Napoleon 27 Leipzig

Napoleon expects war in 1813 . . . Battle of Dresden August 26, 1813 . . . Napoleon wins, but his marshals, fighting elsewhere, lose. They are outnumbered and lack the Napoleon genius and charisma . . . Within a week, all the advantages from N's victory at Dresden are gone due to defeats elsewhere . . . Battle of Leipzig in October . . . After one day, N. had the opportunity to slip away but did not take it . .  . N's army undersupplied, short even of food . . . Retreat is disastrous . . . a bridge is blown up before the full army can cross it, leaving 20,000 men to be captured . . . Returns to Paris on November 9 . . . France poor from all the wars . . . All of Europe opposed to it now . . . "With fewer than 80,000 men under arms, N now faced 300,000 Russians, Prussians, and Austrians on the Rhine, and 100,000 Spanish, British, and Portuguese coming over the Pyrenees."

France about to be invaded; Napoleon prepares to fight.