#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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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. ImageImage
The Valley of the Kinzig. ImageImage

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More from @PertinaxS

31 Oct
#battleofhanau #Hanau #Napoleon #coalitionwars In the night from the 30th to the 31th at 3 o’clock guns fired into the city. Shot after shot. Fires started. The fire continued until dawn. Then silence. Wrede drew the mass of the troops out of the city. In his report he Image
justified it, that he tried to save the people. It is more realistic, that he didn‘t want to be closed in. The French entered the city in double quick. The civilians, who tried to save their houses and efface the fires tried to escape. So the houses burned down. Image
The allied forces stood now in formation in the south of Hanau. An infantery battle started, in which the french left wing pushed forward, while the right wing and the centre stood still.
Meanwhile the battle,Hanau’s mayor had to meet the emeperor in his camp in the forest. Image
Read 10 tweets
30 Oct
3 o’clock. Now Napoleon showed that he was still the strategic mastermind. Ten days after Leipzig! The french cavalry charged. Often, cavalry units start slowly, move faster an crash into the enemy with full speed. This time the imperial cavalry started suddenly in a ImageImageImage
„breathtaking“ speed. In three closed lines onto the allied artillery straight towards and through the fire of the bavarian main battery. In a short moment the french cavalry lines swinged southwards and charged into the allied infantry. The allied cavalry Image
had moved to counterattack and tried to ride in the back oft he French cavalry. And then. Then behind the horses the Bavarians and Austrians now saw, what Bonaparte had hidden. Gun fire. Rolling gun fire. Grapeshots and canon balls stroke the cavalry down and in bloody pieces. Image
Read 6 tweets
30 Oct
#OTD #battleofhanau #Hanau #Napoleon In the morning of the 30th Napolen stayed in Langenselbold until 8. MacDonald hindered the french troops to commit crimes and to maraud the civilian houses. After the french general-staff had left Langenselbold, it was pillaged
totally also the castle. The bavarian and austrian divisions went in formation north of the river Kinzig. On the far left wing the cavalry was postioned in „en echelon“ formation. Image
The last days a mix of Kosacks, Prussian Hussars and Autrian light cavalry had hunted all French, who removed oneself off their units. They saved with that hundreds of lifes. The Kosacks now took position to support the Austro-Bavarian forces.
Read 7 tweets
29 Oct
#OTD #battleofhanau #Hanau #Napoleon #bavaria #austria #oesterreich #befreiungskriege #coalitionwars In the night of the 29th Octobre Bonaparte rested in the castle of Langenselbold. It had been ten days since Leipzig and 310 km of march. 30 km the day meant Image
sometimes a rest but marching all the day. For some soldiers like Marshal MacDonald it had been a wet start since Leipzig, where many soldiers had to swim through the river since the bridge was blewn up too early. Only a small part of those, who swam, still had their arms.
If the soldiers could not sleep inside of occupied houses, or in tents, it was a cold night in the meadows. Especially the meadows of the Kinzig have high ground water and are wet and cold at night. Bavaria had already changed the sides and joined the coalition already at
Read 6 tweets
5 Dec 20
#frederickthegreat #friedrichdergroße #prussia #sevenyearswar #OTD #Leuthen 1757 13:00 Now a loud call breaks the silence. „Vorwärts Marsch!“ No pity. Raise the flags of the king and the the regiments. Then silence is absolute over. At first the drums and then the fifes.
The sound of the lockstep. In oblique order, the right wing at first. Major-General Wedel takes the lead. The every next Regiment left of the first, 50 paces behind the other.
Meanwhile, Zieten and his cavalry, who pretended to attack the austrian centre, launches a feint attack. After seconds, they swing to the right and out of the austrian sight. In the centre and on the austrian right wing, they think, the battle is over and the prussian king
Read 8 tweets
3 Dec 20
#OTD #Frederickthegreat #friedrichdergrosse #preussen #prussia On the 3rd of December the king ordered his generals to him. His speech was the famous Parchwitz address. „[…]Against all rules of the art of war, I will attack an enemy, who is nearly three times superior in
his numbers, who is entrenched on the higher ground. We have to dare this step or all is lost. We have to beat the enemy or we are buried before his batteries. In this situation, in which I am, it’s about victory or death!
If we underlie, all is lost. Think gentlemen, that we will fight in this enterprise for our honor, for the continuance of our home, for our women and children. Those of you, who think like I do, can be assured, that in case of your death, I will take care of your wives and
Read 6 tweets

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