Ok - so you are a little unfamiliar with the 1814 Campaign. Well lets take the tour.
First, know that as the Allies were moving on the Rhine, Napoleon was riding to Paris in his coach, dispatching orders as he rode. His generals were to hold certain fortresses (Morand for instance bottled up in one of them) on the Rhine to deny the Allies their use and to interdict movement near them. Napoleon felt that this would tie down the Allies but in fact all they did was dispatch their Bundescorps as they formed them to perform siege duty (or just cover the fortress). A couple of the major corps were used in this duty but one by one were released to the main front. Examples of these were Langeron's Corps (10th and 8th Corps and other troops).
Second, the other fronts were Holland, Belgium, Spain, Lyon and N.Italy. The former held out rather well considering the amount of troops that the Allies could assemble. Bernadotte grew more interested in defeating the Danes than in toppling Napoleon from his throne. In Belgium, MacDonald was active with forces but as the Allies advanced he would retreat thus uncovering other French forces who likewise would fall back.
Lyon was south of the main area of operations and entrusted to Augereau. Napoleon would have liked to have seen this Marechal more active. Eventually he did make a lunge for the Switzerland but his advance was curtailed. Note: Schwarzenberg was afraid that this force would indeed work on his left flank so he dispatched no less than two corps to handle Augereau. One of them was Austrian. Rather than send the Bavarians or Wurttemberg forces to handle that relatively quiet theater he made sure that the Austrian forces were given a "rest area." Typical of the Austrians during the campaign.
Spain, of course, was where the titanic struggle for control of the Iberian Peninsula was winding down. Driven into the eastern and north-eastern part of the country, the French were falling back into France by the time that the campaign in France was reaching its climax. Eventually the Anglo-Allied forces marched into Paris as well but not with the main Allies of Europe.
Italy was being held by Eugene, who did a masterful job of denying the Austrians Mantua and other important cities. Murat defected to the Allies complicating Eugene's task. The French/N.Italians fought a great defensive campaign only capitulating once the war was over. The game includes the Battle of the Mincio as an introduction for the gamer to that theater of war. Given more time I will will endeavor to add more actions to that part of the game. The Carinthian Campaign was of interest with many small engagements. Great for company level actions.
The Main Theater of Operations:
Now on to the main theater. During January the Marechals were gradually pressed back towards Paris. Mortier did a great job in the southern Rhine area falling back to Chaumont and eventually to Bar-sur-Aube where he was able to hold his own against an enemy that was three times his own. January 24, 1814 saw his forces perform brilliantly and then fall back further to the west (on Troyes).
MacDonald's forces were retreating from Belgium. By the time they reached the area of Laon-Reims, Napoleon had begun to move up his new formations (the cavalry was in a wretched state). Other generals as well were falling back from the east as the Army of Silesia advanced.
The main Allied army in the south was called "The Grand Army" but we will refer to them as the Hauptarmee in the text. They drew their supply lines in from the Belfort Gap (Mulhouse, etc). The Army of Silesia was drawing their supplies from the middle Rhine. Thus the two armies were advancing towards the same objective but on different lines. The strategy of 1813 for abridged as the Austrians, once in France, were more for peace with Napoleon. They strove to avoid combat unless it was forced on them.
Blucher, on the other hand, as well as other members of the "War Camp" were for pressing the action and defeating Napoleon as soon as possible. This would work against the Allies during the entire campaign. Schwarzenberg seemed only too glad to let Blucher do the fighting while his large army lumbered towards Paris only to be sent scurrying for cover as Napoleon would advance on them.
By late January the French army was forming into one cohesive group. The Allies were at the edges of the operational stage. To better understand the campaign it is necessary to know the arena where the warriors were fighting.
You can divide the theater of operations up into three distinct parts:
Brie Plateau - this was a damp and fertile region. It was abundant with fields and farms. It could support an army as long as they did not remain in one particular area for more than a week. Cities in the region included Chateau-Theirry, Epernay and Meaux. This was the best and shortest route to Paris for the Allies.
Champagne Humide - this region was covered with ponds, lakes and woods. It could support an army similar to the Brie Plateau. Cities/towns in this region include Troyes, Brienne and Chaumont. This region was where the Hauptarmee operated for the most part.
