Battle of Friedland

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Battle of Friedland
Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition
Napoleon friedland.jpg
Napoleon at the Battle of Friedland (1807). The Emperor is depicted giving instructions to General Nicolas Oudinot. Between them is depicted General Etienne de Nansouty and behind the Emperor, on his right is Marshal Michel Ney.
Date14 June 1807

Decisive French victory

Flag of France (1794-1815).svg France Flag of Slovakia (1939-1945).svg Russia
Commanders and leaders
Flag of France (1794-1815).svg Napoleon I
Flag of France.svg Jean Lannes
Flag of Slovakia (1939-1945).svg Levin August von Bennigsen
118 cannons [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
46,000 [5] [7] [6] –62,000
120 cannons [8] [3] [4]
Casualties and losses
8,000 [9] –10,000 [10] or 12,000 [11] [12] 20,000 [9] [13] killed, wounded and captured,
80 guns [9]


Napoleonic Wars Series of early 19th century European wars




Russian Empire Former country, 1721–1917

The Russian Empire, also known as Imperial Russia or simply Russia, was an empire that existed across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.


The engagement at Friedland was a strategic necessity after the Battle of Eylau earlier in 1807 had failed to yield a decisive verdict for either side. The battle began when Bennigsen noticed the seemingly isolated corps of Marshal Lannes at the town of Friedland. Bennigsen, who planned only to secure his march northward to Wehlau and never intended to risk an engagement against Napoleon's numerically-superior forces, thought he had a good chance of destroying these isolated French units and ordered his entire army over the Alle River. [14] Lannes held his ground against determined Russian attacks until Napoleon could bring additional forces onto the field. Bennigsen could have recalled the Russian forces, numbering about 50,000–60,000 men, and retreated across the river before the arrival of Napoleon's entire army but, being in poor health, decided to stay at Friedland and took no measures to protect his exposed and exhausted army. [14] By late afternoon, the French had amassed a force of 80,000 troops on the battlefield. Relying on superior numbers, Napoleon concluded that the moment had come and ordered a massive assault against the Russian left flank. The sustained French attack pushed back the Russian army and pressed them against the river behind. Unable to withstand the pressure, the Russians broke and started escaping across the Alle, where an unknown number of them died from drowning. [12] The Russian army suffered horrific casualties at Friedland–losing over 40% of its soldiers on the battlefield. [15]

Battle of Eylau battle

The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody battle between Napoleon's Grande Armée and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennigsen near the town of Preussisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians received timely reinforcements from a Prussian division of von L'Estocq. After 1945 the town was renamed Bagrationovsk as a part of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The engagement was fought during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Of all Napoleonic battles, this is considered to be the most uncertain and mysterious for several reasons—mainly the strength of Murat's reserve cavalry.

Jean Lannes Marshal of France


Imperial Russian Army land armed force of the Russian Empire


Napoleon's overwhelming victory was enough to convince the Russian political establishment that peace was necessary. Friedland effectively ended the War of the Fourth Coalition, as Emperor Alexander I reluctantly entered peace negotiations with Napoleon. These discussions eventually culminated in the Treaties of Tilsit, by which Russia agreed to join the Continental System against Great Britain and by which Prussia lost almost half of its territories. The lands lost by Prussia were converted into the new Kingdom of Westphalia, which was governed by Napoleon's brother, Jérôme. Tilsit also gave France control of the Ionian Islands, a vital and strategic entry point into the Mediterranean Sea. Some historians regard the political settlements at Tilsit as the height of Napoleon's empire because there was no longer any continental power challenging the French domination of Europe. [16]

War of the Fourth Coalition part of the Napoleonic Wars


Emperor of All Russia monarch during a period of Russian history

The Emperor or Empress of All Russia was the absolute and later the constitutional monarch of the Russian Empire.

Alexander I of Russia Emperor of Russia

Alexander I reigned as Emperor of Russia between 1801 and 1825. He was the eldest son of Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Alexander was the first Russian King of "Congress" Poland, reigning from 1815 to 1825, as well as the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland, reigning from 1809 to 1825.


