Questions about War of the Sixth Coalition
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What caused the War of the Sixth Coalition?
The War of the Sixth Coalition grew directly from the failure of Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia, which cost the Grande Armee at least 370,000 casualties and 200,000 captured. Prussia and Austria, formerly compelled to support France, used the Russian disaster as the moment to join Russia, Britain, Sweden, Portugal, and Spain against Napoleon. The coalition was formalized through a series of treaties beginning with the secret Treaty of Saint Petersburg between Russia and Sweden on the 5th of April 1812.
When and where was the Battle of Leipzig fought?
The Battle of Leipzig, also called the Battle of Nations, was fought from the 16th to the 19th of October 1813 in Saxony. It was the largest battle fought in Europe until the Second World War, pitting a French force ultimately reinforced to 191,000 men against more than 430,000 Allied troops. A premature explosion of the White Elster bridge during the French retreat stranded 30,000 troops, who were taken prisoner.
What was the Trachenberg Plan in the Sixth Coalition?
The Trachenberg Plan was the Allied operational strategy devised at Trachenberg Castle in Silesia during the 1813 armistice. It was authored primarily by Carl Johan of Sweden and Austrian Chief of Staff Field-Marshal Lieutenant Joseph Radetzky. The plan called for a Fabian strategy: avoid direct battle with Napoleon, engage and defeat his marshals wherever possible, and slowly encircle the French with three independent armies until Napoleon could be cornered at a heavy numerical disadvantage.
What were the Frankfurt proposals offered to Napoleon in 1813?
The Frankfurt proposals, offered by the Allies in November 1813, would have allowed Napoleon to remain Emperor of France if France withdrew to its natural frontiers. France could retain Belgium, Savoy, and the Rhineland but would surrender Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, and most of Italy and Germany. Napoleon delayed too long and the Allies withdrew the offer by December 1813; when he attempted to reopen negotiations in 1814, the terms had hardened to a retreat to France's 1791 boundaries.
How did the Convention of Tauroggen lead Prussia into the Sixth Coalition?
The Convention of Tauroggen, signed on the 30th of December 1812, was a truce between Prussian General Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg and Russian General Hans Karl von Diebitsch that neutralized the Prussian corps serving with Napoleon's army without the Prussian king's consent. The Prussian court suspended Yorck pending court-martial but Diebitsch refused to let the order through Russian lines. Prussia formally joined the Allies when the Treaty of Kalisch was signed on the 28th of February 1813.
When did Napoleon abdicate and end the War of the Sixth Coalition?
Napoleon abdicated on the 11th of April 1814 at Fontainebleau after his marshals, led by Ney, refused to march on Paris. The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed the same day, and the Treaty of Paris between France and the Great Powers including Britain followed on the 30th of May 1814. Napoleon was exiled to Elba and the Bourbon monarchy was restored in the person of Louis XVIII.