Napoleon's offensive against the main allied army. Part of 2. Battle of Montro
18 February 1814, the battle of Montro took place. Napoleon defeated one of the corps of the Allied Main Army under the command of Crown Prince of Württemberg. Wilhelm Württemberg did not have time to fulfill the order given to him - to retreat across the Seine River, and was forced to take the fight to the position at Montero (Montro).
Under the command of the crown prince of Württemberg, in addition to his corps, there were also Austrian troops. In total, the French were confronted by about 18 thousand soldiers with 42 guns. Württembergists have prepared a strong defensive position on the heights of the right bank of the Seine, near Surville Castle and the village of Villaron (Villaron). The weak point of the position was the presence of only one bridge over which the troops could retreat.
Battle of Montro. Engraving on the painting Langlois
Battle of Montro (Montero)
The French led almost simultaneously two attacks. Pazhol's squad (6 thousand soldiers) received the task of attacking the left wing of the Allied forces. The troops of Victor and Gerard (9 thousand people) were to attack the right wing.
General Pajol started a battle in 6 in the morning and forced several enemy squadrons and then the Württemberg infantry to retreat. However, he did not dare to continue the offensive, fearing that his infantry would be overturned by Prince Adam of Württemberg's cavalry. Pajol believed that the cavalry of the enemy was more numerous than it actually was. Pazhol advanced 24 guns and opened fire. However, the Württemberg artillery, which was located on the heights, had more advantageous positions and successfully responded to the French shelling. Allied artillery hit 12 with French guns and delayed the enemy’s advance until noon.
Victor around the 7 o'clock in the morning went to a deep ravine, which separated his troops from the allies, and stayed until the 9 o'clock. Then the French went on the attack in two columns. The division of General Duhem (Duhem) was on the Nanzhi road, the division of the Chateau was advancing on Villaron. The column of Duhem, which came under fire from an 12-pound gun battery, located on the left bank of the Seine, above Montero, suffered heavy losses and refused to strike in its direction.
Column Chateau after a stubborn battle took Villaron, but Württemberg organized a counterattack and repulsed the village. Victor sent to help Chateau division Duhem. Allied forces were able to repel another attack. But soon the French broke into the village again and occupied it. In the course of this battle, a chute was struck by General Chateau, who died in the arms of Victor. The French troops, frustrated by the loss of the commander, rolled away again.
Victor's troops were exhausted by fruitless attacks. The Allies held almost all positions. However, at one o'clock, General Gerard arrived with Parisian reserves. At this point, Napoleon, dissatisfied with the delay, removed Marshal Victor from command and appointed General Gérard as commander of his corps. General Gerard immediately noticed that the main reason for the failure of the French troops was the superiority of the Württemberg artillery. He immediately put forward all the artillery of his reserve and connecting it with the batteries of the 2 corps, concentrated the fire of the 60 guns on the right wing and in the center of the positions of the Wurttemberg corps.
General Döring with two Württemberg battalions of the 3 Württemberg Regiment, wanting to stop the devastating shelling, attacked the French batteries in order to capture them or force them to retreat. However, he was met by a card salvo and a counterattack of the French battalion, which was personally led by Gerard. The Württemberg suffered heavy losses and fell back to Villaron.
At 2 hours, Napoleon himself arrived from Nanji. He supported the battling troops with two battalions of foot gendarmes. Pajol began a bypass maneuver, trying to bypass the enemy troops standing on the Mühlen road. Kronprinz Wilhelm, noticing the strengthening of the enemy, began to divert artillery, under the cover of cavalry, to the other side of the Seine.
Pajol, noticing the retreat of the Württemberg troops, overturned the Austrian battalion standing on the Mühlen road, and moved toward Montero, putting the allied forces of the center and right wing at risk. Württemberg accelerated the withdrawal, which upset their ranks. Napoleon led his infantry to attack. The Kronprinz of Württemberg transferred the 6 Infantry Regiment to help the retreating troops. But this could not change the situation. Prince Hohenlohe was mortally wounded, his soldiers were carried away by the retreat crowd.
