Battle of Hanau
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Hanau was fought on (30 – 31 October 1813) between Karl Philipp von Wrede
’s Austro
-Bavaria
n corps and Napoleon's
retreating French
during the War of the Sixth Coalition
.
Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig
earlier in October, Napoleon began to retreat from Germany into France and relative safety. Wrede attempted to block Napoleon’s line of retreat at Hanau
on 30 October. Napoleon arrived before Hanau with reinforcements and defeated Wrede’s forces. On 31 October Hanau was in French control, opening Napoleon’s line of retreat.
The Battle of Hanau was a minor battle, but an important tactical victory allowing Napoleon’s Army to retreat onto French soil. Ultimately Napoleon lost the War of the Sixth Coalition, giving the battle little strategic importance.
, the largest and bloodiest of the entire Napoleonic Wars
, began 16 October 1813, raged for three days and ended with a decisive victory for the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon was forced to abandon central Germany to the Coalition and operate a hasty retreat westwards. Napoleon's strategy was to regroup all his available forces on the Rhine, where his lines of communication would be shorter and his rear less likely to be threatened. The Emperor's concern was that his already battered army might be forced to give battle again against superior forces, so he ordered that the retreat be operated at great speed. Had the Coalition managed to push through with more vigour in the days following the Battle of Leipzig, the already disorganised French army would have probably been destroyed, but Coalition armies had themselves suffered such high losses at Leipzig that they were in no position to launch an effective pursuit. With military action confined to secondary rearguard actions, Napoleon was able to install his headquarters at Erfurt
on 23 October and begin to reorganise his army. On 26 October, he sent orders to the various Corps, directing them towards Frankfurt
through Eisenach
and Fulda
. Their assigned destination was the city of Mainz
, on the river Rhine.
The Coalition was buoyed by the news that Bavaria, a former French ally, agreed to join the Sixth Coalition according to the Treaty of Ried
concluded just before the Battle of Leipzig. This allowed the Coalition to threaten the overall military position of the French by moving a 45,000 - 50,000 Austro-Bavarian army, under the command of Karl Philipp von Wrede
, into Napoleon's rear, occupying Würzburg
in Franconia
. The small French garrison of Würzburg, under General Jean Victor Tharreau
, did not try to resist and instead barricaded themselves into the local citadel, allowing the enemy to occupy the town without a fight. From Würzburg, Wrede moved towards the strategic city of Hanau
, along one of Napoleon's main retreat routes. Wrede’s advance guard reached Hanau on 28 October and took possession of the city, blocking Napoleon’s route to Frankfurt. Although Wrede was probably thinking that the main French army was retreating along a more northerly road to Coblenz, thus expecting to face a force of only 20,000 men, he did entertain hopes that he would be able to play a major role in the defeat of Napoleon. He also believed that the French army was completely disorganised, which was not totally true, and closely followed the main Coalition army, the "Army of Bohemia", which was in reality much further away and not really in close contact with Napoleon's forces.
General Karl Philipp von Wrede
and comprised two Army Corps, one Austrian and one Bavarian.
The Austrian Corps, under the command of Field-Marshal-Lieutenant Baron Fresnet, numbered 24,000 men: 18,000 infantrymen (18 battalions), 6,000 cavalrymen (32 squadrons) and 34 artillery pieces. These men were organised in three divisions: 1st division under General Bach, 2nd division under General Trautenberg, Division of General Spleny (cavalry and reserve artillery). The Bavarian Corps, under Wrede's direct command, numbered 18,000 men: 15,000 infantrymen (17 battalions), 3,000 cavalrymen (20 squadrons), 60 artillery pieces. These men were organised in two divisions, one cavalry reserve and one artillery reserve: 2nd division under General Beckers, 3rd division under General Lamotte, the three-brigade cavalry reserve (under Generals Bieregg, Ellbracht, Dietz) and General Cologne's artillery reserve.
and many of the French Corps were reduced to a fraction of what they used to be. Emperor
Napoleon I
was in personal command of the French forces at the battle. The total French forces in the sector numbered between 40,000 and 50,000 men, but only a fraction were combat-able, with Napoleon being able to count on little more than 30,000 men during this battle: the IInd, Vth and XIth Army Corps, the Ist and IInd Cavalry Reserve Corps and the Imperial Guard. Guard units aside, many of the French battalions at Hanau were only 100-men strong and cavalry squadrons numbered much less than that.
