| Minor campaigns of 1815 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Seventh Coalition | |||||||
 Strategic situation in Western Europe in June 1815 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France | Seventh Coalition: Austria Russia Sardinia Switzerland Liechtenstein French royalists | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Charles Decaen andBertrand, comte Clausel (Armies of the Pyrenees east and west)Jean Lamarque (Armée de l'Ouest — Vendée and Loire) | Prince of Schwarzenberg (Upper Rhine) Duke of Casalanza (Upper Italy) Johann Frimont (Naples) Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (Russia)von Hake | ||||||
On 1 March 1815,Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from his imprisonment on the isle ofElba and launched a bid to recoverhis empire. A confederation of European powers pledged to stop him. During the period known as theHundred Days, Napoleon chose to confront the armies ofPrince Blücher and theDuke of Wellington in what has become known as theWaterloo Campaign. He was decisively defeated by the two allied armies at theBattle of Waterloo; they subsequently marched on Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate for the second time. However,Russia,Austria, and some of the minor German states also fielded armies against him, and all of them invaded France. Of these other armies, those engaged in the largest campaigns and seeing the most fighting were two Austrian armies: the Army of the Upper Rhine and the Army of Italy.
The Battle of Waterloo, followed by the advance of Blücher and Wellington's armies upon Paris, was decisive. The primary objective of the war—the destruction of Napoleon's power and the restoration of theBourbon dynasty under KingLouis XVIII on 8 July 1815—was achieved while the Armies of the Upper Rhine and of Italy were just beginning their invasion of French territory. Had the efforts of Blücher and Wellington been less decisive, or had they suffered reverses, the operations of the armies advancing from the Rhine and across the Alps would have taken on immense importance. However, the rapid success in northern France reduced the interest in military operations elsewhere. The operations of the Coalition armies invading France's eastern and southeastern frontiers demonstrate that the decisive victory at Waterloo and the speedy capture of Paris averted a more general and protracted war on these frontiers. A different result in Belgium might have emboldened the French to mount a stronger defence in these regions.[1]
Upon assuming the throne, Napoleon found that the Bourbons had left him with little; the state of the Army was 56,000 troops, of whom 46,000 were ready to campaign.[2] By the end of May, the total armed forces available to Napoleon had reached 198,000, with 66,000 more in depots training but not yet ready for deployment.[3]
By the end of May, Napoleon had deployed his forces as follows:[4]
The preceding corps were to be formed intoL'Armée du Nord (the "Army of the North"); led by Napoleon, they would participate in the Waterloo Campaign. For the defence of France, Bonaparte deployed his remaining forces within the country to observe enemies, both foreign and domestic, intending to delay the former and suppress the latter. By June, they were organised as follows:
More troops guarded the southeast frontier fromBasel toNice and coveredLyon:
There were two other major deployments:
The Austrian military contingent was divided into three armies. This was the largest of these armies, commanded by Field MarshalKarl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. Its target was Paris. This Austrian contingent was joined by those of the following nations of theGerman Confederation:Kingdom of Bavaria,Kingdom of Württemberg,Grand Duchy of Baden,Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hessen-Darmstadt),Free City of Frankfurt, Principality ofReuss Elder Line, and the Principality ofReuss Junior Line. In addition, there were contingents fromFulda andIsenburg. These were recruited by the Austrians from German territories that were in the process of losing their independence through annexation by other countries at theCongress of Vienna. Finally, these were joined by the contingents of theKingdom of Saxony, Duchy ofSaxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchy ofSaxe-Meiningen, and the Duchy ofSaxe-Hildburghausen. Its composition in June was:[15]
| Corps | Commander | Men | Battalions | Squadrons | Batteries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I Corps | Master General of the Ordnance,Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld | 24,400 | 86 | 16 | 8 |
| II Corps | GeneralPrince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen | 34,360 | 36 | 86 | 11 |
| III Corps | Field Marshal Crown PrinceWilliam of Württemberg | 43,814 | 44 | 32 | 9 |
