General information
Date October 14, 1806
Place Between Weimar and Leipzig
Outcome French victory
Belligerent parties
French Prussians
Commanders
Napoleon
Frédéric Louis de Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
Forces present
46,000 soldiers
54,000 in battle
173 guns 55,000 soldiers
120 guns
Losses
6,000 dead
25,000 dead or prisoners
112 guns
40 flags
Fourth Coalition
Battles
Cape Verde (naval) - San Domingo (naval) - Saafeld - Auerstaedt - Jena - Golymin - Pultusk - Eylau - Heilsberg - Friedland
The Battle of Jena took place on October 14, 1806, in Jena, (now Germany), and ended with a victory for the French under Napoleon against the Prussians under General Hohenlohe.
Prelude
In August 1806, Europe seemed at peace:Austria disarmed; the United Kingdom, ruined by the war and demoralized by the French victory on the Continent, is doing everything to find an agreement with France, especially since the death of William Pitt and his replacement by Fox while the Kingdom of Naples is occupied, forcing its king into exile in Sicily.
However, Frederick-William III of Prussia is very worried when Napoleon reorganizes, without keeping him informed, the Holy Empire into the Confederation of the Rhine, the latter too favorable to France:the main states that compose it are under its protectorate. Moreover, Napoleon would like to return Hanover to its former owner, the United Kingdom. However, for less than six months, this territory has been occupied by Prussia, in exchange for its neutrality with France, while the Grande Armée is occupied in Bavaria and Moravia against the Russian and Austrian units of the third coalition.
During the months of August to September, the beautiful Queen of Prussia, Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, stirred up the hatred of the Prussian army and population against the French:the officers of the royal army took pleasure in sharpen their sabers on the steps of the French Embassy in Berlin while Frederick William III of Prussia calls out to anyone who will listen:
“No need for sabers, clubs will suffice for these French hounds. »
Alexander I, Tsar of all the Russias and Frederick William III of Prussia meet in Potsdam, and swear at the tomb of the great Frederick II of Prussia never to separate again before the victory over France.
Prussia, Russia, Sweden, Saxony and the United Kingdom (on the death of its Prime Minister Fox, on September 14), form the fourth coalition and mobilize their troops on August 9. The Prussian army was divided into three groups:One under the command of Charles Guillaume Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (70,000 men), another under the command of the Prince of Hohenlohe (50,000 men) and a third under Rüchel and Blücher ( 30,000 men).
On October 4, Napoleon received an ultimatum inviting him to withdraw from the right bank of the Rhine before October 8. On the 6th, a bulletin was read to the Grande Armée announcing:
“Soldiers! The order for your return to France had already been given, triumphal celebrations awaited you. But war cries were heard in Berlin. We are provoked by an audacity that demands revenge. »
Immediately, the Grande Armée (180,000 men), like a torrent, overwhelmed Germany, aiming for Berlin. The vanguard, under the orders of Marshal Lannes, pushes back a Prussian corps at Saalfeld on October 10. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, the nephew of the great Frederick, died there in single combat. However, the opposing army resists. Murat's cavalry is sent to reconnoiter the plain of Leipzig, but without result. In fact, the Prussians decided to withdraw towards the North, leaving under the orders of Hohenlohe only a strong rear guard in Jena. Napoleon then headed there with the bulk of his troops. He ordered Davout to march on Naumburg, about sixty kilometers south of Leipzig, to take the enemy from behind and hit his rear. Bernadotte is left in reserve, on the heights of Dornbourg, and must lend a hand to Davout in case of problems.
Forces present
The Prussian army is divided into two columns:one under the command of Brunswick, and the other under the orders of Hohenlohe with 50,000 men and 120 guns. The latter is intended to protect the retirement of the former. It is the body of Hohenlohe which will support the confrontation with Napoleon.
The French forces included Soult's 4th Corps, Lannes' 5th, Ney's 6th and Augereau's 7th (the latter two were incomplete at the start of the battle) and the Imperial Guard, 55,000 strong. The cavalry reserve is added to this, i.e. 10,000 men. The artillery includes 173 guns. Everything is ordered by Napoleon.
Preparations
On October 13, at nightfall, Lannes arrived in front of Jena, which the Prussians had just abandoned. The city is ravaged by fires caused by looting. This site is poorly suited for a pitched battle. It is a very deep valley, surrounded by dense forest. To the east, the Landgrafenberg plateau reaches 350 meters, but the Prussians neglected to guard it, considering its slopes impassable.
