War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...
. It took place at
Lesmont
Lesmont is a Communes of France, commune in the Aube Departments of France, department in north-central France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Aube department
*Parc naturel régional de la Forêt d'Orient
References
Commun ...
in
Aube
Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),Eugen of Wurtemberg and
Carl Philipp von Wrede Carl may refer to:
* Carl, Georgia, city in USA
* Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
* Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of ...
was defeated by a French force under general
Joseph Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi LagrangiaAube
Aube () is a French department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),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 ...
on 1 February 1814, Napoleon ordered a retreat towards
Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...
and placed some of
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 ...
's troops as well as Joseph Lagrange's division from marshal
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 ...
's corps as his rearguard.
Battle
The French army crossed the bridge at Lesmont on the night of 2 February protected by troops under Ney's command, who then retired. Lagrange's division remained in the village to cover the retreat and took up position on the right bank of the river behind the bridge. It was soon attacked by Eugen's cavalry and elements of von Wrede's corps.
Lagrange's division managed to hold its central position against several attacks, especially by Eugen's Russian cavalry. At the end of the battle the French troops set fire to the bridge and rejoined the main retreating force.
Aftermath
The loss of the bridge meant that the Coalition cavalry lost contact with the French troops, which reached Troyes the following day without incident. There Napoleon gathered his army and re-took the offensive, beating the Russians at 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 ...