Friedland

When Napoleon arrived at Friedland, Bennigsen’s Russian army was holding a four-mile line in what Napoleon determined was a very poor defensive position, with its back to the river Alle. In addition, the Mill stream bisected the Russian line which …

1807-06-14

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When Napoleon arrived at Friedland, Bennigsen’s Russian army was holding a four-mile line in what Napoleon determined was a very poor defensive position, with its back to the river Alle. In addition, the Mill stream bisected the Russian line which also gave Napoleon reason to attack at once. Around 5:00 PM Ney’s divisions advanced. Opening a battle so late in the day surprised Bennigsen, forcing him to rescind his order to with draw back across the Alle during the night. The Russians would have to offer battle where they stood. The Russian left became the scene of advances, counter attacks and swirling cavalry actions. Both sides committed reserves to these combats, but the Russians weakened their center to do so. Seeing the weakness, the French horse artillery commander forwarded his guns to within 60 paces of the Russian infantry, and at that range the Russians took huge casualties – Eylau was avenged. Bennigsen launched an attack on his right in an attempt to take pressure off his left and center, but the French flank held. One final attack by the Russian Imperial Guard against Ney did not succeed in stopping the French and only served to buy time for the Russian army to retreat. But for the inaction of Grouchy and his French cavalry, the Russian army would have been largely destroyed. As it was, Russian casualties were catastrophic. The outcome of the Battle of Friedland spelled the end of the Fourth Coalition.

Pravdinsk, Russia

The Battle of Friedland was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtained a decisive victory that routed much of the Russian army, which retreated chaotically over the Alle River by the end of the fighting. The battlefield is located in modern-day Kaliningrad Oblast, near the town of Pravdinsk, Russia.

Wikipedia: Battle of Friedland

French

Russians

Fourth Coalition