Napoleon in 1812

22. Battle of Leipzig - 6

One of the reasons why Napoleon chose to enter Leipzig via the White Elster River through the village of Lindenau was because it had the advantage of being close to the route, but an even greater reason was to induce misjudgment among the members of the Coalition.

The Coalition's commanders were experienced generals who had been on the European stage for decades. Napoleon knew their abilities better than anyone else because he had fought against them several times, whether in this world or in the previous one. It was difficult to deceive such seniors and masters with conventional tactics.

'The White Elster River is an easy place to defend just by its topography itself. A competent commander would deploy only a few troops to prevent enemies from crossing it and would draw an overwhelming picture on the rest of the battlefield. They would not have thought that I would choose to cross here with so many troops and leave a place where it is easy to march (the route toward Wachau Village).'

Perhaps Bernadotte's Swedish army was the only defensive force protecting this place? If so, they could immediately defeat them and proceed with the operation quickly.

Recapturing Leipzig on the day of the war was not a dream, Even if they noticed French troops on this side, they would not have expected Napoleon to step up and lead the offensive himself. He had prepared a lot of operational techniques for this and had sufficient confidence in the success of the strategy.

The battle began. After defeating the enemy with overwhelming artillery firepower and blocking their line of sight, Napoleon's operation proceeded without blockage until the engineers built a number of bridges to allow the large army to cross.

Afterwards, under a covering firing by a hidden battery, an infantry regiment mixed with grenadiers was suddenly sent in to seize the bridge and attempt to cross with the main corps.

The enemy command failed to properly cope with Napoleon's tactics, which progressed smoothly without errors, like well-made cogwheels turning together.

The Coalition's artillery commanders were confused because they could not decide whether to target the field artillery beyond the bridge, the hidden battery, or the French troops trying to take control of the bridge.

In the meantime, the French army secured a numerical advantage in most of the bridges and entered into hand-to-hand combat. If they managed to cross the river, take control of the bridge and open the way to Lei pzig, the operation would be a success.

However, while the enemy command was struggling, there were brave enemies who voluntarily stepped up from the tactical unit and blocked this operation.

It was the Prussian and Russian forces. Despite the unfavorable situation, the soldiers of the two countries, who foug ht with a II their might as if supported by evil, seemed to be pierced and defeated, but did not give way in the end.

While being swept away by a flurry of bullets and shells, they blocked the advance of French elite soldiers several times. As they died, they desperately bit the enemy's ankle and held them back.

They fought against death with their lives on the line. They were soldiers with that contradictory behavior. Napoleon, who was watching their desperate cry from afar, could immediately recognize whose work this was.

Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher. Prussia's Marshal Forwards, who fully realized the commander's virtue of selling souls to the devil for victory, was the culprit.

"Should we send in the reserve forces now?"

The enemy soldiers guarding the bridge were fighting as if they had two or three lives, but the overall formation and defense line were still poor.

The reserve forces were the most prestigious units among Napoleon's Corps, including the Old and Middle Guards, the most elite units of the Imperial Army.

They would be able to break through the blockage at once in place of the front-line units that had been temporarily stopped by the desperate resistance of the enemy soldiers. No matter the enemies1 desperate state of mind and screams, they would be no match for the reserve forces1 combat power.

'But our opponent is Blucher. An old, unpredictable Prussian fox,'

Although he was nicknamed 'Marshal Forwards1, in fact, he was a general who did not hesitate to use clever and vicious strategies. His way of fighting was similar to Napoleon's in that he could use any means to win.

Should Napoleon go against such an enemy? Was France now in a crisis of despair? Once he had made a decision, there was no hesitation. When Napoleon ordered with a gesture, the officers issued a retreat order to each unit.

"This isn't easy."

The French eventually failed to cross the White Elster River. Napoleon removed his gaze across the river with a bitter face. In the meantime, people approached him. They were French soldiers who had just returned from fighting against the enemies on the battlefield.

