Pomeranian-Kashubian Yorck defeats Macdonald's cavalry - 1814

 Salvete Omnes,

several days ago there was 211th anniversary of the battle at La Chausse - Feb, 3rd 1814.
This battle took place during the 1814 defense of France conducted by Napoleon's Grande Armee corps and divisions commanded by his marshals.

In this instance Marshal Macdonald's forces, the XI Corps and II Cavalry Corps, were defending the Rhine River  line from Coblenz on the Rhine.  The French were facing huge numbers of Prussian - Army of Silesia-  and Austrian armies - Army of Bohemia - augmented by the Russian regiments and squadrons. 

General Yorck, a scion of the Pomeranian Kashubian lower nobility family of Jarka-Gostowski, commanded the Prussian 1st Corps f the Silesian Army.

Yorck as a fieldmarshal of Prussian army

the conditions for war during that winter were difficult, especially for the cavalry, with plenty of snow and cold, wind and poor & foggy visibility. 

French cavalry units at the village of la Chaussee were commanded by Dommanget (hussars, chasseur a cheval and lanciers cavalry)  and Marin Thiry  (2 cuirassier regiments), and their potions were constrained by the terrain. Also the French cavalry had poor morale and low spirit, 

while the Prussian horse, including militia horse regiment, was full of military vigor, animus and ardor. They were also disciplined and well trained as horsemen and as miltiary units. 

immobile French heavy cavalry receiving  the charging Prussians 

After the battle Yorck wrote to marshal Schwarzenberg  that the French sufffered loss of: seven guns, six caissons, one standard, several hundred men prisoners. Prussian suffered 150 causalities.  According to researchers at least 100 French were killed. 

I came across this website - where the author, Andrew Field,  goes into the details concerning this cavalry battle, with a splendid use of primary sources and military studies. 

This is the orde de bataille (Order of Battle) acording to Andrew Field's research. 

It was a minor victory of the Prussian cavalry over the French one.
All ink and watercolor plates by Richard Knotel. 

Valete