The 7^th February.

Napoleon was convinced that the Russian’s would offer battle at Landsberg, sending orders to Marshal’s Ney and Davout to close in on the town. However Bennigsen had other plans, and during the night and early morning of the 6^th – 7^th February pulled back his whole army towards the village of Preussisch – Eylau, leaving his rearguard, now once more commanded by Bagration, to hold up the French advance until 11.00 a.m. at which time they began a fighting retreat following the main body of the Russian army.[1]

The road leading out of Landsberg. (Now Gorowo Iławeckie) Photo by Kokosz, Google Earth

The distance from Landsberg to Eylau is approximately 12 kilometres (nine miles).  We are informed by Petre that Bennigsen, “Owing to his having to march from Landsberg on a single road, he was forced, in order to avoid blocking his columns, to send his heavy guns by a more circuitous route to the north.”[2] Upon consulting Petre’s map (The Theatre of Operations, February – July 1807) it will be noticed that there is only one road leading from Landsberg to Eylau. There is a road that goes from Landsberg to Pombicken, and form that place a road going back to Eylau but this would have taken the slow moving artillery train at least a full day if not more to reach its prescribed destination which is approximately 19 kilometres (15 miles). Therefore Bennigsen must have set his heavy artillery in motion towards Eylau the moment he arrived at Landsberg with the main Russian army. The rearguard action at Hoff was probably in order to allow enough time for the artillery columns to get well on their way north to Pombicken, thus keeping the main road to Eylau clear for the withdrawal of the army. Also now realising that he must offer a full scale battle in order to retard the French advance on his base at Königsberg, Bennigsen has decided that the only suitable ground on which to array his forces lay around Preussisch Eylau.

Eylau is situated 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Königsberg, and I give herewith a full description of the terrain upon which this memorable battle was fought as described by Petre:

The road from Landsberg to Koenigsbereg [Köingsberg] passes, for the first 9 miles, through alternate plain and forest, finally emerging, in a clearing, about a mile and a half before it reaches the large village of Preussisch Eylau. In front of this forest there stretches, to the north, east, and south, an undulating plain, the greatest elevation on which amounts to no more than a hillock. In the foreground, on the left of the road, is the lake of Tenknitten, extending half a mile north – west to the village of the same name; to the right is the Waschkeiten Lake. The space of 1000 yards between the two lakes is occupied by slightly elevated ground, with a fairly marked height across the road.

Half a mile before the road reaches Eylau, it begins to descend a slope to the valley, in which the village is situated....The height of the near edge is inconsiderable; that of the farther side, beyond Pr Eyalu, still less. The substantial village lies chiefly in front, stretching some little way right and left of the road. Towards the right of it, the church and cemetery stand on a well – marked mound. The houses, as well as the church, were, in 1807, solidly constructed (see photographs) and afforded good cover to a force defending them. Through the valley, from Rothenen a mile south – east of Eylau, past Althof two miles north – west of it, flows a little stream, the Pasmar. Under the near slope of the valley is a long marshy lake. There are several other ponds in the valley, and on the eastern plateau.

On Eylau converge the roads from Landsberg, Kreuzberg, Koenigsberg, Friedland, Bartenstine, and Heilsberg. Beyond the village the ground soon begins to rise again, and attains the crest of the opposite plateau at a distance of 1000 paces from the outskirts of Eylau. This side of the valley resembles the other contour. Its crest is rather low on the Landsberg – Koenigsberg road, some – what higher farther east by the village of Serpallen, where the highest point in the neighbourhood, the Kreegeberg, overlooks the whole scene. On the arc of a circle, drawn with Eyalu church as its centre and a radius of 2500 yards, will be found the village of Schloditten, on the Koenigsberg road; the hamlet of Anklappen on that to Domnau and Friedland; and Serpallen in the valley, a little to the left of the road to Bartenstein. Behind Schloditten is Schmoditten; behind Anklappen lie Kutschitten and Lampasch; to the north of Serpallen is Klein Sausgarten: all places of importance in the great battle.

