Katzbach

26 August 1813

On the day that Napoleon Bonaparte began his successful push at Dresden, Marshal Macdonald and a force of 101,000 men stumbled into a marginally larger Allied army under Marshal Blucher.

Both sides were surprised by the encounter, which took place in heavy rain that added to the confusion as the commanders tried to organise their forces.

Macdonald seemed to recover first and, despite the fact he was meant to screen Blucher's army in a defensive mode, he sent two-thirds of his force in a flank move on the Prussian and Russian right wing. Confusion broke out in the French attack as the columns of men found themselves too far apart and they lost momentum.

The pinning French force of some 30,000 men now found itself under pressure and eventually Macdonald was forced to withdraw.

He lost 15,000 men killed, wounded or captured, while Blucher had an estimated 4000 casualties.

More importantly, Macdonald had placed the French in a precarious strategic position.

 

 

 
 
Napoleon Bonaparte
Career Portraits
Quotes Family
Loves Letters
Plots Murdered?
His will Places
   
Era of Napoleon
Powers Opponents
Coalitions Allies
People Timelines
Key sites Shrapnel
   
Warfare
Campaigns Battles
Armies Generals
Marshals Winners
Glossary Medical
Weapons 1812 War
Uniforms Battlefields
   
War at Sea
Naval War Heroes
Artworks Signals
Nelson Trafalgar
   
Maps
Key Maps Peninsula
Animated 1796/1800
1809 Russia
   
French Revolution
Revolution Guillotine
Posters People
   
Art, Film, Games
Education Goya
Sharpe Hornblower
Books Movies
DVDs Music
Wargames Images
Cartoons Caricatures
   
Other
About Us Sources
Awards Sitemap
Links Militaria
Miniatures Reenactors
Forum Quizzes
Home Waterloo Diorama
   
   
Copyright Richard Moore 1999-2017 | Privacy Policy | Contact Us