By the end of the Saxon Campaign in August 1813, Napoleon was in control of key areas along the Elbe River, which included Magdeburg, Wittenberg, Orgau, Dresden and Leipzig. The bulk of his force, which included over 220,000 troops, were situated along the Saxon-Bohemian land up to Dresden, extending east to Zittau in the Isser Mountains. This concentration of troops equated to his essentially controlling the Elbe, and its main cities of Dresden and Leipzig. Perhaps his most faithful marshal, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier made clear to Napoleon that there were four major Allied armies closing in on them. Of particular concern to Berthier was the sheer size of the Allied armies as well as the ominous formation, which threatened to cut into Napoleon's forces.
There were the Austrians, whom had changed sides and were amassing the Army of Bohemia consisting of 230,000 troops along the Southern Elbe under the command of Prince von Schwarzenberg. To Napoleon's East, the Army of Poland under the command of Bennigsen and consisting of 60,000 troops were moving towards him in a westerly direction. To his south beyond Breslau, he had the Prussian Army of Silesia consisting of 95,000 troops commanded by Blücher. To the north, in Berlin, was an army of 40,000 Swedes commanded by Napoleon's brother-in-law Bernadotte joining the Prussians. In all, Napoleon was facing a combined effort of 511,000 Russian, Prussian, Austrian and Swedish enemy troops commanding 1,380 pieces of field artillery with 350,000 in reserves.
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