The Battle of Château-Thierry (12 February 1814) saw the Imperial French army commanded by Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

attempt to destroy a

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

corps led by Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg and an Imperial Russian corps under Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken. The two Allied corps managed to escape across the

Marne River The Marne () is a river in France, an eastern tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the departments of Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne. The Marne starts in t ...

, but suffered considerably heavier losses than the pursuing French. This action occurred during the Six Days' Campaign, a series of victories that Napoleon won over Prussian Field Marshal

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earne ...

's Army of Silesia.

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition at ...

lies about northeast of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. After defeating Napoleon in the

Battle of La Rothière The Battle of La Rothière was fought on the 1st of February 1814 between the French Empire and allied army of Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Eu ...

, Blücher's army separated from the main Allied army of Austrian field marshal

Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp, Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Charles Philip, Prince of Schwarzenberg; 18/19 April 1771 – 15 October 1820) was an Austrian Generalissimo. He fought in the Battle of Wagram (1809) but the Austrians lost decisively against Napole ...

. Blücher's troops marched northwest and followed the Marne valley in a thrust toward Paris while Schwarzenberg's army moved west through Troyes. Leaving part of his badly outnumbered army to watch Schwarzenberg's slow advance, Napoleon moved north against Blücher. Catching the Silesian Army badly strung out, Napoleon demolished

Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev (russian: Захар Дмитриевич Олсуфьев) (24 March 1773 – 20 March 1835) was a Russian infantry Lieutenant General during the reigns of tsars Paul I and Alexander I. In 1805 he commanded a briga ...

's Russian corps in the

Battle of Champaubert The Battle of Champaubert (10 February 1814) was the opening engagement of the Six Days' Campaign. It was fought between a French army led by Emperor Napoleon and a small Russian corps commanded by Lieutenant General Count Zakhar Dmitrievic ...

on 10 February. Turning west, the French emperor defeated Sacken and Yorck in the hard-fought Battle of Montmirail on the following day. As the Allies scrambled north toward Château-Thierry's bridge across the Marne, Napoleon launched his army in hot pursuit but failed to annihilate Yorck and Sacken. Napoleon soon found that Blücher was advancing to attack him with two more corps and the

Battle of Vauchamps The Battle of Vauchamps (14 February 1814) was the final major engagement of the Six Days Campaign of the War of the Sixth Coalition. It resulted in a part of the Grande Armée under Napoleon I defeating a superior Prussian and Russian force ...

was fought on 14 February.

Prelude

The Allies were jubilant after beating Napoleon in the Battle of La Rothière on 1 February 1814. In particular, Blücher and his generals believed that the war would soon be over. Pleading the difficulty of supplying the combined armies along a single line of communication, Schwarzenberg agreed to allow Blücher's army to operate along a more northerly route. Schwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia would march west through Troyes along the Seine River, while Blücher would move north to Châlons-sur-Marne and then drive west along the Marne valley toward

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

. The Russian corps of

Peter Wittgenstein , title = 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg , image = Pjotr-christianowitsch-wittgenstein.jpg , image_size = , caption = Portrait by George Dawe , birth_date = , birth_place = Pereias ...

and a Cossack scouting force under Alexander Nikitich Seslavin would provide the link between the two armies. One historian estimated that the two Allied armies numbered 200,000 between them, against 70,000 French. The Allies totally lost contact with Napoleon's retreating army. Already on 4 February, Schwarzenberg started to become anxious about his left flank and began pulling Wittgenstein's corps to the south, away from Blücher. On 5 February, Russian General

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (german: Fürst Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly; baptised – ) was an Imperial Russian soldier of Baltic German and Scottish origin, who was commander-in-chief and Minister of War of the Russian Empir ...

ordered Seslavin's force away to the extreme left flank without notifying Blücher. Over the next few days, the Prussian field marshal mistakenly continued to believe that Seslavin watched the gap on his left flank. At this time, Napoleon began to consider the possibility of moving against Blücher's army. The French emperor calculated that

Marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Claude Perrin Victor and Nicolas Oudinot with 39,000 troops would be able to hold off the cautious Schwarzenberg. Meanwhile, Napoleon gathered a strike force of 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry and prepared to march against Blücher. By 8 February, Blücher's advancing Army of Silesia spread itself out across . Farthest to the west was Sacken's cavalry at Viels-Maisons while his infantry was at Montmirail. The Russian was in pursuit of Marshal

Jacques MacDonald Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

's 10,000-man French corps. Also following MacDonald was Yorck's corps which reached

Dormans Dormans () is a commune located in the Marne department and in the Grand Est region of France.Étoges. Peter Mikhailovich Kaptzevich's Russian corps and Friedrich von Kleist's Prussian corps were farther east at Châlons-sur-Marne. On 9 February, with everyone marching west, Kaptzevich and Kleist reached Bergères-lès-Vertus, Olsufiev arrived at

Champaubert Champaubert () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 613 communes in the French department of Marne. The communes cooperate in the followi ...

, Sacken got to La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, and Yorck approached Château-Thierry. Prussian staff officer Karl Freiherr von Muffling wrote that Sacken had 20,000 soldiers and Yorck's corps numbered 18,000 men while Olsufiev, Kaptzevich and Kleist together counted 19,000 troops. Another source gave Sacken strength as 16,000. Campaign of 1814 11 Feb

On 9 February, Napoleon arrived at Sézanne with the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

after a difficult march over muddy roads. French farmers brought their teams of horses to help pull the cannons through the quagmire. That day, Schwarzenberg asked Blücher to reinforce his right wing. Dutifully, the Prussian commander set out on 10 February with Kaptzevich and Kleist, moving southwest toward Sézanne. As the Allies marched, they heard the distant growl of cannons to their right. It was Napoleon's army falling on Olsufiev's outnumbered corps in the

. After an obstinate resistance, Olsufiev tried to break out to the east, but he was captured and his corps effectively destroyed. During the fighting, Olsufiev sent several messengers stating that he was under attack, but Blücher ignored them. The 1,500 Russian survivors of the debacle were organized into 3–4 combined battalions. This hard-luck outfit would suffer 600 casualties and lose all its remaining cannons at the

on 14 February. On 11 February, Napoleon turned the bulk of his army west toward Montmirail. He hoped to catch and destroy Sacken's corps between his army on the east and MacDonald's corps to the west at Meaux. Sacken's soldiers made a night march east toward Montmirail. Though Yorck urged his ally to retreat toward Château-Thierry, Sacken remained unaware of his danger and determined to fight what he believed was a weak enemy force. In the event, MacDonald had broken the Trilport bridge over the Marne, preventing him from striking Sacken's corps from the west. Delayed by the muddy roads, Yorck's tired troops were approaching Montmirail from the north, but still out of touch with Sacken. Napoleon barely managed to interpose some French soldiers at an important road intersection between the two Allied corps. In the Battle of Montmirail, Napoleon with 10,500 men and 36 guns faced Sacken's 18,000 Russians at 11:00 am while the vanguard of Yorck's 18,000 Prussians appeared to the north. By 4:00 pm reinforcements raised the French total to 20,000 and Napoleon went over to the attack. Another historian credited Napoleon with 27,153 troops at Montmirail, while the Prussians believed that 24,000 French soldiers were present. During the early afternoon, the two armies engaged a bitter struggle over the village of Marchais-en-Brie south of the Montmirail-Meaux highway while Napoleon tried to break through Sacken's left wing near the highway. Meanwhile, Yorck's troops attacked from the north at 3:30 pm, only to be repulsed. Finally, the French infantry flushed Sacken's men out of Marchais into the open where they were ridden down by French cavalry. Yorck's belated intervention probably saved Sacken's corps, which retreated to the north that evening. Sacken's corps suffered 2,000 killed and wounded, plus 800 soldiers, 13 field guns, and six colors captured. Yorck sustained 900 casualties and French losses were around 2,000 men.

