Battle of Kulm: Vandamme's corps destroyed by the Coalition
- When
- 1813
- Where
- Kulm
- Episodes
- 2
The Battle of Kulm occurred on 29–30 August 1813 near Chlumec in northern Bohemia. French General Vandamme attacked Russian forces, initially succeeding, but was subsequently defeated and captured when Prussian and Austrian reinforcements arrived. This engagement was part of the broader German campaign against Napoleon.
Episodes
- Attack on Russian Rearguard
Vandamme's corps attacked Ostermann-Tolstoy's Russian rearguard near Kulm on 29 August 1813.
- Prussian Flank Attack
Prussian corps under Kleist attacked Vandamme's rearguard while Russian and Austrian forces struck the French front and left.
Background and detail
Background. Following the French victory at Dresden, General Vandamme pursued retreating Coalition forces. He caught up with Russian rearguard units near Kulm, northwest of Aussig. The battle took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition, where allied powers including Russia, Prussia, and Austria fought against Napoleon's armies in Germany.
Initial Engagement. On 29 August, Vandamme commanded 34,000 soldiers and 84 guns. He attacked Russian formations forming a rearguard for the retreating Coalition army. These Russian forces, numbering 14,700 to 16,000, were under the command of General Ostermann-Tolstoy. The engagement began near the town of Kulm and the village of Priesten.
Coalition Reinforcement. The next day, Prussian forces under Friedrich von Kleist attacked Vandamme's rear. Simultaneously, Russian and Austrian reinforcements attacked the French front and left. This multi-directional pressure overwhelmed the French corps, leading to their defeat and the capture of Vandamme by allied forces.
People involved
- Dominique Vandamme · French General
- Alexander Ostermann-Tolstoy · Russian General
- Friedrich von Kleist · Prussian General
Sources
- Battle of Kulm Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-20
- German campaign of 1813 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-31
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.