Of these men, only one division (General Jean-Louis Dubreton
's, 15 battalions) of Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin's IInd Corps, and another (General Henri-François-Marie Charpentier's, 11 battalions) of Marshal MacDonald XI Corps, were committed to battle, for a grand total of some 7,000-8,000 men. The Cavalry support came from Sébastiani's IInd Cavalry Corps, some 3,000 sabres, and Nansouty's Imperial Guard cavalry, some 4,000 sabres. The entirety of the Imperial Guard infantry and artillery, some 6,000 men and 52 cannons, were also committed. Napoleon thus committed a total of about 20,000 men (40 battalions, 113 squadrons) at the battle of Hanau.
river, on the opposite bank from the city of Hanau, while his right (divisions Elbracht and Trautenberg) were positioned on the southern bank of the Kinzig. Beckers's Bavarian division constituted the far right and was deployed on either side of the Kinzig. One regiment, the Austrian Szekler, two battalions strong, as well as great many skirmisher
s detached from their parent units were positioned in an advanced position in the Lamboi forest. Most of the cavalry was placed in second line, in the centre, with the artillery quite evenly dispersed throughout the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Napoleon spent the night of 29/30 October at the Isemburg castle, near Gelnhausen
and received detailed intelligence about the Austro-Bavarian preparations, which confirmed that the enemy was intending to make a stand. Napoleon thus directed the army's luggage and supply train northwards, away from the Coalition forces, under the protection of Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova
's Cavalry Corps, while taking his remaining forces in a frontal manoeuvre against Wrede's force. He ordered Victor to form the left wing with his Army Corps and march along the Kinzig, while MacDonald's Corps and the Guard were to penetrate into the Lamboi forest. A part of the Guard cavalry under General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes was detached further north to cover the flank of the army. Napoleon studied Wrede's position and spotted its main weakness, namely that he had most of his army deployed with the river behind it, which would act as a natural barrier should retreat have been necessary. Upon seeing Wrede's dispositions, Napoleon sarcastically noted: "I have made Wrede a Count but it was beyond my power to make him a General." However, in order to be able to exploit this potentially fatal weakness in Wrede's deployment, Napoleon first had to beat him and had to do so with largely inferior infantry numbers, less cavalry and fewer cannons and against an enemy who had all the time it needed to deploy its forces for defense.
behind it, and his right wing to its south in an isolated position with only a single bridge linking it with the main force. Napoleon had only 17,000 troops including Marshal MacDonald’s
infantry and General Sébastiani’s
cavalry to face the enemy forces blocking them. Due to dense forests on the east of Wrede’s positions the French were able to advance and make close contact with the allies almost unseen. Napoleon decided to attack the allies' left with all available troops. By midday Marshal Victor
and MacDonald had cleared the forest in front of the Allied centre of allied forces. Soon after General Drouot
found a track in the forest towards Wrede’s left capable of moving cannons through. Three hours later Grenadiers of the Old Guard
had cleared the area of allied troops, and Drouot began to deploy 50 cannons supported by cavalry of the Guard and Sébastiani. A brief artillery bombardment from Drouot’s cannons silenced Wrede’s 28 cannons. French cavalry then attacked and pushed back Wrede’s cavalry on his left flank, then attacked the flank of Wrede’s centre. Wrede’s centre started to fall back, skirting the banks of the Kinzig River suffering heavy casualties. On the right wing, Wrede’s forces tried to cross the single bridge over the Kinzig River to reinforce the centre, but many drowned trying to cross the bridge. Wrede was successful in rallying his troops to form a defensive line running from the Lamboy Bridge to the Town of Hanau. During the night the allies abandoned Hanau. The French occupied Hanau on 31 October with little resistance. Napoleon made no effort to pursue Wrede, the main road to Frankfurt was now reopened, the French retreat continued.
on 2 November and were only 20 miles from their relatively safe rear base at Mainz
.
