ORDER OF BATTLE // March 20, 1814
Battle of Limonest
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 80,269 estimated
Austrian Empire
56,000
Medium-confidence figure
First French Empire
24,269
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Limonest resulted in a Coalition victory that forced the French army under Marshal Augereau to evacuate Lyon, one of France's most significant regional centers. Fought in March 1814 as part of the Campaign in north-east France, the engagement reflected the broader pattern of Coalition forces pressing into French territory during the final phase of the War of the Sixth Coalition. With Coalition forces numbering more than double the French strength, the defeat deprived France of a key position in the south, compounding the strategic pressure already mounting on Napoleon's shrinking defensive perimeter. Austrian and Hessian casualties, while substantial at nearly 2,875, were absorbed by a force large enough to sustain the offensive tempo, whereas Augereau's smaller army could ill afford attrition at this stage of the war.
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