Battle of Mâcon (1814)

The Battle of Mâcon (11 March 1814) saw a French division under Louis François Félix Musnier attack an Austrian corps led by Frederick Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza. The French enjoyed initial success but their numerical inferiority led to their defeat in this War of the Sixth Coalition clash. Mâcon is located 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of Lyon.

Battle of Mâcon (1814)
Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition

Vinzenz Ferrerius Friedrich Freiherr von Bianchi
Date11 March 1814[1]
Location
Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire, French Empire
46°18′23″N 4°49′53″E
Result Austrian victory[1]
Belligerents
First French Empire France Austrian Empire Austria
Commanders and leaders
First French Empire Louis Musnier Austrian Empire Frederick Bianchi
Strength
5,000[1]–6,000 8,000[1]–14,740
Casualties and losses
683–1,300[1] killed, wounded, or captured
2 guns lost		 881–900[1] killed, wounded, or captured
Battle of Mâcon (1814) is located in France
Battle of Mâcon (1814)
Location within France
War of the Sixth Coalition:
Campaign in north-east France
🌍
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

Background

As Napoleon dueled with the main Allied armies of Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher to the east of Paris, a subsidiary campaign was fought near Lyon to the southeast. In January 1814 the Austrians overran much territory, but in mid-February the reinforced French forces under Marshal Pierre Augereau mounted a counteroffensive. Alarmed at the threat to his supply lines, Schwarzenberg sent heavy reinforcements to Prince Hesse-Homburg.

Battle

Augereau ordered Musnier to attack Mâcon and found his enemies were much stronger than he had thought.

Aftermath

The Austrian army commander Prince Frederick of Hesse-Homburg soon pressed south toward Lyon.

Notes
  1. Bodart 1908, p. 477.

References
  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 7 June 2021.

Further reading
  • Leggiere, Michael V. (2007). The Fall of Napoleon: The Allied Invasion of France 1813-1814. Vol. 1. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-87542-4.
  • Nafziger, George (2015). The End of Empire: Napoleon's 1814 Campaign. Solihull, UK: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-909982-96-3.
  • Petre, F. Loraine (1994) [1914]. Napoleon at Bay: 1814. London: Lionel Leventhal Ltd. ISBN 1-85367-163-0.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
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