General Adlercreutz ordered the 1st and 2nd Jagare Battalions to charge the enemy with the bayonet. However, as soon as the first battalion entered the gate it was met by a tremendously heavy fire and its commander, Major von Dabeln, was killed and the street was scattered with fallen Swedish jagare. The attack stalled and the jagare in the first lines of the column started to return fire at the houses on the side of the street where the French were located.

There is a very good eye-witness account of this event by Lieutenant Carl-Johan Ljunggren of the Leibregiment's Grenadier-corps in his memoirs from the 1813 and 1814 campaigns. He had been given the command of one of Svea Leibguard's jagare divisions (or "platoon" as he calls it) at the storming since their officer was leading the whole first battalion:

"The head of the column advanced over wounded Prussians, broken wagons, abandoned French cannons and all kind of litter, and we threw ourselves through the openings in the barricades at the main gate, and entered a veritable hell in the street. Here we were met by single fleeing Prussians. Heavy gun smoke darkened the whole place. All house doors were barred, but from all windows, openings, and even the roof tops death was thrown on us like a hailstorm of lead.

"The Frenchmen had taken cover inside the buildings, but were also standing in great masses at the end of the street, which in a short moment was covered with dead and wounded. At this moment two Swedish guns from Gata Artillery Regiment came up at the gallop and unlimbered at the gate, and soon the street was cleared with grape shot. However, since these guns continued to fire too long they became a major cause for our increasing casualties, since we did not dare to pass them as long as they were firing, and we had to stand still at the side of the gate, exposed to the French fire from the houses.

"At this point I had almost lost half of my platoon, the morale started to crumble, and I tried to get them into order with good words and the flat side of my saber. Now General Adlercreutz appeared on his horse, as always sharing the danger with the lower ranks. His presence and good example helped much to renew the order. The artillery was ordered to cease fire, the jagar-horns sounded the charge and the whole column started to advance with a roaring 'Hurrah'. We rushed over a small square, into a broad street which led to the 'Promenade'. Fire still came down on us from all the houses. And suddenly, as I was running in the front of the guard's jagare, I felt a hard blow on the left shoulder, everything became black, and as I sank down on the street cobbles I thought that death had come to take me...."

A bullet had hit Ljunggren in the left shoulder and he had to spend three months in Leipzig to recover, but was back in service at the beginning of the next year. At this point we follow some jagare from Varmlands Faltjagarregiment who came marching behind the guards.

Varmlands Faltjagarregiment

With a detachment from 2nd Brigade's converged Jagare Battalion and half of Varmlands Faltjagar-battalion, Major Lillienstram went over the right side of Johannisplatz while the others marched on the opposite side. In spite of stubborn resistance from the enemy, the troops advanced on both sides of the street and were joined by a group of Prussian soldiers.

When the column reached the Promenade, Major Lillienstram was severely wounded and command was taken over by Captain Palmstierna, who left a part of the force at the middle Grimmisches gate and continued over the Promenade with two platoons. A desperate struggle occurred between the leading units of the Army of the North and the remnants of Charpentier's and Marchand's divisions. Parts of the Hessian brigade of Marchand's Division had been forced up against the inner Grimmisches gate which was barred.

Suddenly a hussar squadron turned up from one of the streets followed by an infantry column and a gun. Judging from their shouts, Captain Palmstierna thought they were defecting Saxons, but when he asked their intentions the reply was musket fire and saber slashes.

Lacking bayonets, the Varmlands Faltjagare had to take cover in some bushes at the side of the Promenade. The enemy cavalry, supported by one gun, then attacked the jagare standing at the middle Grimmisches gate, but was met by a steady fire and was thrown back. However, the Swedes now found themselves disordered and in a very vulnerable position. Fortunately, at this moment Major Petre, ADC of Field Marshal Stedingk (commander of the Swedish Corps), arrived with the two Gata guns, restored order and drove the enemy back towards the inner gate.

At this point the gate gave way from the pressure of all the retreating French troops and the disorganized masses of soldiers streamed into the city. The French guards at the gate managed to closgain, but as more and more Allied troops arrived it was soon flung open again and soldiers from all nations streamed into the inner city.

Enter the Russians

As the Swedish attack occurred, Bernadotte, the Crown Prince of Sweden, sent five Russian battalions through the Hospital Gate. At first they met little resistance, but in the middle of Johannisgasse the Russians were charged by French cavalry and fled in complete disorder back to the gate where they were halted by steady Prussian troops. (These may have been the same cavalry that had attacked the Swedes on the Promenade.) When the rallied Russians later reached the Promenade, the fighting had almost ceased.

Just after the Swedes and Prussians of the Army of the North reached the Promenade outside the inner city, Blucher's Prussians and Benningsen's Russians arrived. By 12:30 p.m., the Allies controlled the eastern suburbs. Confused fighting continued in the inner city until the remaining Frenchmen on the right side of the Elster surrendered around 1 p.m.

Conclusion

The Swedish infantry, which had been spared from all the previous battles by their Crown Prince, were finally allowed to fight in the last few hours of the Leipzig campaign. With the exception of the initial set back when they entered the streets of Leipzig, the Swedish jagare performed well. Some of the jagare units had suffered heavy casualties, but summing up the battle, the casualty figures for the Swedish Corps as a whole was embarrassingly low compared to their allies (see chart on this page).

Sources

Bellander, Erik. Drakt och Uniform: Den svenska armens bekladnad fran 1500-talets barjan fram till vara dagar. Stockholm 1973.
Kindberg, Axel. Anteckningar om Varmlands Faltjagare. Stockholm 1918.
Ljunggren, Carl-Johan. Minnes-anteckningar under 1813 och 1814 ars kampagner uti Tyskland och Norge. Stockholm 1855.
Tingsten, Lars. Sveriges Krig och Yttre Politik Aug 1813- Jan 1814. Stockholm 1924.
Swedish General Staff. Sveriges Krig Aren 1808 och 1809. Stockholm 1890.

More Swedish Jagare:

Swedish Jagare
The Storming of Leipzig
The Storming of Grimmisches Gate (Map)

Related:

Swedish Horse Artillery and the 1813 Campaign
Prelude to Leipzig, Battle of Liebertwolkwitz
Swedish Mornerska Hussars

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