| IV Corps (Bavarian Army) | Field Marshal PrinceKarl Philipp von Wrede | 67,040 | 46 | 66 | 16 |
| Austrian Reserve Corps | General der KavallerieArchduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este | 44,800 | 38 | 86 | 10 |
| Blockade Corps | 33,314 | 38 | 8 | 6 | |
| Saxon Corps | 16,774 | 18 | 10 | 6 | |
| Totals | 264,492[16] | 246 | 844 | 66 |
This army was composed entirely ofSwiss troops. The Swiss GeneralNiklaus Franz von Bachmann commanded this army. This force was to observe any French forces that operated near its borders. Its composition in July was:[17]
Total: 37,000[18]
According to the general plan of operations devised by Prince Schwarzenberg, this army was to cross the Rhine in two columns. The right column—consisting of the III Corps, under Field Marshal theCrown Prince of Württemberg, and the IV Corps of theBavarian Army, under Field MarshalPrince von Wrede—was to cross the Rhine betweenGermersheim andMannheim. The left column—consisting of the I Corps under the Master General of the Ordnance,Count Colloredo, and the II Corps under GeneralPrince Hohenzollern-Hechingen, together with the Austrian Reserve Corps, the whole being commanded by GeneralArchduke Ferdinand—was to cross the Rhine betweenBasel andRheinfelden. The column formed by the right wing was to be supported by theImperial Russian Army under Field MarshalCount Barclay de Tolly, which was expected to assemble atKaiserslautern by 1 July. The initial objective of the operations was the concentration of the Army of the Upper Rhine and the Russian Army atNancy.[19]
As soon as Prince Schwarzenberg was informed of the commencement of hostilities in Belgium, he ordered the advance of his army. The IV (Bavarian) Corps was directed to cross theSarre immediately and, by turning through theVosges Mountains, to cut off the French V Corps under General Rapp—collected in the environs ofStrasbourg—from its base of operations and intercept its communications with the interior of France.[20]
A Russian Corps under GeneralCount Lambert, forming the advanced guard of the army of Count Barclay de Tolly, was attached to the IV (Bavarian) Corps of Prince Wrede; he was to employ it principally in maintaining communication with the North German Corps under Prussian Generalvon Hake.[20][21]
On 19 June, the Bavarian Army crossed the Rhine atMannheim andOppenheim, advancing towards theSarre. On 20 June, there were some minor skirmishes between outposts nearLandau andDahn. On 23 June, the Austrian army, having approached the Sarre, proceeded in two columns to take possession of the crossings atSaarbrücken andSarreguemines.[20]
The right column, under Lieutenant General CountKarl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten, attacked Saarbrücken, where it was opposed by the French GeneralLouis Auguste François Mariage. The Bavarians captured the suburb and the bridge, penetrating into the town along with the retiring French. They captured four officers and seventy men, and killed or wounded one hundred, suffering a loss of three officers and fifty to sixty men killed and wounded. Count Beckers occupied the town, posted his division on the heights towardsForbach, and detached patrols along the road toMetz as far asSt. Avold and to the right along the Sarre as far asSaarlouis.[22]
The left column, consisting of the First Infantry Division under Lieutenant General BaronClemens von Raglovich and the First Cavalry Division under PrinceCharles of Bavaria, advanced against Sarreguemines, where the French had constructed atête-de-pont on the right bank of the river. After some resistance, this was seized by the Bavarians; Baron von Ragliovich marched through the town and took up a position on the opposite heights, commanding the roads leading toBouquenom andLunéville.[23]
The Fourth Infantry Division, under Lieutenant GeneralFriedrich, Freiherr von Zoller, advanced towards the fortress ofBitche, which the French commandant, GeneralCharles Auguste Creutzer, refused to surrender.[23]
The Russian corps under Count Lambert, attached to the right wing of Prince Wrede's Army, advanced as far asOttweiler andRamstein.[23]
On 24 June, Prince Wrede occupiedBouquenom and detached the cavalry division under Prince Charles towardsPhalsbourg to observe it. His second, third, and fourth divisions, along with the reserve, were collected at Sarreguemines. The Russian troops under Count Lambert occupied Saarbrück, having previously detached the cavalry under Lieutenant General Czernitscheff as far asSaint-Avold.[23]
On 26 June, Prince Wrede's headquarters were atMorhange; on 27 June, his advanced posts penetrated as far asNancy, where he established his headquarters on 28 June. FromSt. Dieuze, Wrede detached units to the left to discover the movements of GeneralRapp, who was still on the Rhine and whose retreat had been cut off by the occupation of Nancy.[24]
