Atlas of Battles

battle, major, Revolutionary and Napoleonic

Battle of Bautzen

Battle of Bautzen was a battle fought on 20 May 1813 at Bautzen, in what is now Germany; it lasted 1 day. It was part of the War of the Sixth Coalition, which ran from 1813 to 1814. The recorded result: French victory. Recorded strength: 100,000–200,000 against 96,000–97,000.

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Battle of Bautzen (1813). Napoleon on white horse surrounded by his officers, receives a messenger.
Battle of Bautzen (1813). Napoleon on white horse surrounded by his officers, receives a messenger.. After Hippolyte Bellangé, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought20 May 1813lasted 1 day
WhereBautzen, Germany51.183N, 14.417E
OutcomeFrench victory
BelligerentsFirst French EmpireagainstRussian Empire; Prussia
Casualties and losses20,000–25,000and11,000–20,000
Part ofWar of the Sixth Coalition1813 to 1814

Where it sits in the War of the Sixth Coalition

German campaign of 1813, 1813Siege of Danzig, 1813Battle of Arnhem, 1813Siege of Erfurt, 1813Battle of Berlin (1813), 1813Battle of Möckern, 1813Battle of Lützen, 1813Battle of Halle, 1813Battle of Bautzen, 1813Battle of Reichenbach, 1813Battle of Haynau, 1813Battle of Halberstadt, 1813Battle of Luckau, 1813Italian campaign, 1813Battle of Großbeeren, 1813Battle of Dresden, 1813Battle of Katzbach, 1813Battle of Kulm, 1813Battle of Dennewitz, 1813Battle of Feistritz, 1813Siege of Magdeburg, 1813Battle of the Göhrde, 1813Göhrdeschlacht, 1813Battle of Altenburg, 1813Raid at Altenburg, 1813Battle of Wartenburg, 1813Battle of Leipzig, 1813Battle of Hanau, 1813Siege of Venice, 1813Siege of Deventer, 1813Siege of Delfzijl, 1813Battle of Caldiero, 1813Siege of Mainz, 1813Battle of Boden, 1813Battle of Bornhöved, 1813Battle of Sehested, 1813Siege of Breda, 1813Battle of Mâcon, 1814Siege of Juliers, 1814Siege of Metz, 1814Battle of Hoogstraten, 1814Battle of Épinal, 1814First Battle of Bar-sur-Aube, 1814Battle of Saint-Dizier (January 1814), 1814Battle of Brienne, 1814Battle of La Rothière, 1814Battle of Lesmont, 1814Battle of the Mincio River, 1814Battle of Champaubert, 1814Battle of Montmirail, 1814Battle of Château-Thierry, 1814Battle of Vauchamps, 1814Battle of Mormans, 1814Battle of Montereau, 1814Battle of Bar-sur-Aube, 1814Battle of Gué-à-Tresmes, 18141814 campaign in France, 1814Battle of Saint-Julien, 1814Siege of Soissons, 1814Battle of Craonne, 1814Battle of Laon, 1814Battle of Reims, 1814Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube, 1814Battle of Limonest, 1814Battle of Fère-Champenoise, 1814Capture of La Spezia, 1814Battle of Lerici, 1814Battle of Saint-Dizier, 1814Siege of the Santa Maria Fortress, 1814Battle of Paris, 1814Battle of Courtrai, 1814Siege of Genoa, 1814Battle of Taro, 181418131814Battle of Bautzen, 1813
73 placed engagements of the War of the Sixth Coalition in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date20 May 1813
to 21 May 1813
PlaceBautzen, Germany
51.183N, 14.417E
KindBattle, Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Strength100,000–200,00096,000–97,000
Casualties and losses20,000–25,00011,000–20,000
Commanders
Battle of BautzenBattle of BautzenSiege of BautzenSiege of BautzenBattle of HochkirchBattle of HorkąBattle of StudencemSiege of BautzenBattle of HorkąBattle of StudencemPragueLeipzigZielona GóraPardubiceCottbusGeraHofChemnitz100 km51.183N, 14.417E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Bautzen
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Bautzen today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-12. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 211 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 151 to 398 m, 247 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 35% cropland, 25% built-up, 22% tree cover.

cropland: 35%built-up: 25%tree cover: 22%grassland: 14%water: 3%cropland 35%built-up 25%tree cover 22%grassland 14%water 3%
west to east, 10.0 km171 to 248 mnorth to south, 10.0 km179 to 262 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1029 and 1813.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1813

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: FR ARMYDefender: PR & RUSS ARMIES
Strength199,00097,000
Casualties25,000 (12.6%)20,000 (20.6%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1064
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1.6 days
Front width9.6 km11.2 km
Attacker advanced10 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 136), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Bautzen is one of 3,694 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 668 in present-day Germany.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q170265, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Bautzen (1813), revision 1379028785, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.