Grenadiers surged into La Rothiere. The Young Guard broke. Officers rallied them at the village’s north end, “beating them back into the ranks.” At this point “the carnage became dreadful.” By 17:30, the Allies controlled most of La Rothiere.
Napoleon was now in serious danger.
He was being pushed back on all fronts. If Wrede got into his rear & seized Brienne, he’d be trapped. He ordered a general withdrawal. The remaining cavalry & Young Guard served as rearguard. A 6th Allied assault seized Dienville. La Rothiere fell at 20:00. By 21:00, the snow was severe. The only light came from La Rothiere’s burning buildings. In the dark, Bavarian & Württemberg cavalry repeatedly charged each other. But the fight was over.
Napoleon lost 800 dead, 3,200 wounded, 1-2,000 captive & 54-83 guns. After an anxious night at Brienne, Napoleon set out for his original destination – Troyes. Next day, La Grange’s & Ney’s remnants guarded the Lesmont bridge. At dusk, Ney followed Napoleon. LaGrange’s div. (4,500 foot, 1e – 4e Marines, 23e & 27e Légère) fought off several cavalry attacks while the sappers mined the bridge. Finally, he retreated & the bridge was burned.
Morale was low.
Many of Napoleon’s men were young recruits. The defeat disheartened them and they were starving. 5-6,000 deserted en route to Troyes. The western roads were littered with discarded gear. Deserters raided farms & stole food, lowering Napoleon’s reputation in the countryside. To stem the problem, he had 20 squadrons patrol his rear, arresting anyone found outside his unit. No reasons were accepted – 1 in 10 were shot.
Blücher lost 6-7,000 dead/wounded. He was ecstatic. On 2 February he wrote to Bonin, “The big blow happened. Yesterday I hit Emperor Napoleon on the head. He is in complete retreat to Paris, so you can look forward to a glorious peace that he can no longer offer us.” However, bad roads, foul weather & the problems in moving & supplying their enormous army slowed Allied pursuit. They divided their forces. This would cost them in the coming weeks.
Henry Houssaye wrote, “The result of this battle filled the allies with joy. They had captured 50 guns and 2,000 prisoners, & 4,000 dead or wounded Frenchmen littered the plain, but it was not these trophies or these hecatombs which raised their spirits to such a height: they themselves had had 6,000 men mown down by the grape shot; but they had overthrown Napoleon in fair fight on the soil of France; the charm which had been broken at Leipzig had not been restored, & it was again proved that the Emperor was not invincible. In face of the enormous forces which they had available, the Emperor was as good as beaten unless he were invincible.”
Battle of La Rothiere : Napoleonic Wars Written by Garrett Anderson
