Battle of Chlumec 1.

Although Napoleon achieved his greatest military successes in Bohemia, these battles are often mentioned only in passing, as if they were insignificant. But isn't that a pity? I have to admit that even my knowledge of the Battle of Chlumec was pretty scant, so thanks for the article topic. Well, now, about the battle itself...

Napoleon decided to march into Russia. But before the border, he abandoned his army, or rather, the wreckage of his army. By the end of March 1813, he had assembled a new army to oppose the Russo-Prussian-Swedish coalition and the German national liberation movement. In May 1813, he scored military successes at Groß-Görschen and Budyšín, where he defeated the Russo-Prussian troops and pushed them into Silesia.

Prince Metternich (Austrian Chancellor of State), acting as diplomatic mediator, proposed that a peace congress be held in Prague. The peace terms caused an "earthquake" on both sides. The Russian and Prussian Tsars were taken aback by their moderation and were completely unacceptable to the French Emperor. Another military clash was therefore inevitable. Not six months had passed before the guns spoke.

In August 1813, Austria publicly sided with Napoleon's opponents. Napoleon was forced to conduct a reconnaissance of the battle on 17-24 August by the French army corps of Marshal Joseph Poniatowski. The reason for this was the impermeable northern border of Bohemia, but Napoleon intended to invade Bohemia and possibly threaten Vienna as well. However, the reconnaissance turned into the seizure of a large part of northern Bohemia as far as Liberec, Mimoň and Česká Lípa.

August 19, 1813- Napoleon is in Bohemia, staying in Jablonné pod Ještědí. Here he verified the news that an army of about 200,000 men, consisting of Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops, was gathering in the Bohemian interior. Prince Charles of Schwarzenberg became its commander and, under great pressure from the Triple Coalition, gave the order to march into Saxony. Joachim Murat (a French marshal) defeated the "Bohemian Army" at Dresden on 26 June. This was another success for Napoleon in Bohemia.

Charles I of Schwarzenberg

(1771-1820), famous military leader. He fought in the Turkish wars and achieved his greatest successes in battles with Napoleon's troops, with whom he fought countless times. He took part in the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Leipzig, where he commanded all the armies of the anti-Napoleonic coalition. He then pursued Napoleon all the way to Paris. For this he was decorated with the highest orders of almost all European states. Charles I was also the initiator of the distinctly pro-German orientation of the Schwarzenbergs of Eagle. He was also a skilled diplomat and managed to keep the very different views of the Russian Tsar Alexander I and the Prussian Frederick William III in agreement for a long time. He was not a fanatical warlord, he was aware that"war is an abominable thing" and he took care that blood was not shed unnecessarily.

The defeated army was pursued by General Vandamme (commander of the First French Army Corps), who had about 30,000 men. His mission was to penetrate through the Naclerov Pass into Bohemia and capture Teplice. This was to cut the main communication between Dresden and Prague. However, he failed to do this as well as his next task, to crush the II Russian Army Corps led by Infantry General Count Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolsty.

Naklerov Pass

The Nakléřovský Pass (679 m) separates the Děčín Highlands and the Ore Mountains. In the past, it was the only trade and war route in and out of the country, so it was a major strategic point in war clashes. In the Middle Ages, the pass was narrow and steep. This was a great complication for the formans, who had to over-harness at the foot of the Ore Mountains and wait for oncoming wagons to avoid them. And this meant a considerable loss of time. The pass came to be called "Waiting Valley- Tschekenthal" or also "Holzgrund- Wooden Valley". This name came about because the Wartenbergs used to float timber from the top of the mountains along the stream (the origin of the Jilov-Klis stream) until the 1930s. After the road was built, the rafting stopped. The former smugglers' inn, which is now a recreational facility, still stands in the pass.

You can search for artifacts in this area with our metal detectors

The Wartenbergs were members of the Marquardt family, which also included the Lords of Lemberg, Wallenstein, Michalovice, Zvířetice and the Velešíns from South Bohemia. Markvart I is securely documented in 1159 as a royal chamberlain. Markvart's descendants belonged to the leading great men in the country from the very beginning of their historical existence. The younger brother of Havel of Lemberg (wife of Bl. Zdislava) was Markvart III, called Markvart of Ostrý. He or his son Benes had a castle built on his estates, named Wartenberg according to the German custom of the time, and gave this name to the entire branch of the Markvarts.

The night of August 28-29, 1813-fighting broke out in Petrovice and on August 29 the thunder of battle was heard at Náklerov and Přední telnice. If the Russian troops were forced to retreat through Chlumec and Přestanov to Teplice, it would mean another unjustified risk of endangering the main forces of the "Czech Army". Infantry General Ostermann Tolstoy was determined to fight to the last man. He ordered a defence across the New Teplice Road, roughly on the Unčín-Přestanov-Chabařovice line, with an advanced position at Stradov. He was concerned, however, that the left flank would break away from his main support - the massif of the Ore Mountains, he entrusted this section to the Guard Division 1. Lieutenant General Alexei Petrovich Yermolov's Guards Division, while the central section of the defence was the responsibility of Lieutenant General Prince Eugen Würtembersky, brother-in-law of the former Tsar Paul I.