200 years ago, on March 20-21, 1814, the battle of Arsy-sur-Auba took place. In a meeting engagement, the Allied main army under the command of the Austrian field marshal Schwarzenberg threw back Napoleon's army across the Aub river in the town of Arsi and moved to Paris. The Battle of Arcy-sur-Aubet was Napoleon's last battle in the 1814 campaign, where he personally commanded the troops, before his first abdication.
Background
With a huge superiority over the forces of MacDonald, Schwarzenberg moved forward extremely slowly. Often only under pressure from the Russian emperor. An insistent command from Alexander forced the Main Army to advance. At the same time, Schwarzenberg tried to evade meetings with Alexander Pavlovich and confine himself to written reports. By March 6 (18), 1814, the army had advanced slightly beyond the Seine and stretched almost 100 miles from Sans (on Ionne) through Provins, Vilnox, Mary, Arsy to Brienne.
Napoleon on March 7 and 9-10 fought two battles with Blucher's army (the feat of the Russian troops in the Battle of Kraons, the Battle of Laon), but could not defeat it. The movement of the Main Army to Paris forced the French emperor to again rush to the army of Schwarzenberg. On March 16, with a surprise attack, Napoleon defeated the 14,000th Russian-Prussian corps of the Count of Saint-Prix in Reims (Battle of Reims). As a result, Napoleon took a central position relative to the allied armies. The sudden success of Napoleon caused some confusion among the allied command. Schwarzenberg received a new reason to slow down the pace of the army's offensive. The initiative in hostilities was transferred to the French emperor.
Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Reims on March 13, 1814
Napoleon decided to use a tried and tested tactic that had already brought success, to attack the Main Army of Schwarzenberg, acting not from the front, but against its flank. He hoped to break the Allied corps scattered in the march separately and thereby disrupt the offensive on Paris. Napoleon, after a three-day rest in Reims, moved his troops to Schwarzenberg. Against Blucher's army, he left a screen under the command of Mortier at Soissons and Marmont at Berry-au-Bac. He himself planned to attach 11 thousand reinforcements to 16-17 thousand soldiers, unite with MacDonald, thus receiving up to 60 thousand people and go to Arsi and Plancy, on the right flank of the Main Army. On March 18, the French troops were already 20 versts from Arsi.
But this time the scattered corps of the Main Army were saved by the Russian emperor. Alexander arrived from Troyes to Arsy on March 18 at 6 pm. Schwarzenberg was "ill" at this time. “What are you doing? - Emperor Tolya said with displeasure. “We can lose the entire army.” Orders were immediately issued to concentrate troops towards Arsi. As a result, Napoleon went not to the flank or rear of the allied forces, but to their front.
On March 7 (19), the Main Army was located as follows: the Wrede corps was in the Arsi area; behind him, at Brienne, stood the Russian-Prussian reserves of Barclay de Tolly. The corps of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Württemberg, Giulay and Raevsky were located partly in Troyes, and partly on the march to this city, near Nogent, Mary and Sans.
Napoleon, having insignificant forces and not knowing about the size of the Main Army, did not dare to attack the enemy on the move. As a result, he did not use the opportunity to overturn Wrede's corps and crash into the center of the allied corps. The French emperor turned towards Plancy to join with MacDonald. Only on March 8 (20) did French troops move northeast from Plancy along the Aub river valley to the town of Arsy-sur-Aube. The French cavalry marched on the left bank of the river, and the infantry on the right. By noon on March 8 (20), the French reached Arsy. This city was located on the left bank of the Ob River. The vanguard of Wrede, in order not to be cut off from the main forces there, left Arsi. Sebastiani's cavalry occupied the town.
Battle
8 (20) March. The area south of Arsi was crossed by the marshy Barbusse, which could only be crossed by bridges. Between the Barbusse River and the Ob River, resting on the right flank against the Ob River, was the Wrede corps. Guards and reserves were located at Puzha. The corps of the Crown Prince of Württemberg, Raevsky and Giulai were to arrive from the direction of Troyes. Before their arrival, Wrede was ordered not to get involved in a decisive battle. The allies had about 30 thousand soldiers at the beginning of the battle. Napoleon also awaited the arrival of Oudinot's troops and Friant's division, having at the beginning of the battle about 8 thousand people.