Prince Wrede halted at Nancy to await the arrival of the Austrian and Russian corps. Upon his right, Lieutenant General Czernitscheff crossed theMoselle on 29 June within sight ofMetz; on 3 July, he stormed the town ofChâlons-sur-Marne. The garrison had promised to make no resistance yet fired upon the Russian advanced guard; the cavalry immediately dismounted, scaled the ramparts, broke open the gates, killed part of the garrison, captured the remainder (including the French General Rigault), and pillaged the town.[24]
After remaining four days in the vicinity of Nancy and Lunéville, Prince Wrede received an order from Prince Schwarzenberg to move at once upon Paris with the IV (Bavarian) Corps, which was destined to become the advanced guard of the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine. This order was given following the request by the Duke of Wellington and Prince Blücher that the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine afford immediate support to their operations in front of Paris. On 5 July, the main body of the Bavarian Army reachedChâlons, in the vicinity of which it remained during 6 July. On this day, its advanced posts communicated byÉpernay with the Prussian Army. On 7 July, Prince Wrede received intelligence of the Convention of Paris and, at the same time, directions to move towards theLoire. On 8 July, Lieutenant General Czernitscheff encountered the French betweenTalus-Saint-Prix andMontmirail, driving them across theMorin towards theSeine. Prior to the arrival of the IV (Bavarian) Corps atChâteau-Thierry, the French garrison had abandoned the place, leaving behind several pieces of artillery and ammunition. On 10 July, the Bavarian Army took up a position between the Seine and theMarne, and Prince Wrede's headquarters were atLa Ferté-sous-Jouarre.[25]
On 22 June, a portion of the Austrian III Corps under the Crown Prince of Württemberg took possession of the entrenchments ofGermersheim on the left bank of the Rhine. Lieutenant Field Marshal CountLudwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn was posted with ten battalions and four squadrons to observe and blockade the fortress ofLandau and theQueich line. The main body of the corps stood betweenBruchsal andPhilippsburg. On 23 June, the corps crossed the Rhine at Germersheim and passed the line of the Queich without opposition.[26][27]
The Crown Prince was directed to proceed byWissembourg andHaguenau to complete, in conjunction with the IV (Bavarian) Corps, the plan of intercepting General Rapp's retreat.[26]
On 24 June, the III Corps advanced toBergzabern andNiederotterbach, engaged the French at both locations, and drove them back. Count Wallmoden left a small detachment to observe Landau and advanced with the remainder of his force as far asRheinzabern. On 25 June, the Crown Prince ordered the advance towards theLines of Wissembourg in two columns. The first column assembled at Bergzabern, and the second moved forward by Niederotterbach. Count Wallmoden was directed to advance uponLauterbourg. The Crown Prince advanced his corps still further along the Haguenau road. His advanced guard pushed on toIngolsheim, and the main body of the III Corps reached the Lines of Wissembourg, which the French abandoned during the night, falling back upon theForest of Haguenau and occupying the large village ofSurbourg. On 26 June, the Crown Prince attacked and defeated the French at Surbourg with his right column, whilst the left column under Count Wallmoden was equally successful in an attack on the French General Rothenburg, posted with 6,000 infantry and a regiment of cavalry atSeltz. On the following day, General Rapp fell back upon thedefile ofBrumath; he quit this position during the night and took up a favourable position to the rear of theSouffel, near Strasbourg. His force comprised twenty-four battalions of infantry, four regiments of cavalry, and numerous artillery, amounting to nearly 24,000 men.[28][29]
The Crown Prince of Württemberg engaged General Rapp's Army of the Rhine on 28 June at theBattle of La Suffel; despite outnumbering the French two to one, the Austrian forces were repelled. Rapp, however, withdrew into the fortress of Strasbourg shortly after the action, the Austrian numerical advantage proving decisive. The losses of the III Corps on this occasion amounted to 75 officers and 2,050 men killed and wounded, while those of the French were about 3,000 men.[30]