Champagne Pouilleuse - the word "pouilleuse" in French mean "barren." The region has a clay based soil making farming difficult. Even to this day the region is not as highly developed as the Brie Plateau. This region was a "no-mans" land lying between the two regions listed above. It wrapped around the eastern and southern sides of the Brie Plateau and formed a barrier to an army deploying or in the case of the Allies, deploying together. Food and shelter were scarce at best.
Three rivers (and other numerous waterways) divide up this area as well. The Marne river ran through the Brie Plateau and on to the east and southeast. The Ourcq flowed into the Marne near Meaux, west of Chateau-Theirry. This area (Meaux) was crucial to any advance on Paris.
The Seine ran through Paris and then south to turn southeast near Montereau. It also was a major factor in any advance on Paris.
The Aube ran into the Seine near Montereau and formed the major barrier that the Hauptarmee would have to cross in order to link up with Blucher.
Finally, a discussion of the roads is in order. Napoleon had actually spent more resources improving the major roadways in Germany, to allow his army to move quickly at a moment's notice, than in France. The roads in France during the winter become a quagmire for the most part. Regional capital cities have better roadways. Towns like Chalons, Reims, Troyes, all are major arteries and allow for rapid movement during normal weather. With the rains and snow of the 1814 winter even these roads could be difficult at best. The rest of the roads were in wretched condition. Along with the sparse population in the Champagne Pouillieuse, the roads through this region were not conducive to swift marching by an army.
Thus the army that could make use of the major roads had a "leg up" on their enemy who would have to make do with muddy stretches of road.
Initially, Napoleon sought to divide the Allied commands. With Mortier at Troyes, Ney and MacDonald near Chalons, he moved on Blucher (who at this point only had Sacken's Corps - Yorck's 1st Prussian Corps still further to the east and out of the operations to follow) with the latter forces. This force had several divisions of conscripts. The absence of Mortier's troops in the coming days would be felt.
The First Lunge South - 26 January thru 1 February
The Battle of Brienne - 31 January
Blucher sidestepped Napoleon's move (probably more out of ignorance than by plan) by moving south of St. Dizier to join up with the Allies (who were marching north from Chaumont and other points south) near La Rothiere and Brienne. Arriving first near Brienne, Blucher was hit by a surprise attack by the French on January 31 and sent packing after a sharp action. This was Napoleon's first victory of the campaign.
Blucher fell back to the south while Napoleon spent two days gathering his forces and reminiscing at the place where as a young man he had gone to school.
The Battle of La Rothiere - 1 February
The Allies finally brought up their forces and during a snow storm made a SLOW, deliberate attack on the French. Wrede, taking the bit by the teeth, made a forceful flanking movement that turned the French flank and pressed them back. Only the rebuilding of the bridge at Lesmont would allow the French to escape to Arcis-sur-Aube and the safety of the Aube river valley.
The First Lunge North - 10 - 15 February
The Allies had been victorious and French morale sunk to lower levels. Blucher was confident that now was the time to act. Reinforced by Kleist's 2nd Prussian Corps and part of Langeron's Corps (10th Corps - Kapzevich), he felt that a long lunge to the northwest on Paris was in order. Thus he set out during the week of Feb 4-10 to make his bid for Paris.
Napoleon acted with his usual enthusiasm. Realizing that Blucher was acting on his own he left Oudinot's corps (and other forces of the army) in the south to watch the Hauptarmee while Marmont, the Guard and two cavalry corps moved north to attack the Army of Silesia.
Blucher had sent his army on two lines of advance. Yorck was sent from Epernay along the Marne river to Chateau-Theirry where he would continue moving west to cross the Ourcq river and operate in conjunction with Sacken. The latter general moved west from Chalons through Etoges and on to Montmirail and Meaux. At that point MacDonald's corps was posted. The French destroyed the bridges over the Marne to deny Blucher a crossing point. This act would latter come back to work against the French but in fact was only a minor point as it is doubtful if MacDonald could have acted on his own properly.
Both Allied columns were not in support range and Sacken's column was spread out with the cavalry to the west, Sacken with the majority of his force to the east of the cavalry while Olsufiev's 9th Corps took up the rear, a long day's march away from his commander. Blucher and the new arrivals (Kleist and Kapzevitch) were further back near Chalon moving up on Etoges as the curtain goes up on this portion of the campaign.
Napoleon's forces encamped near Sezanne on the 9th of February and on the morning of the 10th were on their way to Champaubert. This would put them astride the advance route of Blucher's southern column (Sacken) cleverly splitting them into two parts.
