the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

CHAPTER X
Battles of Heilsberg and Friedland, June 1807
After the battle of Eylau, both the French and Russian armies spent several weeks
regrouping and preparing for a new campaign. Napoleon remained on the battlefield for
over a week realizing it was necessary to convince Europe of his victory at Eylau.
However, his army was devastated and needed reinforcements and supplies. So, in late
February, Napoleon ordered his forces to take up positions behind the Passarge River.
From 16 to 19 February, the French army was arranged along the line between
Braunsberg, Liebstadt and Allestein. 1 The French withdrawal was conducted in such
secrecy that the Russian patrols detected it only a couple of days later. Bennigsen
immediately dispatched Ataman Platov to pursue the French. The Cossacks occupied
Eylau late on 19 February and two days later, they were in Landsberg while Bennigsen
moved his main forces to Eylau and Kreutzberg. 2
Napoleon, meantime, ordered his army to the winter quarters. Bernadotte was
near Braunsberg on the left wing and Soult’s corps was arranged near Liebstadt in the
center. Davout bivouacked his troops between Hohenstein, Allenstein and Deppen. On
the French right flank, Marshal Andre Masséna commanded the 5 th Corps at Willenberg
with General Joseph Zajonczel’s Polish Division in between.
1 A l’Armee; Napoleon to Berthier, 60 th -61 st Bulletins, 16-19 February 1807, Correspondance
de Napoleon Ier, Nos. 11,816, 11,820, 11,822, 11,827, 11,830, 11,832, XIV, 381-91; Wilson,
Brief Remarks, 200; Berthier to Bernadotte, 16 February 1807, Dumas, Précis des événemens
militaires, XVIII, 53-59, 437.
2 Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky, Campaigns of 1806-1807, 233-34; Petre, Napoleon’s Campaign
in Poland, 224.
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