Battle of Laon 1814
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 9 March 1814 – 10 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 | German campaign of 1813 | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 49.5658, 3.6206 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Laon, fought on March 9–10, 1814, was a pivotal engagement during the waning months of the Napoleonic Wars. Blücher's Prusso-Russian force, occupying a tough defensive position at the town of Laon, repelled attacks by and successfully counterattacked French Emperor Napoleon and his subordinate corps commander, Marshal Marmont.
Marmont's actions were severely criticized by Napoleon and almost led to disaster. Meanwhile, Blücher, despite having approximately 50,000 more troops, acted cautiously; he was misled by false information suggesting 90,000 in the French ranks, and was himself sick and exhausted. Blücher was significantly superior to Napoleon in all three arms: infantry (75,000 vs. 40,000), cavalry (25,000 vs. 10,000), and artillery (480 pieces vs. 260). The 71-year-old Blücher was rendered hors de combat just as he planned to deliver the decisive blow to Napoleon on the morning of the 11th. On the 11th, he was replaced by his chief of staff, Gneisenau, who was deceived by Napoleon's frontal demonstrations against Laon. By the morning of the 12th, Gneisenau's cautious attacks on Ney's rearguard were repeatedly repulsed.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Laon (revision 1370267889), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Laon (741) 741 · 0 km
- Battle of La Malmaison 1917 · 14 km
- First Battle of the Aisne 1914 · 15 km
- Battle of Craonne 1814 · 16 km
- Second Battle of the Aisne 1917 · 18 km
- Siege of La Fère 1870 · 21 km
Other battles of the German campaign of 1813
- Battle of Leipzig 1813
- Battle of Lützen (1813) 1813
- Battle of Möckern 1813
- Battle of the Göhrde 1813
- Battle of the Katzbach 1813
- Battle of Bar-sur-Aube 1814
- Battle of Brienne 1814
- Battle of Champaubert 1814
- Battle of Château-Thierry (1814) 1814
- Battle of Craonne 1814
All 20 battles of the German campaign of 1813 →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · 19th century battles