On 1 March 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from his imprisonment on the isle of Elba and launched a bid to recover his empire. A confederation of European powers pledged to stop him. During the period known as the Hundred Days, Napoleon chose to confront the armies of Prince Blücher and the Duke of Wellington in what has become known as the Waterloo Campaign. He was decisively defeated by the two allied armies at the Battle of Waterloo; they subsequently marched on Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate for the second time. However, Russia, Austria, and some of the minor German states also fielded armies against him, and all of them invaded France. Of these other armies, those engaged in the largest campaigns and seeing the most fighting were two Austrian armies: the Army of the Upper Rhine and the Army of Italy.
The Battle of Waterloo, followed by the advance of Blücher and Wellington's armies upon Paris, was decisive. The primary objective of the war—the destruction of Napoleon's power and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty under King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815—was achieved while the Armies of the Upper Rhine and of Italy were just beginning their invasion of French territory. Had the efforts of Blücher and Wellington been less decisive, or had they suffered reverses, the operations of the armies advancing from the Rhine and across the Alps would have taken on immense importance. However, the rapid success in northern France reduced the interest in military operations elsewhere. The operations of the Coalition armies invading France's eastern and southeastern frontiers demonstrate that the decisive victory at Waterloo and the speedy capture of Paris averted a more general and protracted war on these frontiers. A different result in Belgium might have emboldened the French to mount a stronger defence in these regions.
French deployments
Upon assuming the throne, Napoleon found that the Bourbons had left him with little; the state of the Army was 56,000 troops, of whom 46,000 were ready to campaign. By the end of May, the total armed forces available to Napoleon had reached 198,000, with 66,000 more in depots training but not yet ready for deployment.
By the end of May, Napoleon had deployed his forces as follows: I Corps (Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon): cantoned between Lille and Valenciennes. II Corps (Honoré Charles Reille): cantoned between Valenciennes and Avesnes. III Corps (Dominique Joseph Vandamme): cantoned around Rocroi. IV Corps (Étienne Maurice Gérard ): cantoned at Metz. VI Corps (Georges Mouton, Count de Lobau): cantoned at Laon. Cavalry Reserve (Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy): cantoned at Guise. Imperial Guard (Édouard Mortier, Duke of Trévise): at Paris.
The preceding corps were to be formed into L'Armée du Nord (the "Army of the North"); led by Napoleon, they would participate in the Waterloo Campaign. For the defence of France, Bonaparte deployed his remaining forces within the country to observe enemies, both foreign and domestic, intending to delay the former and suppress the latter. By June, they were organised as follows: V Corps – Armée du Rhin (Jean Rapp): cantoned near Strasbourg, with a strength of 46 guns and 20,000–23,000 men.Armée du Rhin men 20,000 20,456 * 23,000.
More troops guarded the southeast frontier from Basel to Nice and covered Lyon: VII Corps – Armée des Alpes (Louis Gabriel Suchet): based at Lyon, this army was charged with the defence of Lyon and to observe the Austro-Sardinian army of Frimont, with a strength of 42–46 gunsArmée des Alpes guns 42 46 and 13,000–23,500 men.Armée des Alpes men 13,000–20,000 23,500 15,767 I Corps of Observation – Armée du Jura (Claude Jacques Lecourbe): based at Belfort, this army was to observe any Austrian movement through Switzerland and also observe the Swiss army of General Bachmann. Its composition in June was 38 guns and 5,392–8,400 men.Armée du Jura: men 5,392 8,400 II Corps of Observation – Armée du Var (Guillaume Marie Anne Brune): based at Toulon, with a strength of 10,000 men.
There were two other major deployments: 8,000 men under Bertrand Clausel cantoned around Toulouse and under Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen cantoned around Bordeaux guarding the Pyrenean frontier. for commanders and the number of men. for where the armies were cantoned. Jean Maximilien Lamarque led 10,000 men into La Vendée to quell a Royalist insurrection in that region.
