French army was, by this means, obliged to leave Smolensk on the 13th, and, with the loss of two whole battalions, under Davoust and Ney, at a temperature of 5° above Fahrenheit's zero to 8° below it, with no food but the flesh of the horses, perishing by thousands, hastened to anticipate the enemy, who were pressing forward from the north and south. This Kutusoff might, perhaps, have frustrated; but after the battle (November 18) at Krasnoi, from causes as yet unknown, he relinquished the pursuit, and Napoleon had the good fortune to be met by fresh troops from the Dwina, who compensated, at least in some degree, for the entire loss of his cavalry; and, reinforced by these, under the command of Belluno, Reggio and Dombrowski, he succeeded in deceiving admiral Tschitschakoff respecting the true point of passage over the Beresina, at Semlin, above Borissoff. There, on the 27th and following days, the passage took place, with a loss of 20,000 men and a great part of the baggage and artillery. But the road to Wilna, which was entered, was very long, and the cold, which increased every day, together with the most horrible want, carried disorder, misery and despair to the highest pitch. December 3, Napoleon issued his twentyninth bulletin from Molodetschno; and, on the 4th, at Smorgonie, he intrusted the command of the army to the king of Naples, and hastened himself, under the strictest incognito, by way of Warsaw and Dresden, to Paris. Marshals, officers of high and low rank, followed the example of the emperor. No company kept long together. The sole object of

behind the Styr. But being reinforced to double is former strength by the army of the Danube, it so a compelled that body to retreat; and its commander, admiral Tschitschakoff, leaving general Sacken with 25,000 men at Brzesc, marched thence, Oct. 27, in the direction of Minsk, in the rear of the main army of the French. The two bodies attempted to prevent him, but were themselves incessantly pursued by Sacken; and after they had beaten him at Wolkowisk on the 16th Nov., and driven him behind Brzesc, Tschisebakoff, who had already apprized Wittgenstein of his march, through colonel Czenitschef, succeeded in entering Minsk, Nov. 16, where he rested taree days, captured Borissoff on the 21st, but if it again on the 23d, and on the 26th displayed Es forces opposite the enemy on the Beresina. The Russian army on this day was still on the anks of the Dnieper. Wittgenstein should now have joined Tschitschakoff, but, instead of so doing, he pursued, on the 27th, the division Partonncaux of the ninth corps, and captured it; but, meanwhile, Napoleon had effected, though with great loss, a passage over the Beresina, which Tschitschakoff could oppose, but not prevent.

all was to save life, and, if possible, the booty taken from strangers or their comrades. In Wilna, the last remains were attacked by surprise, and driven to the Niemen, behind which they dispersed in all directions, carrying pestilence wherever they went. Of the whole army which crossed the Niemen in June, the Prussian almost alone returned, which had saved itself by a capitulation (at Tauroggen, December 30), and remained in arms, under York, in Prussia. The Austrians and Saxons, driven back to Warsaw, also returned to their frontiers. The capitulation of the Prussian general York was the signal of the awakening of the Prussian people, who, for five years, had been humbled by the French. January 22, the king went from Potsdam to Breslau, and (Feb. 3, 1813) summoned all capable of bearing arms to battle for their country. He did not yet designate his object, but his people understood him, and, with unparalleled enthusiasm, thousands poured forth to the places of rendezvous, from every section of the country; thousands too old for battle contributed their savings. In vain had the French, with the aid of their last reserves, and of troops thrown together in haste, made efforts to remain on the Pregel, on the Vistula, and on the Oder. The Russians advanced slowly indeed, but every where with overwhelming power; and the viceroy of Italy, on whom Napoleon had devolved the chief command, could do nothing but retire behind the Elbe with the least possible loss. March 8, after the last battle, he crossed the river to Magdeburg. Prussia now declared war against France, and concluded an alliance with Russia. Shortly afterwards, Kutusoff's proclamation at Kalisch announced the dissolution of the confederation of the Rhine, March 25th. Meanwhile, Napoleon had formed in France a new army, which passed the Rhine at the end of March. But Austria was neutral, the confederation of the Rhine without strength and without will, the popular insurrection almost universal in northern Germany; along the Elbe and to the Weser, time alone was needed to arm the people, who were here more enraged than in many other German couutries,because they were more immediately and severely oppressed by French dominion. Napoleon appreciated the danger, and hastened to despatch the most necessary forces to the points most threatened. Happily for him, the Russians and Prussians were not in a state to derive the full advantage from the favorable situation of things. The forces of

