Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau on 7–8 February 1807 was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Napoleonic Wars and the first major check to Napoleon's run of decisive victories. After Austerlitz (1805) and Jena-Auerstedt (1806), the Grande Armée was pursuing the surviving Russian and Prussian forces into East Prussia in bitter winter conditions. On 7 February 1807 the French advance guard under Murat fought an inconclusive engagement at Eylau; the main battle developed the following day. General Levin August von Bennigsen's Russian army of approximately 72,000, supported by a Prussian corps, occupied a ridge overlooking the town. Napoleon's available force was roughly 65,000, with Ney and Davout expected to arrive on the flanks. The battle opened in a snowstorm. Napoleon sent Augereau's corps (14,000 men) to advance through the blizzard; a sudden storm blinded them, and they marched into the heart of the Russian position. Augereau's corps was virtually annihilated — the corps commander himself was wounded; thousands were killed in minutes. The French centre was gaping. Napoleon ordered Marshal Murat to lead a mass cavalry charge of approximately 10,700 horsemen to buy time. The charge — the largest in the era — crashed through the Russian centre, briefly threatened Bennigsen's headquarters, then had to fight its way back out. Davout's arrival on the Russian left late in the day nearly rolled up the Russian line, but Lestocq's Prussian corps arrived in time to stabilise it. By nightfall the Russians withdrew in good order. Napoleon claimed victory — he held the field — but the result was deeply unsatisfactory. French casualties were at least 22,000; Russian and Prussian losses were comparable. The battle settled nothing and both armies were too exhausted to continue campaigning until spring. Napoleon reportedly said: 'What a massacre, and to no purpose.' The Emperor commissioned a report minimising French losses and prepared a victory bulletin. The campaign resumed in June 1807 and ended with the decisive French victory at Friedland.
- Year: 1807 CE
- Category: Military
