The Battle of the Nations

James Jenkins
The martial achievements of Great Britain and her allies: from 1799 to 1815
London: printed for J. Jenkins, by L. Harrison and J. C. Leigh, [1814–15]
Harley-Mason.a.23, [plate 7]

Napoleon’s defeat at the hands of an encircling force of Russian, Austrian, Prussian and other armies of the Sixth Coalition at the Battle of Leipzig marked the end of his power in Eastern and central Europe. In a gigantic series of engagements spread over four days in October 1813, also known as ‘the Battle of the Nations’, somewhere between 80,000 and 110,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing. This scene, after a drawing by William Heath, shows the fighting in the city of Leipzig on 19 October, the final day of the battle. Napoleon escaped, but the following year his enemies would carry the war into France itself.

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