participation of Austria in the war Napoleon had anticipated after the battle of Lützen, and he had, for that cause, sent the viceroy with officers and subalterns to Italy, to collect an army. For the same reason, Bavaria had to draw out its forces on the Inn. They were joined by a corps of chosen men, chiefly cavalry, which had come from Spain. Eut the main bodies on the side of Napoleon were stationed on the Upper and Middle Elbe and at Hamburg; those on the side of the allies, in Bohemia and Silesia, with the exception of the great corps which covered Berlin, and protected the Lower Oder against Davoust. The allies had agreed, especially since the convention at Trachenberg, on the 9th, 10th and 11th July, to surround Napoleon's flank, from Bohemia, his right in particular, and to cut him off from his base of operations. For that purpose, Blücher immediately drew back as Napoleon advanced against him, while the main army, under the command of prince Schwartzenberg, entered Saxony; and Dresden, which had been fortified at the time of the truce, had begun to cherish hopes, when Napoleon's main forces arrived from Lusatia by forced marches, and not only repulsed the assault on Dresden (q. v.), but also (August 27) inflicted on the allies a defeat, which, as they were cut off from the main roads to Bohemia, and all the by-roads were destroyed, would have caused the annihilation of the whole army, if from that moment Napoleon's star had not set for ever. The victor at Dresden, on the 26th and 27th August, where Moreau (q. v.) was mortally wounded, was stayed in his progress by the defeat of Vandamme, at Culm, August 30; by the simultaneous overthrow of his army in Silesia, under Macdonald; by the hard-fought battles at Gross-Beeren, August 23, at Belzig, August 27; and by the defeat which Ney suffered at Dennewitz, September 6. In addition to these misfortunes, want of all kinds prevailed in exhausted Saxony, and lamentations in the hospitals, where thousands perished of dysenteries and fevers. At last, by some rapid, well-covered marches, Blücher formed a junction on the Elbe with the crown-prince of Sweden, while he surprised a French corps under count Bertrand, watching the passage at Wartenburg, and took up a position between the Muldau and Elbe. As soon as he was advised of this, Napoleon started from Dresden, October 7, in the hopes of overpowering them both separately. But they had already crossed the Muldau to the

Saale. The great Bohemian army had also advanced on his right flank. These and Blücher's flying corps met in his rear, and general Thielemann, who had exchanged the Saxon service for the Russian, took whole troops of French fugitives, and fought several battles between the Elster and the Saale, almost all of which resulted to the disadvantage of the French. On the opposite side, the bold Czernitschef pressed forward so rapidly with his Cossacks to Cassel, that he was able, October 1, to declare the kingdom of Westphalia dissolved. After some movements on the right bank of the Elbe, which seemed to threaten Berlin, Napoleon proceeded with his main army to the plains of Leipsic, at which he arrived with the guards October 14, when Schwartzenberg had already commenced against the king of Naples, who had commanded the left wing of Napoleon from Dresden, a reconnoisance, which resulted in a smart skirmish of the cavalry at Liebertwolkwitz. Meanwhile, Augereau had brought up an excellent corps de reserve: his army had also been reinforced at Erfurt by 14,000 newly organized fugitives; and, as he probably thought, that he had deceived the crown-prince and Blücher by movements made the other side of Wittenberg, and that he had gained so much time, that he could meet the great Bohemian army alone in a decisive engagement, he did not delay to encounter it in the spacious plain near Leipsic, between the Pleisse, Elster and Parthe.

About nine o'clock in the morning of October 16, the engagement commenced to the south of Leipsic. Napoleon had rested his right wing, under Poniatowski, on the Pleisse, and strongly garrisoned all the villages from Konnewitz to the river. His centre was stationed at Wachau. The left wing was supported by the heights of the Parthe. Prince Schwartzenberg sought to turn the right wing; but all his efforts were vain, because Napoleon made such progress in the centre, that all the reserves destined for that manœuvre had to be used for the reinforcement of the centre. After destructive attacks on both sides, Napoleon had gained some ground in the centre and on the left wing. Count Bertrand repelled an attempt of the Bohemian army to gain possession of the defile of Lindenau, and, at the same time, of Napoleon's whole line of retreat, perhaps of the city of Leipsic itself. But the duke of Ragusa was very unfortunate at Möckern, where he occupied a wide line to the north of Leipsic, and was unexpectedly attacked by general Blücher with the

