History of The Campaign in France, in The Year 1814 by General A. Mikhailofsky-Danilefsky

Author:General A. Mikhailofsky-Danilefsky [Mikhailofsky-Danilefsky, General A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, Napoleonic Wars, Europe, France, Spain & Portugal, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9781786259837
Google: -I_EDAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2016-07-26T03:01:17+00:00

At nine o'clock in the morning Napoleon renewed his attack on the position at Laon, in order to engross Blücher’s attention, and force him to recall the corps he had sent in pursuit of Marmont, and thus give the Marshal time to collect his scattered troops. Hardly was the advance perceived, when orders were sent from headquarters to Langeron, Sacken, York, and Kleist, desiring them to halt wherever the order should reach them, and to send the horse alone after Marmont. Afterwards, when the battle grew warm about Laon, and in the adjacent villages, these generals were ordered to return to the position. During the whole day the French kept renewing their attacks on the town and villages, but their constant failure at last induced Napoleon to retire. After midday his parks and baggage were seen drawing off towards Soissons; they were followed by his army late in the afternoon, but the rearguard remained on the field of battle, and kept up the cannonade till night. On the following day the whole French army concentrated at Soissons, with the exception of Marmont, who having collected the remains of his beaten corps, was lying at Fismes.

Thus ended the fighting at Laon, and along with it Napoleon’s expedition from Troyes against the army of Silesia. It had worn out his troops, cost him 46 pieces of cannon, 12,000 killed and wounded, and, what was of infinitely greater importance, did not realize his hope of beating Blücher’s army and driving it away from the theatre of war. It followed that the project, to effect which he had marched from Troves, had totally failed, while the Field Marshal had fully gained his object by drawing Napoleon away from the Grand Army, and leaving it at full liberty to act. Blücher has been reproached for not annihilating Marmont, by pursuing him without intermission, and for withdrawing from Sacken and Langeron the order he had given them to attack Napoleon’s rear. It is said that he ought to have persisted in his first intention, the rather, that with the troops which remained with him, that is, with the corps of Wintzengerode and Bülow, he could have maintained the strong position of Laon against Napoleon’s attacks. To meet this reproach it is necessary to state, that Blücher, who had been for some time indisposed, was on that day suffering so violently from ague and an inflammation of the eyes, as to be no longer master of his faculties, and that the chief of his staff would not venture to take on himself the responsibility of carrying into execution the order to advance which the Field Marshal had given at mid-night. He preferred concentrating all the troops at Laon when he saw Napoleon was renewing the battle in which Blücher was not in a situation to command in person.

It was therefore owing to the ailing state of Blücher that the French escaped a final overthrow, either under the walls of Laon, or during their retreat from that town.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.