The French emperor, suggesting that the allied forces were retreating to Troyes, ordered Sebastiani's cavalry to pursue the enemy. Having passed Arsi, the troops of Marshal Ney took up a position, which rested on the left flank on the Brienne road near the village of Bolshoye Torsi; and on the right flank, to the village of Vilet. There are two cavalry divisions (Colbert and Excelman) under the command of General Sebastiani.
After a long wait, at 2 pm, Schwarzenberg gave the order to attack. At the same time, Napoleon decided that the inaction of the allied forces meant their readiness to retreat, and moved the troops from Arsi. The battle began with an attack by Major General Paisiy Kaisarov's Cossacks on the right wing of Colbert's division. Kaisarov noticed that the enemy artillery was standing with little cover. At the same time, the hussars of Archduke Joseph struck Sebastiani's cavalry. With a dashing blow, the enemy was overturned, the allies captured 4 guns. Colbero's left wing tried to rectify the situation, but was scattered by the Austrian artillery canister fire. Colbert's division rushed back in disarray and crushed Excelman's division. The French cavalry fled, shouting: "Save yourself, who can!"
French horsemen gallop in panic across the city to the bridge. Napoleon personally stood with his sword bald on the bridge in Arsi and said: "Let's see which of you dares to cross before me!" At this time, the warheads of Friant's Old Guard division approached. Napoleon leads his "grumblers" through the city and builds up a battle formation, under a hail of cannonballs and buckshot. It seemed that the emperor was looking for death. One of the grenades exploded at his feet. Napoleon disappeared into a cloud of dust and smoke. It seemed to everyone that he was dead. But under Napoleon, only a horse was killed. The French emperor mounts another horse and continues to stand on the front line.
Napoleon at the Battle of Arsy-sur-Aube. Engraving by J.-A. Bise. Mid 19th century
Wrede, seeing the success of Kaisarov's cavalry, decided to throw the forward forces of the right flank into battle. Volkmann's Austrian brigade (5 battalions) received an order to take the village of Bolshoye Torsi. Then the brigade had to strike the city, capture the bridge and thus cut the positions of the French army. In addition, the capture of the bridge cut off the French troops from reinforcements that might come from the right bank. Two battalions of the 1st Sheckler regiment were supposed to support the offensive of the Volkmann brigade.
In the center, the offensive of the Bavarian troops was stopped by the fire of the French batteries. The offensive developed better on the right flank. Volkman's brigade passed the village of Maloye Torsi and attacked Bolshoye Torsi. The village was defended by Russo's brigade (Jansen's division). The Bavarians withdrew the enemy from the village and moved towards Arsi. Napoleon noticed the threat and reinforced his left flank with two battalions of guards grenadiers, a gendarme battalion, an Uhlan squadron and one horse battery.
However, even before the arrival of reinforcements, the Boye division in reserve drove the Bavarians out of the village. The commander of the forward battalion, Major Metzen (Metzen), was mortally wounded. General Volkmann brought other troops into battle and again captured Bolshoi Torsi. A fierce battle went on for several hours. Napoleon himself arrived at Bolshoi Torsi and encouraged his troops. Wrede, wishing to seize the village, first supported Volkmann with three battalions of the brigade of Prince Karl of Bavaria, and then sent the Haberman brigade.
Even before the arrival of Austro-Bavarian reinforcements, Volkmann's troops captured the village for the third time. But they could not develop the attack. Friant's guards, supported by the divisions of Jansen and Boye, recaptured Big Torsi. The fierce battle continued until evening. Fifteen allied battalions under the command of Volkmann, Habermann and Prince Karl broke into the village several more times, but their onslaught ran into the brave French troops and they rolled back. In this battle, Gaberman died, from the French side - Jansen. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Several Austrian battalions shot all the ammunition and were taken to the rear.
Already at dusk, the troops of Wilhelm of Württemberg (under his command were the 3rd, 4th and 6th corps) on the way from Mary to Arsi intercepted the French cavalry (two guards regiments) near the village of Rezh. Allied cavalry (regiments of Count Palen, 2nd cuirassier division, Württemberg and Austrian cavalry) attacked the enemy from several directions. The French detachment was almost completely destroyed. Of the 1,000 riders, only a few were able to flee. The rest were chopped up or taken prisoner. The three corps of the Crown Prince of Württemberg approached only at night and did not take part in the battle.