Prior to Friedland, Europe had become embroiled in the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. Following the French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, Prussia went to war in 1806 to recover her position as the leading power of Central Europe.

War of the Third Coalition war

The War of the Third Coalition was a European conflict spanning the years 1803 to 1806. During the war, France and its client states under Napoleon I defeated an alliance, the Third Coalition, made up of the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Britain and others.

Battle of Austerlitz battle of the Napoleonic Wars

The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. In what is widely regarded as the greatest victory achieved by Napoleon, the Grande Armée of France defeated a larger Russian and Austrian army led by Emperor Alexander I and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire. Austerlitz brought the War of the Third Coalition to a rapid end, with the Treaty of Pressburg signed by the Austrians later in the month. The battle is often cited as a tactical masterpiece, in the same league as other historic engagements like Cannae or Gaugamela.

Central Europe region of Europe


The Prussian Campaign

Franco-Prussian tensions gradually increased after Austerlitz. Napoleon insisted that Prussia should join his economic blockade of Great Britain. This adversely affected the German merchant class. Napoleon ordered a raid to seize a subversive, anti-Napoleonic bookseller named Johann Philipp Palm in August 1806, and made a final attempt to secure terms with Britain by offering her Hanover, which infuriated Prussia. [17] The Prussians began to mobilize on August 9, 1806, and issued an ultimatum on August 26: they required French troops to withdraw to the west bank of the Rhine by October 8 on pain of war between the two nations. [18]

Continental System

The Continental System or Continental Blockade was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France against the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars. As a response to the naval blockade of the French coasts enacted by the British government on 16 May 1806, Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree on 21 November 1806, which brought into effect a large-scale embargo against British trade. The embargo was applied intermittently, ending on 11 April 1814 after Napoleon's first abdication. The blockade caused little economic damage to the UK, although British exports to the continent dropped from 55% to 25% between 1802 and 1806. As Napoleon realized that extensive trade was going through Spain and Russia, he invaded those two countries. His forces were tied down in Spain—in which the Spanish War of Independence was occurring simultaneously—and suffered severely in, and ultimately retreated from, Russia in 1812.

Johann Philipp Palm executed German bookseller

Johann Philipp Palm or Johannes Philipp Palm was a German bookseller and a strong anti-French agitator and freedom fighter executed during the Napoleonic Wars at Napoleon's orders.

Hanover Place in Lower Saxony, Germany

Hanover or Hannover is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,061 (2017) inhabitants make it the thirteenth-largest city of Germany, as well as the third-largest city of Northern Germany after Hamburg and Bremen. The city lies at the confluence of the River Leine and its tributary Ihme, in the south of the North German Plain, and is the largest city of the Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Low German dialect area after Hamburg, Dortmund, Essen, and Bremen.

Napoleon aimed to win the war by destroying the Prussian armies before the Russians could arrive. [18] 180,000 French troops began to cross the Franconian forest on October 2, 1806, deployed in a bataillon-carré (square-battalion) system designed to meet threats from any possible direction. [19] On October 14 the French won decisively at the large double-battle of Jena-Auerstedt. A famous pursuit followed, and by the end of the campaign the Prussians had lost 25,000 killed and wounded, 140,000 prisoners, and more than 2,000 cannon. [20] A few Prussian units managed to cross the Oder River into Poland, but Prussia lost the vast majority of its army. Russia now had to face France alone. By November 18 French forces under Louis Nicolas Davout had covered half the distance to Warsaw, Augereau's men had neared Bromberg, and Jérôme Bonaparte's troops had reached the approaches of Kalisz. [21]

Russians are a nation and an East Slavic ethnic group native to European Russia in Eastern Europe. Outside Russia, notable minorities exist in other former Soviet states such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine and the Baltic states. A large Russian diaspora also exists all over the world, with notable numbers in the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Canada.

