Battle of Sarrebruck

Troop deployments around the town of Sarrebruck before the battle.

The **Battle of Sarrebruck** was a decisive engagement between the French Empire and the Eighth Coalition. It occured just outside the town of Saarebruck (Saarbrücken in German) on 13 August, 1818. Napoleon II's victory over the larger Coalition forces ended any hopes of an advance into French territory by Austria and Britain, and essentially ended the War of the Eighth Coalition.

## Prelude

As Napoleon's position in Europe weakened, the powers of Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria all agreed to declared war on France, with the goals of toppling Napoleon at last. France quickly mobilized and engaged the Coalition forces at the Battle of Frankfurt, but Napoleon suffered a narrow defeat. Hearing of his father's failure, Napoleon II quickly rallied armies in the area around Reims, amassing around 95,000 men in total, and he advanced east. The Emperor told him to turn back and wait for reinforcements, but the Prince ignored the order and continued to the town of Sarrebruck, setting up his defense on the heights south of the mountains around the city. The Coalition forces then converged and moved in on Sarrebruck. However, with Russia and Prussia not yet fully mobilized, only Britain and Austria were able to send forces to the battle.

## Battle

### Initial combat

On the morning of 13 August 1818, Austrian and British forces deployed for battle on the hills lining the mountainside. The only passage north was through a thin gap in the mountain range guarded by Austrian troops. The French center on the hill feigned a retreat after early Austrian artillery bombardments, and at the urging of his commanding officers, Francis I ordered his army forward.

### Austrian advance

As the Austrians pushed the French center back, the fake retreat nearly devolved into a real route. However, Napoleon II was on the front line, riding back and forth and holding his troops in formation. As he did so, the French left held its ground against Austrian forces, and began to slowly push them back.

### Davout arrives

Three hours into the battle, Marshal Davout and his 32,000 men finally arrived to reinforce the Prince. They rushed into the French left, rapidly pushing the exhausted Austrian line back. The fallback by the Austrian right turned into a full retreat, and some of their divisions began fleeing north. As they fled through the narrow mountain pass, French artillery bombarded the entrance, killing an unknown number of fleeing soldiers. The Coalition forces attempted to regroup, with Wellington launching a final attack on the French, but to no avail.

### Coalition withdrawal

Wellington realized the situation, and ordered the British to withdraw to the south. Following him soon after were the remaining Austrian forces still in combat, accompanied by Francis I. Their retreat was marked by constant cavalry charges, and they only narrowly managed to evade being completely overrun by French forces.

## Aftermath

The Battle of Sarrebruck essentially ended the war for the Coalition. Such a complete loss killed all enthusiasm for the war both in Britain and in Austria, and the forces of the Coalition were in tatters. With the defeat at Sarrebruck, the Coalition agreed to an armistice and peace treaty on 15 August, 1818, ending the War of the Eighth Coalition.