#Napoleon #Hanau 1813. After his defeat in Leipzig, the rest of Napoleon‘s troops tried to reach Frankfurt am Main. For those who escaped the murderous onslaught and reached the fields behind the river Elster, it wasn’t the end. The retreating French forces were under 
attack and involved in smaller skirmishes. Behind the Saale the skirmishes became harmless for bigger detachments. The allied forces didn‘ t follow Napoleon in a speed to become a threat for the Emperor. The grand armee was able to resupply on its way to Hanau in towns like
Erfurt, Gotha and Fulda. From there Napoleon’s army retreated through the valley of the Kinzig, a small river flowing into the river Main. The French pillaged their way through the dell. From Schlüchtern, where they took a rest, to Hanau is a range of 56km. The valley is formed
by thousands of years of flooding. It’s impossible to predict the floodings, which can lock the whole valley. In autumn the meadows are wet and swampy on the frontier between Spessart and Vogelsberg. The street from Leipzig to Frankfurt was one of the main trading roads through
Germany. It was possession of Hesse-Kassel, but along the Bavarian border, which had joined the 6th coalition. It was easy to bring light and small detachments through the woods near to the retreating French troops.
The Valley of the Kinzig.
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