Handrick, Wolfgang Napoleons Kampf um die Elb-Linie 1813

The Operational Development to the Battle of Leipzig.
The "Battle of the Nations" at Leipzig was and is a historical event that is a household name even for those with little interest in history. What is less remembered, however, is that this battle marked the end of the struggle that Emperor Napoleon I waged for more than nine months to maintain his defensive position. He himself called it the "Elbe Line".
The course of the Elbe formed a natural barrier that gave the Emperor the chance to resist his opponents Russia, Prussia and Austria, and thus to keep the war away from France's borders. At the same time, it ensured the preservation of the "Confederation of the Rhine", which provided him not only with soldiers, but also with urgently needed financial and material resources.
In order to preserve this line, the Emperor fought a total of seven major battles and a multitude of skirmishes and battles. His opponents had endeavoured to break through this defensive line in order to encircle him together with numerically superior forces and bring him down.
The author's concern is to reproduce these historical events up to the time of the final collapse of the French defensive line along the Elbe.

Table of contents
Foreword
The political situation in the spring of 1813
The armament measures for the spring campaign of 1813
The beginning of the campaign - the advance of the allies across the Elbe
The first battle - Großgörschen (2. May 1813)
The Allied retreat across the Elbe to the Spree
The missed decision - Bautzen (20/21. May 1813)
Retreat to Silesia and Armistice
The Armistice - the diplomatic and military activities
Großbeeren - the first battle before Berlin
Dresden - Napoleon's victory in the late summer campaign of 1813
Kulm - the the absolute disaster
Katzbach and its aftermath - the Silesian fiasco
Dennewitz - the second advance on Berlin
Napoleon's unsuccessful operations in September 1813
The collapse of the Elbe front
Overall analysis.