In the north, Ney finally crosses the Elbe after many delays.
In the south, Bulow stays ahead of Soult and retreats to Erfurt. At this point, he is just trying to delay Soult until Blucher can take action against the Emperor.
In the center, Napoleon faces a key decision. He can move northeast and attack Blucher before he can link up with Hohenlohe, or he can swing southeast and take the lightly defended fortress of Magdeburg. Attacking Magdeburg would force Blucher to attack him, but it would also leave his own supply lines dangerously exposed. And with Hohenlohe in the area, Blucher would be free to pin Napoleon while Hohenloe's corps cut Napoleon off from his communications and supplies. Napoleon is also missing his heavy cavalry, which is a full day's march behind him. Any sort of major offensive operation would have to be done minus his cuirassiers. Further intelligence indicates that Blucher has his heavy cavalry with him and also outnumbers him in overall forces. The emperor decides to fall back to Wolfsburg to meet up with his heavy cavalry.
After a quick march, Napoleon gathers in his heavy cavalry and shifts his advance to Helmstedt, just one day from Magdeburg. Blucher, who is slow to react, can either move to Gardenlengen and risk Magdeburg while threatening French communications, or can move back to the fortress. Not wanting to risk losing the key city, Blucher moves back to the fortress before Hohenlohe can reach him.
With Napoleon at Helmstedt, Blucher has his opportunity to strike. If he fails, he can fall back to Magdeburg and defend the fortress while waiting for Hohenlohe to reinforce him. If he succeeds, he can drive the Corsican ogre deep into western Germany and focus on destroying the other French forces. With Bulow on the retreat in the south, the time is now. He forms his army and marches to Helmstedt where the Emperor awaits him.
Scouting from both sides reveals the following forces:
French
Napoleon
20 battalions of line infantry
4 battalions of guard infantry
4 divisions of light cavalry
2 divisions of heavy cavalry
1 battery of horse artillery
4 batteries of foot artillery
Prussians
Blucher
21 battalions of line infantry
2 battalions of guard infantry
1 battalion of conscripts
4 divisions of light cavalry
2 divisions of heavy cavalry
1 division of guard cavalry
1 battery of horse artillery
4 batteries of foot artillery
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