Battle of Montereau

Battle of Montereau
Part of the Campaign of France of the Sixth Coalition
Battle of Montereau, 18 February 1814 by Jean-Charles Langlois (1840)
Date 18 February 1814[1] Location Montereau-Fault-Yonne, French Empire 48°24′N 2°57′E / 48.40°N 2.95°E / 48.40; 2.95 Result French victory[1]
Belligerents
France	Austria Württemberg
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte	Prince of Württemberg
Strength
30,000[1] 70–80 guns	15,000[1]–18,000 40 guns
Casualties and losses
2,000[1]–3,000 killed, wounded, or captured	5,000[1]–6,000 killed, wounded, or captured 2–15 guns lost
class=notpageimage| Location within France

War of the Sixth Coalition:
Campaign in north-east France

200km
125miles

Paris

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Bar-sur-Aube

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  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Montereau (18 February 1814) was fought during the War of the Sixth Coalition between an Imperial French army led by Emperor Napoleon and a corps of Austrians and Württembergers commanded by Crown Prince Frederick William of Württemberg. While Napoleon's army mauled an Allied army under Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the main Allied army commanded by Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, advanced to a position dangerously close to Paris. Gathering up his outnumbered forces, Napoleon rushed his soldiers south to deal with Schwarzenberg. Hearing of the approach of the French emperor, the Allied commander ordered a withdrawal, but on 17 February saw his rear guards overrun or brushed aside.

Ordered to hold Montereau until nightfall on 18 February, the Crown Prince of Württemberg posted a strong force on the north bank of the Seine River. All morning and past noon, the Allies stoutly held off a series of French attacks. However, under increasing French pressure, the Crown Prince's lines buckled in the afternoon and his troops ran for the single bridge to their rear. Brilliantly led by Pierre Claude Pajol, the French cavalry got among the fugitives, captured the spans over both the Seine and Yonne Rivers and seized Montereau. The Allied force suffered heavy losses, and the defeat confirmed Schwarzenberg's decision to continue the retreat to Troyes.