The desperate struggle of the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau or more commonly known as the Battle of Eylau, was fought in some of the most abysmal conditions of any battle in history. The French, Russians and Prussians fought in temperatures of -10°C (14°F), up to 3 feet of snow on frozen ground with strong winds that intermittently whipped up the battlefield into near blizzard conditions throughout the entirety of the battle.[1] These conditions are critical to note, as they played a very important part of the battle for all sides, resulting in deaths through freezing as well as deaths through friendly fire and blind marching into the enemy’s guns such as what happened to the Augereau’s VIIth Corps.

General Nicholas Dahlmann (1769-1807) leading a charge at the head of the Chasseurs á Cheval of the Imperial Guard on 8 February 1807. The snow and conditions as depicted in this painting, affected all of the beligerents in the battle. Painting by Victor Huen. 

These horrible weather conditions assuredly played a factor in both the course of the battle as well as its eventual ending at roughly ten o’clock at night, well into darkness. Throughout the entire engagement, the French, who were not acclimatized or properly outfitted for such harsh conditions, were especially ravaged. In essence Napoleon and his army were fighting more than just the Prussians and the Russians, but Mother Nature herself and her power was relentless. The incessant cold, lack of food and being over 1,000 miles from France ate at each Frenchman, in addition to the stalwart and unforeseen martial tenacity of the Russian troops thus proving to be a major factor in both the battle, but as well as its eventual ending late in the day and after nearly fourteen hours of fighting.[2]

Another factor for the ending of the battle would be that of the Russian commander. German born, general Levin August von Bennigsen, after having bloodied and nearly broken the French center realized that by 10 pm and with the late-day arrival of Marshal Ney’s fresh troops (around 8 o’clock at night), that both he personally and his Russo-Prussian force had had enough. The withdrawal began at around 11 pm and was not even noticed by the French until after 3 am which was when an aide told Napoleon that “Sire, the enemy is retreating.”[3] The entire battle swung back and forth and hung in the balance the entire day and was filled with drama throughout. From the near capture of Napoleon in the town of Eylau (only to be saved by the Imperial Guard), the arrival of the Prussians that nearly rolled up the French line, to Murat’s massive cavalry charge of over 80 squadrons to stem the Russian advance to Ney’s late day yet timely arrival on the Russian right flank.

This painting by Jean-Antoine-Siméone, depics the engagement at the cemetary. As you can see, thick snow blanketed the entire area as did the literal and figurative, fog of war which would figure prominantly in the battle itself.

In the end, the weather and Bennigsen’s decision to withdraw from the field and not to press the attack the next day, is what ended the Battle of Eylau and thus giving Napoleon and the French an extremely costly tactical victory. Napoleon would go on to write to Josephine of his pyrrhic victory and say “there was a great battle yesterday. We were victorious but I have lost many; the enemy lost even more which does not console me.”[4]

Notes

[1] David Gates, The Napoleonic Wars: 1803-1815 (London, UK: Arnold, 1997), 71.

[2] David Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (New York, NY: Macmillan Company, 1966), 548.

[3] Georges Blond, La Grande Armée (London, UK: Arms and Armour, 1998), 126.

[4] Ibid., 127.

Bibliography 

Blond, Georges. La Grande Armée. London, UK: Arms and Armour, 1998. 

 Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, NY: Macmillan Company, 1966. 

Gates, David. The Napoleonic Wars: 1803-1815. London, UK: Arnold, 1997.