| Siege of Dresden (1813) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
 Battle of Dresden, 26 August 1813 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire |  Austria  Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr | Johann von Klenau Alexander Ostermann-Tolstoy | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 35,000 captured | |||||||
  Location within Europe | |||||||
The siege of Dresden was a siege during the German campaign of 1813 of the War of the Sixth Coalition.
After the Battle of Dresden, Napoleon had ordered Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr, commanding XIV Corps, to garrison Dresden.
After the French defeat at the Battle of Leipzig the garrison of Dresden was cut off and eventually besieged by the Russian Corps commanded by Alexander Ostermann-Tolstoy which was joined on the 26th October by the Austrian IV Corps commanded by Johann von Klenau .
Saint-Cyr surrendered to Klenau on the 11th November 1813. Alongside Saint-Cyr; 11 Divisional Generals, 19 Brigade Generals, 1,759 officers and 33,744 men were captured as well as 94 guns. [1] [2] [3]
The Battle of Dresden was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in their quest to expel the French from Central Europe. Despite being heavily outnumbered, French forces under Napoleon scored a victory against the Army of Bohemia led by Generalissimo Karl von Schwarzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory did not lead to the collapse of the coalition, and the weather and the uncommitted Russian reserves who formed an effective rear-guard precluded a major pursuit. Three days after the battle, the Allies surrounded and destroyed a French corps advancing into their line of withdrawal at the Battle of Kulm.
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The V Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was created in 1813 and fought until 1814. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte first organized the corps during the summer armistice in 1813 and it fought at Dresden and Leipzig. General Samuel-François Lhéritier led the corps at first but was replaced by General Pierre Claude Pajol. After Pajol was wounded at Leipzig, General Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud commanded the corps at Hanau in 1813 and at Brienne, La Rothière, Mormant, Fère-Champenoise, and Paris in 1814.
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The XIV Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military formation that existed for several months during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was organized in the summer of 1813 and Marshal Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr was appointed as its commander. The formation was made up of four French infantry divisions, one cavalry division, and supporting artillery. The XIV Corps was stationed near Dresden to watch the passes of the Ore Mountains, which were the border between the hostile Austrian Empire and the allied Kingdom of Saxony. Saint-Cyr's corps played a major role in Emperor Napoleon I's victory at the Battle of Dresden in late August. Since it was assigned to garrison Dresden, the XIV Corps missed the Battle of Leipzig in October. Isolated after Napoleon's decisive defeat at Leipzig, the unit endured the Siege of Dresden which ended in November with a French surrender.
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Sigismond Frédéric de Berckheim became a French division commander during the last years of the Napoleonic Wars. Born into an old Alsatian family, he joined an infantry regiment at the age of 14. In 1807 he became the commanding officer of the 1st Cuirassier Regiment. In 1809 he led his cavalrymen at Eckmühl, Ratisbon, Aspern-Essling and Wagram. Promoted to general of brigade, he fought at First and Second Polotsk and the Berezina in 1812. He led a cavalry brigade at Lützen and Bautzen in 1813. Promoted to general of division, he led a cavalry division at Dresden, Leipzig and Hanau. He commanded a cavalry division at Arcis-sur-Aube in 1814. He became an inspector general and a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1815 and 1816. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 12.
General of Division Baron Pierre Decouz became a French division commander during the later Napoleonic Wars. He was born in the Kingdom of Sardinia but after the region was annexed to France, he joined a volunteer battalion in 1793. He fought in Italy during the War of the First Coalition. He participated in the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, fighting at the Pyramids, Acre and Abukir. After distinguishing himself at Austerlitz in 1805, he was promoted to command an infantry regiment. In 1806–1807 he led his regiment at Auerstädt, Pultusk and Eylau. In 1809 he fought at Eckmühl, Ratisbon and Wagram, winning promotion to general of brigade. After leading an Imperial Guard brigade at Lützen and Bautzen in 1813, he was promoted general of division. He commanded a Young Guard division at Dresden and Leipzig. Still leading a Young Guard division, he was fatally wounded at the Battle of Brienne and died three weeks later. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 17.
Louis Victorin Cassagne became a French division commander during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1793 he joined a free company which was immediately absorbed into a volunteer battalion. Until 1795 he fought in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees as a captain. In 1795–1797 he served in the Army of Italy, fighting at Loano, Lonato and Tarvis. In 1798–1801 he participated in the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, fighting at the Pyramids, Acre and Alexandria. In 1801 he was made commander of an infantry regiment. Cassagne was wounded an extraordinary number of times, especially during his early campaigns.
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