The hapless Olsufiev had been rebuked for his conduct at Brienne and rather than march away put his corps in battle order south of Champaubert. The French crossed over the Petit Moran (which bridge could have been destroyed had Olsufiev been on his game that day) and moved north to attack the 9th Corps. The regiments of Jagers at the bridge were thrown back and the cavalry and infantry of Napoleon's Mobile Column advanced to the north and north west. Olsufiev, seeing that the French were moving to the northwest, dispatched one of his divisions to block them. The resulting battle at two places saw the French overwhelm the Russians and eventually the 9th Corps was destroyed. Portions of the corps went on to fight during the remainder of the campaign but it was a shadow of its former self.
Now firmly astride the march route of Blucher, Napoleon dispatched Marmont to the east to watch for Blucher. With the rest of the forces he moved west to attack the rest of Sacken's forces.
Lets look at Blucher's situation on the 10th. At Bergeres, (east of Etoges, west of Chalons) he learned that the French were at Sezanne and rather than march with all haste on Champaubert and reinforce Olsufiev, he chose to send his forces (Kleist and Kapzevitch) southwest on Sezanne. Now had he continued south he might have disrupted Napoleon's plans. As it was during the day he learned of the tragedy of the 9th Corps and retraced his footsteps northeast to Bergeres. Thus an entire day was lost moving this force back and forth with nothing to show for their efforts.
Thus with Marmont watching Blucher, Napoleon moved on Montmirail which his advance guard reached that evening. The roads were in terrible condition. The artillery of the Young Guard, for instance, had to be dragged by their crews, with the Guard infantry assisting. As a result Napoleon would not have his complete force ready on the morning of the 11th when Sacken marched towards the town from the west.
Unaware of the complete situation of the 10th, Sacken sought to unite with Yorck. He knew that his line of communications had been severed. Marching on Montmirail he already knew that Yorck was on the move. The latter, however, did not bring up his entire corps. One of his brigades was left at Chateau-Theirry. Still another was further down the Marne River to the east. Thus when Yorck did show up later in the day he had with him an infantry force with some of the reserve cavalry.
The combat at Montmirail was in three phases: Napoleon's defense, Mortier's advance, and Counterattack.
The first phase saw his attacks against Russians repulsed no less than five times. The Russians were not able to make use of their splendid artillery so awful were the conditions of the fields and roads. Once Napoleon was reinforced his Guard cavalry and infantry along with portions of the line infantry were able to press back the Russians. Eventually the French were able to scatter the Russian formations. One part retreated to the northwest while the rest fell back with Yorck. The latter arrived too late to decide the battle and were driven back by the force of Napoleon's attack.
During the night of the 11th the Allies made camp south of Chateau-Theirry. Napoleon's worn out warriors made use of what shelter they could find.
The 12th dawned cold. The French army resumed its pursuit of the Allies to the north in two columns, Napoleon commanding the left while Ney commanded the right. The pursuit was not able to catch and destroy what was left of Sacken's force but a severe fight broke out among the vineyards which were along the banks of the ridge which lined the southern ridge of the Marne river valley. Despite the fact that Napoleon had the momentum the Allies escaped north into Chateau-Theirry. The bridge was destroyed and Napoleon was unable to continue the advance.
On the 13th the bridge was repaired and the city taken. The Allies had flown the coup and Napoleon had won an incomplete victory.
Learning from Marmont that Blucher had finally advanced from Bergeres, Napoleon moved south. Blucher (Kleist and Kapzevitch) had attacked Marmont at Etoges and had forced him to fall back on Champaubert. On the morning of the 14th Marmont's corps continue to retreat to Vauchamps. There they found the French army waiting. Blucher's lead brigade took Vauchamps but the French quickly overwhelmed the force. Prussians were cut down by the cavalry or taken prisoner by the French.
Blucher was to the east along the ridges looking west. Realizing he was in a bind he began a long withdraw back to Etoges. The Allied squares retreated, fending off the French cavalry and making a fine retreat to end the day's march. Unfortunately, the Prussians were not vigilant and during the night one Prussian brigade stationed at Etoges was overwhelmed. Blucher continued his retreat to Chalons. This ended this segment of the campaign.
Conclusions thus far: Napoleon had gotten his first victory at Brienne but had received a bloody nose at La Rothiere. Blucher's overconfidence almost cost him his army. Napoleon, never one to be discouraged after a loss, won four victories in a row. The Imperial Eagle was on the ascent. Could he defeat the Allies? Stay tuned for Part 2.
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