Battle of Heilsberg

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Battle of Heilsberg
Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition
Emperor Napoleon I on the battlefield of Heilsberg, on 11 June 1807 by Joseph Nicolas Jouy, 1837
Date 10 June 1807 Location Heilsberg, East Prussia (now Lidzbark Warmiński, Poland) 54°07′00″N 20°35′00″E / 54.1167°N 20.5833°E / 54.1167; 20.5833 Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
French Empire	Russian Empire Kingdom of Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I Joachim Murat Jean Lannes Claude Legrand Saint-Hilaire Jean-Antoine Verdier	Leonty Bennigsen Andrei Gorchakov Pyotr Bagration Constantine Pavlovich Nikolay Kamensky
Strength
50,000[1]–64,500[2] overall ~30,000[3] engaged	90,000[1][2] overall ~53,000[3][4] engaged
Casualties and losses
Versions: up to 8,000;[a] 1,398 killed,[3] 10,059 wounded,[3] 864 captured;[3][5] up to 13,000 killed or wounded.[b]	Versions: 6,000 killed or wounded;[3][4][5] 2-3,000 killed and 5-6,000 wounded;[6] 9,000 killed or wounded;[7] 3,000 killed or 7,000 wounded.[1]

War of the Fourth Coalition

200km
125miles

Friedland

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Eylau

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Berlin

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Jena–Auerstedt

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⬤ current battle

⬤ Napoleon not in command

⬤ Napoleon in command

The Battle of Heilsberg took place on 10 June 1807 off the town of Heilsberg (now Lidzbark Warmiński), during the Napoleonic Wars.^[8]

Overview

On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig ended when Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth capitulated to French Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre. This gave Napoleon the opportunity to engage the Russian forces led by Levin August von Bennigsen and then Andrei Ivanovich Gorchakov. The French commanders were Joachim Murat^[9] and Napoleon Bonaparte.^[10] On 2 June, before Napoleon could act, Bennigsen ordered his columns to converge on Marshal Michel Ney's exposed VI Corps. Outnumbered by 63,000 to 17,000, Ney fought a rearguard action at the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June. Though he lost his baggage train, two guns, and 2,042 men, Ney managed to escape to the southwest over the Pasłęka (Passarge) River with the bulk of his soldiers.

Within two days, Napoleon had ordered his 190,000-man army to close in on the 100,000 Russians and 15,000 Prussians. Aware of their approach, Bennigsen ordered his troops to fall back on

Influences on the battle

Geography

The Battle of Heilsberg was fought on the Alle river, known today as the

Terrain

Aside from geographical advantages, the Russians had also spent three to four months compiling tactics on how to defend against a French invasion, regardless of where they would attack the castlegrounds. Defensively, the castle was supported by its bridges and walls, both of which were built along the perimeter of the castle. The land surrounding the Teutonic Castle acted as an obstacle for the French army due to the increase of elevation from the base of the river to the castles foundation. The Prussian 21st Fusiliers, commanded by Ludwig August von Stutterheim, was garrisoned there.^[12]

Climate

Although the terrain was punishment enough for the French, weather also took a toll on their abilities and health. During the day, on top of the weight being carried in regards to supplies and armory, temperatures reached dangerously hot and humid levels. The dampness and bitter cold of the night also played a significant role by providing little opportunity for rest.

Progress of the battle

Tactics

Benningsen had been fooled into retreat by false reports of the French numbers.^[9] The Russians, having moved back to Heilsberg, had some protection from substantial fieldworks.^[13] In order to storm the fortifications, Napoleon had to choose between an immediate advance or a flanking movement, threatening the Russian supply base of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad).^[13] He chose the latter, and the French thus positioned themselves so as to cut off any opportunity for the Russians to obtain reinforcements.

The battle

The French cavalry under Joachim Murat was selected to lead the frontal attack, but Napoleon did not arrive on the field in person until Murat had already led a disastrous charge.

