Fesser, Gerd 1813. Die Schlacht bei Bautzen

Ein Pyrrhussieg für Napoleon

In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with approximately 600,000 men. Within a year, he lost around 450,000 soldiers and was forced to retreat to Paris. With 300,000 troops, some of them newly recruited, he returned to Germany in the spring of 1813. Russia and Prussia formed an alliance in March, which Sweden, Great Britain, and Austria joined by August. The Wars of Liberation against Napoleonic rule had begun. In May, the Battle of Bautzen took place, which Napoleon formally won, although his army had lost up to 25,000 men in two days. A temporary armistice benefited the allies, allowing them to reinforce their forces for the upcoming Battle of Leipzig. The account of the battle forms the core of the book. It is followed by letters from Gneisenau, a contemporary report on the battle, and an informative "Concise Lexicon of the Wars of Liberation." Gerd Fesser vividly and engagingly recounts the events of 1813.