Leipzig, Battle

Leipzig, Battle of

 or Battle of the Nations

(Oct. 16–19, 1813) Decisive defeat for Napoleon at Leipzig, resulting in the destruction of what was left of French power in Germany and Poland. Surrounded in the city, Napoleon's army was able only to thwart the allied attacks. As it began to retreat over the single bridge westward from the city, a frightened corporal blew up the bridge, leaving 30,000 French troops trapped in Leipzig to be taken prisoner. The battle was one of the most severe of the Napoleonic Wars; the French lost 38,000 men killed and wounded, and the allies lost 55,000.