The horizon beyond Schmoditten is bounded by forest; there are extensive birch woods in the centre of the triangles, the angles of which are represented by Anklappen, Kutschitten and Klein Sausgarten, - more woods beyond Serpallen, and between Rothenen and the western edge of the valley; behind the spectator is the forest through which has passed the road from Landsberg. In summer, all this scene is a sheet of ripening wheat and rye, interspersed with green meadows, and picked out by the darker colours of the woods, and by the blue of the lakes and ponds – a scene to which the horrors of war seem wholly foreign. Very different was the view on the 7^th February: cold and desolate, much more appropriate as a setting to the bloody scenes which were to be enacted there in the next few hours. The whole surface of the country was wrapped in a white pall of deep snow, against the, as yet, unstained purity of which the black woods, the villages, and the troops stood out in sharp relief. The undulations and elevations, never very strongly marked, were even less discernible than when colour and shade were there to lend assistance to the eye. The lakes and streams were obliterated by a thick covering of snow which lay on their frozen surface.... [3]

Needing time to draw up his army in battle order on the heights in front of Anklappen and Klein Sausgarten, Bennigsen ordered Bagration to defend the Ziegelhof plateau, about 1 kilometre south of Eylau covering the Landsberg road. Here Bagration deployed only part of his total force of 15,000 men, leaving most of his cavalry and some artillery in the rear owing to the closed nature of the countryside, which was densely wooded. He posted Colonel Ermolov’s horse artillery on the rising ground just outside the village of Grünhӧfchen, and to the rear of this gun line he positioned, on the right, standing on the snow covered and frozen Tenknitten lake, a grenadier regiment; in the centre and to the left were drawn up the Pskov and Sofia Musketeer Regiments under General Markov. The second line consisted of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment under Prince Carl of Macklenburg. The 24^th Jager Regiment was spread out in skirmish order in front of the horse artillery, covering the whole front as far as the north – western edge of the Waschkitten Lake. The defence of Eylau itself was given to Barclay de Tolly (Map 5).[4]

Situation at 2.00 p.m. February 7^th. Petre gives the 18^th and 46^th Regiments as advancing against the ridge on which the Russian horse artillery was posted - the 18^th Line regiment on the left, the 46^th Line regiment on the right. A problem arises here because the 18^th Line regiment was part of Legrand’s division, while the 46^th Line was part of Laval’s division (Soults Corps). Also some sources state that the 18^th Line regiment advanced with the 26^th Light Infantry regiment (Lagrand), which would seem to make more sense since both regiments belonged to the same division. Possibly Petre just got mixed up with the 26^th and the 46^th regiments?

Satellite photograph of the Zieglhof plateau and Eylau (Bagrationovsk) today. Google Earth.

At 2.00 p.m. the first units of Murat’s cavalry and Soults Corps began to appear on the Landsberg road leading out of the heavily forested region south of the Zieglhof plateau. This time, unlike the fight at Hoff, the French cavalry awaited the arrival of their comrades in the infantry rather than attempting to attack on their own. Soult ordered forward the 18^th line and 26^th light infantry regiments of Ledru’s Brigade, Lagrand’s division, to attack the Russian gun line, while Shinner’s and Vivier’s Brigades, Leval’s division, pushed through the woods on the right of the Landsberg road towards the Grünberg farm, in an attempt to turn the Russian left. Augereau’s Corps, who were some way behind, was ordered to turn the Russian right flank by way of Tenknitten.[5]

Here Petre states that because they were unsupported, the 18^th line and 26^th light infantry regiments attack on the Russian centre came under heavy artillery fire as they crossed the frozen Tenknitten Lake. Just what support these two regiments required is debatable. One would presume that some kind of artillery support would be the most effective, since it would be logical to knock out the Russian guns, thus enabling the French infantry to advance without being cut – up by shot and canister? However, Soult may not have managed to get his artillery up on time, being slowed down by the state of the roads, while Murat’s horse guns could well have suffered the same fate, being left far behind as the dashing cavalier pushed on to get into the action. No mention is made in any of the sources regarding just where and who’s artillery was deployed by the French at the commencement of the engagement.

