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It was early in the afternoon as Napoleon entered Leipzig. The sound of ca
His escort cleared a path for his carriage through the refugees, some of whom stopped to marvel at this glimpse of the great Emperor of France. The carriage and squadron of hussars trotted through the city, passing soldiers forcing their way into shops and houses to find food and secure a comfortable billet, and soon reached the Grand Army’s headquarters in Leipzig’s chamber of deputies. Berthier and his staff had arrived at dawn and occupied the clerks’ hall, immediately settling down to work to ensure that the army’s communications would flow efficiently once the battle was under way.
Napoleon greeted Berthier and then sat heavily in a chair beside his chief of staff’s desk. ‘Have the cavalry patrols located Blьcher and Bernadotte yet?’
‘Not yet, sire.’
‘Even if they have joined forces, they are at least three days’ march from here. That will give us a chance to tackle the Army of Bohemia before they can intervene. I intend to give battle in two days’ time. The line of hills to the south of the city is ideal for artillery. That will be where we take up our position. The plan will be the same one we used at Dresden. Pin the enemy centre in place while we envelop their flanks. The army will use tomorrow to move into position so that the attack can begin the following morning.’
‘Very well, sire. And what about our northern flank?’
‘What of it?’
‘If Blьcher should appear, then we will need to block him, else he will cut the road to the west and fall on our rear.’
‘We are safe from Blьcher. He will not reach us until after the battle,’ Napoleon replied dismissively. ‘But you are right to be cautious. Marmont’s corps can guard the northern approaches until the battle is under way. If there is no sign of Blьcher he can march south and add his weight to our right flank.’
‘Yes, sire.’ Berthier nodded, relieved. ‘I will give the orders at once.’
Two days later the dawn was cold and misty and the soldiers of the Grand Army quietly took their places along the line of hills either side of the village of Wachau. Opposite them, across the rolling countryside south of Leipzig, the Army of Bohemia spread out across a wide front. Even before Napoleon and his escort reached his forward command post there was a deep roar of guns as the enemy opened fire.
‘It seems that they have attacked first,’ Napoleon said to Berthier. ‘Very well, that serves our purpose. Let them expend their effort and then we shall take them with a counter-attack.’
The highest point along the line of hills was called the Galgenburg and it was here that the headquarters staff had prepared the Emperor’s command point. The ground underneath his boots trembled from the exchange of artillery fire for the first half-hour and then the enemy batteries began to fall silent as the first waves of infantry advanced towards the French line. Vast columns of men marched forward beneath the national colours of Austria, Prussia and Russia, straight into the hail of case shot from the massed guns of the Grand Army. Gaps appeared in the enemy’s leading battalions as men were smashed away, but the ranks closed up and the battalions came on without missing a step. Shortly before the waiting French infantry they halted to deploy into line, still under fire from ca
From his high position Napoleon followed the battle with satisfaction as the enemy attack made little progress. Here and there, the allies broke individual French battalions, but elsewhere their units crumbled away under the weight of French fire, and withdrew in disorder. The enemy took the village at Wachau at ten o’clock, and then it was retaken by French infantry after a bloody mкlйe in the narrow streets which were left strewn with bodies, the neatly painted walls spattered and smeared with blood.
As midday approached it was clear that the enemy attack was spent and the battle had settled down into a deadly process of attrition.
Napoleon had seen no sign of the approach of Marmont’s corps to take its place on the right wing of the French line, where it would be needed to swing the balance in Napoleon’s favour once the time was right to launch the counter-attack.
‘Berthier!’
‘Sire?’
‘Have there been any messages from Marmont?’
Berthier checked his log book. ‘None, sire.’
‘Then where is he? He should have reached his position an hour ago. Find out. Tell him I want him here, or he may cost us the battle.’
‘At once, sire.’
At noon the French attack began as General Drouot, the commander of the artillery, gave the order to open fire on the enemy centre. The range was long and the gu
As the attack drove forward, Napoleon heard more ca
Marmont was directing his corps from a hill a short distance outside Mцckern when Napoleon found him. The French still held the village, but the rest of the line had been forced to give ground. To the north Napoleon could see long columns of infantry and cavalry marching up to join Blьcher’s vanguard.
‘Why the devil didn’t you report this?’ Napoleon barked in response to Marmont’s salute. ‘Did you not think the arrival of Blьcher was a matter of some importance?’
‘Sire, I was ordered to hold my ground by Marshal Ney. I assumed he would inform you that I had been attacked.’
‘Ney?’ Napoleon shook his head in frustration. ‘Never mind. Can you hold Blьcher back until tonight? You must buy me time.’
Marmont glanced over his line. ‘I can hold them for two, maybe three hours, sire, but they are growing in strength all the while.’
‘Do whatever you can to delay Blьcher. Then fall back to the outer defences of the city.’
Marmont nodded. Napoleon stayed with him for another half-hour, until he was confident that Marmont’s men showed no signs of breaking, then he turned his mount south and returned to the main battle. It was past five o’clock before he reached the command post. Berthier greeted him with a worried expression and made his report. ‘The attack is stalling, sire. The enemy have more reserves than we thought. We have pushed them back the best part of a mile, but no further. We can’t break through and our own reserves have been exhausted. Only the Imperial Guard remains.’