76. NAPOLEON I. Autograph letter signed "Np" to... Lot 76

76. NAPOLEON I. Autograph letter signed "Np" to the Empress Marie-Louise. Maizières-lès-Brienne, "30 January" [1814]. One p. in-8 square, framed under glass. "My friend, yesterday I defeated the Russian and Prussian army. I took Brienne from him and made him retreat 3 steps - he was marching on Paris. My health is good, but very tired..." THE VICTORY OF BRIENNE (January 29, 1814). At the beginning of the French campaign, the allied forces were advancing separately, and Napoleon I, with fewer troops at his disposal, thought as usual that he would be able to defeat the enemy armies successively before they could join forces. After entrusting the regency to Marie-Louise on 23 January and appointing his brother Joseph Bonaparte lieutenant general of the Empire, he joined his marshals at Châlons-sur-Marne on 25 January, then moved on to Saint-Dizier and decided to attack Blücher. Blücher advanced at the head of the army of Silesia, composed of a Prussian corps (under the direction of General von Tauentzien) and 3 Russian corps (commanded by Generals Chtcherbatov, Olsoufiev and Lieven). Napoleon I had divisions under the command of Marshal Ney, the future Marshal Grouchy and Generals Forestier and Duhesme. Heavy fighting in the streets of the city at night, with 3,000 to 4,000 killed and wounded on both sides, forced Marshal Blücher to retreat. "The fight was very lively and the "Marie-Louise" endured this first test without flinching. The emperor, returning to his bivouac after the battle, was almost hit by a Cossack in the dark: he was saved by his first orderly, Colonel Gourgaud [future companion in exile on St. Helena]. Berthier was thrown from his horse and bruised. For his part, Blücher only managed to escape with great difficulty. This affair was of only modest importance, but it gave the young [French] soldiers great moral confidence" (Alain Pigeard, Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon, Paris, Tallandier, 2004, p. 154). VERY RARE AUTOGRAPH MISSIVE SIGNED TO HIS WIFE MARIE-LOUISE. Letter absent from the Correspondance générale (Paris, Fayard, 2004-2018).