Editing Battle of Champaubert (section)

===Action===
[[File:Marmont.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|alt=Painting of a clean-shaven man with dark hair and long sideburns. He wears a dark blue military uniform with gold epaulettes, high collar, elaborate lace, two medals and a velvet red sash.|Auguste de Marmont]]

On 10 February Napoleon moved against Blücher's over-extended army in the hope of smashing it. He caught Olsufiev's IX Corps of 5,000 Russians near the village of [[Baye, Marne|Baye]] just south of Champaubert. The battle was one of the few times during the war that France was able to take the field with a large numerical advantage, in this case six-to-one.{{sfn|Pawly|2012|pp=21–22}} Planning to march south to Sézanne that day, Olsufiev left the Saint-Prix bridge over the Petit Morin intact. He also left the span unguarded, so that Napoleon's cavalry seized it early in the morning.{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=58}} Marmont's two VI Corps divisions led the French column. [[Joseph Lagrange (soldier)|Joseph Lagrange's]] 3rd Division filed across the Saint-Prix bridge followed by [[Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard]]'s 8th Division. Following Napoleon's instructions, 100 [[Dragons de la Garde Impériale|Guard Dragoons]] rode ahead into [[Bannay, Marne|Bannay]] where they surprised and captured a group of Russian soldiers.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=140}}

[[File:Olsufjev 1 Zahar Dmitrievich.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=Painting of a somber, clean-shaven man with dark wavy hair. He wears a very dark green military coat with gold epaulettes and several medals.|Zakhar Olsufiev]]

Olsufiev's pickets were overrun by 10:00 am and although badly outnumbered, the Russian decided to fight rather than retreat.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=969}} His decision was based partly on the mistaken hope that he would get reinforcements from Blücher in time to prevent a disaster.{{sfn|Pawly|2012|pp=21–22}} The correct decision would have been to retreat east to [[Étoges]], but the Russian general had been criticized for the loss of the château during the [[Battle of Brienne]] on 29 January. He was also blamed for mishandling his troops at La Rothière and Sacken wanted him hauled before a [[court-martial]].{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=59}} In the circumstances, Olsufiev chose to battle it out in order to clear his name.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=969}} He did, however, send messengers to the Prussian army commander telling his superior what was occurring.{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=59}} In the event, Blücher brushed aside Olsufiev's couriers, insisting that Napoleon was not on the scene and that the attackers were no more than 2,000 French partisans.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=143}}

Lagrange's division angled to the left toward Bannay, led by the 2nd Light Infantry Regiment and a marine battalion, while Ricard's division marched straight toward Baye. Olsufiev sent Evstafi Evstafievich Udom with two [[jäger (infantry)|jäger infantry]] battalions to clear the French skirmishers out of Baye. As the French pressure increased, Udom was reinforced so that he had the 10th, 12th, 22nd and 38th Jäger Regiments and six guns.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=140}} Around 11:00 am Ricard pressed Udom's troops back into Baye and the nearby woods.{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=59}} Olsufiev sent a brigade and six guns to hold the right flank while the bulk of his corps deployed between Baye and Bannay. The French brought 12 guns into action as more and more of their soldiers passed the bridge and arrived on the field. Pierre Pelleport's brigade led Lagrange's division as it assaulted Bannay. At 1:00 pm Olsufiev was still holding out on his forward position.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=140}} At that hour, the Russian commander held a [[council of war]] in which his generals voted for a retreat to Étoges. Olsufiev refused, saying that he had specific orders to hold Champaubert.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=143}}

[[File:Brémond - General Bordessoule.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|alt=Painting of a large man from head to knees, holding a sword. He wears a dark blue military uniform with lots of gold lace at the breast and cuffs, gold epaulettes, and white breeches.|Étienne de Bordesoulle]]

Seeing that a small wood was the key to the position, Marmont organized a general attack. He sent the 113th Line Infantry forward deployed in skirmish order. Assisted by a horse artillery battery from I Cavalry Corps and a lancer squadron under Cyrille-Simon Picquet, Ricard's division captured Baye. Lagrange attacked between Baye and Bannay.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=140}} Ney's divisions began to arrive and his guns pounded Bannay. Bordesoulle's cavalry on the right and [[Jean-Pierre Doumerc]]'s on the left began edging around the Russian flanks.{{sfn|Petre|1994|p=59}} The 7th Battalion of the 4th Light Infantry were the first French troops to occupy Baye while Pelleport's brigade took Bannay. Olsufiev pulled back and established a new line at the Andecy Farm. As French cavalry began to envelop both flanks, the Russians withdrew again toward Champaubert.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=141}}

[[File:Poltoratsky Konstantin Markovich.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=Painting shows a clean-shaven, square-faced man with blowing hair and long sideburns. He wears a dark green military uniform with gold epaulettes and several medals. An overcoat is thrown over his right shoulder.|Konstantin Poltoratsky]]

Since the terrain favored the French on the west flank, Lagrange launched an attack on that side. Without proper artillery support, the French infantry were stopped and thrown back by the concentrated fire of 24 Russian guns. Numerous French Guard field pieces, slowed by the mud, soon appeared and provided a rallying point for Lagrange's men. After taking a detour, Doumerc's horsemen appeared at [[Fromentières, Marne|Fromentières]] on the highway west of Champaubert. When Olsufiev received reports that the road east to Châlons was also blocked, he resolved to cut his way out in that direction. The Russian commander directed Prince [[Konstantin Poltoratsky]] with the Apsheron and Nacheburg Infantry Regiments and nine guns to hold Champaubert, while he attacked east toward Étoges with the bulk of his troops. Olsufiev's breakout attempt failed.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=141}}

With his artillery posted at the Champaubert crossroads, Poltoratsky's brigade drove off several cavalry charges. In fierce fighting with the bayonet, Ricard's soldiers captured the village, lost it to a counterattack, then clawed their way back into a few houses. After failing to cut his way out to the east, about 3:00 pm Poltoratsky began a fighting withdrawal to the north with his men in square formation. Heading for the village of [[La Caure]], his soldiers kept the French back with regular volleys. About {{convert|2|mi|km|1}} north of Champaubert they began to run out of ammunition and their ranks began to show unsteadiness. The French demanded that Poltoratsky capitulate and when he refused, they brought up a horse artillery battery and began blasting his troops with [[canister shot]]. Instead of being a possible refuge, the nearby woods turned out to be filled with French skirmishers. With his men being mown down by canister and riddled by musketry, Poltoratsky finally agreed to surrender his two regiments and cannons.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=142}}

After failing to force its way to Étoges, Olsufiev's main body veered to the north in an attempt to escape. Near La Caure, while maneuvering to enter a swampy forest, he exposed one of his flanks. Spotting the tactical error, Marmont ordered a brigade of Bordesoulle's [[cuirassiers]] to charge. The heavy cavalrymen crashed into the Russian formation, cutting it in two parts. The Russian foot soldiers were completely routed, some of them throwing away their muskets and packs as they scattered into the woods. Marmont ordered the exits blocked and many Russians were captured. Udom and his fellow division commander Peter Yakovlevich Kornilov managed to get away with 1,500–2,000 men. That night they reached [[Mareuil-le-Port|Port-à-Binson]] on the Marne after going cross-country.{{sfn|Nafziger|2015|p=142}} A 19-year old French conscript with fewer than six months of service made Olsufiev a prisoner.{{sfn|Chandler|1966|p=969}}