Wednesday 16 October 2013

200 years from Leipzig

These days we commemorate the bicentennial of the Battle of Leipzig (16-19 October, 1813), which ended the 1813 campaign in Germany and sealed the fate of the Napoleonic Empire.
The battle involved over 600,000 soldiers causing a number of losses ranging from 80,000 to 110,000 total killed, wounded or missing and was the largest military confrontation in Europe prior to World War I. Fought at the culmination of the Age of the black powder and the musket, we can think that the probability of finding such a large number of soldiers, engaged in a pitched battle in such a small space, is very small.
It's so huge the number of references , either written or available online , this battle only limit myself to recommend the appropriate links to Wikipedia.


One more word: although this blog is about wargaming with miniatures, the author recognizes himself as a consummate pacifist.
May the human ambition or stupidity never return to produce a war like this!



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3 comments:

  1. 200 years - that does seem a long time ago but the after effects still linger today. I hope to see your excellent blog continue for a long time as well !

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  2. A testament to one man's vanity and stubbornness that so many men gathered, fought and died in one place!

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  3. I am working on a similar, larger Russio-Turkish war, a 'What if" for 1813... More later, but I am planning a MONSTER game:
    1000 cavalry figures and perhaps as many as 2000 foot in 15mm

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