Karl Philipp von Wrede
Karl Philipp Josef Wrede, Freiherr von Wrede, 1st Fürst von Wrede , Bavarian field-marshal, was born at Heidelberg, the youngest of three children of Ferdinand Josef Wrede , created in 1791 1st Freiherr von Wrede, and wife, married on 21 March 1746, Anna Katharina Jünger , by whom he had two more...
’s Austro
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
-Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n corps and Napoleon's
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
retreating French
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
during the War of the Sixth Coalition
War of the Sixth Coalition
In the War of the Sixth Coalition , a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and a number of German States finally defeated France and drove Napoleon Bonaparte into exile on Elba. After Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, the continental powers...
.
Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
earlier in October, Napoleon began to retreat from Germany into France and relative safety. Wrede attempted to block Napoleon’s line of retreat at Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
on 30 October. Napoleon arrived before Hanau with reinforcements and defeated Wrede’s forces. On 31 October Hanau was in French control, opening Napoleon’s line of retreat.
The Battle of Hanau was a minor battle, but an important tactical victory allowing Napoleon’s Army to retreat onto French soil. Ultimately Napoleon lost the War of the Sixth Coalition, giving the battle little strategic importance.
Background
The Battle of LeipzigBattle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
, the largest and bloodiest of the entire Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, began 16 October 1813, raged for three days and ended with a decisive victory for the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon was forced to abandon central Germany to the Coalition and operate a hasty retreat westwards. Napoleon's strategy was to regroup all his available forces on the Rhine, where his lines of communication would be shorter and his rear less likely to be threatened. The Emperor's concern was that his already battered army might be forced to give battle again against superior forces, so he ordered that the retreat be operated at great speed. Had the Coalition managed to push through with more vigour in the days following the Battle of Leipzig, the already disorganised French army would have probably been destroyed, but Coalition armies had themselves suffered such high losses at Leipzig that they were in no position to launch an effective pursuit. With military action confined to secondary rearguard actions, Napoleon was able to install his headquarters at Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
on 23 October and begin to reorganise his army. On 26 October, he sent orders to the various Corps, directing them towards Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
through Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
and Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
. Their assigned destination was the city of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, on the river Rhine.
The Coalition was buoyed by the news that Bavaria, a former French ally, agreed to join the Sixth Coalition according to the Treaty of Ried
Treaty of Ried
The Treaty of Ried of 8 October 1813 was a treaty that was signed between Bavaria and Austria. By this treaty, Bavaria left the Confederation of the Rhine and agreed to join the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon in exchange for a guarantee of her continued sovereign and independent status. On 14...
concluded just before the Battle of Leipzig. This allowed the Coalition to threaten the overall military position of the French by moving a 45,000 - 50,000 Austro-Bavarian army, under the command of Karl Philipp von Wrede
Karl Philipp von Wrede
Karl Philipp Josef Wrede, Freiherr von Wrede, 1st Fürst von Wrede , Bavarian field-marshal, was born at Heidelberg, the youngest of three children of Ferdinand Josef Wrede , created in 1791 1st Freiherr von Wrede, and wife, married on 21 March 1746, Anna Katharina Jünger , by whom he had two more...
, into Napoleon's rear, occupying Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
in Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
. The small French garrison of Würzburg, under General Jean Victor Tharreau
Jean Victor Tharreau
Jean Victor Tharreau , 15 January 1767, Le May-sur-Èvre – 26 September 1812, was a General of Division in the Army of the French Empire....
, did not try to resist and instead barricaded themselves into the local citadel, allowing the enemy to occupy the town without a fight. From Würzburg, Wrede moved towards the strategic city of Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
, along one of Napoleon's main retreat routes. Wrede’s advance guard reached Hanau on 28 October and took possession of the city, blocking Napoleon’s route to Frankfurt. Although Wrede was probably thinking that the main French army was retreating along a more northerly road to Coblenz, thus expecting to face a force of only 20,000 men, he did entertain hopes that he would be able to play a major role in the defeat of Napoleon. He also believed that the French army was completely disorganised, which was not totally true, and closely followed the main Coalition army, the "Army of Bohemia", which was in reality much further away and not really in close contact with Napoleon's forces.
