battle of jena summary


[6] Several figures who were later integral to the reformation of the Prussian Army participated at Jena–Auerstedt, including Gebhard von Blücher, Carl von Clausewitz, August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Gerhard von Scharnhorst, and Hermann von Boyen. Petre, F. Lorraine (1914) Napoleon's Conquest of Prussia. November 19, 1806 … Napoleon's main force at Jena consisted of about 116,000 men[4][circular reference] in total: Further north, in the vicinity of Auerstedt, the French forces were Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps (20,000 strong) and Louis Nicolas Davout's III Corps (27,000). With its flanks broken, the Prussian army was forced to withdraw and Napoleon had won another battle. Shortly before 10 a.m., he ordered a full assault on Hassenhausen. Share yours for free! October 14, 1806 Battle of Jena-Auerstädt. Before Ruchel's 15,000 men could arrive from Weimar, Hohenlohe's force of 38,000 was routed, with 10,000 killed or wounded and 15,000 captured. In 1807, Napoleon defeated the Russian army at the Battle of Friedland, ending the Fourth Coalition. Gera Campaign Summary. Only four months earlier Napoleon had achieved one of his most impressive victories, defeating the highly regarded Prussian army in a campaign that had only lasted a few weeks. Offense ; Johnston did not use his cavalry to screen and scout during his advance or during the night following the battle during day one. Battle of Jena, also called Battle of Jena-Auerstädt, (Oct. 14, 1806), military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought between 122,000 French troops and 114,000 Prussians and Saxons, at Jena and Auerstädt, in Saxony (modern Germany). [16][17] The Siege of Magdeburg ended on 11 November with Ney's capture of the fortress. The army was very experienced and was very well led, with a good mix of older, more experienced Marshals, and younger, upcoming Marshals. Napoleon conceived a plan to force Prussia into a decisive battle, like Austerlitz, and pre-empt the Prussian offensive. Although the French were then in a troubling situation, the Prussian commanders did not take the initiative to push at the French weaknesses. Although outnumbered two to one, Davout's superbly trained and disciplined III Corps endured repeated attacks before it eventually took the offensive and put the Prussians to flight. It was fought between the French and the Prussians. Once Davout became aware of the Prussian force, he ordered Gudin to deploy his force at Hassenhausen. Around 2:00 PM, a massive French assault succeeded in securing the redoubt. ..... 119 Command and Control by Helicopter .....119 Napoleon recognized Ney's situation and ordered Marshal Jean Lannes to shift from the centre of attack to help Ney. Wartensleben arrived at 8:30 a.m. with the Duke of Brunswick, who ordered his infantry to the left flank and his cavalry to the right. Important Prussian reformers like Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Clausewitz served at the battle. On 8 October, Napoleon launched 180,000 troops across the Saxon frontier. Battle of Schleiz . ... Napoleon fought, and lost, a desperate battle at Jena. Kennedy Hickman. He was unknown about the gaps led by som… But please note that they are NOT BEING UPDATED and will remain, as is, forever. [12] For his part, Napoleon later stated on St. Helena that Bernadotte's behavior (though he was complying with Napoleon's orders) was disgraceful and that but for his attachment to Bernadotte's wife, Napoleon's own former fiancée, Desiree Clary, he would have had Bernadotte shot. [9] In the early hours of October 14, Davout received a courier from Berthier in which he wrote: "If the Prince of Ponte Corvo [Bernadotte] is with you, you may both march together, but the Emperor hopes that he will be in the position which had been indicated at Dornburg." Napoleon, who was then in Bamberg, opened the hostilities on October 8 and took the road to the Frankenwald with the Gra… Davout's corps had lost 7,052 officers and men killed or wounded, while Prussian casualties were 13,000.[5]. Further north at Auerstedt, both Davout and Bernadotte received orders to come to Napoleon's aid. With Glenn Close, Jena Malone, Bruce McGill, Meat Loaf. His division was actually under orders to proceed down the very road that Davout was on, to block his advance in the Kösen Pass. It was in thick fog that the first French assault at Jena began, at 6 am on the 14th of October. The attacks on the flanks proved to be a success and caused many of the Prussian divisions on the flanks to flee the battlefield. Everything failed: three Prussian cavalry regiments were routed and the infantry fell back. Napoleon advanced northward rapidly through the eastern end of the Thuringian Forest to cut the Prussians off from the Elbe River and engage them before their Russian allies could join them. The Prussians had to face about to meet this attack from their rear. Pushed by the violent anti-French party which was dominating the Prussian court under the impulse of Queen Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, King Frederick William III transmitted to France, October 1, 1806 (Napoleonwill only get to know about it on the 7th), an ultimatum enjoining him to withdraw his troops from the right bank of the Rhine before the 8th. The response is immediate and rapid. Having crushed an Austrian army at Ulm earlier that fall, Napoleon drove east and captured Vienna.