the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

advanced towards Rhein. Bennigsen planned to attack Ney’s isolated corps before
Napoleon could concentrate reinforcements. 21 He dispatched strong advance guards to
Guttstadt, while his main army marched to Heilsberg and Liebstadt. 22
On 19 January, Ney was surprised by the raids of the Russian patrols exploring
the roads from Rhein towards Bischofstein. 23 Meanwhile the main Russian forces
marched from Rhein in three columns 24 while Ney quickly began extricating his forces;
by 22 January, he succeeded in making good his retreat, though with losses, to
Neidenburg, where he was covered by Soult on his right, and Bernadotte on his left. 25
The Russian and Prussian forces continued to advance. On 22 January, they
attacked the French patrols near Landsberg, and the next day, captured some 300 French
at Liebstadt. 26 Bennigsen then engaged Bernadotte’s corps at Mohrungen on 25
21 Karpov, “Russian Operations in the 1806-1807 Campaigns,” RGVIA, f. 846, op. 16, d.
3161, ll.24; Denis Davydov, “Vospominanie o srazhenii pri Preisish-Eylau 1807 goda janvarya
26 i 27,” [Recollections on the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau on 26-27 January 1807], in Writtings,
206.
22 Bataille de Preussisch Eylau: Situation de l’Armee Francaise avant la battaile de
Preussisch Eylau, RGVIA, f. 846, op. 16., d.3202, l.1; “Extract of the Reports received from
General Bennigsen,” St. Petersburg, 7 February 1807, in Wilson, Brief Remarks, 236;
Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, Campaigns of 1806-1807, 146; Dumas, Précis des événemens
militaires, XVII, 301-304; Plotho, Tagebuch während des Krieges, 49
23 On the same day, Prussian General Lestocq united with the Russian right flank. Journal
Voennykh Deystviy Imperatorskoy Rossiiskoi Armii [Journal of Military Operations of the
Russian Imperial Army], (St. Petersburg, 1807), 59; Colbert, Traditions, Souvenirs et Documents,
III, 11-13.
24 Karpov, “Russian Operations in the 1806-1807 Campaigns,” RGVIA, f. 846, op. 16, d.
3161, ll.25-26; Höpfner, Der Krieg von 1806 und 1807, III, 183-85; Landmann, Der Krieg von
1806 und 1807, 330-31; Plotho, Tagebuch während des Krieges, 49-51.
25 Dumas, Précis des événemens militaires, XVII, 305-307; Ojala, Colbert, 134-35. On 23
January, Ney reported to Napoleon, “Trustworthy information derived from traders agrees with
the stories of deserters and prisoners in stating that there is a considerable mass of Russian troops
assembled at this moment between Mulhausen and Preussisch Eylau, and that the united army
under the command of General Bennigsen is 80,000 men strong.” Étude sur 1807: Manoeuvres
d’Eylau et Friedland (Paris, 1911), 48.
26 According to official reports, Markov captured 18 officers, including one Colonel and 291
soldiers. Some 300 Frenchmen were killed. Russian casualties were reported as “considerable”
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