Star.
London, England, 1813-05-15 00:00:00

PARIS, MAY 8.

Her majesty the Empress Queen and Regent has
received the following intelligence from the Army:—
The battles of \Veissenfels and Lutzen were but the
prelude of events of the highest importance. The
Emperor Alexander aad the King of Prussia, who
had arrived at Dresden with their forces the latter
end of April, hearing nat the French army had de-
bouched from the Thuringe, adopted the plan of
giving battle in the plains of Lutzen, and put itself
in motion to occupy the position; hut they were an-
ticipated by the rapidity of the movements of the
French army. They, however, persisted in their pro-
. jects, and resolved to attack the army, to drive it
trom the position it had taken. The position of the •
French army was, on the 2d of May, at nine o'clock
in the morning, as follows :—The left of the army
leaned upon the Elster : it was formed by the Vice-
roy, having under his orders the sth and 11th corps.
The centre was commanded by the Prince of Moskwa,
in the village of Kaia. The Emperor, with the young
and old guard, was at Lutzen. The Duke of Ra-
gusa was at the defile of Poserna, and formed the
right with his three divisions. General Bertrand,
commanding the 4th corps, marched to proceed to
this defile. The enemy debouched, and passed the
Elster at the bridges of Zweukaw, Pegau, and Zuts.
The Emperor, hoping to anticipate him in his move-
meats, and thinking that he could not attack till the
.sth, advanced General Lauriston, whose corps formed
the extreme of the left, to march upon Leipsick, in
order to disconcert the enemy's projects, and place
the French army, for the day of the 3d, quite diffe-
rent to that upon which the enemy had calculated to
find it, and in which in reality it was on the 2d, and
by this means carry confusion and disorder into their
columns.

At nine in the morning his Majesty, having heard a
cannonade from the side of Leipsick, proceeded there
at full gallop. The enemy defended the small village
of Lestenau, and the bridges in advance of Leipsick.
His Majesty only waited the moment when these last
positions should be carried, to put in motion all his
army in that direction, make it pivet on Leipsick, pass
to the right bank of the Elster, and take the enemy
a revert, but at ten o'clock the enemy's army de-
b uched towards Kaia, in several columns, extremely
deep; the horizon was obscured by them. The
enemy presented forces which appeared immense.-
4 he Eriveror immediately made his dispositions;
the Vice-Roy received orders to march upon the left

of the Prince of Moskwa, but three houri were ne-
cessary to execute this movement. The Prince of
Moskwa placed his men under arms, and with five
divisions supported the battle, which, at the end of
half an hour, became terrible ; his Majesty himself
mounted at the head of the last guard, behind the
centre of the army, supporting the right Of the
Prince of Moskwa. The Duke of Ragusa, with his
three divisions, occupied the extreme right. Ge-
neral Bertrand had orders to debouch upon the
enemy's rear, at the moment in which the line
should be most strongly engaged. Fortune was
pleased to crown with the most brilliant success all
these dispthitions. The enemy, who appeared set-
min of the success of his enterprise, marched to
teach our right, and gain the road of Weissenfels.
General Compans, General of Battle of the first
merit, at thehead of the first division of the Duke of'
Ragusa, stopped him quite short. The marine regi-
ments supported several charges with rani froid, and
toeered the field of battle with the best of the enemy's
cavalry ; but the great efforts of infantry, artillery
and cavalry were upon the centre. Four of. Prince
Moskwa's five divisions were already engaged. The
village of Kaia was taken and retaken several times.
This village remained in the enemy's power. Count
de Lobau directed Mesemi Rivard to retake the
village. It was retaken. The battle embraced a line
of two leagues, severed with fire, smoke and clouds
of dirt. The Prince of Moskwa, General Souham,
and General Girard were every where, making head
against every thing, wounded with several balls.
General Girard wished to remain on the field of
battle. He declared he wished to die commanding
and directing his troops, as the moment had arrived
fur all Frenchmen, who possessed any heart to con-
quer or perish. However, we began to perceive from
afar the dust and first fire of General Bertrand's corps,
at the same moment the Vice Roy entered in line upon
the left, and the Dukeof Tarente avitcked the enemy's
reserve, and reached the village upon which the enemy
rested his right. At this moment the enemy redoub-
led his efforts upon the centre ; the village of Kaia was
again taken, our centre gave way, t flechet) some bat-
talions fled, (se delsanderent) but these valorous
youths, at the sight of the Emperor, rallied, ex-
claiming " Vive ?Emperor i" His Majesty judged
that the critical moment, which decides the gaining
or losing of battles, had arrived—there was no longer
a moment to be lost, the Emperor ordered the Duke
of Treviso to march with 16 battalions of the young I
guard, to the village of Kaia, overthrew the enemy,
retook the village, and overcame every thing he met
with there. At the same moment his Majesty or-
dered his Aid-de-Camp, General Drouet, an Artil-
lery Officer of the greitest distinction, to form a bat-
tery of 80 pieces, and place it in advance of the old
guards, which was formed in echelons, as four re
doubts, to support the centre. All our cavalry
ranged in battle behind. General Dulauley, Drouet,
and Devaux, set out at full gallop, with their eighty
pieces of artillery, in the same groupe. The fire be-
came dreadful, the enemy gave way on all sides. The
Duke of Treviso obtained possession of the village of
Kaia, overthrew the enemy, and continued to ad-
vance, beating the charge, The enemy's cavalry, in-
fantry, and artillery, all retreated.
General Bonnet,, coMmanding one of the Duke of
Ragusa's divisions, received orders to make a move-
ment upon. Kaya, by his left, to support the success
of the center. He sustained several charges of ca-
valry. Nevertheless, General Count Bertrand ad-
vanced and entered the line. It was in vain that the
enemy's cavalry capered about his square ; his march
was not relaxed by it. To rejoin him the sooner, the
Emperor ordered a change of direction, by pivoting
on Kaia. The whole of the right made a change in
front, the right wing foremost. The enemy then
fled, and we pursued him for a league and a half.—
He soon arrived at the heights which had been occu-
pied by the EmpererAlexander, the King of Prussia,
and the Bradenburg family, during the battle. An
Officer who was taken prisoner there, informed us of
this circumstance.