Napoleon himself, having shot down the forces opposing him, placed guards' guns on the Surville heights and began to shoot enemy columns retreating across the bridge. Austrian batteries from the opposite bank of the Seine returned fire. Napoleon, reminding everyone of his artillery past, he himself directed the guns. Austrian kernels whistled around him, frightening his retinue. But Napoleon reassured his comrades: “Come, come, my friends! Do not be afraid; has not yet poured the core, which is destined to kill me. "
The Allied forces, under fire from the enemy, crossed to the other side, and tried to destroy the bridge behind them. But the charge turned out to be thin, and the laid mine could not destroy the crossing. French horse rangers on the shoulders of the enemy broke into the city. They were taken over the regiments of the Duhem division. Residents of Montero, took part in the pogrom of the Allies, firing at them from the windows and throwing stones and tiles. It should be noted that gradually the French people "swayed", began to respond to requisition and outright looting of some units of the allied armies. Individual soldiers and their small groups, who fell behind or separated from large units, were often killed. Napoleon could have used this reserve by starting a “people's war,” but he did not.
Pazhol's cavalry attempted to pursue the Allies and complete the defeat, but was held back by rear-guard artillery fire. Under cover of artillery, the frustrated corps of the crown prince of Württemberg was able to retreat. Prince William, who fought among his soldiers in this battle and nearly captured, led the troops to the district of Bre. Napoleon's army for the night is located in Montero.
Battle of Montro on the banks of the Seine. 19th century painted engraving
Battle results
Allied forces suffered significant losses - about 5 thousand people (according to other sources, 6 thousand people). Most of the losses were incurred by prisoners: the Württemberg lost up to 2 thousand prisoners, the Austrians lost more than 1,4 thousand people. The commander of one of the Württemberg infantry brigades of Hohenlohe, who until recently held off the onslaught of the enemy, was killed, which allowed a significant part of the troops to retreat. Austrian General Schaefer was captured. The guns on the orders of Crown Prince William had time to ship to the other side, so only two guns were lost. The French lost about 2,5-3 thousand people killed and wounded. Almost all the people were lost in attacks on the position of the enemy at Montero. Killed by General Chateau, Delort was injured.
Fighting in other directions
On the same day, the divisions of Alix and Charpentier pushed the vanguard of the 1 Austrian corps out of the Sea. The corps commander, Lieutenant Field Marshal Vincent von Bianki, began to withdraw troops.
By the morning of February, Earl Wrede managed to transfer almost all his troops to the left side of the Seine, except for three battalions, which had defended Mui and Bre. They had orders to destroy the bridge, in case of retreat. For their support, artillery batteries were installed at advantageous locations on the left bank of the Seine. Marshal MacDonald seized Bavarian carts and in 18 hours attacked Bavarian positions. However, the Bavarians, supported by artillery fire from the other side of the Seine, repulsed several French attacks and held positions.
Wittgenstein transferred his corps to Nogent on the left side of the Seine. He was followed by the advance guard Palen. The Cossacks of Ilovaisky remained in Proven until the appearance of the Udino troops, and then also departed for the Seine. The Russian-Prussian reserves under the leadership of Barclay de Tolly were located in the Nogent area.
The consequences of the onset of Napoleon
Schwarzenberg, before the news of the defeat of the corps of Crown Prince of Württemberg, with the consent of the Russian and Prussian monarchs, decided to withdraw the army to Trois and Arsi, to restore communication with Blucher. Blecheru still 17 February sent an order to join the right flank of the Main Army. The news of the defeat of the Austro-Wuerttemberg troops under Montro finally approved the decision to retreat. The main apartment (headquarters) of the Allied monarchs and the commander-in-chief moved to Troyes. The first Allied attack on Paris ended in defeat. The Allied Command could not use the numerical advantage of its troops to end the war.
Arriving at Troyes, Schwarzenberg initially expressed his readiness to give a decisive battle to Napoleon, if by this time the army of Blucher arrived. The position of the Allies was advantageous, they had about 150 thousand soldiers, against 60 thousand French. In addition, the Allies had a qualitative advantage, a significant part of the French troops consisted of recruits, the army of Napoleon was inferior in artillery and cavalry. However, after receiving news of the offensive of Marshal Augereau, and fearing that the army would be cut off from the Rhine, by February 23 Schwarzenberg began to withdraw troops from Trois.
Napoleon, wanting to inspire the Parisians and show their successes more impressive than they were in reality, sent several thousand prisoners captured in the last battles and the banners of the defeated units to Paris. The prisoners were taken in a long line through the streets of the French capital.
