31 May 1813 – North Germany – Goslar Campaign

 

Map of Germany

On 1^st 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.

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.

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

Goslar District

This map is used for tactical (daily) movement

 

The third campaign phase in northern Germany is in Goslar district

This map shows the location of both armies at the start of the campaign

The Prussian objective is to take the city of Goslar

The French objective is to hold Goslar and defeat the Prussian army

 

The Prussian army are deployed close to the border

 

The French army are deployed further back, for ease of resupply.

 

French Army of North Germany

CinC   Emperor Napoleon

First French Army

1^st Old Guard corps

2^nd French corps

3^rd French corps

Second French Army

4^th French corps

5^th French corps

6^th Westphalian corps

Third French Army

7^th French corps

8^th French corps

9^th 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

1^st Prussian corps

2^nd Prussian corps

3^rd Prussian corps

Second Prussian Army

4^th Prussian corps

5^th Prussian corps

6^th Prussian corps

Third Prussian Army

7^th Prussian corps

8^th Prussian corps

9^th 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