January. When the Emperor came on the scene at Chalons, with Ney and
the Young Guard, he noticed Blucher's forces dispersed, so hatched a
plan to pin him down while Marmont worked around his rear to launch
an attack at Bar-le-Duc. Just in time Bli.icher managed to avoid the trap
but on 29 January near Brienne (where he had been to school) Napoleon
caught up with him and, using Ney and Grouchy effectively, badly
mauled the Prussians, who left behind 4,000 dead and wounded. He then
dogged the steps of the Prussians through heavy snowstorms but Bli.icher
got away to link up with part of Schwarzenberg's army.
On I February Napoleon and 4o,ooo men waited for the Allies at La
Rothiere on the road to Brienne. The scouts he had sent out brought back
poor intelligence, fo r it was difficult to make out anything in the blinding
snow. When news came that an enemy army was on the march north
from Trannes, Napoleon at once offered battle, unaware that Bli.icher had
linked with Schwarzenberg and that he therefore fa ced an I Io,ooo-strong
army, nearly three times larger than his. There ensued a miniature
version of Eylau, fought in a raging blizzard which soaked the
ammunition and made it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. As night
fell, Napoleon broke off contact, having suffered a tactical defeat, with
6,ooo casualties and the loss of so guns (Allied losses were of the same
order). Despite the wild disparity in numbers he had acquitted himself
well.
Napoleon returned to Troyes, where he arrived on 3 February, having
lost 4,000 men through desertion on the march. The citizens of Troyes
gave him a very frosty welcome. For a few hours the Emperor brooded,
idly pinning his hopes on peace talks which had opened at Chatillon-sur
Seine; according to his spies, Austria was still opposed to Prussia and
Russia in not wanting guerre a outrance. If the war continued, his problem
was how to fight the enemy in detail if they were already united. There
seemed no other way, as guerrilla warfare was anathema to him. Then his
scouts brought him some good news. The enemy had grown overconfi
dent and once more divided their forces.
Bli.icher had decided to advance by way of the Marne while
Schwarzenberg proceeded up the Seine. This gave Napoleon the separate
targets he required, but first he needed to widen the gap between the two
Allied armies so that they could not regroup by a rapid forced march.
Then he intended to strike hard at the Army of Bohemia while Marmont
and Oudinot contained Bli.icher. A number of small victories hastened the
process: Marmont defeated the Bavarians at Arcis-sur-Aube, Grouchy
and the Guards cavalry beat the Russian cavalry at Troyes, and there
were successful skirmishes at Vitry and Sens. But while Schwarzenberg
marcin
(Marcin)
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