25 Aug 2015
A Great Cover for a War Game
Battle of Leipzig, Napoleonic Wars, Prince Jozef Poniatowski, Richard Canton Woodville Jr
Richard Canton Woodville Jr., Poniatowski’s Last Charge at Leipzig, 1912, Collection Henry Graves & Co.
As a reward for his past military services, on October 16, during the Battle of Leipzig, Jozef Poniatowski was made a Marshal of France and entrusted with the duty of covering the French Army’s retreat. He defended Leipzig, losing half his corps in the attempt, finally falling back slowly upon a bridge over the Weisse Elster River, near Leipzig. In the general confusion, the French blew up the bridge before he could reach it. Poniatowski tried to escape by swimming but, covered with wounds, drowned in the river, 18 October 1813.