January 6 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 Lützen, Saxony, Germany1813

Napoleon Defeats Russia at Battle of Lützen

Napoleon returned from the disastrous Russian campaign and rebuilt his army to defeat a combined Russian and Prussian force at Lützen, showing that the French Empire could still fight even after the catastrophic losses in Russia.

Lützen proved Napoleon could still generate victories but could not replace the horses and experienced veterans lost in Russia — ultimately making his final defeat inevitable.

Outcome

French victory; campaign continues until Leipzig in October

The Paris Declaration

Thirty-five countries met in Paris on January 6, 2026 as the 'Coalition of the Willing' and issued the Paris Declaration on Security Guarantees for Ukraine — a commitment to what Ukraine would receive after a ceasefire, given that NATO membership remained unavailable. The declaration addressed the question that has blocked every settlement since 2022: Ukraine will not accept a ceasefire that merely pauses the war and lets Russia reconstitute, and Russia will not accept guarantees that amount to NATO by another name. Paris was an attempt to define a third thing. It committed no one to fight.

The most substantive Western answer yet to the post-ceasefire security question, and the clearest sign that European states were planning for a settlement they might have to underwrite themselves.

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