Obverse: NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI. Uniformed, bare-headed bust r., a wreath above. Signed in the field below the truncation, DENON. D./DEPAULIS. F.
Reverse: Two mounted warriors, a Cossack and a Prussian, flee to the right. In the background, ranks of advancing troops. Signed BRENET. Exergue: BATAILLE DE LUTZEN/II MAI MDCCCXIII.
Although the illustrated medal came from the French mint (1832-41 edge mark), there is a variety struck in England which has an obverse by Droz and a reverse which is similar but from a die which bears the DENON D. (at about 8:30) as well as the BRENET F. The background is significantly different. There are also examples of a third reverse die..

At first Napoleon was successful in spite of the facts that most of his troops were green and his cavalry insufficient, it having been impossible to replace all the horses lost in Russia. Lutzen is also known as the site of the 1632 battle between the Swedes and the Imperialists, won by the Swedes although their leader, Gustavus Adolphus, was mortally wounded in the battle.

Obverse: NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI. Uniformed bust facing r., a wreath above the head. Signed in the field below the bust, DENON D./DEPAULIS F.
Reverse: INFANTRIE FRANCAISE BATAILLE DE WURTCHEN.
Stacked muskets, topped by a scroll bearing the letter N and a seated, winged victory proferring a wreath. Behind, battle colors of the French army. On the ground, military accoutrements. Exergue: XXI MAI MDCCCXIII. Signed BRENET F. DENON D.
The illustrated example, of which only the reverse is shown, is an English striking, identified by the fine lines on the margins of both sides. The obverse of this medal was struck from a die similar to that which was illustrated for Bramsen 1229. The latter obverse has higher relief and a characteristic flaw between the E and the T of the NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI inscription.

Napoleon's victory at Lutzen was followed by this second one on 20-21 May in the country around Bautzen, after which the Prussians name the battle, but here again the victory could not be followed up by pursuit and slaughter of the retreating enemy because of insufficient cavalry.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: CONFIANCE FORCE. A mountain on the top of which stands a monument. Exergue: EN TROIS MOIS LA FRANCE ET L`ITALIE ARMENT DOUZE CENT MILLE HOMMES POUR LA DEFENSE DE L`EMPIRE MDCCCXIII. Signed BRENET and DENON D.

"From the field of battle of Wurtchen the Emperor Bonaparte issued the following decree: 'A monument shall be erected on Mount Cenis. Upon the front looking toward Paris, shall be inscribed the names of all our cantons of departments on this side the Alps. Upon the front, looking towards Milan, shall be inscribed the names of all our cantons of departments beyond the Alps, and of our kingdom of Italy. On the most conspicuous part of the monument, shall be engraved the following inscription: The Emperor Napoleon upon the field of battle of Wurtchen, ordered the erection of this monument as a proof of his gratitude to his people of France and Italy; and to transmit to the most distant posterity the remembrance of that celebrated epoch, when in three months, one million, two hundred thousand men ran to arms, to insure the integrity of the empire and of his allies.'"
--J.C. Laskey. A description of the series of medals...

Denon's design for this medal was probably influenced by the fact that the plan for the monument commemorated had not yet been drawn. It is necessary to go back to the coins of Caesarea in Cappadocia of Roman times to find a mountain (in that case Mount Argaeus) taking up most of the design space. The monument was never built, and the lie that Napoleon had raised over a million men to defend his empire is perhaps the only reason for issuing the decree and the medal! This seems to be the next to last medal struck in gold for Napoleon during his reign.

Although the history of the next few months is fascinating it is not reflected in Napoleon's medals. The current French adventure in Spain effectively ended when the British under Wellington defeated King Joseph and his troops at Vittoria. On 3 March 1813, according to an article in "Le Moniteur", the kings of Great Britain and Sweden signed a treaty by which a million pounds were to be paid to Sweden, Guatemala and Norway were to be given to Sweden, and thirty thousand Swedish troops were to be added to the Russian troops already led by Crown Prince Bernadotte. It is perhaps unnecessary for me to remark that I realize that "Le Moniteur" was one of Napoleon's chief means of propaganda, that my quotations from that newspaper may contain falsehoods written to serve the French government's purposes. One of the ironies of history is that when, on Saint Helena, Napoleon was occupied in writing his version of history he relied on a file of "Le Moniteur" to refresh his memory. For this current fighting the British government provided enormous financial support, British observers, and batteries of Congreve rockets. During an armistice Austria attempted to mediate between Napoleon and the allies, joining the allies when Napoleon refused to accept the terms Austria proposed. The armistice ended on 14 August 1813. Bavaria deserted Napoleon and signed a treaty with Austria on October 8. Napoleon and the French army were attacked in Leipzig on 16 October by overwhelming forces; the ensuing Battle of the Nations cost Napoleon dearly in men and materiel.

