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Introduction
On 8 February, 1807, there took place the appalling (and inconclusive) bloodbath at Eylau, pitching French against Prussian and Russian forces, 66,500 men versus 82,500 respectively. Despite the fact that both sides lost thousands of men, Eylau is usually recorded as a French victory since the Russians retreated after the confrontation leaving the French in control of the battlefield. Our bicentenary dossier brings you an article on the geopolitical background to the conflict, selection of books still in print dealing with the episode, a timeline, a selection of images, a dozen or so biographies of some of the main players and the e-text of perhaps Eylau’s most famous literary manifestation, Colonel Chabert by Honoré de Balzac. Enjoy!
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Documents
– Colonel Chabert, by Honoré de Balzac (external link)
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Commentary
– Peter Hicks: The wars of the ‘Fourth Coalition’: part one, the Polish Campaign
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Timeline
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Biographies
The French
– Augereau
– Bernadotte
– Bessières
– Bonaparte, Jerome
– Davout
– Lannes
– Murat
– Ney
– SoultThe Russians and Prussians
– Bagration
– Barclay de Tolly
– Frederick William III
– Bennigsen
– Buxhöwden
– Lestocq
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Bibliography
– Selection of texts on the Battle of Eylau
A close-up on: the Polish campaign: Eylau (8 February, 1807)
On 8 February, 1807, there took place the appalling (and inconclusive) bloodbath at Eylau, pitching French against Prussian and Russian forces, 66,500 men versus 82,500 respectively. Despite the fact that both sides lost thousands of men, Eylau is usually recorded as a French victory since the Russians retreated after the confrontation leaving the French in control of the battlefield.
