Atlas of Battles

battle, major, Revolutionary and Napoleonic

Battle of Lützen

Battle of Lützen was a battle fought on 2 May 1813 at Großgörschen, in what is now Germany. It was part of the War of the Sixth Coalition, which ran from 1813 to 1814. The recorded result: French victory. Recorded strength: 78,000–145,000; 372 guns against 70,000–96,000; 552 guns.

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Preußisches Füsilier-Bataillon des „1. Garderegiment zu Fuß“ in der Schlacht bei Großgörschen am 2.5.1813
Preußisches Füsilier-Bataillon des „1. Garderegiment zu Fuß“ in der Schlacht bei Großgörschen am 2.5.1813. Carl Röchling, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought2 May 1813
WhereGroßgörschen, Germany51.217N, 12.183E
OutcomeFrench victory
BelligerentsFirst French Empire; Napoleonic Italy; Grand Duchy of HesseagainstRussian Empire; Prussia
Casualties and losses19,655–22,000and11,500–30,000
Part ofWar of the Sixth CoalitionGerman campaign of 1813

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 Lützen, 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

Date2 May 1813
PlaceGroßgörschen, Germany
51.217N, 12.183E
KindBattle, Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Strength78,000–145,000; 372 guns70,000–96,000; 552 guns
Casualties and losses19,655–22,00011,500–30,000
Commanders
Battle of LützenBattle of LützenBattle on the ElsterBattle of LützenBombing of Leipzig in World War IIBattle of BreitenfeldBattle of LeipzigBattle on the ElsterBombing of Leipzig in World War IIPragueDresdenHanoverMagdeburgPotsdamGöttingenCottbusGera100 km51.217N, 12.183E
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 Lützen
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Lützen today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-09-10. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 150 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 82 to 191 m, 108 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 85% cropland, 6% tree cover, 6% grassland.

cropland: 85%tree cover: 6%grassland: 6%built-up: 2%cropland 85%tree cover 6%grassland 6%built-up 2%
west to east, 10.0 km120 to 159 mnorth to south, 10.0 km106 to 173 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 1080 and 1813.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1813

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: RUSS & PR ARMIESDefender: FR ARMY
Strength93,000120,000
Casualties18,000 (19.4%)22,000 (18.3%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1046
Outcomedefender won
Duration1 day
Front width8 km8 km
Attacker advanced0 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 135), 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 Lützen 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 Q329534, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Lützen (1813), revision 1370805565, 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.