Coalition army
The Austrian and Bavarian army at the battle of Hanau numbered no less than 42,000 men: 33,000 infantrymen, 9,000 cavalrymen and 94 artillery pieces. These men were under the overall command of BavarianKingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
General Karl Philipp von Wrede
Karl Philipp von Wrede
Karl Philipp Josef Wrede, Freiherr von Wrede, 1st Fürst von Wrede , Bavarian field-marshal, was born at Heidelberg, the youngest of three children of Ferdinand Josef Wrede , created in 1791 1st Freiherr von Wrede, and wife, married on 21 March 1746, Anna Katharina Jünger , by whom he had two more...
and comprised two Army Corps, one Austrian and one Bavarian.
The Austrian Corps, under the command of Field-Marshal-Lieutenant Baron Fresnet, numbered 24,000 men: 18,000 infantrymen (18 battalions), 6,000 cavalrymen (32 squadrons) and 34 artillery pieces. These men were organised in three divisions: 1st division under General Bach, 2nd division under General Trautenberg, Division of General Spleny (cavalry and reserve artillery). The Bavarian Corps, under Wrede's direct command, numbered 18,000 men: 15,000 infantrymen (17 battalions), 3,000 cavalrymen (20 squadrons), 60 artillery pieces. These men were organised in two divisions, one cavalry reserve and one artillery reserve: 2nd division under General Beckers, 3rd division under General Lamotte, the three-brigade cavalry reserve (under Generals Bieregg, Ellbracht, Dietz) and General Cologne's artillery reserve.
French army
The French Grande Armée had suffered horrendous casualties following the battle of LeipzigBattle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
and many of the French Corps were reduced to a fraction of what they used to be. Emperor
Emperor of the French
The Emperor of the French was the title used by the Bonaparte Dynasty starting when Napoleon Bonaparte was given the title Emperor on 18 May 1804 by the French Senate and was crowned emperor of the French on 02 December 1804 at the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in Paris with the Crown of...
Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
was in personal command of the French forces at the battle. The total French forces in the sector numbered between 40,000 and 50,000 men, but only a fraction were combat-able, with Napoleon being able to count on little more than 30,000 men during this battle: the IInd, Vth and XIth Army Corps, the Ist and IInd Cavalry Reserve Corps and the Imperial Guard. Guard units aside, many of the French battalions at Hanau were only 100-men strong and cavalry squadrons numbered much less than that.
Of these men, only one division (General Jean-Louis Dubreton
Jean-Louis Dubreton
Jean-Louis Dubreton enlisted in the French army in 1790 and served during the French Revolutionary Wars where he gained advancement. During the War of the First Coalition he fought against the allies in the north and against the Revolt in the Vendée. By 1801 he commanded a battalion in Italy...
's, 15 battalions) of Marshal Claude Victor-Perrin's IInd Corps, and another (General Henri-François-Marie Charpentier's, 11 battalions) of Marshal MacDonald XI Corps, were committed to battle, for a grand total of some 7,000-8,000 men. The Cavalry support came from Sébastiani's IInd Cavalry Corps, some 3,000 sabres, and Nansouty's Imperial Guard cavalry, some 4,000 sabres. The entirety of the Imperial Guard infantry and artillery, some 6,000 men and 52 cannons, were also committed. Napoleon thus committed a total of about 20,000 men (40 battalions, 113 squadrons) at the battle of Hanau.
Preliminaries
On 29 October, having correctly reckoned that his force was strong enough to block the retreat of a disorganised enemy army, Wrede decided to give battle. He had plenty of time to prepare his dispositions and deployed his army in a relatively narrow and deep order, which was quite sensible, given that his intention was to remain on the grand defensive. Wrede's left covered the road to Frankfurt and Mainz, the main retreat route that the French wanted to take. The bulk of his force was positioned along the KinzigKinzig
Kinzig is the name of two rivers in southern Germany:* Kinzig , flowing into the Main* Kinzig , flowing into the Rhine...
river, on the opposite bank from the city of Hanau, while his right (divisions Elbracht and Trautenberg) were positioned on the southern bank of the Kinzig. Beckers's Bavarian division constituted the far right and was deployed on either side of the Kinzig. One regiment, the Austrian Szekler, two battalions strong, as well as great many skirmisher
Skirmisher
Skirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to harass the enemy.-Pre-modern:...
s detached from their parent units were positioned in an advanced position in the Lamboi forest. Most of the cavalry was placed in second line, in the centre, with the artillery quite evenly dispersed throughout the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Napoleon spent the night of 29/30 October at the Isemburg castle, near Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen is a town and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig...
and received detailed intelligence about the Austro-Bavarian preparations, which confirmed that the enemy was intending to make a stand. Napoleon thus directed the army's luggage and supply train northwards, away from the Coalition forces, under the protection of Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova
Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova
Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova , duc de Padoue, was a French diplomat and soldier of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In the late 1840s, Arrighi was also involved in politics and was elected Deputy and then Senator in the French Parliament...
