Battle of Eylau

Overview

The Battle of Eylau was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February [O.S. 26 and 27 Jan.] 1807 between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of General Levin August von Bennigsen near the town of Preussisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians received timely reinforcements from a Prussian division of von L'Estocq. After 1945, the town was renamed Bagrationovsk as part of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The engagement was fought during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Eylau, fought on 7–8 February 1807 near Preussisch Eylau in East Prussia, was one of the bloodiest engagements of the War of the Fourth Coalition and notably failed to produce the decisive result Napoleon's campaigns typically sought. With both sides fielding roughly comparable forces — around 75,000 French against 76,000–83,000 Russians — the battle ended in strategic inconclusiveness despite casualties that ranged into the tens of thousands on each side. The timely arrival of a Prussian division under von L'Estocq reinforced Bennigsen's Russian army late in the fighting, denying Napoleon the clear-cut victory he needed to knock the Fourth Coalition into submission. The outcome left the campaign in the east unresolved and prolonged the conflict into the summer of 1807, ultimately leading to further operations before a settlement could be reached.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (12)