page_title: Battle of Craonne
section_title: 7 March: Fighting
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Craonne / Battle / 7 March: Fighting
caption_attribution_description: Le Chemin des Dames, au niveau de la caverne du Dragon, département de l'Aisnes, France
context_page_description: The Battle of Craonne was a battle between an Imperial French army under Emperor Napoleon I opposing a combined army of Imperial Russians and Prussians led by Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The War of the Sixth Coalition engagement began when the bulk of Napoleon's army tried to drive Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov's 22,000 Russians off the Chemin des Dames plateau to the west of Craonne. After a bitter struggle, Napoleon's attacks compelled Vorontsov's force to withdraw, but French casualties exceeded Russian losses. While the battle raged, Blücher's attempt to turn Napoleon's east flank ended in failure due to poor planning.
  In late February 1814, Blücher's army separated from the main Allied army of Austrian Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, moving northwest and making a dash at Paris. Napoleon left Marshal Jacques MacDonald with one army to observe Schwarzenberg and started after Blücher with another army. Blücher evaded Napoleon's attempt to trap him and retreated north toward Laon, picking up reinforcements as he went.
context_section_description: At 9:00 am, the French Imperial Guard artillery unlimbered on the east end of the Chemin des Dames ridge and opened fire. The Russian artillery replied, but the range was 1,500 metres (1,640 yd), too long to inflict much damage on either side. Blucher was with Vorontsov until 10:00 am when he rode off to learn the whereabouts of Wintzingerode's column. Ney had been told to wait for the order to attack, but the bombardment caused him to send his troops forward. He ordered Pierre Boyer to attack Ailles with Meunier advancing on his left. One account stated that Curial's division operated with Meunier's troops from the beginning. Napoleon was partly responsible for Ney's blunder because he did not explain his battle plan to the marshal. Sending his men into the attack without artillery support was Ney's fault alone. The soldiers of both Meunier and Pierre Boyer were stopped in their tracks by the Russian cannons. Boyer de Rébeval's division arrived on the field at 11:00 am, but Charpentier's division was slowed by sleet-covered roads.
  At about 11:00 am Heurtebise Farm burst into flame and was abandoned. Vorontsov ordered Krasovsky's advanced troops to pull back to the main line. The 2nd Jäger Regiment from the second line moved forward and occupied Ailles. Because of Ney's premature attack, Boyer de Rébeval's division had to be diverted from the main attack to support the right flank. At 11:30 am, Ney's artillery began pounding the Russian left flank and Ney personally led Meunier's men forward to the top of the slope. Nansouty advanced up the Paissy spur and pushed back the cavalry on the Russian right flank despite being charged by three Cossack regiments and four squadrons of hussars led by Benkendorf. At noon, Boyer de Rébeval attacked and seized the Marion Woods. Early in the action, a bullet hit Victor in the thigh, putting him out of action. On the Russian side, Krasovsky was also quickly wounded and compelled to leave the field. Boyer de Rébeval's advance was carried out by Auguste Julien Bigarré's brigade with Jacques Lecapitaine's brigade in reserve. They were supported by six batteries of Guard artillery plus 12 their own guns. Since Boyer de Rébeval's men were raw conscripts with only 20 days of service their musketry and cannon fire was not very effective.
  By 1:00 pm, the Russians threatened to drive the troops of Meunier and Boyer de Rébeval off the ridge. Boyer de Rébeval brought up Lecapitaine's brigade on Bigarré's left. Vorontsov committed Andrey Savvich Glebov's brigade from the third line into the fight. The 19th Jäger and Shirvan Infantry Regiments pressed forward but Antoine Drouot moved up two Guard artillery batteries and their fire halted the Russian attack. At 1:30 pm Napoleon ordered Emmanuel de Grouchy to commit his cavalry in an effort to get the attack moving. Grouchy sent Louis Ernest Joseph Sparre's dragoon brigade forward. Sparre's troopers drove off the Pavlograd Hussars and then swept into Parkinson's Horse Artillery Battery Nr. 9, cutting down the gunners. Both Grouchy and Sparre were wounded and the dragoons were forced to retreat. Boyer de Rébeval's division fell back into the Marion Woods where it rallied.
  At 1:45 pm, Laferrière's 3rd Guard Cavalry Division charged the large Russian battery in the center. The elite horsemen got among the cannons but were unable to break the Russian foot soldiers behind the guns, who were formed in squares. Laferrière was badly wounded and his horsemen were met by intense fire. However, by the time the Russians forced the Guard cavalry to retire, Charpentier's division reached the field and easily captured the Quatre Heures Woods. They were soon followed by Curial's division. By 2:30 pm, Charpentier's troops linked up with Nansouty's horsemen on the French left and together they began to force back the Russian right flank. Nansouty reached the end of the Paissy valley before being turned back by cannon fire. By this time Ney had brought Meunier's division onto the ridge and the Guard artillery moved forward. Pierre Boyer reported seeing an Allied force 
caption: The view is east along the Chemin des Dames with Heurtebise Farm at left. The French advance came toward the viewer.
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