Curated category
1814 in France
- Battle of La RothièreNapoleon stood at the edge of disaster in November 1813. His army had just suffered a crushing defeat at Leipzig, forcing him to retreat across the Rhine…
- Battle of Château-Thierry (1814)On the 12th of February 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte stood within 75 kilometers of Paris, chasing two battered Allied corps toward a single bridge over the Marne…
- Battle of LaonThe town of Laon rose over 100 meters above the surrounding countryside on the 9th of March 1814. This flat-topped hill provided a commanding view for anyone…
- Battle of ChampaubertOn the 10th of February 1814, a 19-year-old French conscript with fewer than six months of military service walked up to one of Russia's senior generals and…
- Battle of MontmirailThe Battle of Montmirail, fought on the 11th of February 1814, was one of Napoleon's most daring gambles. With only 70,000 soldiers facing roughly 200,000…
- Battle of Reims (1814)On the 9th of March 1814, Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher defeated Emperor Napoleon's army at Laon. The French lost 4,000 killed and wounded plus…
- Battle of Arcis-sur-AubeThe Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube unfolded over two days in March 1814, and it nearly ended with the capture of Napoleon Bonaparte himself.
- Battle of VauchampsThe Battle of Vauchamps, fought on the 14th of February 1814, ended a remarkable six-day stretch in which Napoleon repeatedly beat the same enemy.
- Battle of MormantThe Battle of Mormant on the 17th of February 1814 began before sunrise, with French infantry advancing at five in the morning toward a Russian force that…
- Battle of Saint-DizierThe Battle of Saint-Dizier, fought on the 26th of March 1814, holds a peculiar place in military history: it was a French victory that helped lose a war.
- Six Days' CampaignThe Six Days' Campaign ran from the 10th to the 15th of February 1814, and in that brief window Napoleon I of France pulled off something that stunned even…
- Battle of MontereauThe Battle of Montereau was fought on the 18th of February 1814, and it turned on a single bridge. Two bridges, actually.
- Battle of CraonneOn the 7th of March 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte stood on the Chemin des Dames ridge with roughly 30,000 men and a problem he had not anticipated.
- Battle of BrienneThe Battle of Brienne on the 29th of January 1814 took place at a site Napoleon knew intimately. He had entered the Royal School of Brienne as a boy of nine…
- Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)The Treaty of Fontainebleau, signed on the 11th of April 1814, ended the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor of the French and sent him into exile on the…
- Campaign in north-east France (1814)In late March 1814, a letter meant for Empress Marie-Louise fell into the wrong hands. Cossack riders serving under Marshal Blücher intercepted it on the…
- Acte de déchéance de l'EmpereurThe French Consulate emerged from the chaos of 18 Brumaire, a military coup executed by General Bonaparte. This event established an equilateral triumvirate…
- War of the Sixth CoalitionThe War of the Sixth Coalition ended one of the most consequential military careers in history, and it did so not with a single catastrophic battle but with…
- Battle of Paris (1814)On the morning of the 30th of March 1814, the city of Paris woke to the sound of artillery. For two decades, Napoleon had carried war to every corner of…