The Austrian I and II Corps and the Reserve Corps, forming the left wing of the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine, crossed the river atRheinfelden andBasel on the night of 25 June. On 26 June, the I Corps under Count Colloredo was directed uponBelfort andMontbéliard; on the same day, the Austriansinvested the fortress ofHuningue. The advanced guard of the Austrian I Corps skirmished with a French detachment of 3,000 men belonging to the VIII Corps (also known asArmée du Jura) of GeneralLecourbe, forcing it to withdraw as far asDannemarie. On 28 June, the Austrian I Corps attacked the French nearChavannes, between Dannemarie and Belfort, driving the French force of 8,000 infantry and 500 cavalry back upon Belfort. Major-General von Scheither of the I Corps was detached against Montbéliard, a town fortified and defended by acitadel. After maintaining a destructive fire against the place, the Austrian troops stormed it, suffering a loss of 25 officers and 1,000 men killed and wounded.[8][31]
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The III Corps remained in front of Strasbourg until 4 July, when it was relieved by the arrival of the Austrian II Corps under Prince Hohenzollern from the vicinity ofColmar. At this point, the advanced guard of the Austrian Reserve Corps under Lieutenant Field Marshal Stutterheim moved uponRemiremont, and the main body uponSt. Marie aux Mines. The Austrian Reserve Corps reachedRaon l'Etape, subsequently moving on 10 July toNeufchâteau. The III Corps under the Crown Prince of Württemberg marched into the vicinity ofMolsheim.[32]
On 7 July, Württemberg reached Lunéville; however, instead of proceeding to its original destination of Nancy, the III Corps took the road to Neufchâteau on 9 July, advancing in columns: one viaBayon and the other viaRambervillers. These two columns continued their advance, the first byVaucouleurs,Joinville,Brienne-le-Château,Troyes, andAuxerre; the other by Neufchâteau,Chaumont,Bar-sur-Aube,Vendeuvre-sur-Barse,Bar-sur-Seine, andChâtillon. They halted at these points (Auxerre and Châtillon) on 18 July. On 21 July, the corps entered intocantonments betweenMontbard andTonnerre.[33]
With the exception of a few sorties of little consequence, General Rapp remained quiet in the fortress of Strasbourg. The news of the capture of Paris by the British and Prussian troops led to a suspension of hostilities; this was concluded on 24 July and extended to the fortresses ofStrasbourg,Landau,La Petite-Pierre,Huningue,Sélestat,Lichtenberg,Phalsbourg,Neuf-Brisach, andBelfort.[34]
This was the second largest of Austria's contingents. Its target was Lyon. GeneralJohann Maria Philipp Frimont commanded this army. Its composition in June was:[35]
Total: 50,000.[18]
GeneralFrederick Bianchi commanded the Austrian Army of Naples.[a] This was the smaller of Austria's military contingents, and it had already defeatedJoachim Murat's army in theNeapolitan War. Its objective in the current campaign was the capture of Marseille and Toulon. It was not composed of Neapolitans, as the army's name might suggest and as one author has supposed.[36] There was, however, a Sardinian force in this area forming the garrison of Nice under Lieutenant-GeneralGiovanni Pietro Luigi Cacherano d'Osasco,[37] which may have been where this misunderstanding arose. The Army of Naples composition in June was:[38]
Total: 23,000[18]
The FrenchArmy of the Var[18] (II Corps of Observation) was based at Toulon and commanded by MarshalGuillaume Marie Anne Brune.[7] This army was charged with the suppression of any potential royalist uprisings and to observe Bianchi's 'Army of Naples'. Its composition in June was:
Total: 5,500–6,116 men.[42]
The Austrian Army of Italy, composed of Austrian andSardinian troops and amounting to 60,000 men, was under the command of General BaronFrimont. It was destined to act against the French Army of the Alps under MarshalSuchet, posted in the vicinity ofChambéry andGrenoble. The size of Suchet's force is uncertain, estimated at 13,000 to 20,000 men; but the Corps of Observation on the Var in the vicinity of Antibes and Toulon, under Marshal Brune, amounted to 10,000 men and was not occupied with any enemy in its front.[43]
Baron Frimont's army was divided into two corps: the I Corps under Lieutenant Field MarshalRadivojevich was to advance by theValais towards Lyon; the II Corps under Lieutenant Field MarshalCount Bubna, positioned in Piedmont, was to penetrate into the south of France through Savoy.[43]
Marshal Suchet had received orders from Napoleon to commence operations on 14 June and, by rapid marches, to secure the mountain passes in theValais and inSavoy (then part of theKingdom of Sardinia) to close them to the Austrians. On 15 June, his troops advanced at all points for the purpose of gaining the frontier fromMontmélian as far asGeneva, which he invested. Thence he proposed to obtain possession of the important passes ofMeillerie andSt. Maurice to check the advance of the Austrian columns from the Valais. At Meillerie, the French were driven back by the advanced guard of the Austrian right column on 21 June. By means of forced marches, the whole of this column, which Baron Frimont himself accompanied, reached theArve on 27 June.[44] The left column under Count Bubna crossedMont Cenis on 24 and 25 June. On 28 June, the column was sharply opposed by the French atConflans; however, the Austrians succeeded in gaining possession of it.[45]