INTe have made several thousand prisoners. The
number could not be more considerable, considering
the inferiority of our cavalry, and the desire which
the Emperor had shewn of sparing it.
At the commencement of the battle, the Emperor
said to the troops, «' It is a battle like those in Egypt,
a good infantry, supported by artillery, should be
sufficient for it."

General Gourd, Chief of the Prince of Moskwa's
Staff, was killed—a death worthy of so good a sol-
dier. Our loss amounts to ten thousand men, killed
and wounded ; that of the enemy may be estimated
at twenty-five or thirty thousand men. The Royal
Prussian Guards are destroyed. The Emperor of
Russia's Guards have suffered considerably ; and the
two divisions of ten regiments of Russian cuirassiers
are destroyed. His Majesty cannot pay a sufficient
eulogium to the good-will, courage, and intrepidity
of the army. Our young soldiers took no danger
into consideration ; they have, in this great instance,
shewn all the nobleness of the French blood. The
Chief of the Staff, in his relation, mentions the fine
actions which have shed a lustre on this brilliant
day, which, like a clap of thunder, has paralized the
chimerical hopes, and all the calculations for the de
struction and dismemberment of the Empire. The
cloudy train collected by the Cabinet of St. James's,

' &winng a whole-vrir.ter, are in an inAant destroyed.
like the Gordian k sot by the swori of Ala.t.u.ler.

The Prince of Hesse H imb irg was kthed. The
prisoners say that the young Pt ;nce Royal of Prussia
is wounded, and the Prince of Mecklenburg Streliis
killed. The infantry of the old gu irJs, (oily six hat.
talinns of which have arrived, by their presence kept
up the affair with that sang froid, with which they are
characterised. They did not Ire a mthket.—H Alf
the army was not engaged ; for the fonr divisions of
General Lauriston's corps have done n,th.ng but
occupy Leipsick, the three divisions of the Dnke of
Reggio were still two days march from the field of
battle; Count Bertrand did not charge but with one
of his divisions, and so lightly that it did wit lose
fifty men ; his 2J and 3d divisions did not charge at
all. The 2d division of the young guards, com-
thanded by General Barrors, were still five days
march off: it was the same with half the old guards,
commanded by General Decowe, who was then only
at Erfurt.

The Duke of Beßunn's corps was also three days
march from the field inf battle. General Sehastiani's
•
carps of cavalry, with the three divisions of the Prince
Etlcnsithi, was on the banks of the Elbe. The
allied army 150 to 200,000 men strong, commanded
by the two Sovereigns; with a great number of the
Princes of the House of Prussia, has thug been de-
leased and put to rout, by less than the iv!l of the
French army. The field of battle presented the most
affecting spectacle : the young soldiers, on seeing the
Emperor, forgot their sufferings, and exclaimed,
kite PEmpercr. " It is now twenty years," said the
Emperor,“ that I have commanded the French armies,
out I have never yet witnessed so much bravery and
devotion. Europe would at length be at peace, if
the Sovereigns and the Ministers ‘‘ho direct their ca-
binets could have been present on the fit Id of battle.
They would give up all hopes of causing the star of
France to set, and perceive that those ct,unsellors who
wish to dismember the French Empire, arid humble
the Emperor, are preparing the rain of their So-
vereigns."