O. FRANZ. 1:KAISER.V.OESTERREICH. ALEXANDER KAISER.V:RUSSLAND. Facing busts of the two emperors. Beneath, IETTON.
R. DIE ENTSCHEID:SCHLACHT DER ALLIERTEN BEY LEIPZIG. View of city, a crowned eagle carrying orb and scepter flying overhead. Exergue: DEN 18-19. OCT:/1813.

Napoleon was forced to fight his way back to France, arriving in Paris on 9 November. See chapters 33 and following in John Holland Rose. The Life of Napoleon I. London: Macmillan, 1901. While I cannot say that this is the best of the hundreds of thousands (no fooling) of books about Napoleon and his times, since I have not read them all, it is readable and shows little bias one way or the other. It would also be worth your while to consult the old but far from outdated The life of Napoleon Buonaparte by Sir Walter Scott, chapter 31, for this period. After writing of Napoleon's efforts to arouse the French to resist the threatened invasion, Sir Walter wrote
"A great part of the population of France, without having any distinct views as to its future government, were discontented with that of Buonaparte, which, after having drained the country of men and wealth, seemed about to terminate, by subjecting it to the revenge of incensed Europe. When these were told that Buonaparte could not bear to sit upon a tarnished throne, or wear a crown of which the glory was diminished, they were apt to consider how often it was necessary that the best blood of France should be expended in washing the one and restoring the brilliance of the other."

The invasion of France followed. The British under Wellington entered south France from Spain. From the north came the Russians; from the east the Prussians, Austrians, and Bavarians.

Obverse: DEFENSE DE L'EMPIRE. Bare-headed, uniformed bust right. In field below L'EMPEREUR PART DE PARIS/LE XXV JANVIER MDCCCXIV. Although the die is unsigned, it was cut by Depaulis, as comparison with later Depaulis obverses shows.
Reverse: MARIE LOUISE IMP. REINE ET REGENTE. Diademed, draped bust left. Below in field, XXIII JANVIER MDCCCXIV.
Napoleon appointed his empress, Marie Louise, ruler of the empire and went to face the enemy. He was able to delay the success of the allies. Two of his victories were commemorated by medals, although there was not enough time to have these medals struck before Paris fell to the allies.

Obverse: NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI. Bare-headed, uniformed bust facing right. Signed in the field below the bust, BRENET F.
Reverse: A powerful man overcoming three enemies. Signed in the left and right field, DENON D. and BRENET F.; exergue: BATAILLE DE CHAMPAUBERT/ X FEVRIER MDCCCXIV.
After three realistic reverses we are back to the neoclassical style, although we look in vain for the attributes which would characterize the hero as Hercules. The illustrated specimen is a late striking, probably French mint, ca 1840. It has the hyposulfite toning with which that mint was experimenting at that time, a simpler process that the application of the chocolate patina which characterizes the copper medals struck during Napoleon's reign. Griffiths reported ("The end of Napoleon's histoire metallique" in "The Medal", Spring 1991) that Heim was paid was paid 36 francs on 16 March 1814 for preparing drawings for engravers to follow in cutting dies for this medal and two others, one of them probably 1363, below. This is one of a series engraved by Brenet, probably during the first establishment of Louis XVIII as king of France. This series was not struck at the French mint until 1832, although there are similar medals struck earlier in England. As Mr Griffiths remarked, "These matters can get very complicated". Most authors have avoided the question of how to tell whether a given medal is from the French mint; Bramsen erroneouly states that the Depaulis obverse shows that a medal was struck in England, not realizing that there are two or three obverse dies by Depaulis which were used in Paris.

Standard obverse by Brenet.
Reverse: The laureate, draped figure of the emperor, standing in a biga drawn by winged horses, preparing to hurl a thunderbolt at the enemy soldiers on a bridge in the backgound. Exergue: BATAILLE DE MONTEREAU/ FEVRIER MDCCCXIV/BRENET.F. DEN. D.
The mixture of a neoclassical main figure and the realistic background is not unique to this design; perhaps the unspoken thought here is that Napoleon, deus ex machina, will save France from the invading hordes. The illustrated specimen is another from the series with the obverse from the die by Brenet, used at the Paris mint only after 1830.

Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: FEVRIER MDCCCXIV. An eagle perched on a thunderbolt, facing left, a star above his head. In the left field a pair of fish; in the right a flying Victory holding out a wreath. Signed beneath the thunderbolt, BRENET F. DENON D.
This medal celebrates the February successes Napoleon had against the invading armies; the fish are, of course, the zodiacal sign of Pisces. Encouraged by his success, Napoleon rejected offers of the allies to leave him in possession of France and continued fighting. March was disasterous. Napoleon sent a message to his brother Joseph in Paris, telling him to hold on, and explaining that Napoleon was marching east to pick up more troops from the besieged forts there. The message was intercepted; the allies seized the opportunity to attack and occupy Paris.

Obverse: NAPOLEON EMP. ET ROI. Bare-headed, uniformed bust facing right. Above the head (like a halo) a wreath. Signed below the bust, DENON D./DEPAULIS F.
Reverse: An older woman carrying a dead child tries to defend a younger woman from a Cossack. Behind, in the left field, two reclining (dead?) animals; in the right field, a burning cottage. Signed DENON D. and BRENET F. Exergue: MALHEURS DE LA GUERRE/ MARS MDCCCXIV.
The obverse of the illustrated medal is from the die used at the French mint after 1832. The medal itself was struck there in or before 1842. This obverse differs from the Depaulis obverse used in England, having higher relief and other differences, the most obvious being the flaw between E and T mentioned above under Bramsen 1232. The reverse is another from the Brenet series, probably engraved from one of the drawings by Heim mentioned above.

Standard bust by Andrieu.
Reverse: A draped woman standing in a boat, her back to the observer, reminiscent of Aphrodite kallipygos. The rudder of the ship is broken and there is a broken wheel in the upper left field, symbols of Fortune. Signed in the left field, BRENET F. and in the right, DENON D. Exergue: FORTUNE ADVERSE/MARS 1814.
Bramsen noted that this reverse also exists with an obverse by Droz or Depaulis; he gave the number 1366 to a variety from a different reverse die with the standard Brenet obverse.

The meaning of this medal is clear: Fortune, that fickle woman, has finally turned her back on Napoleon. Although Napoleon rushed back toward Paris, his French enemies had seized control of the senate, which deposed him. Abandoned by some of his generals and hopelessly outnumbered, he was forced to abdicate.

Obverse: NAPOLEON on the right-hand edge. Bare-headed, undraped bust r. Signed on truncation, ANDRIEU F.
Reverse: Bare-headed but in uniform, Napoleon stands before a travelling desk placed on a table to the left, writing on a document. Behind Napoleon stands Discord, attempting to prevent him from writing. Signed BRENET.F. Exergue: L`EMPEREUR ABDIQUE/XI AVRIL MDCCCXIV/[bar]/DENON.D.
Here again Bramsen notes varieties. His 1385 has the Depaulis obverse and a reverse similar to that illustrated but from a different die. His 1387 has the obverse by Brenet and the reverse like that illustrated but lacking the DENON D.

In about 1820 the Mudie medals were issued in England, giving the British side of the story. Although I have ignored most of them, I cannot resist showing Mudie number 27:

Obverse: BRITANNIA J.MUDIE D. The helmeted head of the personified country.
Reverse: THE REPOSE OF HERCULES MDCCCXIIII.
The hero standing facing, right hand on hip and left holding a grounded club. Beneath his feet a French eagle standard. Signed DRO F. and MUDIE D.

Mudie published An historical and critical account of a grand series of national medals in 1820, illustrating and describing his medals. They were intended to rival the series Denon directed for Napoleon. Many of the dies for the Mudie medals were engraved by French medallists.

The Emperor Napoleon arrived in his new Empire of Elba on 4 May 1814. In England E. Gifford, Esq. completed his 1148 page Memoirs of the life and campaigns of Napoleon Buonaparte, in France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Syria, Spain, Poland, Portugal, and Russia. With a complete history of recent events, in Silesia, Prussia, Bohemia, and in the Territories bordering on the Rhine, developing the causes and appreciating the consequences of these stupendous occurrences, Together with interesting descriptive and historical plates; and illustrated by professional and biographical anecdotes, of Cotempory Leading Characters. and it was rushed into publication, complete with an illustration of Napoleon disembarking at Elba.

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