18 March 1813 – Central Germany - Day 5

In the north the French move their depot from Eisenach to Wiessensee

5^th French corps resupply in preparation to attack Sommerda

2^nd Russian corps deployed to hold the town and northern flank

 

In the centre the Russians regroup and resupply 1^st, 3^rd and reserve corps

They also move supplies from Saalfeld to Weimar

2^nd, 6^th and reserve French corps resupply at Erfurt

They also establish a depot in the town

 

In the south 14^th Westphalian corps attack 4^th Russian corps at Saalfeld

Their aim is to prevent a concentration of the Russian army at Weimar

 

Both sides start the battle with casualties.

But the Russians have more than the Westphalians

The resulting more fragile morale played a part in the Russian defeat

 

The Russian artillery were more effective than the Westphalian gunners

They concentrated on one brigade, and caused 30% casualties

But the infantry passed their morale test three times

 

The Russian infantry charged the Westphalian infantry

But they lost the morale, and routed

This caused weak infantry nearby to fail their morale and also rout

This in turn caused the gunners to retreat shaken

 

The Westphalian infantry followed up and the Russians retreated

 

The Westphalians lost 2300 men, the Russians 3900