The legend says that it was a Saxon priest, not accepting the forced alliance of his country with Prussia, who guided the staff of Lannes, by a narrow and stony path, which was usually used to lead the goats to the top. Napoleon immediately had his battalions armed with picks and shovels to widen the passage in order to pass the French artillery, blocked at the bottom of the path. The Emperor directed the operation himself, not hesitating to encourage and help his soldiers. The whole center was "massaged" on this plateau, the chest of each man touching the back of the soldier placed in front of him. The only access road to the valley is well guarded by Saxon troops.
Napoleon immediately improvised a maneuver opposite to that of Austerlitz:Unbeknownst to his enemy, he conquered a plateau which ensured him a dominant position. He overlooks the Prussian army concentrated just in front of him.
Battle progress
The French army progresses, with from left to right, the corps of Augereau, Lannes, Ney and finally Soult. The Imperial Guard is in the background, between Augereau and Lannes, as well as Murat's cavalry, placed on the far right. On the other hand, the Prussian army entered in battle order, in two perfectly aligned columns, as during the Seven Years' War. Prince Rüchel's corps (30,000 men) was placed on the Prussian right flank, as reinforcements. But this one too distant and badly commanded, cannot participate in the battle.
At six o'clock in the morning, Napoleon gave the order for the attack. The Prussians, barely awake and dumbfounded, expect to see the French come out on their right. They successfully support Augereau's assault, but it is a diversionary operation. The surprise of the Prussians was total when they saw 30,000 men emerge from the fog and take their flanks. Immediately, Lannes jostled General Tauertzien's reserve while Soult progressed from the right and Augereau from the left.
Napoleon stabilized the front by aligning his wings in relation to its center, but Ney, enthusiastic, continued his advance and charged his troops. He quickly finds himself in the middle of the opposing lines. Hohenlohe counter-attacks with all his cavalry, twenty squadrons. Helped by the artillery, Ney rectified the situation.
The Prussian General Hohenlohe, a military visionary of his time, knows that his men have not been trained, and that the battle will surely be lost. His friend, General Messembach, joins him when the situation becomes critical. Around noon, the Prussian lines are broken. The Saxons form the squares but the French cavalry enters into action and decimates them. The remnants of the Prussian army are looted by French artillery, in full force.
Unlike Austerlitz, where Napoleon had not pursued the retreating Russians and Austrians, this time he gave the order to follow in the footsteps of the Prussians. Murat progressed so quickly that he seized the artillery and the baggage of the Prussians at the entrance to Weimar. The Queen of Prussia, damned soul of war, flees through one city gate while the French enter through the other. Better rider and above all lighter, she had, a few hours earlier, already succeeded in losing the French dragoons.
Losses
The Prussian troops suffered heavy losses:49 generals (including 19 Saxons), 263 officers, 12,000 men killed or wounded, 14,000 prisoners, 40 flags and 112 guns captured.
The French lost 6 senior officers (including the colonels of the 20th chasseurs and Barbanègre of the 9th hussars), 288 officers and around 6,000 men, killed or wounded.
Consequences
The battle of Jena is combined with that of Auerstaedt, which takes place on the same day, and sees the triumph of Davout, who with only 27,000 men defeats the 60,000 soldiers of Brunswick. The Prussian army lost in the same day about 45,000 men and all its artillery. These defeats threw the Prussians into disarray. Thus, we saw three French hussars capture alone and without resistance an enemy squadron. [ref. necessary] There is no longer a Prussian army. on October 17, Bernadotte crushes the Prince of Württemberg.
On October 27, 1806, less than a month after entering the campaign, Napoleon entered Berlin. On the 28th, Murat captured the Prince of Hohenlohe and his entire army (16,000 men, 6 cavalry regiments, 60 guns and as many flags). On November 7, Blücher capitulated at Lübeck. Finally, Ney put an end to the hunt, in the words of a Prussian general, seized Magdeburg, and captured 15,000 men and an artillery park of several hundred guns, freshly delivered by the British.
The armistice was signed on November 30. The fate of Prussia was decided on July 9, 1807 by the Treaty of Tilsit. Half of its territory and the majority of its strongholds (Magdeburg, Erfurt, Stettin, Graudeuz, Danzig) were amputated, most of them west of the Elbe. It lost 5 million inhabitants and had to pay a considerable war indemnity, i.e. 120 million francs at the time.