On February 8, 1807, the Russian army in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau forever scattered the world about the omnipotence of Napoleon's Great Army
“The Battle of Preussisch-Eylau is almost whitewashed from the memory of contemporaries by the storm of the Battle of Borodino … The subject of the dispute of weapons at Borodino was more sublime, more majestic, more clutching at the Russian heart than the dispute of weapons at Eylau, at Borodino it was a matter of whether or not Russia should be … weapons under Eylau were presented from a different point of view. It is true that he was the bloody preface of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, but who then saw it? - this is how the legendary Denis Davydov begins his memories of one of the bloodiest battles of the Russian-French war of 1806-07. And he is right in many ways.
The events of the Patriotic War of 1812 really overshadowed many of the feats of the Russian soldiers accomplished six years earlier. But it was the battle of Preussisch-Eylau, according to many contemporaries, that became the first battle in which the myth of the invincibility of Napoleon's Great Army was dispelled. And even though neither side formally won the victory, and the death toll surpassed all conceivable limits, in a strategic sense, the Russians had the upper hand. “What courage! What courage! - so in the midst of the battle, according to the memoirs, exclaimed the emperor of France, watching the attack of the Russian grenadiers. But these words are applicable to the whole battle of Preussisch-Eylau: the day of February 8 (according to the new style) in 1807 has forever gone down in history as the day of the triumph of the Russian spirit and Russian weapons.
The prologue to the battle was the innocent, in general, actions of the French. Marshal of France Michel Ney, commander of the 6th Army Corps of the Grand Army, was dissatisfied with the winter quarters assigned to his troops near Prussian Neudenburg. To improve matters, he moved part of his forces to the east, hoping to make them more comfortable. But at the headquarters of the cavalry general Leonty Bennigsen - the commander-in-chief of the Russian army stationed in Prussia - these actions were taken as the beginning of an offensive on Konigsberg. The Russians moved their troops towards, forcing the French to withdraw, but did not pursue them: there was no direct order from the capital. Napoleon took advantage of this delay. Frustrated by Ney's self-righteousness, he suddenly saw in the unexpected maneuvers of the troops a chance to repeat his Jena success: to surround and defeat the opposing Russian forces in one battle.
There was only one condition for achieving this goal: the observance of complete secrecy. But it was not possible to fulfill it - the practice of long-distance Cossack patrols, which is indispensable for the Russian army, interfered. One of them intercepted a courier who was carrying with him Napoleon's secret order on the movement of troops and preparation for a general strike. Having received this information, General Bennigsen immediately took the necessary measures in order to withdraw the Russian army from under the threat.
For almost a week, the rearguard of the Russian army, commanded by Prince Bagration and General Barclay de Tolly, repulsed the attacks of the French, giving the main forces the opportunity to take the most successful position. The most brutal battle was the battle on February 7 (January 26) near Ziegelhof - a place two kilometers from Preussisch-Eylau, in fact, a suburb of the city. Several times he passed from hand to hand, and neither side was able to claim with complete certainty that they had prevailed.
The outcome of the battle on February 7 became a kind of preface to the main battle, which eventually ended in the same way without results. But for the French army, the impossibility of winning a victory over the Russian turned out to be akin to defeat: so far no such battle has brought such a result! For the Russian army, the battle on February 8 north of Preussisch-Eylau, where the main forces took up positions while the rearguard covering them was killed in battle with the French vanguard, was a victory, albeit an informal one.
"Napoleon at the Battle of Eylau on February 9, 1807", Antoine-Jean Gros
Before the start of the battle, the sides had approximately equal forces: about 70 thousand people with four hundred guns. Alas, the exact data varies depending on the source and its political overtones, since both sides sought to prove that they fought with superior enemy forces. But even with equal forces, the advantage was on the side of the Great Army: although it was formally created in 1805, it consisted of troops that have continuously improved their combat skills over the past decade. As a result, the battle turned into one of the first battles, where such a tactical technique as active defense was fully manifested.
The offensive was launched by the French, and at first it brought success: the Russian troops could not withstand the blow and moved back. But the French army could not build on the success: the units that had moved to the aid of the advancing units in a blizzard went astray and went out directly under the Russian guns, which opened a hurricane of fire on them. Seeing confusion in the ranks of the attacking, Bennigsen threw cavalry and grenadiers into a counterattack, who almost reached Napoleon's headquarters at the Preussisch-Eylau cemetery. Only the horsemen of Murat, who rushed into a suicidal attack, saved the emperor from the probable captivity of the emperor.
Due to the fact that neither side was able to create the conditions for a strategic strike, the troops very soon lost their ability to maneuver, and the battle turned into a colossal hand-to-hand combat. “More than twenty thousand people from both sides drove a three-edged point into each other, - this is how Denis Davydov describes the nightmare of the massacre. - The crowds were falling. I was an obvious witness of this Homeric carnage and I will truly say that during the sixteen campaigns of my service, throughout the entire era of Napoleonic wars, the justly named epic of our century, I have never seen such a carnage! For about half an hour, neither cannon nor rifle shots were heard, neither in the middle nor around it was heard only some inexpressible rumble of thousands of brave people who were mixed and cut without mercy. Piles of dead bodies were crumbling in fresh heaps, people fell one on another in hundreds, so that this entire part of the battlefield soon became like a high parapet of a suddenly erected fortification."
The inability to conduct a normal maneuvering battle and the rapidly growing losses forced both the Russian and French armies to cease active operations by evening. The damage was so heavy that when General Leonty Bennigsen began to retreat from Preussisch-Eylau towards nightfall, Napoleon found neither the strength nor the ability to pursue him. “The French army, like a shot-down warship, with broken masts and torn sails, was still swaying, formidable, but unable to take one step forward either for battle or even for pursuit,” Denis Davydov described it figuratively.
By this time, the losses of the Great Army were, according to various estimates, from 18 to 30 thousand people only killed. The Russians lost no less. “Our damage in this battle extended to almost half the number of those who fought, that is, up to 37 thousand people killed and wounded…” writes Denis Davydov. “There hasn't been an example of such damage in war chronicles since the invention of gunpowder. I leave the reader to judge the loss of the French army, which had less artillery against ours and which was repulsed from two hot attacks on the center and on the left flank of our army."
The result of the battle at Preussisch-Eylau, or rather, its absence, was interpreted by each side in its own favor. "My friend! I fought a big battle yesterday. I am the winner, but I have heavy losses. I think the enemy's losses are even more difficult. I am writing these two lines with my own hand, despite the fact that I am tired. All your Napoleon. 3 o'clock in the morning on February 9, "- this is how the Emperor of France wrote to his wife Josephine after the bloody battle. And in Russia on August 31, 1807 - that is, six months after the battle - a special cross was established to reward officers who distinguished themselves in battle and were presented with orders, but did not receive them. On the obverse of this gilded bronze cross the phrase “For labor and courage” was minted, on the other - “Victory at Preish-Eylau. 27 gene. (that is, January. - RP) 1807 ". This award was received by 900 officers who wore it in the buttonhole on the St. George ribbon. In addition, after the battle, 18 officers from among its participants were awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree, 33 officers - the Order of St. George, 4th degree, and several others - the Order of St. Vladimir. The highest award was given to the commander of the Russian army, cavalry general Leonty Bennigsen: 12 days after the battle he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Ironically, in Russia, living according to the Julian calendar, it was the day of February 8, 1807 …
