With the unification of Germany a multitude of Napoleonic battlefields became accessible for the first time in over four decades. I am sure that many fellow enthusiasts have made the pilgrimage to Jena/Auerstadt, Lutzen, Bautzen, Grossbeeren, and other 'holy' sites by now. Being posted in Berlin with the US forces at the time I anxiously awaited the lifting of travel restrictions into the former German Democratic Republic. Upon unification of the two Germanys in October 1990, armed with a rucksack full of references and excellent US Army topographic maps, I began visit-ing the battlefields I had read about for years. Arriving at Auerstadt (Hassenhausen) early in the morning on October 14th, the 184th anniversary of the battle, I expected to find hordes of Napoleonic buffs crawling all over the fields and villages. Much to my surprise I was alone. After spending several hours retracing the Prussian attack against Davout's III Corps, I only came across one other 'tourist', a West German gentleman with a metal detector who had recovered several musket balls. Returning several times over the next two and a half years, I was always amazed not to find other Davout fans walking the battlefield. While planning future trips to other battlefields I delved into my meagre library of Napoleonic references to find historical sites within a reasonable driving distance of Berlin. I came across two somewhat obscure locations which I would like to share with your readers. Carl von Clauswitz, a name which is well known to all students of military thought and history, gained a great deal of his insight into military theory by being a participant in several of the Napoleonic wars' major engagements: Auerstadt, Borodino, Bautzen, Ligny, and the unsung holding action at Wavre by Thielmann's corps. At Auerstadt Clauswitz was aide-de-camp to Prince August of Prussia, who commanded a grenadier battalion. Following the Prussian Army's defeat at Jena/Auerstadt, the battalion retreated north through Berlin and attempted to join other units which were rallying at Prenzlau. Cut off by the French pursuit, the battal-ion was finally surrounded and surrendered to elements of General Beaumont's Dragoon Division. Clauswitz was captured along with the prince and spent the next several months in France as a prisoner of war. In Roger Parkinson's biography of Clauswitz there is a sketch map depicting the final action of Prince August's grenadier battalion near Prenzlau. Comparing it to my topo map and an ADAC (German Automobile Club) map of the area, I saw that there had been very little change in the past 184 years. The engagement had taken place in the flood plain of the River Ucker just west of Pren-zlau. Accompanied by a very understanding wife, I made the two hour drive north to Prenzlau, crossed the river, and passed a very enjoyable afternoon slogging around in the muddy fields with maps in hand. Two of the large drainage ditches mentioned in the biography still exist in the same relative locations. I am very confident that I was able to identify the location of Clauswitz's capture, at least within a hundred yards. Because it is a drain-age area and floods regularly, no monuments to the event are present, nor could I find any in the surrounding villages. It was a Prussian defeat, so I was not surprised. Two hours south of Berlin is the urban sprawl called Leipzig. Unfortunately, many of the sites from the 'Battle of The Nations' are covered by apartment blocks, factories, and other modern eyesores. However, there is one which the Napoleonic wanderer may find interesting. The lone British Army unit present at the battle, 2nd Rocket Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, was attached to Bernadotte's Swedish force. The troop's commanding officer, Captain Richard Boguc, was killed during an attack north of the city, and buried in a local cemetery in the village of Taucha. In 1813, Taucha was about four miles from Leipzig. The events surrounding his death are described in Anthony Brett-James' book Europe Against Napoleon. He also mentioned that near the end of the last century the Bogue family and the Royal Regiment of Artillery restored the stone monument over Captain Bogue's grave. I was determined to find this site. Today Taucha is a close suburb of Leipzig, but it still retains some small village charm. On my 1:50,000 scale map I was able to identify the location of the village church. From my years in Europe I knew that there was usually a cemetery adjacent to every church. Also, in most villages and towns of any size in 'West' Germany, there is, normally a street sign directing you to the 'Friedhof' (cemetery), or a street named 'Friedhofweg' (cemetery way). However, this was not the case in 'East' Germany. There was a significant absence of street signs.(There are a couple of theories for this, but that is another story.) Taucha was no exception, no signs and no cemetery next to the church. After driving around the narrow streets and alleys for several minutes, we found what we were looking for. The cemetery was surrounded by a high stone wall with an iron gate at the street entrance. The old ladies entering with fresh flowers in their hands were a dead give-away. In the back, northeast corner of the cemetery we found two monu-ments. The first, which we could see from the entrance, was a large gazebo-like structure with four columns in classical Greco-Roman style. It was protecting an obelisk topped with a large flaming cannonball, similar to the Grenadier Guards' cap badge. There were smaller versions of this decoration at the four corners of a brass ornamental fence on the top of the gazebo. The monument was the grave site of Graf Gotthard Johann Manteuffel, a Russian general and commander of the Saint Petersburg Dragoon Regiments. If my translation of the inscription (enclosed) is correct, he was wounded on October 16th, 1813, and died two days later. Next to Manteuffel's grave was Captain Richard Bogue's final resting place. Not as elaborate as the Russian's, it is a stone (marble?) cube approximately one meter on each side, pro-tected by a wrought iron fence. Recessed into the face of the marker is a slab of darker stone with the following inscription in English and German: SACRED TO RICHARD BOGUE NATIVE OF HAMPSHIRE IN ENGLAND AND CAPTAIN IN HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S REGIMENT OF ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY WHO FELL IN THE 31ST. YEAR OF HIS AGE GLORIOUSLY FIGHTING FOR THE COMBINED CAUSE OF GERMANY AND HER ALLIES AT THE BATTLE OF LEIPZIG ON THE 18Th OF OCTOBER 1813, WHILE COMMANDING THE CONGREVE ROCKET BRIGADE, HAVING HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES AT THE VILLAGE OF PAUNSDORF BORNE A MOST CONSPICUOUS PART IN THE VICTORY OF THAT MEMORABLE DAY. If one is going to holiday in Germany, Austria, or northern Switzerland I highly recommend taking a copy of John Gill's With Eagles To Glory with you. It is a wonderful account of Napoleon's German allies during the 1809 campaign and is filled with dozens of small unit actions. The book's excellent maps make it very easy for the enthusiast to retrace the events of numerous engagements, large or small. For the traveller who has the time there are hundreds of sites like these scattered across Europe. Many of them have not changed much over the years. Most people only visit the major battlefields such as Waterloo, Austerlitz, or Wagram, but I enjoyed finding the out-of-the-way spots. So, get off the Autobalm, avoid the coach tours, and find your own special piece of Napoleonic history. This is the inscription on General Manteuffel's monument: Hier ruhen in Gott die Gebeine des we˙land verstorbenen Grafen Gotthard Johann Manteuffel Russisch Ka˙sserlichen General, Chef des St. PetersbourgschenDragoner Regiments, Ritter verschiedener Orden. Gebohren in Liefland den 10ten Jun˙ 1771. tödtlich verwundet in der Schlacht be˙ Leipzig den 16ten October 1813. und den 18ten October U. St. an seine Wunden, Seine Vaterlandes und seines Monarchen geendet. Ihm setzet dieses Denkmal seinezartälich geliebte um Ihn trauernde Gattin Catharina Grafin Manteuffel gebr. Zalesky. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #17 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by First Empire. 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