Campaign in north-east France (1814)

• 1. Sixth Coalition Formation

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  The destruction of Napoleon's Grande Armée during the Russian Campaign in 1813 created a power vacuum that Prussia and Austria could not ignore. These two states had been forcibly allied with France after earlier defeats, but the collapse of their enemy allowed them to pivot against him. By late 1813, they formed the Sixth Coalition alongside Russia and various German states to invade French territory. This alliance represented a unified front from across Europe, combining resources previously held back by fear or diplomatic necessity. The coalition armies began organizing near the Rhine River, preparing for an offensive that would test Napoleon's remaining strength.

• 2. Strategic Situation And Dispositions

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  Three distinct Coalition armies crossed the Rhine between late December 1813 and early January 1814. Prince Schwarzenberg led the Army of Bohemia with 200,000 to 210,000 Austrian soldiers through Swiss territory. Blücher commanded the Army of Silesia containing 50,000 to 75,000 Prussian and Russian troops crossing between Rastadt and Koblenz on the 1st of January 1814. A third force under Wintzingerode and Bülow moved toward Picardy but did not reach its destination until March. Napoleon responded by calling up conscript classes of 1814 and 1815 via senatus consultum dated the 9th of October 1813. These young recruits became known as marie-louises after Empress Marie-Louise. He could gather only about 200,000 men total, leaving less than 80,000 available for the eastern frontier while over 100,000 fought Wellington in Spain.

• 3. The Six Days Campaign

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  Napoleon struck at Blücher's scattered detachments during a rapid series of battles from the 10th of February to the 14th of February 1814. At Champaubert on the 10th of February he decimated Lieutenant General Olssufiev's Russian IX Corps. The next day at Montmirail on the 11th of February he defeated Osten-Sacken and Yorck. By the 14th of February at Vauchamps near Étoges he crushed Blücher's main body. These victories placed his army between enemy vanguard and reserve forces. He then turned against Schwarzenberg's Austrian army at Mormant on the 17th of February and Montereau on the 18th of February. Méry-sur-Seine fell on the 21st of February under heavy French punishment. The Coalition armies retreated precipitately to Bar-sur-Aube after suffering such losses that pursuit seemed impossible. Roads were so bad or leadership so lethargic that no effective counterattack occurred immediately.

• 4. Turning Point At Laon

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  Blücher rallied his scattered forces and drove Marmont and Mortier northward toward Soissons. Napoleon moved again by Sézanne to strike Blücher's left flank, forcing him back upon the city. The French garrison there had capitulated only twenty-four hours before Napoleon arrived, a fact unknown to him. This allowed the Silesian army to escape and march northwards to combine with Bernadotte's Army of the North at Laon. The reinforcement brought over 100,000 men under Blücher's command. On the 9th of March 1814 the Battle of Laon took place where Napoleon was defeated with only 30,000 men at his back. He retreated to Soissons while Saint-Priest mortally wounded in battle retook Reims on the 13th of March. The strategic initiative shifted decisively away from France as Coalition numbers grew.

• 5. Fall Of Paris And Abdication

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  Coalition armies marched straight for the capital after Arcis-sur-Aube ended on the 20th of March 1814. Schwarzenberg advanced west while Napoleon attempted to rally garrisons eastward toward Saint-Dizier. A letter outlining his plan to move on Coalition lines of communications was intercepted by Cossacks in Blücher's army on the 22nd of March. Tsar Alexander I and King Frederick William III decided to ignore Napoleon and march directly to Paris instead. Marmont and Mortier took up positions on Montmartre heights but surrendered the city on the 31st of March when further resistance proved hopeless. Napoleon arrived at Fontainebleau too late to join them. The French Senate passed a resolution deposing him on the 2nd of April and justified their actions with a decree dated the 5th of April. Napoleon abdicated in favor of his son on the 4th of April before announcing unconditional abdication two days later.

• 6. Treaty Negotiations And Exile

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  Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau on the 6th of April 1814 after refusing initial terms regarding his son. He was sent into exile on the island of Elba while Louis XVIII restored the Bourbon monarchy. The Treaty of Paris formally ended the War of the Sixth Coalition on the 30th of May 1814 returning France to its 1792 boundaries. Representatives of the French monarchy negotiated these terms alongside Coalition powers ahead of the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon escaped from Elba the following year leading to the Hundred Days campaign. He was eventually defeated at Waterloo by the Seventh Coalition. The campaign concluded with total defeat for Napoleon despite several early battlefield successes against overwhelming odds.