Monument to the battle at Eylau. Google Earth.

Because of the lack of support, the 18^th regiment, which was moving slightly in advance of the 26^th, came under heavy artillery fire from Ermolov’s guns, which caused them to change direction, bearing to their right. Apparently, already shaken, they were now assailed by a bayonet charge led by Bagration in person, and delivered by, presumably, the Russian grenadier regiment who were holding this part of the line? To be assailed with cold steel would seem to suggest that the Russians could not deliver a volley (the bad powder again?) before going in with the bayonet, but since there is also no record of the French firing on their attackers, who must have been struggling through deep snow, then just what occurred remains something of a mystery. It is stated that to complete the defeat of the 18^th Line, the St Petersburg dragoons crossed the Tenknitten lake and hit the reeling French on the left flank battalion of the regiment before it could form square, causing the whole mass to become disorganised. Here a certain trooper, one Vasily Podvortny of the St Petersburg dragoons, managed to capture the battalion Eagle.[6]

The 18^th Line were saved from ruin by the arrival of Klein’s French dragoons (dismounted?) who, holding back the Russian onslaught, which had now been reinforced by the Pskov and Sofia regiments, enabled the badly shaken 18^th to fall back in the direction of Grünehoffen. While this was taking place the 26^th Light infantry regiment was also attacked, but managed to retire in good order.[7]

All of the above does have “shades” of Augereau’s Corps crushing defeat the following day. Petre, quoting Hœpfner, says that both battalions of the 18^th were overthrown by the charge of the St Petersburg dragoons. Dumas says only one battalion was broken. The thing about all these bayonet and cavalry attacks is that the French never seem to see them coming? With the whole landscape covered in deep snow any attacking formations could not have moved at their normal rate, or for that matter possibly not even in their normal formations. Just how and why a Russian bayonet attack succeeded, and why the French were not able to do something about a cavalry attack, which they must have seen coming well in time to form square, makes me seriously consider the possibility that the 18^th Line had come up against a snowdrift many feet deep, thus slowing their progress, as well as making them take a detour (moving to the right) to avoid it?

Trying to sort out the tangle and restore morale, Soult now placed his artillery, at last able to contribute to the action, on the high ground between the villages of Scheweken and Grüncӧfchen. From this position they were able to cause some damage to the Russian gun line, as well as causing the (advancing?) Russian infantry to retire to their original positions. Next Soult switched his attacks to the right as Augereau’s Corps moved into line to attack Tenknitten, both Marshals now combining their assaults on the Russian rearguard, which managed to hold them back until Bennigsen’s main body of the army had passed through Eylau, and realising that his position was now compromised by the French outflanking him, Bagration pulls back to Eylau. Unfortunately none of the sources give any time scale for all this attacking and manoeuvring and, like Hoff, one is left with the distinct impression that most of the fighting must have occurred in twilight. No one mentions the weather, or for matter which way the wind was blowing, although we are well aware that it has been/is snowing, and that the temperature was probably around -10 c.[8]

Whatever the conditions, the French finally managed to take possession of the whole of the Ziegelhof plateau, which probably cost them at least 2,000 casualties. The Russians may have also sustained the same amount themselves. On passing through Eylau, Bagration was covered by Barclay de Tolly’s units, which included our old friends the Kostroma Musketeers, 1^st, 3^rd and 20^th Jager regiments, and the Izumsk and Olivopolsk Hussars, plus artillery batteries.[9]

