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