Lecture 26: 1813 Leipzig—The Grand Coalition

1813 Leipzig—The Grand Coalition ...............................................

Lecture 26

W

hat was the largest battle fought in Europe before the First World

War? The answer is the Battle of Leipzig, which took place in

1813 and involved more than half a million soldiers. It was a

gigantic clash that included the armies from most of the leading nations of

Europe at the time. More than any other battle of the era—even the much

more famous Battle of Waterloo—Leipzig was the decisive moment when

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The Campaign

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Trafalgar destroyed Napoleon’s hopes of invading England, he

turned his attention to new conquests on the mainland, cleverly

exploiting longstanding rivalries and resentments among his

potential enemies to keep them from uniting against him.

x Eventually, Napoleon focused on Russia as a target, and in 1812, he

led his army of more than half a million men into Russia. Although

Napoleon won several battles and even managed to capture

Moscow, his frozen and debilitated army was eventually forced

to retreat, suffering severe hardships and more casualties. The

campaign ended with the almost total annihilation of Napoleon’s

army.

x Back in France, Napoleon rebuilt his army with astonishing speed.

The battle-hardened survivors of the Russia campaign gave him a

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new soldiers, he had to draw on every possible source, even calling

up several classes of young men ahead of schedule. By these means,

he was apparently able to bounce back from the brink of disaster in

a remarkably short time.