Following Napoleon’s defeat in the Russian campaign of 1812, Prussia and Austria extricated themselves from their involuntary support for the French emperor and, by 1813, had joined Russia to drive Napoleon from Germany. On March 16, 1813, the Prussian king declared war on France; the next day, he delivered the address, “To my People,” in which he exhorted his subjects to support the war (and promised the constitutional reorganization of Prussia and Germany). On March 18, 1813, the three allied monarchs, Frederick William III of Prussia (left), Francis I of Austria (center), and Russian Czar Alexander I (left) met at the gates of Prague.