Upper Rhine frontier
Coalition order of battle
Army of the Upper Rhine (Austro-German Army) The Austrian military contingent was divided into three armies. This was the largest of these armies, commanded by Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. Its target was Paris. This Austrian contingent was joined by those of the following nations of the German Confederation: Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom of Württemberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, Grand Duchy of Hesse (Hessen-Darmstadt), Free City of Frankfurt, Principality of Reuss Elder Line, and the Principality of Reuss Junior Line. In addition, there were contingents from Fulda and Isenburg. These were recruited by the Austrians from German territories that were in the process of losing their independence through annexation by other countries at the Congress of Vienna. Finally, these were joined by the contingents of the Kingdom of Saxony, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, and the Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Its composition in June was: Corps Commander Men Battalions Squadrons Batteries I Corps Master General of the Ordnance, Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld 24,400 86 16 8 II Corps General Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen 34,360 36 86 11 III Corps Field Marshal Crown Prince William of Württemberg 43,814 44 32 9 IV Corps (Bavarian Army) Field Marshal Prince Karl Philipp von Wrede 67,040 46 66 16 Austrian Reserve Corps General der Kavallerie Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este 44,800 38 86 10 Blockade Corps 33,314 38 8 6 Saxon Corps 16,774 18 10 6 Totals 264,492Although Siborne estimated the number at 264,492, David Chandler estimated the number at 232,000 . 246 844 66
Swiss army This army was composed entirely of Swiss troops. The Swiss General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann commanded this army. This force was to observe any French forces that operated near its borders. Its composition in July was: I Division – Colonel von Gady II Division – Colonel Fuessly III Division – Colonel d'Affry Reserve Division – Colonel-Quartermaster Finsler
Total: 37,000
Planning According to the general plan of operations devised by Prince Schwarzenberg, this army was to cross the Rhine in two columns. The right column—consisting of the III Corps, under Field Marshal the Crown Prince of Württemberg, and the IV Corps of the Bavarian Army, under Field Marshal Prince von Wrede—was to cross the Rhine between Germersheim and Mannheim. The left column—consisting of the I Corps under the Master General of the Ordnance, Count Colloredo, and the II Corps under General Prince Hohenzollern-Hechingen, together with the Austrian Reserve Corps, the whole being commanded by General Archduke Ferdinand—was to cross the Rhine between Basel and Rheinfelden. The column formed by the right wing was to be supported by the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Count Barclay de Tolly, which was expected to assemble at Kaiserslautern by 1 July. The initial objective of the operations was the concentration of the Army of the Upper Rhine and the Russian Army at Nancy.
Start of the campaign As soon as Prince Schwarzenberg was informed of the commencement of hostilities in Belgium, he ordered the advance of his army. The IV (Bavarian) Corps was directed to cross the Sarre immediately and, by turning through the Vosges Mountains, to cut off the French V Corps under General Rapp—collected in the environs of Strasbourg—from its base of operations and intercept its communications with the interior of France.
A Russian Corps under General Count Lambert, forming the advanced guard of the army of Count Barclay de Tolly, was attached to the IV (Bavarian) Corps of Prince Wrede; he was to employ it principally in maintaining communication with the North German Corps under Prussian General von Hake.
Austrian right wing
Austrian IV Corps On 19 June, the Bavarian Army crossed the Rhine at Mannheim and Oppenheim, advancing towards the Sarre. On 20 June, there were some minor skirmishes between outposts near Landau and Dahn. On 23 June, the Austrian army, having approached the Sarre, proceeded in two columns to take possession of the crossings at Saarbrücken and Sarreguemines.
The right column, under Lieutenant General Count Karl August von Beckers zu Westerstetten, attacked Saarbrücken, where it was opposed by the French General Louis Auguste François Mariage. The Bavarians captured the suburb and the bridge, penetrating into the town along with the retiring French. They captured four officers and seventy men, and killed or wounded one hundred, suffering a loss of three officers and fifty to sixty men killed and wounded. Count Beckers occupied the town, posted his division on the heights towards Forbach, and detached patrols along the road to Metz as far as St. Avold and to the right along the Sarre as far as Saarlouis.
The left column, consisting of the First Infantry Division under Lieutenant General Baron Clemens von Raglovich and the First Cavalry Division under Prince Charles of Bavaria, advanced against Sarreguemines, where the French had constructed a tête-de-pont on the right bank of the river. After some resistance, this was seized by the Bavarians; Baron von Ragliovich marched through the town and took up a position on the opposite heights, commanding the roads leading to Bouquenom and Lunéville.
The Fourth Infantry Division, under Lieutenant General Friedrich, Freiherr von Zoller, advanced towards the fortress of Bitche, which the French commandant, General Charles Auguste Creutzer, refused to surrender.
The Russian corps under Count Lambert, attached to the right wing of Prince Wrede's Army, advanced as far as Ottweiler and Ramstein.
Prince Wrede halts at Nancy On 24 June, Prince Wrede occupied Bouquenom and detached the cavalry division under Prince Charles towards Phalsbourg to observe it. His second, third, and fourth divisions, along with the reserve, were collected at Sarreguemines. The Russian troops under Count Lambert occupied Saarbrück, having previously detached the cavalry under Lieutenant General Czernitscheff as far as Saint-Avold.
On 26 June, Prince Wrede's headquarters were at Morhange; on 27 June, his advanced posts penetrated as far as Nancy, where he established his headquarters on 28 June. From St. Dieuze, Wrede detached units to the left to discover the movements of General Rapp, who was still on the Rhine and whose retreat had been cut off by the occupation of Nancy.
Prince Wrede halted at Nancy to await the arrival of the Austrian and Russian corps. Upon his right, Lieutenant General Czernitscheff crossed the Moselle on 29 June within sight of Metz; on 3 July, he stormed the town of Châlons-sur-Marne. The garrison had promised to make no resistance yet fired upon the Russian advanced guard; the cavalry immediately dismounted, scaled the ramparts, broke open the gates, killed part of the garrison, captured the remainder (including the French General Rigault), and pillaged the town.