After trying to bring on a general and decisive battle with the main Russian army, and being frustrated in every attempt thus far, Napoleon must have regarded the opportunity now offered too tempting to pass up. That he did indeed arrange to attack Eylau on the 7^th February seems logical, and given the fact that he, as well as Bennigsen, fully realised that the Russian’s must make a stand before they were trapped in Kӧnigsberg makes the argument almost watertight. The French had pushed Bagration’s rearguard back into Eylau itself and, as Ermolov states, they followed close behind engaging Barclay de Tolly’s forces who were covering the outskirts of the town.[10]

Hand tinted postcard of Eylau 1900

Once again Marbot, who seems to have been everywhere and heard everything, informs us that, being attached to Augereau’s staff, he had overheard a conversation between Napoleon and Augereau in which the Emperor stated, “They wanted me to carry Eylau this evening, but I do not like night fighting; moreover, I do not wish to push my centre too far forward before Davout has come up with the right, and Ney with the left. I shall wait, therefore, until tomorrow, on this high ground, which can be defended by artillery, and which offers an excellent position for our infantry. When Ney and Davout are in line, we can march simultaneously on the enemy.”[11] The all knowing Marbot next informs us that it was the Emperors personal baggage train that, entering the town due to a misunderstanding, caused the Russian’s to begin plundering it, then some of Soult’s infantry attempted to rescue it, which brought in still more Russian units, and this escalated into a full blown engagement.  If Marbot wrote this all down then he did more than Augereau, who never mentions any of this in his report; if he remembered exactly what was said he had a very good memory. Just who “They” were who suggested attacking Eylau is never disclosed and, like so many of Marbot’s tall stories, should be treated with suspicion.

Soult’s account of the operations of his own Corps (Archive History)states that it was part of the reserve cavalry, plus one of his own regiments (24^th) which managed to get into the town and beyond, being forced to retire when counter attacked by the Russian’s. This caused an “impulse” to be imparted to the troops, which made them continue the struggle to such a degree that it was impossible to pull them out without great risk. Petre now states that the tone of Soult’s report is an apology for a movement which Soult considered to be undesirable, and against Napoleon’s wishes.[12] It could be argued that Soult’s “tone” was not an apology for attacking Eylau, but for not pressing the attack further?

Regardless of what actually occurred, it may not have been possible to stop the tired and hungry French soldiers from seeking the shelter of Eylau in any event, since the town was the only place left to get out of the numbing cold, all other villages in the vicinity being crammed full of troops, plus the wounded already?

A slightly different version of events is given by Alexander Mikaberidze:

The 4^th and 28^th Line Regiments of Soult’s corps approached Eylau from the cemetery. Having entered the streets these regiments were met with a fearful fire and were attacked by Russian infantry. The 2^nd battalion of the 4^th Line “was dispersed by the volley of grapeshot and almost slaughtered...and pressed back after that horrible bloodshed.” Meanwhile, the embittered French assault went on. “Both artilleries fired on the streets at a distance of several sazhens [old Russian. 1 sazhens is about 2 meters]...the bullets poured as hail, and canon[sic]balls pierced our infantry, that crowded in the streets...”

As the clash spiralled into full – scale battle, French reinforcements continued to flow into Eylau, fighting the Russian’s in the centre. Barclay’s regiments were rather weakened after the bloody engagement at Hof on the previous day, but still they “performed prodigies of valour.” About 5:00 p.m., seeing the French superiority, Bennigsen ordered Bagration to withdraw from the town and the Russian’s began retreating. It was at this moment that Barclay de Tolly was seriously wounded in the arm.

While evacuating the town, Bagration received another order from Bennigsen requiring him to re – capture Eylau at any cost and sending reinforcements under Major General Somow. Having rallied his troops, Bagration himself led a bayonet attack in three columns. Soldiers followed him “quietly, without any noise, but when entering the streets everybody howled ‘Hurrah,’ charged with bayonets – and captured Eylau again.” Hence, at 6:00 p.m. on the 7February, as a result of Bagration’s decisive attack, the town of Eylau was in the possession of the Russian’s.

