Battle of Hanau
Napoleon arrived at Hanau with reinforcements and defeated Wrede's forces on the 30th of October. This event followed the Battle of Leipzig, which began on the 16th of October 1813 and raged for three days. The largest encounter of the Napoleonic Wars ended with a decisive victory for the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon was forced to abandon central Germany to the coalition and hastily retreated westwards. His strategy was to regroup all his available forces on the shores of the Rhine. He needed shorter lines of communication and less threatened rear areas. The Emperor feared that his already battered army might be forced to fight against superior forces again. He ordered that the retreat be carried out at great speed. Had the coalition managed to advance with more vigour in the days following the Battle of Leipzig, the disorganised French army would probably have been destroyed. But the coalition armies themselves had suffered such high losses at Leipzig that they were in no position to launch an effective pursuit. With military action confined to secondary rearguard actions, Napoleon was able to install his headquarters at Erfurt on the 23rd of October. He began to reorganise his forces. On the 26th of October, he sent orders to the various corps, directing them to Frankfurt via Eisenach and Fulda. Their assigned destination was the city of Mainz, by the Rhine river.
The coalition was buoyed by news that Bavaria agreed to join the Sixth Coalition according to the Treaty of Ried concluded just before the Battle of Leipzig. This allowed the coalition to threaten the overall military position of the French by moving a 45,000 to 50,000 Austro-Bavarian army into Napoleon's rear. Karl Philipp von Wrede commanded this force occupying Würzburg in Franconia. The small French garrison of Würzburg did not try to resist and instead barricaded themselves at the local citadel. They allowed the enemy to occupy the town without a fight. From Würzburg, Wrede moved towards the strategic city of Hanau along one of Napoleon's main retreat routes. Wrede's advance guard reached Hanau on the 28th of October and took possession of the city. This move blocked Napoleon's route to Frankfurt. Although Wrede probably assumed that the main part of the French forces was retreating along a more northerly road to Coblenz, he expected to face a force of only 20,000 men. He entertained hopes that he would be able to play a major role in the defeat of Napoleon. He also believed that the French army was completely disorganised, which was not true. He was closely followed by the main coalition army, the Army of Bohemia, which was in reality much further away and not really in close contact with Napoleon's forces.
On the 29th of October, having correctly reckoned that his force was strong enough to block the retreat of a disorganised enemy army, Wrede decided to give battle. He deployed his army in a relatively narrow and deep order, which was quite sensible given that his intention was to remain on the defensive. Wrede's left covered the road to Frankfurt and Mainz, the main retreat route that the French wanted to take. The bulk of his force was positioned along the Kinzig river, on the opposite bank from the city of Hanau. On his right, the divisions of Elbracht and Trautenberg were positioned on the southern bank of the Kinzig. Beckers's Bavarian division constituted the far right and was deployed on either side of the Kinzig. One regiment, the Austrian Szekler, two battalions strong, as well as a great many skirmishers detached from their parent units were placed in an advanced position in the Lamboy forest. Most of the cavalry was placed in the second line, in the centre, with the artillery quite evenly dispersed throughout the battlefield. Meanwhile, Napoleon spent the night of 29/the 30th of October at Isenburg castle, near Gelnhausen. He received detailed intelligence about the Austro-Bavarian preparations, which confirmed that the enemy was intending to make a stand.
Napoleon directed the army's baggage and supply train northwards, away from the coalition forces, under the protection of Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova's Cavalry Corps. He led his remaining forces in a frontal manoeuvre against Wrede's force. He ordered Victor to form the left wing with his Army Corps and march along the Kinzig. MacDonald's Corps and the Guard were to penetrate the Lamboi forest. Part of the Guard cavalry under General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes was detached further north to cover the flank of the army. Napoleon studied Wrede's position and spotted its main weakness, namely that he had most of his army deployed with the river behind it. This would act as a natural barrier should retreat be necessary. Upon seeing Wrede's dispositions, Napoleon sarcastically noted: I have made Wrede a Count but it was beyond my power to make him a General. On the 30th of October Wrede placed his centre with the River Kinzig behind it, and his right wing to its south in an isolated position with only a single bridge linking it with the main force. Wrede's forces tried to cross the single bridge over the Kinzig River to reinforce the centre, but many drowned in the attempt.
Wrede suffered 9,000 casualties, while Napoleon suffered fewer losses. Some 10,000 French stragglers became allied prisoners of war between 28 and the 31st of October. The French reached Frankfurt on the 2nd of November 1813 and were only 20 miles from their relatively safe rear base at Mainz. This allowed Napoleon's army to recover and face the subsequent invasion of France in 1814. Napoleon was not slowed, blocked or interfered with on his march to Frankfurt, where he arrived in the afternoon of the 31st of October 1813. Militarily the battle was a costly victory for Napoleon. Wrede failed to block Napoleon's path, although the allied forces of Russians, Prussians and Austrians had cut Napoleon's line of retreat. However Napoleon evaded the maneuver. The Kingdom of Bavaria wanted with this battle to support militarily its shift to the allied side. It did not really matter to the Bavarian politicians and military whether the battle was won or lost as long as it took place. On the 5th of November 1813 Alexander I marched with his troops into Frankfurt.
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 was premiered in Vienna on the 8th of December 1813, with Beethoven himself conducting at a charity concert for soldiers wounded in the Battle of Hanau. The best officers in the battle were honored by promotion and received many medals. Carl Philipp von Wrede received two medals from the Austrian Empire: the Order of Leopold and the Commander's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He also received two from the Russian Empire: the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Order of St. George. To commemorate the Battle of Hanau, memorials were erected in the city of Hanau, five of which have been preserved. They stand at Lamboystrasse, Karl-Marx-Strasse and Robert Blum Strasse, and two more at the Kinzig bridge. The battle is also engraved at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in the list of battles won by Napoleon. In 2015, around 200 remains of French soldiers fallen in the battle were exhumed at the battle's site.
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Common questions
When did Napoleon arrive at Hanau to defeat Wrede's forces?
Napoleon arrived at Hanau and defeated Wrede's forces on the 30th of October 1813. This battle occurred shortly after the Battle of Leipzig which began on the 16th of October 1813.
Who commanded the Austro-Bavarian army that blocked Napoleon's retreat route?
Karl Philipp von Wrede commanded the 45,000 to 50,000 strong Austro-Bavarian army that moved into Napoleon's rear from Würzburg. He deployed his troops along the Kinzig river to block the French retreat toward Frankfurt.
What were the casualty figures for the Battle of Hanau in 1813?
Wrede suffered 9,000 casualties while Napoleon suffered fewer losses during the engagement. Some 10,000 French stragglers became allied prisoners of war between the 28th and the 31st of October 1813.
Where was the main fighting located relative to the Kinzig river during the Battle of Hanau?
The bulk of Wrede's force was positioned along the Kinzig river on the opposite bank from the city of Hanau. His right wing sat south of the river with only a single bridge linking it to the main force.
Why did the coalition fail to destroy the French army after the Battle of Leipzig?
Coalition armies had suffered such high losses at Leipzig that they were in no position to launch an effective pursuit against Napoleon. The disorganised French army managed to escape destruction because military action was confined to secondary rearguard actions.