greatest impetuosity, totally defeated, after an obcinate resistance, on his left wing, atel driven back, in disorder, to Gohlis. On the 17th, Napoleon negotiated, through ent Meerveldt, who had been taken prisoner, for überty to retire undisturbed, and for an armistice, both of which proposa's were the less listened to, because as could now conduct their operanoia with a mutual understanding, the crown-prince of Sweden having youned Blucher with upwards of 60,000 mea, and general Bennigsen, with almost an equal number, being every minute expected from Grimma. October 18, therefore, a fearful conflict took place at Leipsic. The French fought with desperation, to save their honor and secure their retreat, which had been commenced at day-break. Their centre and their right wing, from Probstheyda to Konnewitz, remained firm. The left, supported in Schönfeld on the Parthe, was defeated rather by the defection of the Saxons and Würtembergers, than from want of bravery; and nothing but the inexplicable carelessness of Napoleon on the 19th October converted the regular retreat, at last, into a flight, and a general overthrow of the rear. (See Leipsic.) This battle emancipated Germany. Bavaria had already (October 8) renounced the confederation of the Rhine, and united with Austria. All the German princes followed this example, with the exception of the king of Saxony (prevented by his imprisonment in Leipsic), Jerome of Westphalia, and the prince-primate. After the loss of many thousands, in prisoners and disabled, Napoleon, assailed or harassed in every quarter, was obliged, in order to gain the Rhine, to sustain a bloody conflict (October 31) with the Bavarians and Austrians stationed at Hanau. (q. v.) The allies made a halt on the Rhine, in order to unite the forces of liberated Germany with those furnished by England and Holland, which was now working its own emancipation. The number of troops collected against Napoleon in 1814 amounted to 1,208,000. The only remaining vestiges of Napoleon's power were the fortresses on the Vistula, Oder, Elbe, &c., in which, however, his best troops, cut off from all succor, finally perished, from want and suffering, or were forced to surrender. Even the Danes, who had been forced to form the closest union with Napoleon, in conquence of the hard terms proffered them by England and Sweden in the string of 1813, were obliged to concede

Le crown-prince of Sweden, in the

peace of Kiel (Jan. 14, 1814), all that they had formerly refused. The Rhine having been passed subsequently to Jan. 1, 1814, at Caub, Manheim, Rastadt, Ehrenbreitstein, and Dusseldorf, it was easy to see that Napoleon would be eventually overpowered, because in France many had fallen from him since fortune forsook him, and the old aristocracy raised their heads again, whilst the people at large were exhausted by war. Immediately after his arrival, he had indeed set every spring in motion, in order to repeat, once more, the unexampled exertions which had been made in 1811 and 1813. But affairs in Spain had taken a most unfavorable turn. Marshal Jourdan had been totally defeated by Wellington, at Vittoria (June 21, 1813), and had been forced back to the Pyrenees, with the loss of his artillery; and, subsequently, Soult and Suchet had with difficulty kept the enemy from the soil of France itself, and it was consequently necessary to send thither new forces. For the first time, therefore, the senate ventured, though timidly, to represent the misery of France, when repeated decrees of Napoleon ordered the levy of nearly half a million new conscripts of 1807-1814, the organization of cohorts of national guards, and the formation of four armies of reserve. Still stronger terms did the deputies Laine and Raynouard use in the legislative body; and, in consequence of the general indignation at the enormous expenditure of human life, great difficulties now presented themselves, when the demands of self-defence were imperative, in the way of collecting the myriads which were necessary, and to provide them with artillery, horses, and other requisites. Beyond the Rhine, therefore, from Switzerland to Holland, which was for the most part voluntarily evacuated by the French, the allies found but little resistance. Almost without loss of blood, they were able to gain possession of mount Jura, to put their left wing in communication with the Austrian army of Italy (which, commanded by general Hiller, had threatened, from Tyrol, to cut off the viceroy, and had obliged him to retreat to the Adige), to make themselves masters of all the passes to Italy, of the city of Geneva, of the roads over the Simplon and Bernard, and, as early as the 9th January, to occupy a new line, covered on the left by the Seine, on the right by the Meuse, in Alsace, Lorraine, Deux-Ponts, &c., with the exception of the invested fortresses. Napoleon had issued a proclamation for a kind of general

