Battle of Dresden, 1813
|
Gunpowder Era
|
3 comments
| Karl Philipp Furst zu Schwarzenberg versus Napoleon Bonaparte: An Allies army under Schwarzenberg fears Bonaparte more than they fear the army he leads. Can one man really overcome such overwhelming numbers? Click on the images below to view.
 Unfortunately, the success at Dresden was almost immediately negated by the disaster at Kulm. Bonaparte once said that “A man has his day in war as in other things; I myself shall be good for it another six years, after which even I shall have to stop”. He stated this in 1805, which means the triumph at Dresden came two years after he claimed he would have to stop. Whether Bonaparte was better or worse as a commander as time went on and when his true prime was is still hotly debated.
It is impossible to evaluate Bonaparte’s performance in this battle because it was not won by his tactical ability. Granted, his maneuvers in this battle were solid; he strengthened the wings and pounced on the weaker Allied wings while depending on his entrenched but outnumbered center to survive. The Allied left was crushed while the right held on to a single town which Bonaparte had not determined how he would capture yet. However, his mere presence is responsible for inspiring the French soldiers and intimidating the Allies into an unexpected withdrawal despite numerical superiority and contested strong points. Assuming Bonaparte was correct and that he was well past his prime by Dresden, his maneuvers of previous campaigns and wars proved more than a substitute in this particular battle.
As I have already made clear, Bonaparte’s battles and campaigns are a treat to animate. Another reason I am always eager to animate his engagements is the wealth of accurate, specific information found in West Point’s Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars. Before I began animating this battle, I received feedback pointing out that I could better detail the landscape of the animations. Looking back at some previous animations, I noticed the landscapes of some animations are quite dull while others are quite elaborate. I decided that I would put a better effort into this aspect to make the animations more visually appealing. I hope Dresden was a good first step towards this improvement.
- Jonathan Webb
Tell a Friend:
            Tags: 1800s, allied, Allies, austria, Austrians, cavalry, envelopment of a single flank, envelopment of both flanks, france, french, Gunpowder Era, infantry, Karl Philipp Furst zu Schwarzenberg, land, Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Leipzig Campaign, modern day Germany, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleonic Wars, penetration of the center, prussia, Prussians, russia, Russians, Season 3, war of the sixth coalition, Western Europe
 |
SPONSORED SITES
|
|
|
||
Supported Sites |
Supported Readings |
Weider History Group |
Weider History Network: HistoryNet | Armchair General | Once A Marine | Achtung Panzer! Terms of Use | Copyright © 2009 Weider History Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. |
||
Loading ...
3 Comments to “Battle of Dresden, 1813”
I followed this link from the Wikipedia page for the Battle of Dresden. I share a tidbit of French history every day in my French classes with my high schoolers and am ecstatic to share this animation tomorrow, on the anniversary of the Battle of Dresden! I’ve forwarded the link to all my fellow teachers. Thanks for your hard work!
By Melinda on Aug 26, 2009 at 9:28 pm
It is always good to hear that my work is being used in such an educational way. I hope it is effective with your class and others.
By Jonathan Webb on Aug 27, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I think Dresden proved that Napoleon, with the use of cavalry, (much depleted in numbers due to the debacle of the Russian campaign of 1812) could still out fight his enemies.
I think Dumbrowki’s Poles fought valiantly too. The battle was Napoleon’s final victory too…but negated by the defeat at Kulm..The Emperor had by this stage ‘lost his midas touch’ but was also commanding and Army which lacked the training and tactical nous which had been so well learned at the military cadres at Camp Boulogne some 12/13 years earlier. The officer corps, cavalry and artillery were no longer of the standard to which Napoleon had commanded in earlier campaigns.
I would also suggest that some of Napoleon’s subordinates showed far less initiative in this campaign and consequently lost the war, whereas Napoleon proved still to have his genius intact.
Best regards.
Khorrum Gilani
By Khorrumg on Apr 5, 2010 at 7:52 pm