GENERAL HISTORY. 



[i35 



action, whom he entirely dufeated 

 and dispersed, with a loss of from 

 1,500 to 2,000 in killed and wound- 

 ed, and 1,500 prisoners, with eight 

 pieces of artillery. 



The allies now began to put in 

 execution a grand plan of co-ope- 

 ration, which was to be decisive of 

 the result of the campaign. A 

 large force, composed of Russians 

 and Prussians, with the entire 

 Austrian army of Bohemia, de- 

 bouched from the passes through 

 the Erzegeberg, and marched by 

 Chemnitz and Freyberg towards 

 Leipzic. The intelligence of this 

 movement determined the Crown 

 Prince to attempt the passage of 

 the Elbe. As he was making his 

 preparations, he received informa- 

 tion from general Blucher of his 

 intention to move his army to the 

 Elbe, and cross that river at Elster. 

 This he effected on October 3, and 

 was immediately after engaged 

 with the 4th French corps under 

 general Bertrand, which was in- 

 trenched at a neighbouring village. 

 A sanguinary conflict ensued, which 

 terminated in the rout of the 

 French with great loss. Blucher 

 afterwards fixed his head-quarters 

 at Krembcrg, and pushed his 

 cavalry to Duben, within twenty 

 miles of Leipzic. The Crown 

 Prince in the meantime, whose 

 advanced guard, after taking posses- 

 sion of Dessau, had been obliged 

 to relinquish it, caused a bridge to 

 be thrown over the Elbe, lower 

 down at Acken ; and learning tlie 

 success of Blucher, he passed his 

 whole army on the 4th, partly at 

 that place, and partly at Rosslau. 

 The French, under Ney, now re- 

 treated fromDessau,lestthey should 

 be placed between two fires, and 

 the Crown Prince took up his 



quarters there. The situation of 

 the French was rendered more cri- 

 tical by the parties of the allies 

 which were spreading in his rear, 

 and impeding all communication 

 between them and France. PlatofF 

 covered the country on the Saale 

 and Mulda, and between them and 

 the Elbe, with detachments of his 

 Cossacks. The Russian general 

 Czernicheff, after three successful 

 actions, pushed on to Cassel, which 

 he entered by capitulation on 30th 

 September, the petty king Jerome 

 having only two hours before taken 

 his flight towards Frankfort. It 

 was not long, however, before he 

 was replaced in his capital. In the 

 north of Germany the allied arms 

 obtained the same superiority ; and 

 general Tettenborne, on October 

 14th, entered Bremen by composi- 

 tion, the garrison being allowed to 

 depart on condition of not serving 

 against the allies for a year, 



Leipzic being the point to which 

 the great efforts of the allies were 

 directed, the possession of which 

 was of the highest importance to 

 each party. Napoleon found it ne- 

 cessary on October 7th to quit 

 Dresden in company with the king 

 of Saxony, and take post at Roch- 

 litz, about forty miles to the west 

 of that city, and twenty-five to the 

 south of Leipzic. He there as- 

 sembled his forces to the supposed 

 number of 180,000 men, exclu- 

 sively of his garrisons, which might 

 amount to 30,000 more. They 

 were chiefly stationed on the right 

 bank of the Mulda, on a line pa- 

 rallel to that of the Elbe. Leipzic 

 is placed nearly midway between 

 the Mulda and the Saale ; the pas- 

 sage of the latter river, therefore, 

 by the army of the Crown Prince, 

 would enable him to advance upon 



