Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube 1814
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 March 1814 – 21 March 1814 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1814 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Sixth Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | First French Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 48.5381, 4.1419 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (20–21 March 1814) saw an Imperial French army under Napoleon face a much larger Allied army led by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg during the War of the Sixth Coalition. On the second day of fighting, Emperor Napoleon finally realized he had blundered into battle as he was massively outnumbered, and immediately ordered a masked retreat. By the time the Austrian Field Marshal Schwarzenberg realized Napoleon was retreating, most of the French had already disengaged and the Allied pursuit afterwards failed to prevent the remaining French army from safely withdrawing to the north. This was Napoleon's penultimate battle before his abdication and exile to Elba, the last being the Battle of Saint-Dizier.
While Napoleon fought against Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's Russo-Prussian army to the north, Schwarzenberg's army pushed Marshal Jacques MacDonald's army back toward Paris. After his victory at Reims, Napoleon moved south to threaten Schwarzenberg's supply line to Germany. In response, the Austrian field marshal pulled his army back to Troyes and Arcis-sur-Aube. When Napoleon occupied Arcis, the normally cautious Schwarzenberg determined to fight it out rather than retreat.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (revision 1370106931), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Fère-Champenoise 1814 · 24 km
- Battle of Laubressel 1814 · 27 km
- Battle of Brienne 1814 · 32 km
- Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge 1918 · 36 km
- Battle of La Rothière 1814 · 37 km
- Battle of Champaubert 1814 · 47 km
Other battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition
- Battle of Kulm 1813
- Battle of Sehested 1813
- Siege of Breda (1813) 1813
- Siege of Danzig (1813) 1813
- Siege of Mainz (1814) 1813
- Battle of Courtrai (1814) 1814
- Battle of Gué-à-Tresmes 1814
- Battle of La Rothière 1814
- Battle of Limonest 1814
- Battle of Mâcon (1814) 1814
All 22 battles of the War of the Sixth Coalition →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · 19th century battles