Battle of Champaubert
On the 1st of February 1814, Prussian field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and Austrian field marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg defeated Napoleon at the Battle of La Rothière. Each side suffered about 6,000 casualties but the Allies captured 50 to 60 artillery pieces. The Allied generals made a questionable decision to separate their armies after this victory. Blücher's army would advance from Châlons-sur-Marne toward Meaux while Schwarzenberg's army operated on a more southerly route from Troyes toward Paris. On the 3rd of February, Napoleon's army reached Troyes after completely breaking contact with the Allies the previous day. On the 4th of February, Schwarzenberg wrote his colleague Blücher that he was moving farther south in order to turn Napoleon's right flank. The next day, Russian General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly ordered Alexander Nikitich Seslavin's scouting force from Schwarzenberg's right flank to the left flank without notifying Blücher. Since the Prussian field marshal did not have a liaison officer with Seslavin's force he did not realize that no one was watching for French forces in the space on his left flank. Also on the 5th of February, Napoleon decided to abandon Troyes and fall back to Nogent-sur-Seine. He planned to contain Schwarzenberg with part of his army while attacking Blücher.
On the 9th of February, MacDonald slipped across the Marne at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, just ahead of Sacken. That day, Kaptzevich and Kleist rendezvoused with Blücher at Vertus, Olsufiev marched west to Champaubert, Sacken reached La Ferté-sous-Jouarre and Yorck was at Château-Thierry. According to Karl Freiherr von Müffling of Blücher's staff, the Army of Silesia counted 57,000 men, including Sacken's 20,000, Yorck's 18,000 and Kaptzevich, Olsufiev and Kleist with a combined 19,000. Marmont's cavalry advance guard appeared at Talus-Saint-Prix on the Petit Morin River. Because the horsemen soon withdrew, Blücher's chief of staff August Neidhardt von Gneisenau believed they represented no danger. When Schwarzenberg asked the Prussian field marshal to support his right flank corps under Peter Wittgenstein, Blücher ordered Kaptzevich and Kleist to march southwest to Sézanne the next day. Olsufiev was ordered to march south from Champaubert. That night, Blücher finally received news that Napoleon was at Sézanne. Nevertheless, Gneisenau authorized Sacken to continue the pursuit of MacDonald to the west. Napoleon's soldiers plodded along roads deep in mud from days of rain. The men had to suffer hunger pangs when the provision wagons failed to turn up. The bogged artillery was only brought forward when the rural inhabitants in large numbers helped haul the guns through the mud.
On the 10th of February Napoleon moved against Blücher's over-extended army in the hope of smashing it. He caught Olsufiev's IX Corps of 5,000 Russians near the village of Baye just south of Champaubert. The battle was one of the few times during the war that France was able to take the field with a large numerical advantage, in this case six-to-one. Planning to march south to Sézanne that day, Olsufiev left the Saint-Prix bridge over the Petit Morin intact. He also left the span unguarded, so that Napoleon's cavalry seized it early in the morning. Marmont's two VI Corps divisions led the French column. Joseph Lagrange's 3rd Division filed across the Saint-Prix bridge followed by Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard's 8th Division. Following Napoleon's instructions, 100 Guard Dragoons rode ahead into Bannay where they surprised and captured a group of Russian soldiers. Olsufiev's pickets were overrun by 10:00 am and although badly outnumbered, the Russian decided to fight rather than retreat. His decision was based partly on the mistaken hope that he would get reinforcements from Blücher in time to prevent a disaster.
According to Digby Smith the French lost 600 killed and wounded out of the 13,300 infantry and 1,700 cavalry that were engaged in the action. The Russians lost 2,400 men and 9 guns out of the 3,700 soldiers and 24 guns that were present. Captured were General-Leutnant Olsufiev and General-major Prince Konstantin Poltoratsky. Francis Loraine Petre credited Olsufiev with 4,000 infantry and 24 guns of which 1,600 to 1,700 men and 15 guns escaped. George Nafziger cited several sources including one that listed Russian losses as 1,400 dead and 1,894 captured including three generals and 21 guns, with 1,900 troops getting away. A 19-year old French conscript with fewer than six months of service made Olsufiev a prisoner. Udom and his fellow division commander Peter Yakovlevich Kornilov managed to get away with 1,500 to 2,000 men. That night they reached Port-à-Binson on the Marne after going cross-country.
When Blücher heard about Olsufiev's disaster, he ordered Kaptzevich and Kleist to turn around and make a night march back to Vertus. Sacken, who had marched west to Trilport, was ordered to return to Montmirail. Yorck was requested to meet Sacken near Montmirail while holding open an escape route over the Marne at Château-Thierry. After the battle, Napoleon found himself squarely in the middle of the overextended Army of Silesia. If he advanced to the east, he would merely push the corps of Kaptzevich and Kleist back. A move to the west held the possibility of trapping and destroying the forces under Sacken and Yorck, so he turned west. Napoleon ordered Marmont with Lagrange's division and the I Cavalry Corps to hold Étoges and keep Blücher under observation. At 7:00 pm the emperor directed Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty with two cavalry divisions to occupy Montmirail. They were to be joined there in the morning by Ricard's division and the divisions under Ney and Mortier. The Battle of Montmirail was fought the next day against Sacken and Yorck.
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Common questions
What happened during the Battle of Champaubert on the 10th of February 1814?
Napoleon attacked and defeated General-Leutnant Olsufiev's IX Corps near the village of Baye just south of Champaubert. The French forces achieved a six-to-one numerical advantage over the Russian troops present in the action.
Who commanded the Russian forces at the Battle of Champaubert?
General-Leutnant Alexander Nikitich Seslavin's force included General-major Prince Konstantin Poltoratsky under the command of General-Leutnant Olsufiev. A 19-year old French conscript captured Olsufiev while his fellow division commander Peter Yakovlevich Kornilov escaped with 1,500 to 2,000 men.
How many casualties did each side suffer at the Battle of Champaubert?
The French lost 600 killed and wounded out of 13,300 infantry and 1,700 cavalry engaged in the battle. The Russians lost 2,400 men and 9 guns from their total force of 3,700 soldiers and 24 guns.
Where was the Battle of Champaubert fought on the 10th of February 1814?
Napoleon caught Olsufiev's IX Corps near the village of Baye just south of Champaubert. The French seized the Saint-Prix bridge over the Petit Morin River early in the morning before engaging Russian pickets by 10:00 am.
Why did Napoleon attack Blücher's army after the Battle of La Rothière?
Allied generals separated their armies after defeating Napoleon at the Battle of La Rothière on the 1st of February 1814. Napoleon decided to abandon Troyes and fall back to Nogent-sur-Seine to contain Schwarzenberg while attacking Blücher's over-extended forces.