The Battle of Chateau-Thierry, fought on 12 February and the subject of our last installment, was less a stand up fight than an extended pursuit and rear guard action. Napoleon's quarry there had been the seperated wing of Blucher's Army of Silesia that consisted of Sacken's and Yorck's commands. After the Battle of Montmirail (see EE&L #10), Napoleon's hope was to trap this Allied force against the Marne and destroy it with Marshal Mortier's and Ney's Imperial Guard.
The Emperor's plan depended upon the independently-operating Marshal Macdonald to seize the bridge at Chateau-Thierry, thereby putting the cork in the bottle. The Allies, meanwhile, waged a desperate delaying action while they raced to escape through Chateau-Thierry. While the Allies took a severe beating in the process, losing nearly 9,000 men, Macdonald's failure to comply with the Emperor's plan allowed Sacken and Yorck to escape total annhilation.
Meanwhile, Blucher and the other half of the Army of Silesia, consisting of the corps of Kaptzevitch and Kleist along with the remnants of Olssufiev's shattered corps (see Champaubert in EE&L #8), reversed their retreat, moving against Marshal Marmont's under manned command, upon receiving news that Schwarzenberg's massive Army of Bohemia had at last stumbled to the approaches of Paris. Blucher surmised that Napoleon would turn to save his capital. He guessed wrong.
The Battle of Vauchamps: The French Account
The Battle of Vauchamps: The Prussian Account
The Battle of Vauchamps: Order of Battle