In addition, Napoleon expressed dissatisfaction with the generals and marshals, who, in his opinion, acted insufficiently decisively and quickly, missed the opportunity to destroy enemy forces. So, Marshal Victor accused that after the victory at Villeneuve, he did not pursue the enemy and did not reach Montero, giving the Allied forces the opportunity to delay the advance of the French army. In the heat of anger, Napoleon even handed over corps command to General Gerard and suggested that the marshal leave the army. But then he replaced anger with mercy, when Victor came to him and reminded about his participation in the Italian campaigns (The first serious victory of Napoleon Bonaparte. Brilliant Italian campaign 1796-1797.), expressed readiness to stand with a gun in the hands among the soldiers. Napoleon, touched by the dedication of the marshal, handed over to his command two guards divisions from the Young Guard.
Napoleon wanted to pursue the retreating troops of Schwarzenberg, but this was prevented by the absence of ferries across the Seine. The only bridge was at Montro, the Allies managed to destroy the rest of the crossing. He began collecting ships on the Seine, for arranging ferries. At the same time spent reforming the army. Paris reserves were included in the 2-corps. General Pazhol, because of his wounds, was sent for treatment, his corps was disbanded. The division of Pakto was attached to the 7 corps, three battalions from the division of Alix became part of other divisions. 2-th reserve division, formed in Mo, transferred under the command of Arrigi. The old guard was strengthened by two gendarme battalions, which arrived from Spain. In addition, Napoleon insisted on speeding up the formation of new battalions and squadrons in Paris.
While Napoleon was in Montreux, Foreign Minister Kolenkur, who was negotiating at Chatillon, conveyed to him the proposal of the Austrian Minister Metternich, who urged the French emperor to use the “last” opportunity for peace. Kolenkur also insisted on peace, offered to take advantage of the latest victories and agree on the boundaries of 1790 of the year, with some additions, not to insist on the “natural limits” of France. However, Napoleon, although he expressed his readiness to continue negotiations, insisted on more significant concessions from the Allies.
Sources:
Bogdanovich M.I. History 1814 wars of the year in France and the deposition of Napoleon I, according to reliable sources. Volume I // http://www.runivers.ru/lib/book3098/9762/.
Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian army. M., 2006.
Manfred A. Z. Napoleon. M., 2002.
Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky A.I. Description of the campaign in France in 1814: parts I, II // http://www.runivers.ru/lib/book3112/9788/.
Tarle E.V. Napoleon // http://www.lib.ru/TARLE/napoleon/content.html.
Chandler D. Napoleon's military campaigns. M., 2011.
Under the command of the crown prince of Württemberg, in addition to his corps, there were also Austrian troops. In total, the French were confronted by about 18 thousand soldiers with 42 guns. Württembergists have prepared a strong defensive position on the heights of the right bank of the Seine, near Surville Castle and the village of Villaron (Villaron). The weak point of the position was the presence of only one bridge over which the troops could retreat.
Battle of Montro. Engraving on the painting Langlois
Battle of Montro (Montero)
The French led almost simultaneously two attacks. Pazhol's squad (6 thousand soldiers) received the task of attacking the left wing of the Allied forces. The troops of Victor and Gerard (9 thousand people) were to attack the right wing.
General Pajol started a battle in 6 in the morning and forced several enemy squadrons and then the Württemberg infantry to retreat. However, he did not dare to continue the offensive, fearing that his infantry would be overturned by Prince Adam of Württemberg's cavalry. Pajol believed that the cavalry of the enemy was more numerous than it actually was. Pazhol advanced 24 guns and opened fire. However, the Württemberg artillery, which was located on the heights, had more advantageous positions and successfully responded to the French shelling. Allied artillery hit 12 with French guns and delayed the enemy’s advance until noon.
Victor around the 7 o'clock in the morning went to a deep ravine, which separated his troops from the allies, and stayed until the 9 o'clock. Then the French went on the attack in two columns. The division of General Duhem (Duhem) was on the Nanzhi road, the division of the Chateau was advancing on Villaron. The column of Duhem, which came under fire from an 12-pound gun battery, located on the left bank of the Seine, above Montero, suffered heavy losses and refused to strike in its direction.
Column Chateau after a stubborn battle took Villaron, but Württemberg organized a counterattack and repulsed the village. Victor sent to help Chateau division Duhem. Allied forces were able to repel another attack. But soon the French broke into the village again and occupied it. In the course of this battle, a chute was struck by General Chateau, who died in the arms of Victor. The French troops, frustrated by the loss of the commander, rolled away again.