After seizing Eylau, Bagration went to the headquarters, located at Anklappen, two miles east of Eylau. Meanwhile the Russian main forces had settled into position to the northwest of Eylau, with Somow’s troops holding the town. At dusk, the soldiers scattered in the town, looking for food and shelter. When Somow decided to re – gather his dispersed troops, not having indicated the exact site of assembly, Russian drums began to beat at 9:30 p.m. in the northwest part of town, close to the Russian army positions. Soldiers rushed in disorder through the whole town to the signal. Leaving their positions to the French troops that dashed into town during the confusion. Therefore, by late evening, Eylau was in Napoleon’s possession.[13]

Unfortunately this account is as dubious as all the rest. Although it does appear that some time scale has been given to the events occurring during the battle for possession of Eylau, these can be dismissed when we consider that darkness had already fallen, sunset being at 4.40 p.m.. Therefore statements like, “Bagration seeing the French superiority at 5 00 p.m.,” and, “At dusk, the soldiers scattered in the town,” should not be taken seriously, since everything was already in total darkness, the only light possibly coming from burning buildings.

The story about Russian drummers is interesting. Each battalion had its own drum section, and these would presumably be stationed with the battalion commander at a focal point known to all. The regimental commander would/should have been well aware of the placement of the various components of his command, and battalion and company captains and lieutenants, unless totally cut off from their parent unit, would have had some idea where their men were spread out. Consequently, why General Somow decided to re - gather his dispersed troops creates a real problem – if the town was meant to be held by the Russian’s – why collect all your men together when they are supposed to be dispersed across the town in holding positions in the first place?

Arial view of Eylau taken in 1930

Without trying to complicate the complicated, it probably boils down to the simple fact that once several thousand soldiers, on both sides, got into Eylau, they were loath to give it up and fought each other until the one side was driven out, being too exhausted to attempt another attack?

The total cost in lives on the 7^th February will never be known for sure. That the fighting was severe there can be little doubt, and given the fact that much of the action took place during darkness, then we should not be too surprised if quite a few of the casualties were due to “friendly fire.” Trudging around a snow covered battlefield not knowing what is in front of you makes men trigger – happy, while fighting in darkened streets and houses is not conducive to fast reaction when it come to recognising friend from foe.

When all the marching and fighting that occurred “before” the actual battle on the 8^th February is taken into account, I still consider that what took place that day on the frozen and snow covered landscape around Eylau was not so much a battle as a vast plodding -  slogging match, with each side attempting some kind of tactical manoeuvres which they never achieved because their men were too tired and cold, and the ground over which they had to carry out these operations either blocked by deep snow, or made so slippery by thousands of shuffling feet and hooves that men could hardly stand. Did Augereau’s Corps wonder off course because it was blinded by a blizzard, or had it got stuck in a deep snowdrift and was thus forced to try to find a less obstructed route? All of this will be discussed at a later date.

Before closing I have one more observation to make concerning the feeding of horses during this gruelling campaign. Many of the sources mention the fact that thatch was taken from cottage roofs to feed the horses when normal supplies of fodder failed. In Poland, as well as many other European countries, thatch is made mainly from straw and reeds. Given the abundance of lakes in Poland, reeds were used for roofing, this material being cheap and readily available. Straw was used, but not to any great extent, as much of this was needed for animal bedding and as a filling for bed mattresses and the like, besides which it is not as durable as reeds. The enclosed photograph shows just what these reeds were like, and to try and feed a horse with them would have proven impossible owing to the fact that once cut, and several years old, they become hard, making them too tough to chew or digest and totally lacking in nourishment. Straw also becomes indigestible and dirty after a year or so on a roof.

Krystian Kozerawski Photoblog

 

 

Graham J.Morris,
June 2009