rising of the people, or a levy in mass. This measure, which did wonders in the revolution, had, in this instance, but little effect among the suffering people. In a few quarters only, and not till the excesses of the enemy, exasperated by national hatred, had occasioned excitement, did the call produce some effect, but could give no new direction to the course of affairs. The allies, continuing to advance, occupied the Saar, the Moselle, the passes of Ardennes, almost without a blow. In no instance had a French general strength enough to maintain the most important points against the overwhelming force of the invaders; and it was hoped, by the middle of February, to reach Paris in safety, when Napoleon, who left it on the 25th January, and went to join his army (assembled, after infinite trouble, on the Aube), fought, from January 27 to February 3, a number of battles, which, with that at Brienne, on February 1, form one of the most striking exhibitions in military history. Napoleon put forth all his skill. He lost the battle of Brienne, after his army of 70,000 men had made the most desperate resistance, which, regardless of danger, he superintended every where, and left behind 73 cannon and 12,000 prisoners, to retire, as it seemed, beyond Troyes. Meanwhile, the eagerness of the allies to improve the first victory on the soil of France, gave rise to a separation of their forces, of which Napoleon took advantage judiciously and boldly. Having received on wagons new troops from the army of Spain, he proceeded, with rapidity, from the Seine to the Lower Marne, along which the army of Blücher was marching, in security, to Paris. He broke through its centre, and destroyed, at Champeaubert (February 10), the column of general Olsusieff. Without the aid of general York, general Sacken would have met with a similar fate the next day, at Montmirail. In like manner (February 14), Napoleon repulsed, with considerable loss, at Vauchamp and Etoges, the colarns led by the field-marshal himself. With great exertions, a union was, at last, effected with Blücher's reserves. Schwartzenberg and Wrede were then, with the Würtemberg troops, beyond the Seine; for Napoleon had been deemed sufficiently enfeebled to allow them to proceed towards Paris in two large columns, one on the Seine, the other on the Marue, This idea had been, in part, recommended by the barrenness of Champagne. The great triangle between the

Seine and Marne consequently separated them, for in it stood Napoleon's army. To make a lateral movement, it was necessary to cross the Seine, over which there were only two points of passage, at Nogent (strongly fortified) and at Bray, without a bridge, but in sight of a weak French reconnoitring party. Napoleon now hoped to gain important advantages over the army of Schwartzenberg. Wrede, united with Wittgenstein's corps, had to return across the Seine (February 17). On the 18th, Napoleon attacked the Würtembergers, at Montereau, at the confluence of the Yonne and Seine; but they retired, though with loss, to the left bank of the Seine. Schwartzenberg now hastened back, and passed the Seine at Troyes, to renew his communication with Blücher. Constantly hard pressed, the allies had to continue retiring; and the situation of affairs was so uncertain that, in the head-quarters of the monarchs themselves, a diversity of opinions prevailed, which had an influence on the congress of Chatillon. (q. v.) But in this very crisis, which inspired Napoleon with such hopes that he raised his demands higher at Chatillon than he had done since the battle of Leipsic, a new turn was given to affairs. The allies concluded the treaty of Chaumont. (q. v.) After the indecisive battle of Bar sur Aube (February 27), Napoleon marched against Blücher, who was approaching the northern army, the van of which had already taken Soissons, but had lost it again. But in a lucky moment, Soissons capitulated (March 2), and Blücher formed a junction with the northern army, under Bülow, who had taken several fortresses in the Low Countries and Picardy, especially La Fere (February 26), with a great quantity of stores, by means of general Thümen. The duke of Weimar, who arrived with 30,000 Saxons and other troops, had blockaded the unconquered places. On the extreme left wing, also, of the allied army, from Geneva, the most decided advantages were gained. The count of Bubna here, likewise, had been obliged to contend, till February 25, with obstacles of all kinds Marshal Augereau, inspirited by some reinforcements from Spain, had received from Napoleon orders to advance on this side, and repulse the left flank of the allies. All the Austrian wounded were taken to Berne, and Geneva was considered in great danger; but when the prince of Homburg and count Bianchi came up with considerable reinforcements, Auge