To secure the passage of the riverArve, the advanced guard of the right column moved toBonneville on its left bank on 27 June, but the French, who had already fortified this place, maintained a stout resistance. In the meantime, however, the Austrians gained possession of the passage atCarrouge, placing the French under the necessity of evacuating Bonneville and abandoning the valley of the Arve. The Austrian column passed Geneva and drove the French from the heights ofGrand Saconex and fromSt. Genix. On 29 June, this part of the Austrian army moved towards theJura and, on 1 July, made dispositions for attacking the redoubts and entrenchments which the French had thrown up to defend the passes. The most vigorous assault was made upon thePass of Les Rousses, but the Austrians were driven back. Reserves were brought up, and when the French quit their entrenchments to meet them, they were exposed to a flank attack by cavalry and artillery. The pass was captured by the Austrians, and the French were compelled to abandon both it and the other passes of the Jura. The Austrian advance guard pursued the French, reachingSaint-Claude in the evening on the road leading to the left fromGex, andSt. Laurent in the original direction of the attack beyondLes Rousses.[45]
In the meantime, the Austrian Reserve Corps underFeldmarschalleutnant (Major-General)Franz Mauroy de Merville was directed to advance and throw back the French upon theRhône. The latter, in retreating, destroyed the bridge ofSeyssel and, by holding theFort l'Ecluse, closed the road from Geneva to Lyon. Aredoubt had been constructed in front of the fort which completely commanded the approach. It was stormed and captured by the Hungarian 'Prince Esterhazy' Infantry Regiment (IR.32). The fort itself was turned by the Reserve Corps along the left bank of the Rhône with the design of forcing the passage at thePerte du Rhône. Here the French had constructed atête-de-pont; however, they were forced to abandon it in consequence of a movement made by the I Corps underFeldmarschalleutnantRadivojevich. On retiring, the French destroyed the stone bridge, rendering it necessary for the Austrians to construct temporary bridges over the extremely narrow space between the rocks which confine the stream at this spot. The advanced guard of the Reserve Corps under General Count Hardegg first crossed the Rhône and found the French posted atCharix, in the rear of Châtillon, on the road toNantua. Count Hardegg immediately ordered an attack and, after encountering obstinate resistance, forced the French to retire.[46]
The troops of the Austrian I Corps left in front of Fort l'Ecluse had commenced a bombardment; after twenty-six hours, the fort was considerably damaged. A powder magazine exploded, causing a general conflagration. To escape this, the garrison rushed out and surrendered unconditionally to the Austrians; thus, in three days, the high road from Geneva to Lyon was opened to the Army of Italy.[47]
On 3 July, GeneralBogdan, with the advanced guard of the Austrian I Corps, having been reinforced by Lieutenant Field Marshal Radivojevich, attacked the French atOyonnax, beyondSt. Claude, where the French GeneralJean-Pierre Maransin had taken up a favourable position with a force of 2,000 men. The Austrians turned Maransin's left flank and forced the French to retire. The I Corps reachedBourg-en-Bresse on 9 July.[48]
On 10 July, a detachment under Major-General von Pflüger was pushed on toMâcon on theSaône, gaining possession of thetête-de-pont constructed there and of the place itself.[49]
On 7 July, the II Corps under Count Bubna reachedEchelles. A detachment consisting principally ofSardinian troops under Lieutenant General Count Latour had been directed to observeGrenoble, where its advanced guard arrived on 4 July. On 6 July, the suburbs were attacked, and the communication between Grenoble and Lyon was cut off. The garrison, consisting of eight battalions of theNational Guard, offered to capitulate on 9 July on the condition of being permitted to return to their homes. That a vigorous defence might have been maintained was evident from the fact that the Austrians found fifty-four guns, eight mortars, and large quantities of provisions in the place.[49]