They approached Napoleon with a face that did not lose the heat and excitement of the fight and knelt down on one knee. How dared they approach without the Emperor's permission? This inadequate and rude attitude raised the eyebrows of the officers and guards.

However, Napoleon dissuaded them, accepted the soldiers' approach and said that they were the warriors who risked their lives for him and the Empire.

"Your Majesty, the Great Emperor! We don't know how happy we are to be able to enjoy the light of fighting for Your Majesty. But why did Your Majesty order to retreat? We were confident in beating up, breaking down, and breaking through those wicked people!"

Napoleon replied this way to the soldiers' complaints that they could have won if they fought more.

"If I had trusted you and left you alone to decide, that would have been the case. You would have proved your loyalty to the Empire with your whole bodies and would have become heroes."

Then...!"

"However, close to half of you would not have been able to step back into this village alive."

The soldiers could not refute Napoleon's words. They could not admit it easily because of their pride, but they knew it. That the resistance of Prussian and Russian soldiers was rougher and tougher than expected.

"Please, my men, value your lives. You are not worthless to be defeated on such an insignificant battlefield. Young people who are excellent and smart like the soldiers are rare even in the 40 million people of the Empire, and even rarer among them are those who have a patriotism so strong that they would give their lives for their country. Such jewel-like talents have an obligation to live a long time and convey their pride, spirit, and noble ideology to future generations, For the future of the Empire."

At the end of Napoleon's words, there were no soldiers here who did not have tears in their eyes, They once again vowed loyalty to Napoleon while crying.

The officers and guards who watched this scene later said that it was a nobler and more sincere oath than any other oath.

"They are retreating! Let's chase them right away and show our strength...!"

"Now, in your eyes, do the French look like they're routing in disorder? You idiot! Have you lost both your reason and eyesightl?"

Blucher, who coldly rebuked the young officer Juncker, issued a strict order not to chase the enemies, along with the threat of punishment for the troops who disobeyed orders, regardless of their rank.

The Prussian officers, and even the Russian and Swedish officers from different affiliations, were dazzled by the intense momentum, but Blucher's eyes did not turn to them.

He was staring at the splendor of the French Emperor, visible through the wind across the river, with a blazing gaze. As Napoleon expected, Blucher had his own plan.

If the French army had tried to put in reserve forces or use other means to penetrate the defense of the bridge, Blucher intended to attract them by deliberately letting them break through.

It was not visible from the enemies' side, but in fact, on the left and right sides of the central bridge, Russian heavy cavalry and lancers borrowed from Bagration were waiting.

In addition, Prussian artillery was placed in the hilly area aligned with the bridge, and on the road between them, a light infantry regiment was on stand-by.

If the French army had crossed the bridge and entered the 'killing zone', Blucher had a plan to send them all to hell.

However, the evil monarch Napoleon did not fall into Bliicher's trap. Rather, as soon as he reached the critical point of the offensive, when the consumption of the French army began in earnest, he immediately retreated.

Giving up all the bridges that he had tried to build with his engineers, he leisurely returned to the path he had come without any regret.

All that remained on the battlefield were several wooden bridges made by the French army and countless bodies of Prussian and Russian troops who died enduring their offensive. In the chilly silence, Blucher clenched his teeth.

"But in the end, it was us who stopped the French offensive, They lost the advantage of time, and lost momentum as their winning streak was broken. This battle is a clear victory for the Coalition, and you have achieved an outstanding strategic victory."

There were aspects of the comfort of his chief of staff Clausewitz that seemed reasonable at first glance, but Bliicher's heart did not improve in the slightest. The French were the ones who stepped down, but in fact, it was the Coalition's soldiers who truly chilled their spine.

Just as the French army was fed up with the Prussian and Russian forces that desperately endured and resisted, the explosive fanaticism, bravery, and fighting spirit exuded from the French refined postures and movements reminded them of what it was like to deal with the best army on earth.

