Friedland, Battle of

Friedland, Battle of
(June 14, 1807) Victory against Russia for Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars that led to the Peace of Tilsit.

Near Friedland in eastern Prussia (modern Pravdinsk, Russia), an isolated French corps, greatly outnumbered, held off Russian attacks for nine hours while Napoleon concentrated his forces. He then attacked with 65,000 men, pushing half the Russian army into the village of Friedland, where they were killed or captured. A Prussian ally withdrew his forces from Königsberg, which the French then occupied.

* * *

▪ European history
      (June 14, 1807), victory for Napoleon that compensated for a setback the preceding February at Eylau and led to the Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Alexander I of Russia. It was fought at Friedland (modern Pravdinsk, Russia), 27 miles (43 km) southeast of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) in East Prussia.

      About 80,000 troops of Napoleon's Grand Army (including Polish, Dutch, Italian, and German units) confronted about 58,000 Russians under the command of General Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen (Bennigsen, Leonty Leontyevich, Graf von). Most of the Russian troops crossed to the west bank of the Alle River at Friedland and early on June 14 attacked the seemingly isolated French corps of Marshal Jean Lannes (Lannes, Jean, duc de Montebello). Outnumbered by more than two to one, Lannes held off the Russian attacks, led by Prince P.I. Bagration, for nine hours while Napoleon concentrated his forces. At 5 PM Napoleon launched his main attack, employing about 65,000 men, and in two hours pushed the southern half of the Russian army back into the tiny village of Friedland. There, close-packed, they were cut down by volleys of canister and grapeshot fired by the French guns at close range. The Russians were either killed, captured, or driven into the river, since the bridges had earlier been destroyed by the French. The Russians lost about 19,000 men, and the French about 9,000. Bennigsen's army was shattered, and the next day his ally, the Prussian general Anton Lestocq, with about 25,000 men, abandoned Königsberg and retreated to Tilsit. The French occupied Königsberg.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • battle — battle1 battler, n. /bat l/, n., v., battled, battling. n. 1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo. 2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle. 3. a… …   Universalium

  • Battle of Friedland — Warbox conflict=Battle of Friedland partof=the War of the Fourth Coalition caption= A Charge of the Russian Leib Guard on 14 June 1807 , by Viktor Mazurovsky. campaign= date=June 14, 1807 place=Friedland, Prussia result= Decisive French victory… …   Wikipedia

  • Friedland — The term Friedland can refer to the following: Places ;Germany: * Friedland, Mecklenburg Vorpommern * Friedland, Brandenburg * Friedland, Lower Saxony;Russia: * Pravdinsk ( Friedland in Ostpreußen ), Russia;Czech: * Frýdlant v Čechách ( Friedland …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Eylau — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Eylau partof=the War of the Fourth Coalition caption= Napoléon on the field of Eylau by Antoine Jean Gros date=February 7 ndash;8, 1807 place=Preußisch Eylau, [The town is now in the Russian… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Gross Jägersdorf partof=the Seven Years War caption= date=August 30, 1757 place= Gross Jägersdorf, East Prussia casus= territory= result=Russian victory combatant1=flagicon|Prussia|1750 Prussia… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Heilsberg — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Heilsberg caption=Battle of Heilsberg. Etching by unknown artist. partof=the War of the Fourth Coalition date=June 10, 1807 place=Heilsberg, East Prussia result= Inconclusive combatant1=flagicon|France …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Raab — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Raab partof=Napoleonic Wars campaign= caption= date=14 June, 1809 place=Győr, Hungary result=Franco Italian victory combatant1=flagicon|France French Empire combatant2=flag|Austrian Empire… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle at the Raab — Bataille de Raab Bataille de Raab La bataille de Raab, graphique en couleur d Édouard Kaiser (1855 1931[1]) Informations générales …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wallenstein, Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von, Herzog von Friedland, Herzog von Mecklenburg, Fürst Von Sagen — ▪ Bohemian military commander Introduction Wallenstein also spelled  Waldstein , Czech  Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna , or  Valštejna  born Sept. 24 [Sept. 14, old style], 1583, Heřmanice, Bohemia died Feb. 25, 1634, Eger  Bohemian… …   Universalium

  • Eylau, Battle of — (1807)    A bloody yet indecisive battle of the Napoleonic Wars between Russian Field Marshal Levin Bennigsen’s 67,000 men and Napoleon Bonaparte ’s 45,000. On February 7, in bitter cold, the French took possession of the town of Eylau, southeast …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”