At 6pm Napoleon arrived on the battlefield with part of Lannes' corps and the Fusilier guardsmen.^[2] Soult and Lannes, leading separate cavalry units, and Ney, with the infantry, moved forwards on both sides of the River Łyna.^[13] Divisional general Legrand was ordered to attack the central redoubt; the French managed to break into the redoubt. Lieutenant general Gorchakov, commanding the corps of Bennigsen's army, attacked the French and seized the redoubt back.^[14][2] One of the regiments of Divisional general Saint-Hilaire, moved by him to help Legrand, was also repulsed. Failure in the centre forced Napoleon to shift his main attention to the enemy's right flank; but even here, despite the arrival of the rest of Lannes' corps, the attacks were unsuccessful. Tightly pressed by the Russian cavalry, the French army withdrew behind Spuibach stream, holding back only the grove of Lawden.^[2] Smaller French units proved ineffective, especially when Prussian reinforcements arrived, sent by Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq at Bennigsen's request.^{[citation needed]} Strong artillery cannonade from both sides continued until darkness fell, when Lannes with Verdier's division made a new attempt to capture the central redoubt, but was forced to retreat, which cost the French 3,000 casualties.^[9][2]

On the Russian side, Bennigsen was suffering from sudden fever and had difficulty remaining in command. Andrey I. Gorchakov, on Grand Duke Constantine's orders, due to the illness of сommander-in-сhief Bennigsen, took over general command for the rest of the day in the final hours of the battle,^[14] bringing it to a tactical draw.

On 11 June, the substantial casualties on both sides and the success of the Russian defence gave Bennigsen and Napoleon little choice but to call an undocumented truce to end hostilities. The French had lost an estimated 12,000 men. The truce was focused primarily on the recovery of wounded soldiers. The battle ended with medics and soldiers from both sides helping the wounded and retrieving the dead. When Napoleon entered the deserted Russian positions the following day, he found that all except the wounded had been evacuated overnight.^[9]

Outcome and post-war analysis

This battle is recognized as having been strategically inconclusive due to neither side having gained any significant ground, it is most notably discussed as a battle that yielded little change in the balance of strength between the Russians and the French. By most accounts, this was a successful Russo-Prussian rearguard action. Napoleon never realized he faced the entire army at Heilsberg. Murat and Soult attacked prematurely and at the strongest point in the Russo-Prussian line. The Russians had built extensive fortifications on the right bank of the Alle river, but only a few minor redoubts on the left bank, yet the French advanced over the river to give battle, squandering their advantages and incurring casualties^[15] The Battle of Heilsberg was fought four days before the decisive Battle of Friedland.

French Army losses

1,398 killed, 10,059 wounded, 864 captured.^[3] Three units lost their eagles, and Digby Smith places the losses higher than Clodfelter, at 1,398 killed, 10,059 wounded and 864 captured. Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult's IV corps sustained the majority of losses: 8,286, and General François Xavier Roussel, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guard, was killed. Three generals were wounded, and Jean Lannes' corps lost 2,284 killed and wounded.^[16]

Russo-Prussian losses

Disputes over the killed and wounded remain. Clodfelter estimates 6,000 killed and wounded.^[3][4] In addition, generals Koschin, Warneck, and Pahlen were killed; Dmitry Dokhturov, Werdrevski, Fock, Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev, Duka, Laptiev, Passeck and Duke Charles of Mecklenburg were wounded. The Russian commander, Bennigsen was sick all day, but remained on his horse despite falling off unconscious several times. Digby Smith says that the Russian Prussian force lost 2-3000 dead, and about 5-6000 wounded, and they lost two guns.^[6]

Notable officers of the French Army present were:

• Commander-in-Chief
  : Napoléon Bonaparte (Marshall Joachim Murat led the French troops at the start of the battle);
  • Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier, prince de Neuchâtel;
  • Marshal Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult;
  • Marshal Jean Lannes;
    • Nicolas Charles Oudinot
      ;
    • Major General Jean-Antoine Verdier;
      • Brigadier General
        further to this battle).

Notable officers of the Russian Army present were:

• Commander-in-Chief: Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen, at the end of the battle he was sick, but remained in the battlefield — he was replaced by Lieutenant general Andrey Gorchakov;
  • Lieutenant General Matvei Platov
    ;
  • Lieutenant General Prince Gorchakov;
  • Lieutenant General Dmitry Dokhturov (wounded);
  • Lieutenant General Prince Bagration;
    • Major General Fabian Steinheil.

References