Battle of Craonne

Battle of Craonne
Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition
Map of the battle (lower-right corner)
Date March 7, 1814 Location Craonne, France Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire	Kingdom of Prussia Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I, Michel Ney Étienne de Nansouty	Gebhard von Blücher
Strength
37,000	85,000
Casualties and losses
5,400	5,000

The Battle of Craonne was fought on March 7, 1814, and resulted in a French victory under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Blücher.

Craonne is a village on the Chemin des Dames, in the département of Aisne.

Marshal Blücher had recovered from his earlier setbacks more quickly than Napoleon Bonaparte had hoped, and so the French Emperor was forced to switch his attacks from the Austrian Field Marshal Schwarzenberg back to the Prussian commander.

Moving with speed and aggression, the French pushed the Allies over the Aisne river and while Blücher planned his counter with some 85,000 men, Napoleon's 37,000 troops struck. Napoleon's aim was to pin the Allies and then launch Marshal Ney, leading a mixed force heavily weighted towards cavalry, in a flanking move. Unfortunately for the French, the coordination was poorly timed. Consequently Ney not only suffered heavy casualties, including cavalry commander Etienne de Nansouty, but the Allies managed to extricate themselves from a sticky situation. Craonne cost Blucher 5,000 casualties, while Napoleon lost some 5,400.

The young French conscripted soldiers were called "Marie-Louise" (after Napoleon's second wife) because many were too young to have a beard.

External links

• Illustrated article on the Battle of Craonne at 'Battlefields Europe'