10 Large German Trade Cards Of The Napoleonic Wars (1806 - 15), Issued In 1934
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:27538986 | Modified Item: No |
| Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany |
Offered hereare 10 large color German cigarette cards of the Napoleonic Wars, issued in1934 by the Fritz Homann Margarine Co. of Dissen for the album 1000 Jahre deutscher Geschichte (AThousand Years of German History). Pictured here are: No. 138: Prussian Prince LouisFerdinand Falls at the Battle of Saalfeld (1806). After Napoleon declaredhimself Emperor of France and after he defeated Austria in 1805, he forcedPrussia into war with unacceptable demands. However, Prussia was not able t...owithstand Napoleon after he conquered the rest of German lands. After Prussiadeclared war, its troops marched out to Jena where Prince Louis Ferdinand, leading the avantgarde, lost his life in the French victory.No. 139: The Battle of Jena andAuerstedt (1806). After the death of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia the armygroup under Prince Hohenlohe was forced to retreat from Jena. On the same day, the French attacked the main enemy army near Auerstedt and defeated it afterbitter fighting. The retreat of both defeated armies to Wismar happened withgreat disorder. A reserve army of the Prussians was also defeated at this time, leaving Prussia completely open to the French, particularly since thefortresses of Magdeburg and Küstrin surrendered when they heard ofthe Prussian defeat. Napoleon then levied a payment on the captured Prussianprovinces west of the Weichsel River of 159 Million Francs.No. 140: King Friedrich Wilhelm IIIGoes to Memel (1807). When the King of Prussia saw his armies defeated, he fledwith his family to Graudenz. But even this fortress was soon in danger ofcapture, causing him to flee further to Königsberg and then to Memel.Here, in the far Eastern reaches of his kingdom he found security and took upcontact with the Russian Czar Alexander I. Prussian and Russian troops unitedto fight the French at the Battle of Eylau on the 7th and 8thof February 1807, but this army was also defeated by the French. After the lostBattle of Friedland on June 14, 1807 it became clear that further resistancewas futile, so the Prussian King sued for peace.No. 141: Prussian Queen Luise VisitsNapoleon in Tilsit (1807). After the defeat in the Battle of Friedland and theheavy losses it caused, Czar Alexander’s will to continue the fight dissipated.Immediately after the battle, he sued for peace. The Prussian King and Queenthen made the difficult decision to speak directly with Napoleon in Tilsit. Theproud victor, however, was unmoved. Minister Hardenberg was not permitted bythe French to be involved in the peace negotiations and had to be let go by theKing. On July 7th and 8th the French then signed peacetreaties with the Prussians and the Russians. Prussia lost about half of itspossessions and all of its territories between the Rhine and Elbe Rivers wereforfeit.No. 142: Major Schill Falls Fighting inStralsund (1809). Dissatisfied with the French occupation of Prussian lands, Major von Schill became the leader of a small Prussian uprising. Born onJanuary 6, 1776, he was wounded at the Battle of Auerstedt and captured, butwas later released. On April 28, 1809 he led a squadron of volunteers out ofBerlin and soon overpowered the French occupation troops in Stralsund. However, he neglected to contact the British fleet about the events there. When theFrench attempted to retake the city, he fell in street fighting by a sable blowto his head. He died on May 31, 1809. No. 143: F. L. Jahn Opens the FirstGymnastics Site (1811). Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the so-called “Father ofGymnastics”, was born on August 11, 1778 in Lanz in the Priegnitz region. Hewas convinced that the only way to free Germany from the French was to trainits youth to become fit and strong. He created a gymnastics park in theHasenheide near Berlin. where he taught people what to do to achieve this goal.At the same time he wrote and spoke about the German nation and eventually tookpart in the Wars of Liberation against the French in 1813-14 under Major von Lützow.After the war he returned to teaching gymnastics, this time in the pay of theState. He died on October 15, 1852 in Freiburg.No. 150: The Battle of Nations atLeipzig (1813). The armies of Prussia, Russia and Austria gathered aroundLeipzig, because it was here that Napoleon positioned himself for the decisivebattle. After three days of non-stop fighting, Napoleon was defeated and fledwith the remnant of his army through the city of Leipzig and over the PartheBridge in the direction of Lützen, pursued all the way by thevictors. Gneisenau’s brilliant battle plan was fulfilled; the Corsican wasdestroyed. The battle was particularly bitter around the Grimmau Gate in thecity and horrible scenes of war could be found all around. But the victory ofthe Allies was secured. No. 151: Blücher Crossing the Rhine Riverat Caub (1813/14). After the Battle of Leipzig, King Friedrich Wilhelm IIInamed General Blücher, a favorite of the Prussian troops, Field Marshal.Supported by Gneisenau and Stein, he was now the driving force in shapingfuture battle plans. His plan was to give Napoleon no rest, but to stay on theheels of the French and to pursue them into France. On January 1, 1814 thePrussians crossed the frozen Rhine River at Caub and pushed toward Nancy and LaRothiere, where they defeated Napoleon again, and then along the Marne Rivertoward Paris. After the fall of Paris on March 31st and the entry ofAllied troops into the city, Blücher was given the title “Prince ofWablstatt” by the King. No. 152: The Congress of Vienna(1814-1815). After defeating Napoleon, the Allies and their representativesgathered in Vienna to discuss the future of Europe and to set terms for peace.Napoleon was banned to the island of Elba. The European princes agreed on newborders, which gave Prussia part of Saxony and lands along the Rhine. Adeclaration of June 8, 1815 crease the German Bund, but the desire of theGerman people for a unified state with more freedom, remained unfulfilled. No. 153: The Battle of Belle Alliance (Waterloo)(1815). During the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna, the news arrivedthat Napoleon had returned to Europe. After fleeing from Elba, the Frenchpeople flocked to his cause, setting up another confrontation with the Allies.The famous “100 Days” ended with the renewed defeat of the Corsican and hisexile to the island of St. Helena. The final battle of the 100 days occurred atWaterloo, called Belle Alliance by the Prussians. The English CommanderWellington had been fighting the better part of the day when the Prussiansarrived in a forced march and decided the battle. Napoleon, who fled thebattlefield, was later captured.Each cardmeasures 4 and ¼ inches by 2 and ¾ inches.Withmultiple purchases, please wait for the invoice for reduced shipping.