's Cavalry Corps, while taking his remaining forces in a frontal manoeuvre against Wrede's force. He ordered Victor to form the left wing with his Army Corps and march along the Kinzig, while MacDonald's Corps and the Guard were to penetrate into the Lamboi forest. A part of the Guard cavalry under General Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes was detached further north to cover the flank of the army. Napoleon studied Wrede's position and spotted its main weakness, namely that he had most of his army deployed with the river behind it, which would act as a natural barrier should retreat have been necessary. Upon seeing Wrede's dispositions, Napoleon sarcastically noted: "I have made Wrede a Count but it was beyond my power to make him a General." However, in order to be able to exploit this potentially fatal weakness in Wrede's deployment, Napoleon first had to beat him and had to do so with largely inferior infantry numbers, less cavalry and fewer cannons and against an enemy who had all the time it needed to deploy its forces for defense.
Battle
Wrede, following successful skirmishing against the French, began to deploy his forces to face the main French force of 20,000. On the 30 October, Wrede placed his centre with the River KinzigKinzig (Main)
The Kinzig is a river in southern Hesse, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Main. It is 82 km long. Its source is in the Spessart hills, near Schlüchtern. The Kinzig flows into the Main in Hanau. The Main-Kinzig-Kreis was named after the river...
behind it, and his right wing to its south in an isolated position with only a single bridge linking it with the main force. Napoleon had only 17,000 troops including Marshal MacDonald’s
Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald
Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald, 1st duke of Taranto was a Marshal of France and military leader during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Family background:...
infantry and General Sébastiani’s
Horace François Bastien, baron Sébastiani
Horace François Bastien Sébastiani de La Porta was a French soldier, diplomat, and politician, who served as Naval Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of State under the July Monarchy. Joining the French Revolutionary Army in his youth, he rose in its ranks and became a supporter...
cavalry to face the enemy forces blocking them. Due to dense forests on the east of Wrede’s positions the French were able to advance and make close contact with the allies almost unseen. Napoleon decided to attack the allies' left with all available troops. By midday Marshal Victor
Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno
Claude Victor-Perrin, First Duc de Belluno was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
and MacDonald had cleared the forest in front of the Allied centre of allied forces. Soon after General Drouot
Antoine Drouot
Comte Antoine Drouot was one of Napoleon's generals.Born in Nancy, France, the son of a baker, he trained as an artilleryman and took part in the battles of the French Revolution where he rose through the ranks....
found a track in the forest towards Wrede’s left capable of moving cannons through. Three hours later Grenadiers of the Old Guard
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
had cleared the area of allied troops, and Drouot began to deploy 50 cannons supported by cavalry of the Guard and Sébastiani. A brief artillery bombardment from Drouot’s cannons silenced Wrede’s 28 cannons. French cavalry then attacked and pushed back Wrede’s cavalry on his left flank, then attacked the flank of Wrede’s centre. Wrede’s centre started to fall back, skirting the banks of the Kinzig River suffering heavy casualties. On the right wing, Wrede’s forces tried to cross the single bridge over the Kinzig River to reinforce the centre, but many drowned trying to cross the bridge. Wrede was successful in rallying his troops to form a defensive line running from the Lamboy Bridge to the Town of Hanau. During the night the allies abandoned Hanau. The French occupied Hanau on 31 October with little resistance. Napoleon made no effort to pursue Wrede, the main road to Frankfurt was now reopened, the French retreat continued.
Conclusion
Wrede suffered 9,000 casualties, Napoleon suffered much fewer, but some 10,000 French stragglers became Allied Prisoners of war between 28 and 31 October. The French reached FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
on 2 November and were only 20 miles from their relatively safe rear base at Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
.