In the evening, the opponents limited themselves to artillery firefight. The French deployed up to 70 guns near the city and kept the allied cavalry at a distance. Hand-to-hand fighting continued only at Bolshoi Torsi. In the evening, the allied command began to bring the Russian-Prussian reserves into battle. The detachment of Lieutenant General Choglokov was ordered to strengthen the right wing, which attacked Big Torsi. The detachment included the 1st Grenadier Division, the cuirassier brigade of General Levashov (Starodubsky and Novgorodsky regiments). However, the French held the village.
At 9 o'clock in the evening, reinforcements arrived at Napoleon: the cavalry of Lefebvre-Denouet (2 thousand people). The division of Henrion's Young Guard (4, 5 thousand people), tired of forced marches, stopped at Plancy. General Sebastiani, reinforced by the arriving cavalry, attacked the allied cavalry located on the left wing at 10 o'clock in the evening. Kaisarov's Cossacks and the 7th Bavarian Light Horse Regiment could not withstand the blow and were overturned. The French captured the Bavarian battery. However, the offensive of the enemy cavalry was stopped by the Tauride Grenadier Regiment, which was supported by the Bavarian cavalry. The grenadiers formed a square and repelled the attacks of the French until the arrival of the 3rd Russian cuirassier division. The French were thrown back, the battery was recaptured.
The battle ended there. By the evening of March 20, the position of the French army was a semicircle, the edges of which rested against the river. Oh, and inside was the city of Arsi. At night and in the morning, the advance units of MacDonald and Oudinot began to approach Napoleon, and the number of his army increased to 25-30 thousand people. On the right flank of the Main Army was the Austro-Bavarian Corps of Wrede, in the center were the Russian and Prussian units of Barclay de Tolly, on the left flank were the Austrians Giulai (Gyulai). They were reinforced by the Württemberg corps. Each corps allocated one division to the reserve.
The first day of the battle was unsuccessful for the allied forces: first 8, and then 14 thousand Frenchmen stopped the strike of 30 thousand allies, whose forces had increased to 60 thousand soldiers by the evening. Affected skill and great influence of Napoleon on the soldiers. With his personal presence, the emperor inspired his soldiers, who did not dare to retreat in front of Napoleon. The mistakes of the allied command also affected. Allied forces suffered significant losses: about 800 Bavarians, about 2 thousand Austrians. The losses of the Russian troops are unknown. The French lost about 4 thousand people.
Battle plan at Arcy-sur-Aube 8-9 (20-21) March 1814
March 9 (21). Napoleon, despite the immense superiority of the Allied Army, planned to advance and hoped to induce a very cautious enemy to retreat. On the left wing, near Bolshoi Torsi, he placed Ney's troops (13, 5 thousand people), in the center was Leval's division (6, 5 thousand people), on the right wing, under the command of Sebastiani, he concentrated all the cavalry (about 10 thousand people).
Schwarzenberg still adhered to cautious tactics, although he already had about 90 thousand soldiers. Justified by his ignorance of the exact number of Napoleon's troops and considering them stronger than they really were, the field marshal did not dare to throw the army into the attack, preferring to give the initiative to the enemy. The offensive of the enemy was supposed to show what to do next - to attack with full force, or to retreat. A bitter battle at Torcy and a night attack by Sebastiani's cavalry reinforced his opinion.
In the morning, the troops prepared for battle. Napoleon personally conducted reconnaissance and became convinced of the significant superiority of the enemy forces. However, he decided to test the allied forces for endurance. At 10 o'clock, Napoleon ordered Sebastiani to attack. Ney had to support him. Sebastiani knocked over the first line of Palen's cavalry, but was stopped by the second.
After that, Napoleon, convinced from the report of Sebastiani and Ney, about the enormous superiority of the enemy, decided, without getting involved in the battle, to withdraw his troops across the river and bypass the allies in the direction of Nancy. First, they began to withdraw the guard, then the divisions of Lefol (formerly Jansen) and Boye. Leval's troops and cavalry remained in the rearguard.
