Laon, Battle of

In the Napoleonic Wars, French defeat by a joint British-Prussian army 9-10 March 1814.

Napoleon Bonaparte had taken up a position at Laon, a major fortress northeast of Paris, with about 45,000 troops; he was attacked by an Allied army of 85,000 under the Prussian Marshal Gebhard von Blücher. Napoleon's southern wing was driven in, but a counterattack by his Guards restored their line, and after moving troops from his other flank he was able to mount another attack and take the village of Arden before nightfall. The following morning Blücher directed his attack against the weakened northern wing, drove them in and forced them to retreat toward Reims. Napoleon ordered his southern force to advance against the Allies, a move which should have exposed him to certain destruction, but he was saved by Blücher calling off his pursuit of the northern element, missing the chance to take Napoleon in the flank. Holding off the Allies with limited counterattacks, Napoleon was able to retire in good order toward Soissons as night fell, having lost about 6,000 troops.