Leipzig 1813

Murat's Final French Charge

Army of Bohemia but to avoid getting caught up into a fully pitched battle. Unfortunately for Murat, he did just that; and his nearly 60 squadrons of French and Polish cavalry and two corps of infantry fought nearly60,000 Coalition forces in a battle which saw Liebertwolkwitz change hands twice; Murat nearly captured twice; and a series of cavalry charges which in effect created one the largest cavalry battles in history. Murat was fortunate to escape with, at best, a draw; and other than expending both men and horse unnecessarily, the French and Coalition forces would refight this same battle over the same territory just

two days later. Murat seemed to have lost his touch. While still personally brave, and a great cavalry technician Murat clearly was not capable of the significant skill of managing a large independent combined arms command with any deftness. First Liebertwolkwitz, as it is sometimes called, seemed define the French weakness. Murat's heavy-handed approach had three cavalry divisions lined up, one behind other, followed by an impressive charge; but Murat did not watch his flanks and overall strategic situation; and these actions, rather than the charge, determined the outcome of the battle. First Liebertwolkwitz is scheduled to be a follow-up scenario in a later publication and the players will decide for themselves what Murat's approach should have been. So just two days later, the French are not in a dissimilar situation....nearly on the same ground as the first Liebertwolkwitz, and with nearly the same forces, but now facing a substantially larger and more effective Coalition army--especially more effective cavalry, Murat again lines up his divisions and orders the fateful trot. The goal is to reach where the Tsar has placed himself. The initial French charge of over a 100 squadrons sweeps away some weak Russian squares, but again Murat fails to watch his flanks, and the adept and nimble Coalition cavalry again disrupts Murat's efforts to reach the Tsar; and with this failed effort, the initiative passes over to the Coalition. While there are three plus days left of fighting, the French will never get closer to victory than they did with Murat's overreaching effort on the afternoon of October 16. Shortly after the Battle of Leipzig, Murat again abandons La Grand Armee and returns to Naples. The Coalition would allow him to keep his throne, for the time being. But he was never to see Napoleon again, and his survival would never be secure. The defeat at Leipzig, for Murat, opened the gates of hell, to which he descends during a two-year nightmare which ends up by Murat's death in front of a Neapolitan firing squad. No one is sure where Murat's remains are almost 200 years later.

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