Battle of Eylau
Bagrationovsk (Preussisch Eylau), Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia
What happened
Napoleon's Grande Armée fought a Russian army under Levin August von Bennigsen, joined late by Prussian troops. The French followed the Russian army to the town of Eylau in East Prussia and took it after fighting on the first day. On the second day a French attack lost its way in a snowstorm, and the battle went on for hours in the cold. That night Bennigsen withdrew, leaving the French on the field.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the first serious setback for Napoleon's Grande Armée. It shook the idea that Napoleon could not be beaten.
What came next
Napoleon won decisively at Friedland in June 1807, and the Treaties of Tilsit followed.
Did you know?
Riding over the field the next morning, Marshal Ney reportedly said, 'What a massacre! And without result!'
Timeline
- 7–8 February 1807Battle of Eylau.
- 14 June 1807Napoleon defeats Bennigsen at Friedland.
- 1807Treaties of Tilsit.
- 3 December 1826Bennigsen dies at Banteln.