The Battle
The French emperor began the clash by pinning the enemy down while he organised a flanking attack. General Grouchy's cavalry and horse artillery kept the Prussians occupied as marshals Ney (with the Imperial Young Guard Corps) and Victor (commanding French II Corps) secured both the town of Brienne and its chateau. About dusk, the chateau was captured by the French, when Blucher thought the battle was nearly over, and was preparing for dinner. Blucher and his second-in-command General von Gneisenau only just managed to elude capture. During the heavy fighting Napoleon was almost taken prisoner by Russian Cossacks. The battle ended about midnight when the allies retreated. Blucher left behind some 4000 casualties to France's 3000.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Brienne
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“Above the bayonets, mixed and crossed,
Men saw a gray, gigantic ghost
Receding through the battle cloud,
And heard across the tempest loud
The death cry of a nation lost!”
—Will Henry Thompson (1848–1918)
“The thundering line of battle stands,
And in the air Death moans and sings:
But Day shall clasp him with strong hands,
And Night shall fold him in soft wings.”
—Julian Grenfell (1888–1915)