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From Eylau to Friedland (Article by GARNIER Jacques )
After the drama at Eylau, the exhausted adversaries were driven to seek their winter quarters.
In March, Bennigsen and Lestocq attempted an attack but on its failure, let it drop.
At the end of May, Danzig capitulated. Napoleon then decided to go back on the offensive in the last days of June but Bennigsen once again acts first. The Russian had noticed that Ney's corps was slightly detached from the army and so decided to attack him, but Ney beat a painstaking retreat giving Napoleon the time to concentrate his army. Bennigsen did not insist but retired to Heilsberg. Napoleon then gave Bernadotte the mission of containing Lestocq's Prussian forces and then launched the Grande Armée against the Russians. The latter was divided into two groups. One group was a strong advanced guard of 55,000 under Murat, composed of Soult's and Lannes' corps, three divisions of cavalry (Lasalle, Latour-Maubourg and Espagne), and a part of the Infanterie de la garde under Rapp. The second, main group of 70, 000 men was under his direct command.
However, on reaching Heilsberg, on 10 June, instead of engaging the Russians with the aim of holding them until Napoleon came up, Murat launched an all out attack against the enemy. It would have been disastrous, were it not for Bennigsen's excessive prudence which allowed Napoleon to catch up. Bennigsen then retreated down the right bank of the river Alle, whilst Lestocq fell back on Königsberg in order to protect the Prussian king. Napoleon then decided to come between the Prussians and the Russian and to engage the latter in a decisive battle. In order to provide for every eventuality, he protected the main force with two advanced guards, the stronger one composed of Murta's cavalry, and Soult's and Davout's corps marching on Königsberg, the weaker one, comprising Lannes' corp, was ordered to watch the bridge at Friedland, the place from which Napoleon expected the Russians to head for Königsberg.
June 2007 Tr. PH
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Author: GARNIER Jacques
Review: Revue du Souvenir Napoléonien
Number: 469
Month: mars-avril
Year: 2007
Pages: 35
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