Editing Battle of Montereau (section)

===French counteroffensive===
[[File:EB1911-19-0232-a-Napolonic Campaigns, Campaign of 1814.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|alt=Black and yellow map of the Campaign of 1814 in 1:2,000,000 scale|Campaign of 1814 map shows Montereau on the Seine at the lower left.]]

Following his successes in the [[Six Days' Campaign]] on 10–14 February 1814, Emperor [[Napoleon]] headed southward towards the Seine to stop Schwarzenberg's threat to Paris. Forces under Marshals [[Édouard Mortier]] and [[Auguste Marmont]] were left behind to keep [[Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher]]'s Army of Silesia under observation. Giving up his plans to finish off Blücher, Napoleon left [[Montmirail, Marne|Montmirail]] on 15 February with the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] and [[Emmanuel Grouchy]]'s cavalry. In an epic march, with some infantry traveling in carts and wagons, Napoleon's leading forces reached [[Guignes]] at 3:00&nbsp;pm on the 16th after moving {{convert|47|mi|km|0}} in 36 hours.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|pp=977–978}} Another authority stated that some troops marched {{convert|60|mi|km|0}} in 36 hours.{{sfn|Eggenberger|1985|p=284}}

Hearing of Blücher's defeat and the approach of Napoleon, the cautious Schwarzenberg scrambled to put the Seine between his army and the French emperor. On 17 February, he ordered Wittgenstein to retreat to [[Provins]] while [[Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly]] massed the Russian and Prussian Guards near Nogent. He instructed Wrede to fall back to [[Donnemarie-Dontilly|Donnemarie]] while leaving an advanced guard at [[Nangis]]. Württemberg and Bianchi were posted near Montereau while Gyulai held [[Pont-sur-Yonne]] and the Austrian Reserve was at Sens. If the Army of Bohemia needed to retreat farther, it was important to hold the position at Montereau. [[Matvei Platov]] was to the west at [[Nemours]]{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=81}} where his 2,100 Cossacks captured 600 men of an Imperial Guard depot battalion on the 16th.{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=497–498}}

Early on 17 February, Napoleon's leading elements under [[Etienne Maurice Gérard]] enveloped a Russian force led by [[Pyotr Petrovich Palen|Peter Petrovich Pahlen]].{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=82}} In the [[Battle of Mormant]], Pahlen's 2,500 infantry and 1,250 cavalry were overwhelmed by the French, suffering 3,114 killed, wounded or captured. A nearby Austrian force led by Anton von Hardegg remained largely inert while its allies were being cut to pieces. Finally, Hardegg allowed 550 troopers from the Schwarzenberg Uhlan Regiment Nr. 2 to assist the Russians. The Reval and Selenginsk Infantry Regiments suffered such heavy losses that they were withdrawn from the campaign.{{sfn|Smith|1998|p=498}} Next, the French struck Wrede's advance guard at Nangis and threw it back to [[Villeneuve-le-Comte]].{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=82}}

At Nangis Napoleon split his army into three columns. The right column including Victor's [[II Corps (Grande Armée)|II Corps]], Gerard's Reserve of Paris and cavalry under [[Samuel-François Lhéritier]] and [[Étienne Tardif de Pommeroux de Bordesoulle]] took the road south toward Montereau. The center column consisted of MacDonald's [[XI Corps (Grande Armée)|XI Corps]], two cavalry divisions and the Imperial Guard.{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=82}} This force headed for Bray.{{sfn|Alison|1842|p=81}} The left column, made up of Oudinot's [[VII Corps (Grande Armée)|VII Corps]] and [[François Étienne de Kellermann]]'s cavalry, pursued Wittgenstein east toward Provins. [[Pierre Claude Pajol]]'s cavalry and [[Michel-Marie Pacthod]]'s National Guards set out from [[Melun]] and advanced southeast toward Montereau. The divisions of Allix and [[Henri François Marie Charpentier]] moved south from Melun to [[Fontainebleau]].{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=82}} MacDonald and Oudinot pressed Hardegg's rear guard back, capturing some wagons.  Victor came across one of Wrede's divisions drawn up on the heights of Valjouan near Villeneuve. Victor sent Gérard to attack the Bavarians in front while Bordesoulle circled to take them from behind. Soon the Bavarians were retreating in disorder and Lhéritier missed a chance to deliver the ''coup de grace'' with his cavalry.{{sfn|Alison|1842|p=81}} Nevertheless, Wrede's corps sustained 2,500 casualties during the day. Victor's soldiers were exhausted, so he called a halt.{{sfn|Alison|1842|p=82}} Napoleon was furious that Victor disobeyed his orders to press on to Montereau during the night and asked his chief of staff [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier]] to write him a harsh reprimand.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=979}}