12 July 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 2

Prussians advance to border
Battle of Boltenhagen

1st Prussian Army – battle of Boltenhagen
2nd Prussian Army – advance to border
3rd Prussian Army – retreat to Ludwigslust

3rd French Army – attack Boltenhagen
1st French Army – hold Wittingen
2nd French Army – occupy Hagenow

11 July 1813 – Battle of Hagenow

Tactical map of battle area

Marshal Victor has command of Second French Army
He is ordered to attack the border town of Hagenow

General Yorck has command of Third Prussian Army
He has orders to hold the northern Lubeck/Wismar border and the town of Hagenow

Second French Army – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery
Third Prussian Army – 12 infantry brigades, 3 cavalry brigade, 3 corps artillery

Table at start of battle

Third Prussian army is deployed around the town of Hagenow
Yorck has taken command of half of 9th corps on the left bank of the river Elbe
8th corps is deployed in front of the town
7th and 9th corps either side of the town

Second French army will arrive at the top of the table at the start of move 1
The river can only be crossed by one of the three bridges on the table.

End of move 2

French army arrive on table
6th corps advance, half either side of river Elbe
CinC has taken command of half of corps on the right bank
5th corps advance either side of he woods
4th corps advance over hill on the right

Prussian army deploy in front of Hagenow
CinC advance to bridge on the left bank
9th corps advance to bridge on the right bank
8th corps hold centre
7th corps advance over hill on the right

End of move 4

French army advance
6th corps deploy out of cavalry range
CinC deploy out of artillery range
5th corps artillery open fire, no casualties
4th corps cavalry fail morale and retreat disordered

Prussian army deploy and await French advance
CinC deploy left of bridge
9th corps deploy right of bridge
8th corps deploy in front of town
7th corps cavalry charge cuirassier brigade, who retire disordered

End of move 6

French attack on left bank
6th corps advance, lose cavalry melee and rout with 20% casualties
CinC artillery manhandle into long range
5th corps form column of attack
4th corps advance to front of hill

Prussians secure left bank of river
CinC win cavalry melee
9th corps wait for French to advance
8th corps wait for French to advance
7th corps cavalry move to right flank, out of artillery range

End of move 8

French attack
6th corps cavalry rout, infantry advance towards bridge
CinC advance in support of 6th corps
5th corps infantry receive casualties but pass morale test
4th corps cavalry rout, infantry advance

Prussians hold
CinC cavalry rout, infantry hold bridge
9th corps artillery retire to infantry support
8th corps cavalry and one infantry brigade rout
7th corps cavalry retire to right flank

End of move 10

French attack
6th corps win firefight and secure bridge
CinC advance and secure bridge
5th corps advance and rout Prussian corps
4th corps attack hill

Prussians retreat
CinC infantry and cavalry rout and abandon bridge
9th corps retreat and abandon bridge
8th corps rout, one infantry brigade seeks shelter in the town
7th corps lose firefight for hill

End of move 12

French continue to attack
6th corps secure left bank of river Elbe
CinC lose infantry fire fight and retreats
5th corps swing left towards hill
4th corps continue to attack hill

Prussians start to retreat
CinC cross bridge south of town
9th corps hold in front of town
8th corps try to rally south of town
7th corps continue to hold hil

Summary

Prussians still hold town, bridge in front of town and hill on the right
But their centre has broken and there are six brigades in rout
8th corps is trying to rally, but fail to do so

French have taken left bank of river and broken Prussian centre
5th corps is about to attack hill on the right, in support of 4th corps
They have lost four brigades in rout

The Prussians still hold the town
But with so much of their army in rout will they dare to fight a second day?

The French have lost 7 infantry and 4 cavalry casualties (3200 men)
The Prussians have lost 8 infantry, 7 cavalry and 1 artillery casualties (4000 men)

11 July 1813 – Northern Germany – Day 1

The campaign opens with a surprise French attack in the south

1st Prussian Army – hold Boltenhagen
2nd Prussian Army – hold Gadebusch
3rd Prussian Army – defend Hagenow

3rd French Army – hold Ratzeburg
1st French Army – hold Wittingen

2ndFrench Army – attack Hagenow

11 July 1813 – North Germany – Wismar Campaign

Campaign map of Germany

On 1st January 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France

Three allied armies would concentrate in Germany
Prussian army at Berlin
Russian army at Dresden
Austrian army at Vienna
Together they would engage and defeat Napoleon

Marshal Blucher would command the Prussian army
They would concentrate in the Berlin region
They would then march into the Brunswick region and engage the French

Emperor Napoleon would command the First French army
They would concentrate in the Osnabruck region
They would then march into the Brunswick region and engage the Prussians

This map shows the rear headquarters for each army, and the colour of the stars indicates which army has won the previous campaign phases. The location of the current campaign is shown by a white star.

