Battle of Möckern The Battle of Möckern was a series of heavy clashes between allied Prusso - Russian troops and Napoleonic French forces south of Möckern . It occurred on 5 April 1813 . It ended in a French defeat and formed the successful prelude to the " Liberation War " against Napoleon ( the German name for the German theatre of the War of the Sixth Coalition ) . Context . In winter 1812 , Napoleon had suffered a heavy defeat before Moscow upon which Prussia began to consider giving up its enforced alliance with the French . It signed the Convention of Tauroggen with Russia on 30 December 1812 , stipulating neutrality between them , and then on 27 March 1813 both powers declared war on France . Course . Meanwhile in March 1813 , the Allied armies decided to attack French forces in Magdeburg so that they could then cross the River Elbe and advance westwards . Troops were also sent off under the command of the Prussian generals Bülow , Borstel , Hühnerbein and Yorck as well as the Russian commanders Wittgenstein and Berg . After the French received information of the advance , about 30 , 000 men left Magdeburg under viceroy Eugène on 2 April 1813 and crossed the Elbe , setting up his headquarters in Königsborn . Wittgenstein , who was in overall command of the Allied operations , planned to use feints further to the east to draw in the French and then cut them off after they returned to Magdeburg . In expectation of an attack , the French formed their troops along the river Ehle between Möckern and Gommern . The allies arranged a total of about 10 , 000 men in three detachments marching in from the northeast , east and southeast . Smaller clashes were already happening on the 3rd and 4 April , with the French committing few troops to the fighting . Messages also began to arrive stating that the French wished to withdraw from Magdebury and so Wittgenstein gave the command to attack on 5 April . First general Hühnerbein with two Yorkschen Corps marching in from the south came upon the French near Dannigkow , leading to stubborn resistance and house - to - house fighting . In spite of numerical inferiority , after four hours Hühnerbein succeeded in forcing the 2 , 000 French soldiers out of their positions . The second major clash happened at the Ehle river crossing in Vehlitz . Prusso - Russian troops under Borstel and Berg here attacked the French , who had posted themselves in several lines at the Ehle as far as behind Vehlitz . Due to the deep gradient , few of the Allied guns could come to bear and so the battle descended into man - to - man fighting . This was impeded wide swampy area that lay between the two forces , meaning the soldiers had to wade across in places with the water up to breast height . After violent clashes , in which the French also used cavalry squadrons , here too the Allies succeeded in forcing the French from their positions . Result . In view of these unexpected defeats , the French viceroy concluded on the night of 5 April to withdraw once more to Magdeburg . On its withdrawal the French forces destroyed all the bridges of the Klusdammes , denying the most important access routes to Magdeburg to the Allies . Although the French forces in Germany were not finally defeated by this action , for the Prussians and Russians the clash was nevertheless a first important success on the way to the final victory over Napoleon . October 1813 . Another battle of Möckern occurred on 16 October the same year between allied Prusso - Russian troops under Blücher and Napoleonic French forces under Marmont and Ney , on the northern front of the Liberation War . It played out in 4 phases . A small country house surrounded by gardens and low walls and looking over the village was transformed into a fortress , with the French in cover behind its walls . The west of their position was too marshy and wooded for an artillery position , and to the east a 4m deep dyke protected the banks of the Elster . There Marshal Marmont held back his infantry reserve ready for a counter - attack and for swiftly supporting all his positions . Blücher commanded Langeron ' s Russian corps and Yorck ' s Prussian one . Attacks went on all night , with most of the dead and wounded ( 9 , 000 for the Allies , 7 , 000 for the French ) being down to the artillery . Another 2 , 000 French were captured and the battle ended in a French defeat , laying the foundations for the decisive defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig the following day - on the very same day as the battle of Möckern Blücher was made a field marshal .