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Topic: Leipzig, Battle of

Leipzig, Battle of

Years: 1813 - 1813

The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations is fought from October 16 to 19, 1813, at Leipzig, Saxony.

The coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden, led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, decisively defeat the French army of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French.

Napoleon's army also contains Polish and Italian troops, as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine.

The battle is the culmination of the 1813 German campaign and involves nearly six hundred thousand soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to the First World War.

Being decisively defeated for the first time in battle, Napoleon is compelled to return to France while the Coalition hurries to keep their momentum, invading France early the next year.

Napoleon wis forced to abdicate and is exiled to Elba in May 1814.

"Remember that the people you are following didn’t know the end of their own story. So they were going forward day by day, pushed and jostled by circumstances, doing the best they could, but walking in the dark, essentially."

—Hilary Mantel, AP interview (2009)