Victor's troops were exhausted by fruitless attacks. The Allies held almost all positions. However, at one o'clock, General Gerard arrived with Parisian reserves. At this point, Napoleon, dissatisfied with the delay, removed Marshal Victor from command and appointed General Gérard as commander of his corps. General Gerard immediately noticed that the main reason for the failure of the French troops was the superiority of the Württemberg artillery. He immediately put forward all the artillery of his reserve and connecting it with the batteries of the 2 corps, concentrated the fire of the 60 guns on the right wing and in the center of the positions of the Wurttemberg corps.
General Döring with two Württemberg battalions of the 3 Württemberg Regiment, wanting to stop the devastating shelling, attacked the French batteries in order to capture them or force them to retreat. However, he was met by a card salvo and a counterattack of the French battalion, which was personally led by Gerard. The Württemberg suffered heavy losses and fell back to Villaron.
At 2 hours, Napoleon himself arrived from Nanji. He supported the battling troops with two battalions of foot gendarmes. Pajol began a bypass maneuver, trying to bypass the enemy troops standing on the Mühlen road. Kronprinz Wilhelm, noticing the strengthening of the enemy, began to divert artillery, under the cover of cavalry, to the other side of the Seine.
Pajol, noticing the retreat of the Württemberg troops, overturned the Austrian battalion standing on the Mühlen road, and moved toward Montero, putting the allied forces of the center and right wing at risk. Württemberg accelerated the withdrawal, which upset their ranks. Napoleon led his infantry to attack. The Kronprinz of Württemberg transferred the 6 Infantry Regiment to help the retreating troops. But this could not change the situation. Prince Hohenlohe was mortally wounded, his soldiers were carried away by the retreat crowd.
Napoleon himself, having shot down the forces opposing him, placed guards' guns on the Surville heights and began to shoot enemy columns retreating across the bridge. Austrian batteries from the opposite bank of the Seine returned fire. Napoleon, reminding everyone of his artillery past, he himself directed the guns. Austrian kernels whistled around him, frightening his retinue. But Napoleon reassured his comrades: “Come, come, my friends! Do not be afraid; has not yet poured the core, which is destined to kill me. "
The Allied forces, under fire from the enemy, crossed to the other side, and tried to destroy the bridge behind them. But the charge turned out to be thin, and the laid mine could not destroy the crossing. French horse rangers on the shoulders of the enemy broke into the city. They were taken over the regiments of the Duhem division. Residents of Montero, took part in the pogrom of the Allies, firing at them from the windows and throwing stones and tiles. It should be noted that gradually the French people "swayed", began to respond to requisition and outright looting of some units of the allied armies. Individual soldiers and their small groups, who fell behind or separated from large units, were often killed. Napoleon could have used this reserve by starting a “people's war,” but he did not.
Pazhol's cavalry attempted to pursue the Allies and complete the defeat, but was held back by rear-guard artillery fire. Under cover of artillery, the frustrated corps of the crown prince of Württemberg was able to retreat. Prince William, who fought among his soldiers in this battle and nearly captured, led the troops to the district of Bre. Napoleon's army for the night is located in Montero.
Battle of Montro on the banks of the Seine. 19th century painted engraving
Battle results
Allied forces suffered significant losses - about 5 thousand people (according to other sources, 6 thousand people). Most of the losses were incurred by prisoners: the Württemberg lost up to 2 thousand prisoners, the Austrians lost more than 1,4 thousand people. The commander of one of the Württemberg infantry brigades of Hohenlohe, who until recently held off the onslaught of the enemy, was killed, which allowed a significant part of the troops to retreat. Austrian General Schaefer was captured. The guns on the orders of Crown Prince William had time to ship to the other side, so only two guns were lost. The French lost about 2,5-3 thousand people killed and wounded. Almost all the people were lost in attacks on the position of the enemy at Montero. Killed by General Chateau, Delort was injured.
Fighting in other directions
On the same day, the divisions of Alix and Charpentier pushed the vanguard of the 1 Austrian corps out of the Sea. The corps commander, Lieutenant Field Marshal Vincent von Bianki, began to withdraw troops.
By the morning of February, Earl Wrede managed to transfer almost all his troops to the left side of the Seine, except for three battalions, which had defended Mui and Bre. They had orders to destroy the bridge, in case of retreat. For their support, artillery batteries were installed at advantageous locations on the left bank of the Seine. Marshal MacDonald seized Bavarian carts and in 18 hours attacked Bavarian positions. However, the Bavarians, supported by artillery fire from the other side of the Seine, repulsed several French attacks and held positions.
