Battle of Hanau

The Battle of Hanau was fought from 30 to 31 October 1813 between Karl Philipp von Wrede's Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition.

Battle of Hanau
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition

Battle of Hanau, Horace Vernet
Date30–31 October 1813
Location50.1331°N 8.9169°E / 50.1331; 8.9169
Result French victory
Belligerents
 France  Bavaria
 Austria
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte Karl von Wrede
Strength
17,000-30,000 43,000
Casualties and losses
4,500-5,000 killed and wounded 6,000 killed and wounded
4,000 captured
Location within Europe
War of the Sixth Coalition:
German campaign
200km
125miles
19
18
17
Leipzig
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig earlier in October, Napoleon began to retreat from Germany into France and relative safety. Wrede attempted to block Napoleon’s line of retreat at Hanau on 30 October. Napoleon arrived at Hanau with reinforcements and defeated Wrede’s forces. On 31 October Hanau was in French control, opening Napoleon’s line of retreat.

The Battle of Hanau was an important tactical victory allowing Napoleon’s army to retreat onto French soil to recover and prepare to face an invasion of France.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.