The Battle of Eylau

The Battle in Pictures

Back

 

Refight Reports

The French Bulletin

 

Plans

Russian Plan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both the Russian and the French leadership came up with slightly more ambitious Battle plans for 2007 than were produced for 1807.

The French plan was particularly un-Napoleonic as they chose to defend until such time as Davout arrived on the Battlefield just before lunchtime, but with a risky twist. Napoleon ordered his two Heavy cavalry Corps and the Light Cavalry division on a sweeping flanking move on the right flank which came in behind the Russian Left Flank.

The Russian Plan was to defend on the left and centre and send his right flank divisions and the Reserve Division in an all out assault on the French left wing to the North of Eylau. There was to be no faffing about with artillery bombardments.

The Russian attack started very well with Soult's corps falling back in the face of greater numbers and the French were left clinging to a line from Eylau running west to the map edge. Here things started to go wrong for the Russians as some of their cavalry regiments started to get in the way of the assaulting infantry and both getting in the way of their advancing artillery. This was not helped by the fact that the Russian commanders began treating the table edge as an impassable chasm and seemed not to think of using their massive cavalry superiority at this point to go round the flank into the French rear where there was little cavalry because Napoleon had sent most of his off round the other flank.

So what of the French Cavalry? it's flank march round the back of the forest behind Serpallen caused panic in the Russian Ranks and they swept away the small contingent of cavalry in Baggovut's command, and attempts to bolster it with more cavalry from the reserve failed; making the whole of the Russian left flank position untenable. Now would have been a good point for the Russians of Baggovut's Detachment and Osterman-Tolstoy's Division to withdraw as in the plan. Unfortunately they chose to hold on until Davout's Corps arrived to push Baggovut out of Serpallen; what should have been a withdrawal became a hasty retreat and ultimately a rout. With the left flank collapsed a quick win on the right was now essential and could still have been achieved if only the Russians had thought to outflank the Eylau position with their cavalry. But with this French position holding well , Napoleon could afford to order Augereau's corps to attack the centre of the Russian line, this latter was already in some disarray because of the collapse of the Russian left and buckled under the assault and was forced to retreat and eventually rout. As the Russian Centre and left disappeared or surrendered, the lone reserve division of Kamenski was surrounded and attacked by Davout's Corps and Murat's Cavalry swept across the battlefield to come into the rear of the Russians attacking Eylau. Fortunately for the Russians the Prussians had arrived and were moving against Murat's Cavalry. It was however too late to affect the outcome of the battle and the umpires called time and awarded a victory to the French.