Wittgenstein transferred his corps to Nogent on the left side of the Seine. He was followed by the advance guard Palen. The Cossacks of Ilovaisky remained in Proven until the appearance of the Udino troops, and then also departed for the Seine. The Russian-Prussian reserves under the leadership of Barclay de Tolly were located in the Nogent area.
The consequences of the onset of Napoleon
Schwarzenberg, before the news of the defeat of the corps of Crown Prince of Württemberg, with the consent of the Russian and Prussian monarchs, decided to withdraw the army to Trois and Arsi, to restore communication with Blucher. Blecheru still 17 February sent an order to join the right flank of the Main Army. The news of the defeat of the Austro-Wuerttemberg troops under Montro finally approved the decision to retreat. The main apartment (headquarters) of the Allied monarchs and the commander-in-chief moved to Troyes. The first Allied attack on Paris ended in defeat. The Allied Command could not use the numerical advantage of its troops to end the war.
Arriving at Troyes, Schwarzenberg initially expressed his readiness to give a decisive battle to Napoleon, if by this time the army of Blucher arrived. The position of the Allies was advantageous, they had about 150 thousand soldiers, against 60 thousand French. In addition, the Allies had a qualitative advantage, a significant part of the French troops consisted of recruits, the army of Napoleon was inferior in artillery and cavalry. However, after receiving news of the offensive of Marshal Augereau, and fearing that the army would be cut off from the Rhine, by February 23 Schwarzenberg began to withdraw troops from Trois.
Napoleon, wanting to inspire the Parisians and show their successes more impressive than they were in reality, sent several thousand prisoners captured in the last battles and the banners of the defeated units to Paris. The prisoners were taken in a long line through the streets of the French capital.
In addition, Napoleon expressed dissatisfaction with the generals and marshals, who, in his opinion, acted insufficiently decisively and quickly, missed the opportunity to destroy enemy forces. So, Marshal Victor accused that after the victory at Villeneuve, he did not pursue the enemy and did not reach Montero, giving the Allied forces the opportunity to delay the advance of the French army. In the heat of anger, Napoleon even handed over corps command to General Gerard and suggested that the marshal leave the army. But then he replaced anger with mercy, when Victor came to him and reminded about his participation in the Italian campaigns (The first serious victory of Napoleon Bonaparte. Brilliant Italian campaign 1796-1797.), expressed readiness to stand with a gun in the hands among the soldiers. Napoleon, touched by the dedication of the marshal, handed over to his command two guards divisions from the Young Guard.
Napoleon wanted to pursue the retreating troops of Schwarzenberg, but this was prevented by the absence of ferries across the Seine. The only bridge was at Montro, the Allies managed to destroy the rest of the crossing. He began collecting ships on the Seine, for arranging ferries. At the same time spent reforming the army. Paris reserves were included in the 2-corps. General Pazhol, because of his wounds, was sent for treatment, his corps was disbanded. The division of Pakto was attached to the 7 corps, three battalions from the division of Alix became part of other divisions. 2-th reserve division, formed in Mo, transferred under the command of Arrigi. The old guard was strengthened by two gendarme battalions, which arrived from Spain. In addition, Napoleon insisted on speeding up the formation of new battalions and squadrons in Paris.
While Napoleon was in Montreux, Foreign Minister Kolenkur, who was negotiating at Chatillon, conveyed to him the proposal of the Austrian Minister Metternich, who urged the French emperor to use the “last” opportunity for peace. Kolenkur also insisted on peace, offered to take advantage of the latest victories and agree on the boundaries of 1790 of the year, with some additions, not to insist on the “natural limits” of France. However, Napoleon, although he expressed his readiness to continue negotiations, insisted on more significant concessions from the Allies.
Sources:
Bogdanovich M.I. History 1814 wars of the year in France and the deposition of Napoleon I, according to reliable sources. Volume I // http://www.runivers.ru/lib/book3098/9762/.
Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian army. M., 2006.
Manfred A. Z. Napoleon. M., 2002.
Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky A.I. Description of the campaign in France in 1814: parts I, II // http://www.runivers.ru/lib/book3112/9788/.
Tarle E.V. Napoleon // http://www.lib.ru/TARLE/napoleon/content.html.
Chandler D. Napoleon's military campaigns. M., 2011.
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