Battle

Forces

Action

On 11 February, Kaptzevich and Kleist turned around and marched back to Bergères. Blücher authorized Yorck and Sacken to withdraw via Château-Thierry toward Reims where his army would reassemble. MacDonald sent Antoine-Louis Decrest de Saint-Germain with part of his cavalry across the Marne to Coulommiers by a roundabout route. The remainder of his cavalry under Horace Sebastiani was unable to cross at La Ferté-sous-Jouarre because Sacken had broken its bridge. Napoleon launched his troops after the beaten Allies at 9:00 am on 12 February. Marshal

Édouard Mortier Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne (1 ...

commanded the pursuit on the main highway while Napoleon personally led another column farther west through Rozoy. The French emperor ordered MacDonald to seize the bridge at Château-Thierry. Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken

At dawn on 12 February, Sacken's corps passed through Yorck's lines near Montfaucon. Sacken dropped off a brigade under General Heidenreich that consisted of the Tambov and Kostroma Regiments. Friedrich von Katzler's advance guard stood at Montfaucon with the 1st and 7th Prussian Brigades and the Reserve cavalry of

Georg Ludwig von Wahlen-Jürgass Georg Ludwig Alexander von Wahlen-Jürgass (1758–1833) was a Prussian cavalry officer during the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Na ...

in support. Mortier marched to

Fontenelle-en-Brie Fontenelle-en-Brie (, literally ''Fontenelle in Brie'') is a former commune in the department of Aisne in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Dhuys-et-Morin-en-Brie.Charles-Joseph Christiani, the 1st Voltiguer Division under Claude Marie Meunier, and the Gardes d'Honneur cavalry. Napoleon had Saint-Germain with 2,400 cavalry and Louis Friant's 1st Old Guard Division. At 1:00 pm, Mortier's advance encountered Katzler's Prussians near Viffort and the Caquerets Hills. Katzler's 1st and 2nd East Prussia Infantry Regiments overlooked a stream. The position was attacked by two battalions of Old Guard Foot Chasseurs and Napoleon's duty squadrons led by Claude-Étienne Guyot. Katzler withdrew when the French began turning his flanks. Farther along the highway, the French found Heinrich Wilhelm von Horn's 7th Brigade barring their advance. The 2nd Silesian and Leib Grenadier Battalions defended the right flank while the Leib Regiment held the left flank. While the French forces began to deploy in front, a large force of cavalry under Marshal

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

began to maneuver around the Prussian left flank. These were four divisions of elite cavalry under

Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais (Paris, 18 October 1774 – 1853) was a general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, noted for his unbreakable loyalty to Napoleon. Life Revolution Born into a noble family descended ...

, Jean-Marie Defrance,

Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes Charles, comte Lefebvre-Desnouettes or Lefèbvre-Desnoëttes (14 September 1773, in Paris – 22 April 1822) became a French officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and a general during the Napoleonic Wars. He later emigrated to the Uni ...

, and Louis Marie Levesque de Laferrière. At this time, Napoleon sent 200 grenadiers to seize the hamlet of Petite-Noue. Mortier launched six battalions under Christiani in a frontal attack. Aware that he would have to fight with a river at his back, Yorck ordered his wagon train to cross to the north bank of the Marne. Dubufe - Marshal Mortier

Yorck ordered Jürgass to move 3,000 Reserve cavalry from the highway to the left flank to counter the French cavalry threat. They were joined by the Brandenberg Hussar Regiment under Friedrich von Sohr. Many of the Prussian cavalrymen were

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...