Count Bubna's II Corps and the Reserve Corps, by simultaneous movements, assembled together in front of Lyon on 9 July. An armistice was solicited by the garrison on 11 July and granted upon condition that Lyon and the entrenched camp should be evacuated and that the FrenchVII Corps (Marshal Suchet's) retire behind theLoire, keeping Suchet's advanced posts within a stipulated line of demarcation.[49]
On 9 July, the Sardinian Lieutenant-General d'Osasco, who had been detached to Nice, concluded an armistice with Marshal Brune, commander of theArmée du Var, facing theMaritime Alps.[50][b]
Having secured possession of the line of the Rhône as far south as its confluence with theIsère, as well as the section of theSaône betweenMâcon and Lyon, the Army of Italy proceeded towards the upper course of the latter river. Leaving the II Corps under Count Bubna at Lyon to face Marshal Suchet, the I Corps marched uponChalon-sur-Saône to seize thetête-de-pont there. At this time, the FrenchArmée du Jura under General Lecourbe was atSalins, betweenDole andPontarlier. AsBesançon had not yet been invested, Baron Frimont detached a part of the Reserve Corps under General Hecht to Salins, while General Folseis was detached from the I Corps towards Dole. The advanced guard of the I Corps had arrived in front of thetête-de-pont at Châlons and completed its dispositions for attack when the place surrendered. By the simultaneous advance of Hecht upon Salins and Folseis from Dole upon Besançon, the retreat of the French General Laplane was completely cut off. This led to a convention which stipulated the dissolution of the National Guard, the surrender of all officers, and the abandonment of one of the forts ofSalins to the Austrians.[51]
On 20 July, the I Corps advanced from Chalon-sur-Saône as far asAutun. With Besançon having been occupied by the Austrian troops of the Army of the Upper Rhine, a junction was effected with the latter by the Army of Italy nearDijon;[50] this ended all hostilities in that region of France.[50]
The Russians followed the northern wing of the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine into France and towards Paris; to their north, the German Corps assisted elements of Blücher's and Wellington's armies in subduing French frontier forts that did not immediately surrender to Coalition forces.
Field MarshalMichael Andreas Barclay de Tolly commanded the First Russian Army. In June, it consisted of the following:[52]
Total: 200,000[18]
The main body of the First Russian Army, commanded by Field Marshal Count Barclay de Tolly and amounting to 167,950 men, crossed Germany rapidly in three main columns. The right column, commanded by GeneralDoctorov, advanced by way ofKalisz,Torgau,Leipzig,Erfurt,Hanau,Frankfurt, andHochheim am Main towardsMainz. The central column, commanded by GeneralBaron Sacken, advanced throughBreslau,Dresden,Zwickau,Bayreuth,Nuremberg,Aschaffenburg,Dieburg, andGross Gerau towardsOppenheim. The left column, commanded by GeneralCount Langeron, proceeded throughPrague,Aube,Adelsheim,Neckar, andHeidelberg towardsMannheim. The vanguards of the columns had reached the Middle Rhine when hostilities were about to break out on the Belgian frontier. The Russians crossed the Rhine at Mannheim on 25 June and followed the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine. The majority of the force reached Paris and its vicinity by the middle of July.[54]
The German Corps (or the North German Federal Army) was part of the Prussian Army but was tasked to act independently much further south. It was composed of contingents from the following nations of theGerman Confederation:Electorate of Hesse,Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin,Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Grand Duchy ofSaxe-Weimar-Eisenach,Duchy of Oldenburg, Duchy ofSaxe-Gotha, Duchy ofAnhalt-Bernburg, Duchy ofAnhalt-Dessau, Duchy ofAnhalt-Kothen, Principality ofSchwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Principality ofSchwarzburg-Sondershausen,Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont,Principality of Lippe, and the Principality ofSchaumburg-Lippe.[55]
Fearing that Napoleon was going to attack him first, Blücher ordered this army to march north to join the rest of his own forces.[56] The Prussian GeneralFriedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf initially commanded this army; when he fell ill on 18 June, he was replaced temporarily by the Hessen-Kassel General von Engelhardt (commander of the Hessen division) and then by Lieutenant-GeneralKarl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake.[57][58] Its composition in June was:[59][60][c]
Total: 25,000[18]
