Battles & Campaigns · 1814
Battle of Montmirail
Montmirail, Marne, France
What happened
Napoleon fought Russian troops under Fabian von Osten-Sacken and Prussians under Ludwig Yorck. Allied armies were closing in on Paris. In a series of fast marches called the Six Days' Campaign, Napoleon attacked the allied corps one by one. At Montmirail his troops, including the Imperial Guard, pushed back Sacken's Russians and drove off Yorck's Prussians.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the second of four French victories in six days. Historians praise it as a show of Napoleon's skill even when heavily outnumbered.
What came next
Napoleon won again at Château-Thierry and Vauchamps. But the allies kept coming, Paris surrendered on 31 March, and Napoleon abdicated.
Timeline
- 10 February 1814Battle of Champaubert.
- 11 February 1814Battle of Montmirail.
- 14 February 1814Battle of Vauchamps.
- 31 March 1814Paris surrenders.