- second class soldiers. Jürgass formed his horsemen in two ranks, with the Lithuanian and 1st West Prussian Dragoon Regiments in the first line. There was also a Russian dragoon regiment on hand. Defrance and Laferrière placed the Guard Dragoons in the first line and the Horse Grenadiers,

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

s, and horse carabiniers in the second line. As the Prussian front line charged, it was met with a volley of carbine fire from the dragoons. At the same time, the Brandenburg Dragoons charged the 10th Hussars and French dragoons routed the Russian dragoons. Soon there was a large cavalry melee near the Petite-Baloy farm. The French cavalry prevailed, driving the Prussian first line back into its second line, and causing both to retreat in confusion. The French cavalry seized two cannons and a howitzer. Yorck ordered the 1st and 7th Brigades to retreat, which they did in good order. The 15th Silesian Landwehr Regiment shifted to La Trinit farm on the left flank. Many of its soldiers became the victims of French cavalry later in the day. There was also a Russian jäger battalion near La Trinit farm. Forming the rear guard, the Leib Regiment was cut off by a French dragoon regiment, but it made a bayonet charge and broke free. Two battalions of Old Guard Foot Grenadiers and the duty squadrons pressed back the Prussian right flank under

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

almost to Château-Thierry. Covering the Allied right flank, Heidenreich formed his two regiments into square and tried to retreat. After his troops fired away all their ammunition, they were overrun. Heidenreich and most of his brigade were captured, along with three cannons. A force of French cavalry under Louis-Michel Letort de Lorville circled around Nogentel. As the retreating Prussian column emerged from the village Letort's horsemen charged into the Silesian and Leib Grenadier Battalions and the 5th Silesian Regiment, inflicting numerous casualties and capturing two cannons and a howitzer from 6-pounder Battery Nr. 2. As the Prussian columns withdrew within the streets of Château-Thierry, the 2nd Battalions of the 1st and 2nd East Prussian Regiments under Major Stockhausen formed the rear guard. The Leib Fusilier Battalion under Major Holleben guarded the

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry. ...

. Stockhausen's action allowed other units to escape across the bridge, but by the time his 400 soldiers fought their way to the bridge, it had been destroyed. His 400 survivors were compelled to surrender. A Prussian 12-pounder battery firing from the north bank of the Marne prevented pursuit.

Result

Historians David G. Chandler and

Francis Loraine Petre Francis Loraine Petre (22 February 1852 – 6 May 1925) was a British civil servant in India and a military historian upon his retirement. He wrote a two-volume regimental history of the Norfolk Regiment, but is best known for his works on the ...

stated that the Prussians had 1,250 casualties, the Russians 1,500, and the French 600. The French also captured nine cannons and much baggage and transport. Other authorities put French losses at 400–600, Prussian killed and wounded at 22 officers and 1,229 enlisted men, and Russian losses at 1,200–1,500 soldiers. That evening, the two Allied corps retreated north to Oulchy-la-Ville. Since the French army lacked a bridging train, it took a full day before the Château-Thierry bridge could be rebuilt. When it was finished, Mortier led the divisions of Christiani, Colbert, and Defrance in pursuit of the Allies. They rounded up 300–400 stragglers and found a number of artillery caissons destroyed by the Allies in their hasty retreat. Napoleon wrote, "My Foot and Horse Guard covered themselves with glory … The enemy seemed struck by a singular terror". However, the emperor was extremely disappointed that he had failed to destroy Sacken and Yorck. MacDonald hardly budged and failed to capture the all-important Château-Thierry bridge. The next day, Yorck's troops marched to Fismes while Sacken moved to Reims. Prince William's brigade observed

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

. On 12 February, Blücher waited at Vertus for news from Yorck and Sacken. Since 11 February, Marshal

Auguste de Marmont Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title (french: duc de Raguse). In the Peninsular War Marmont succeede ...

with one infantry division and the I Cavalry Corps watched Blücher. The Prussian field marshal finally decided that Napoleon was retreating. On 13 February, Blücher began pushing west with Kaptzevich and Kleist, enforcing the

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

Defence of France & Six Days Campaign (1814)

La bataille de Champaubert, Montmirail-Marchais, Château-Thierry et Vauchamps
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau-Thierry Battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition Battles of the Napoleonic Wars Battles of the Six Days' Campaign Battles involving France Battles involving Prussia Battles involving Russia Conflicts in 1814 February 1814 events 1814 in France Chateau-Thierry History of Aisne