The French soldiers were the angels of battle and could instill the feeling of fear even to soldiers who were pushed to their limits, They were united and had an absolute loyalty to one man, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Was there any way to significantly hurt such a monster? Would that moment ever come? Blucher suddenly became frustrated.

"...Saying that the performance of the soldiers who fought in the lead today was remarkable is an understatement. Let's praise them properly... Ug h...l"

Blucher took a few staggering steps, and felt his vision spinning, His body suddenly faltered,

"Commander!! Oh my...!"

"Sir, are you alright? Are you awake?"

"Hurry up and bring a doctor!"

Prussian officers, including Clausewitz, who was devastated, rushed to support Blucher. Russian and Swedish officers were at a loss for what to do.

"It's nothing, so don't make a fuss! It's just the aftereffect of not sleeping well for a few days... Ugh..."

Blucher was waving his hand as if it was insignificant, but his fingertips were already trembling. There were already anxious glances among the officers, Clausewitz sighed quietly.

"Let's stop here so that you can recuperate comfortably. We'll discuss it again tomorrow."

"Who should recuperate..."

"Your body belongs to the country. You have to keep it safe,"

In the meantime, Clausewitz ordered the officers to join him. The expressions on their faces were very depressed. On this day, the allies remained silent without any military actions, provocations, or propaganda.

If they won the battle, they had to do well to boost the morale of soldiers and boost the support of citizens of his home country. Regardless of other things, if the battle was won, they had to do well to boost the morale of the soldiers and raise the support of the citizens in their countries.

However, the allies did not even do that and returned to Leipzig without making much noise. In response, various speculations were made by diplomats and war reporters, but the truth remained unknown.

In the surprise operation over the bridge two hours ago, more than 1,800 French soldiers were killed or injured, but the allies estimated that more than 6,000 of their soldiers were killed or injured. The tactical result of the battle was incomparably a complete victory for the French.

This was the result of Napoleon's judgment that ordered him to step down at the right time and the bravery of his loyal soldiers. Nevertheless, this operation was ultimately unsuccessful for the French. This was because they had to step down first without being able to use or maintain the bridges they had worked so hard to build.

Napoleon ordered the tired soldiers to rest, and with his staff officers held a countermeasure meeting at the spire of the church in the center of the village of Lindenau.

"Tsk... it was said that the enemy soldiers' discipline was improving greatly. It was something that could not be explained unless it was that old man in command."

"Had you foreseen Bliicher's presence, Your Majesty?"

"I didn't even know he would be there before the battle, But I could tell by the way the enemy army operated and the attitudes of its soldiers,"

Thanks to his innate sense and numerous battlefield experiences, Napoleon was able to roughly guess the presence of a person. As he had expected, Blucher was the enemy commander. It was later confirmed by spies.

The expressions of French military officers were dark. Blucher was the strongest among the allied generals currently gathered in Leipzig. The fact that he was guarding the White Elster River also meant that the main force of the Coalition was placed here.

The enemy's main forces were blocking the river. Napoleon's surprise operation, which consisted in crossing the river by inducing the enemy's misjudgment and seeking a gap, was virtually out of the question. While the officers looked perplexed, Napoleon recalled the stubborn Prussian 'Marshal Forwards'.

Blucher was famous for pushing his soldiers to their limits very harshly before the battle. In the name of instilling a fighting spirit in the soldiers, he could do anything,

He received enormous resentment and anger from the soldiers under his command exposed to such irresistible tyranny and beatings, but he turned these emotions to the enemy.

He did so in a very clever and sneaky way. It was not like training an army, but closer to training beasts, fighting dogs.

Contrary to Arthur Wellesley, Karl Ludwig, Mikhail Kutuzov, Levin August von Benn igsen, etc. whom Napoleon did not forget to respect even if they were enemy commanders, this was the biggest reason why he could never acknowledge Blucher. The way Blucher controlled his army was enough to disgust Napoleon.

IL notes

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, painted by Emil Hiinten: