Champaubert

10 February, 1814

The battle of Champaubert was one of the few times in years that France was able to take to the field with a considerable numerical advantage.

Napoleon Bonaparte had moved against a strung-out Prussian army in the hope of whittling it down by a series of battles and on 10 February he caught General Olussiev's 5000 Russians just south of Champaubert.

With a six-to-one advantage in troops, Bonaparte crushed Olussiev, who had decided to fight rather than retreat in the mistaken hope that he would get reinforcements from Field Marshal Blucher.

After five hours of fighting the Russians were surrounded by French cavalry and suffered 4000 killed, wounded and captured.

One of the prisoners was Olussiev. The French lost about 200 men.