Leadup to Leipzig
By August 1813, Napoleon knew he was strategically on the defensive and greatly outnumbered. Therefore, it was necessary to go on the offensive to gain the victories needed to restore his fortunes. He learned the general situation of the Coalition forces and discovered that they were in three separate armies: 135,000 near Berlin and Stettin led by the crown prince of Sweden, 95,000 Russians and Prussians near Breslau, and 180,000 Austrians and Russians in Bohemia. Napoleon was based at Bautzen and believed he was a match for all three armies, but he had to defeat them one by one.
At the Battle of Dresden on 26/27 August, Napoleon and an army of 135,000 faced off against the Austrian and Russian forces led by Field Marshal Schwarzenberg. They were supplemented by Prussians, so the Coalition army probably numbered 214,000. It was a critical battle for Napoleon as two of his French Empire armies had been defeated by Coalition forces in the previous four days. Although he inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, a lack of cavalry meant the French couldn’t launch a major pursuit.
It was the last major victory for Napoleon who inexplicably rode back to Dresden, seemingly unaware of the importance of a successful pursuit of the enemy. Moreover, he left no specific orders for the pursuit. Perhaps he believed that he was fighting a losing battle at that point? Within a couple of days, one of his armies suffered a disastrous setback at the Battle of Kulm. Another French defeat at the Battle of Dennewitz on September 6 forced Napoleon to change his plans. He decided to leave Dresden and fall back towards Erfurt; he ordered Laurent Saint-Cyr to come with him after previously wanting him to stay at Dresden.
The Battle of Leipzig – Prelude
Napoleon created his final plan on October 7 but within a few hours, he changed his mind again, and Saint-Cyr and Lobau remained at Dresden after all. Napoleon’s crippling indecision was completely at odds with how he had commanded throughout his career, and it was a problem again from October 10-13 when he stayed at Duben and issued few orders. Eventually, he learned that Blucher was at Wittenberg and Schwarzenberg was south of Leipzig where his army was moving slowly. Napoleon aimed to destroy Blucher before attacking Schwarzenberg.
Blucher marched to his right and came into contact with another ally, Bernadotte on October 14. However, Bernadotte elected to retreat when hearing of Napoleon’s threat. A single march of the three Coalition armies would have trapped the French at that stage. The following day, Napoleon seized Leipzig and its bridges and dared his opponents to attack him one by one. Bernadotte’s retreat meant it would be three days before he could return, so it was now Napoleon versus Blucher and Schwarzenberg.
Even so, the French were heavily outnumbered. Napoleon had 220,000 men and 700 guns, but his Coalition enemies eventually had 380,000 troops and 1,500 guns. While the French army was concentrated in one spot, the allies were spread out. There were three monarchs on the battlefield, Emperor Francis I of Austria, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and King Frederick William III of Prussia. At the beginning of the battle, the allies probably had no more than 220,000 men and were outnumbered in the southern part of the battlefield. Napoleon was able to strike first but was robbed of ultimate victory.