The German Corps, composed of contingent forces supplied by the small principalities of north Germany, assembled in the middle of April in the vicinity ofKoblenz. It amounted to 26,200 men, divided into thirty battalions of infantry, twelve squadrons of cavalry, and two and a half batteries of artillery; it was commanded by GeneralFriedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf. Later, it crossed the Rhine at Koblenz andNeuwied, taking up a position on theMoselle and theSarre; its right communicated with the Prussian II Corps (Pirch I), and its left with the Austrian IV (Bavarian) Corps (Prince von Wrede) atZweibrücken. Its advanced posts extended along the French frontier fromArlon toMertzig. Its headquarters were atTrier on the Moselle.[61]
It remained in this position until 16 June when its commander, General von Engelhardt (in the absence of Count Kleist, who was ill), advanced from Trier toArlon, arriving on 19 June. Here the corps remained until 21 June, when it received an order from Prince Blücher to march into France viaBastogne andNeufchâteau and capture the fortresses ofSedan andBouillon. On 22 June, the Corps commenced its march in two columns: the first by Neufchâteau towardSedan, the other byRecogne toward Bouillon. Sedan capitulated on 25 June after a few days' bombardment. An attempt was made to take Bouillon by acoup de main, but its garrison was strong enough to frustrate this project. The place was not considered of sufficient importance to warrant a regular siege; it was simply invested from 25 June until 21 August,[62][63] when a battalion of theNetherlands Reserve Army under Lieutenant-General BaronRalph Dundas Tindal took over. (Similar to the German Corps, the Netherlands Reserve Army did not take part in the early actions of the Waterloo Campaign).[62][63][64]
On 28 June, Lieutenant-GeneralKarl Georg Albrecht Ernst von Hake, who had been appointed to the command of the German Corps, directed the advance guard to move uponCharleville, which lies beneath the guns of theFortress of Mézières, and to storm the town. The capture was successfully executed by Hessian battalions and greatly facilitated the siege ofMézières. Mobile columns were detached to observe the fortresses ofMontmédy,Laon, andRheims. The last-named place capitulated on 8 July, and the garrison of 4,000 men retired behind theLoire.[45]
Finding that his summons to surrender was ignored by the commandant GeneralJacques Lemoine—notwithstanding the bombardment of Mézières commenced on 27 June—Lieutenant-General von Hake undertook a regular siege of the place, opening trenches on 2 August. On 13 August, the French garrison surrendered the town and retired into the citadel, which surrendered on 1 September.[45]
The efforts of the German Corps were now directed upon the fortress of Montmédy, around which it had succeeded in positioning twelve batteries by 13 September. After obstinate resistance, the garrison concluded a convention on 20 September by which it was to retire, with arms and baggage, behind the Loire. After the capture of Montmédy, the German Corps went intocantonments in thedepartment of the Ardennes, whence it returned home in November.[45]
This was Great Britain's minor military expedition. It was composed of British troops from the garrison ofGenoa under General SirHudson Lowe. The troops were transported and supported by theRoyal Navy'sMediterranean Fleet commanded by LordExmouth. The British landed atMarseille to support a French Royalist uprising that had expelled Marshal Brune's garrison. The British expeditionary force landed before Marshal Brune was able to advance fromToulon with reinforcements from theArmée du Var. The National Guard of Marseille, reinforced by 4,000 British soldiers, marines, and seamen, marched out to meet this advance. Faced by this force, Brune retreated to Toulon and subsequently surrendered the city to the Coalition forces.[65]
Army of the West[7] –Armée de l'Ouest[18] (also known as the Army of the Vendée and the Army of the Loire) was originally formed as theCorps of Observation of the Vendée. This army was established to suppress the Royalist revolt in theVendée region of France, which had rebelled upon Napoleon Bonaparte's return. It was commanded by GeneralJean Maximilien Lamarque.
The total planned strength was 10,000 to 12,000 men, but the highest estimate of total actual strength is 6,000 men.[66]
Provence andBrittany, known to contain many royalist sympathisers, did not open revolt, but theVendée did. The Vendée Royalists successfully tookBressuire andCholet before they were defeated by General Lamarque at theBattle of Rocheserviere on 20 June. They signed theTreaty of Cholet six days later on 26 June.[8][67][68]
For mobilisations that did not take an active part in operations, or were merely planned mobilisations, see the article "Military mobilisation during the Hundred Days".
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Siborne, William (1895)."Supplement section".The Waterloo Campaign 1815 (4th ed.). Birmingham, 34 Wheeleys Road. pp. 767–780.
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