The retreat of the French troops and the weakness of their forces were clearly visible from the heights on which the Main Army was stationed. It would seem that Schwarzenberg should have attacked the enemy without wasting a minute, taking advantage of the superiority in forces and the danger of the situation for the French army, when one part of it withdrew across the river, and the other was preparing to retreat. Schwarzenberg called the corps commanders for a "brief" meeting that lasted more than two hours. The allied command was plagued by vain doubts. News arrived that French troops had been found on the flanks. The enemy troops occupied Mary. Some commanders began to fear outflanking. As a result, the Allies, seeing the plight of the French, missed the opportunity to inflict a decisive defeat on Napoleon, or at least destroy their rearguard.
The allied command was inactive for several hours while the French withdrew the troops. Only at 2 o'clock (according to other sources at 3 o'clock) the allied forces began to advance. Oudinot, who led the rearguard, had three brigades of Leval's division at his disposal. The Montfort brigade defended in the eastern suburb, Molman's brigade in the western, Chassé's brigade in reserve. A team of sappers was located at the newly built bridge near the village of Villette. They were supposed to blow up the bridge, after the troops crossed to the right bank.
Count Palen with the cavalry of the 6th corps of Raevsky attacked the French cavalry, which immediately began to retreat to the Villette bridge. The French brigade, which was retreating in the last line, lost 3 guns and many people were taken prisoner. The French, under artillery fire and the threat of bypassing the left flank, hastened the retreat. Schwarzenberg ordered Wrede to cross at Lemon to the right bank of the Ob River. Dozens of allied guns smashed the orders of Oudinot's troops. The French artillery was forced to shut up and cross to the other side. The Villette bridge was destroyed. Part of the French cavalry, which did not have time to cross, rushed ford, or rushed into the city, pushing and throwing the infantry into the water.
Oudinot's troops left their positions near the city, and withdrew to Arsi, continuing to defend themselves with extreme tenacity. However, the advantage was on the side of the Allies. The Prince of Württemberg with the second corps broke into the western suburb. Giulai's corps made its way from the southeast side. The Austrians and Russians went to the bridge. A desperate battle broke out here. Leval was wounded. Chasse was cut off from the bridge by Austrian riflemen, but with a hundred old soldiers he was able to pave the way for salvation.
With great effort, the remnants of Oudinot's forces crossed to the right bank of the Oba, after which he followed Napoleon to Vitry. In the evening MacDonald approached and brought in about 20,000 soldiers. His troops marched through the swampy terrain, along the gates, so they did not have time to battle.
Austrian infantry in the battle of Arsy-sur-Aube
Outcomes
Allied forces lost about 4 thousand people, including 500 Russians. On the second day of the battle, the losses of the Allied forces were small. The main losses were suffered by Raevsky's corps. The losses of the French are unknown. But in two days of the battle, more than 2, 5 thousand prisoners were captured. Therefore, the losses of the French army were higher (approximately 8 thousand people). This was facilitated by the actions of the allied artillery.
Napoleon's actions in this battle were distinguished by desperate audacity, he rushed into battle against a huge enemy, without waiting for the approach of MacDonald's troops. The French emperor was able to suspend the advance on Paris of the Main Army. His calculations were partially justified. Schwarzenberg again showed himself to be an indecisive commander or simply did not want to engage in a decisive battle with Napoleon, following Vienna's instructions to drag out the war. The allies missed the chance to inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy. However, Napoleon's forces were exhausted, and he could not resist the allied armies. The outcome of the war was a foregone conclusion.
The allies agreed on further actions and on March 12 (24) approved a plan for an offensive against Paris. A 10-thousandth cavalry corps under the command of Wintzingerode with 40 guns was sent against Napoleon, which was supposed to mislead Napoleon about the intentions of the Main Army. The armies of Blucher and Schwarzenberg came into contact with the vanguards and on March 13 (25) moved to the French capital. The allies defeated the troops of the Marshals Marmont and Mortier and the divisions of the National Guard, which were in a hurry to join with Napoleon (the battle of Fer-Champenoise). The road to Paris was open. On March 30, the allies reached Paris. On March 31, Paris surrendered.