Campaign map of North Germany

There are three regions in North Germany

Osnabruck Region (on the left) is the concentration area for First French army
Berlin Region (on the right) is the concentration area for the Prussian Army
Brunswick Region is the disputed area in the middle

This map shows the rear headquarters for each army, and the colour of the stars indicates which army has won the previous campaign phases. The location of the current campaign is shown by a white star.

Campaign map of Brunswick Region

This map is used for strategic (planning) movement.
It shows the location of the regional headquarters for each army
It also shows the location of previous battles fought in the region.

Campaign Diary

01 February 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France
01 February 1813 Formation of First French army in Osnabruck region
19 February 1813 First French army declared operational.
20 February 1813 Prussians invade Brunswick region
25 February 1813 Prussians occupied the city of Brunswick
26 February 1813 Napoleon advanced into the Brunswick region
28 February 1813 French occupy the city of Hannover
01 March 1813 Start of Brunswick campaign phase
08 March 1813 French win Brunswick campaign phase
12 April 1813 Start of Lubeck campaign phase
19 April 1813 French win Lubeck campaign phase
31 May 1813 Start of Goslar campaign phase
07 June 1813 Prussian win Goslar campaign phase
11 July 1813 Start of Wismar campaign phase                                                            

Campaign map of Wismar District

This map is used for tactical (daily) movement


The fourth campaign phase in northern Germany is in Wismar district
This map shows the location of both armies at the start of the campaign
The French objective is to take the city of Wismar
The Prussian objective is to hold Wismar and defeat the French army

The French army are deployed well to the west of the border
They are out of sight of the Prussian patrols on the border

The Prussian army are deployed further back, for ease of resupply
However one corps from each army is on the border itself.

French Army of North Germany

CinC Emperor Napoleon

First French Army
1st Old Guard corps
2nd French corps
3rd French corps

Second French Army
4th French corps
5th French corps
6th Westphalian corps

Third French Army
7th French corps
8th French corps
9th Polish corps

Each corps has four infantry brigades, one cavalry brigade and corps artillery

144000 infantry,9000 cavalry, 270 guns


Prussian Army

CinC General Blucher

First Prussian Army
1st Prussian corps
2nd Prussian corps
3rd Prussian corps

Second Prussian Army
4th Prussian corps
5th Prussian corps
6th Prussian corps

Third Prussian Army
7th Prussian corps
8th Prussian corps
9th Prussian corps

Each corps has four infantry brigades, one cavalry brigade and corps artillery

144000 infantry, 9000 cavalry, 270 guns

Reference

The campaign diary contains comprehensive details of the whole campaign. The labels on the right are an index to various parts of the campaign.

01 - Introduction to the1813 campaign
02 - Five campaign areas
10 - Introduction to the campaign in Northern Germany
11 – French Army of Northern Germany order of battle
12 - Prussian Army order of battle
13 - Daily diary for the campaign in Northern Germany
14 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Northern Germany
15 - Summary of campaign in Northern Germany

Summary of Southern Germany Campaign – 10 July 1813

Regional areas of Southern Germany

There are three regions in Southern Germany

Strasbourg Region is the rear area for Third French army
Their main depot is in Strasbourg

Vienna Region is the rear area for the Austrian Army
Their main depot is in Vienna

Munich Region is the disputed area between them
Diary of Southern German Campaign

The French Grand Army was destroyed during the 1812 Russian campaign
Napoleon had to create a new army to fight the 1813 campaign

01 February 1813 Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia declared war on France
01 February 1813 Formation of Third French army in Munich region
25 February 1813 Third French army declared operational
28 February 1813 Austrians moved into the Munich region
30 March 1813 Start of Branau campaign phase
11 April 1813 Austrians win Branau phase
20 May 1813 Start of Kufstein phase
30 May 1813 French win Kufstein phase
03 July 1813 Start of Landshut phase
10 July 1813 Austrians win Landshut phase

Reference

The campaign diary contains comprehensive details of the whole campaign. The labels on the right are an index to various parts of the campaign.

01 - Introduction to the1813 campaign
02 - Five campaign areas
30 - Introduction to the campaign in Southern Germany
31 - 3rd French Army order of battle
32 - Austrian Army order of battle
33 - Daily diary for the campaign in Southern Germany
34 - Battle reports of all battles fought in Southern Germany
35 - Summary of campaign in Southern Germany

10 July 1813 – Southern Germany – End of Landshut Campaign

Battles fought during campaign phase

Massena won one of the six battles fought
Schwarzenberg won the remaining five
Schwarzenberg held the city of Landshut and therefore won the campaign
The Austrians clearly were the better army during this campaign phase

Munich Region

At the end of the campaign the two armies faced each other on the Inglostadt-Landshut border.
The French army were forced to abandon Landshut and retreat into Inglostadt district.
The Austrians occupied Landshut district, but halted well short of the border with Inglostadt district. .

Massena ordered his army to hold the border
He established his headquarters at Inglestadt

Schwarzenberg ordered his army to resupply and regroup
He established his headquarters at Landshut