Warsaw City metropolis in Masovia, Poland


Bydgoszcz Place in Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Poland




On February 7 the Russians fought Soult's corps for possession of Eylau. Daybreak on February 8 saw 44,500 French troops on the field against 67,000 Russians, [23] but after receiving reinforcements the French had 75,000 men against 76,000. [24] [25] Napoleon hoped to pin Bennigsen's army long enough to allow Ney's and Davout's troops to outflank the Russians. A fierce struggle ensued, made worse by a blinding snowstorm on the battlefield. The French found themselves in dire straits until a massed cavalry charge, made by 10,700 troopers formed in 80 squadrons, [26] relieved the pressure on the center. Davout's arrival meant the attack on the Russian left could commence, but the assault was blunted when a Prussian force under L'Estocq suddenly appeared on the battlefield and, with Russian help, threw the French back. Ney came too late to effect any meaningful decision, so Bennigsen retreated. Casualties at this indecisive battle were horrific, perhaps 25,000 on each side. [27] More importantly, however, the lack of a decisive victory by either side meant that the war would go on.


After several months of recuperating from Eylau, Napoleon ordered the Grande Armée on the move once again. Learning that the Russians had encamped at their operational base in the town of Heilsberg, by the Alle River, Napoleon decided to conduct a general assault in the hopes of dislodging what he thought was the rearguard of the Russian army. In fact, the French ran into the entire Russian army of over 50,000 men and 150 artillery guns. [28] Repeated and determined attacks by the French failed to dislocate the Russians, who were fighting inside elaborate earthworks designed to prevent precisely the kind of river crossing Napoleon was attempting. French casualties soared to 10,000 while the Russians lost about 6,000. [28] The Russians eventually withdrew from Heilsberg as their position became untenable, prompting Napoleon to chase after them once again. The French headed in the direction of Königsberg to gain additional supplies and provisions. On June 13, the advance guard of Marshal Lannes reported seeing large numbers of Russian troops at the town of Friedland. Both sides engaged one another for the remainder of the day with no result. Crucially, Bennigsen believed he had enough time to cross the Alle the following day, to destroy the isolated units of Lannes, and to withdraw back across the river without ever encountering the main French army.

The battle

Battle of Friedland - 14 June 1807 Battle of friedland.jpg
Battle of Friedland - 14 June 1807

Bennigsen's main body began to occupy the town on the night of June 13, after Russian forces under General Golitsyn had driven off the French cavalry outposts. The army of Napoleon marched on Friedland, but remained dispersed on its various march routes, and the first stage of the engagement became a purely improvisational battle. Knowing that Napoleon was within supporting distance with at least three corps, Lannes sent aides galloping off with messages for help and waged an expert delaying action to fix Bennigsen in place. With never more than 26,000 men, Lannes forced Bennigsen to commit progressively more troops across the Alle to defeat him. [29] Showing a bold front, and shifting troops where needed to stop Russian advances, the French engaged the Russians first in the Sortlack Wood and in front of Posthenen in the early hours of the 14th. Lannes held Bennigsen in place until the French had massed 80,000 troops on the left bank of the river. Both sides now used their cavalry freely to cover the formation of lines of battle, and a race between the rival squadrons for the possession of Heinrichsdorf ended in favor of the French under Grouchy and Nansouty. Bennigsen was trapped and had to fight. Having thrown all of his pontoon bridges at or near the bottleneck of the village of Friedland, Bennigsen had unwittingly trapped his troops on the west bank.

French 4th Hussar at the Battle of Friedland. "Vive l'Empereur!" by Edouard Detaille, 1891 Edouard Detaille - Vive L'Empereur - Google Art Project.jpg



"Charge of the French Cuirassiers at Friedland" on 14 June 1807 by Ernest Meissonier, c. 1875 1807, Friedland.jpg



The Russians suffered heavy losses in the disorganized retreat over the river, with many soldiers drowning. Farther north the still unbroken troops of the right wing withdrew by using the Allenburg road; the French cavalry of the left wing, though ordered to pursue, remained inactive. French casualties numbered approximately 10,000 soldiers while the Russians suffered at least 20,000 casualties.


On June 19, Emperor Alexander sent an envoy to seek an armistice with the French. Napoleon assured the envoy that the Vistula River represented the natural borders between French and Russian influence in Europe. On that basis, the two emperors began peace negotiations at the town of Tilsit after meeting on an iconic raft on the River Niemen. The very first thing Alexander said to Napoleon was probably well-calibrated: "I hate the English as much as you do." [30] Napoleon reportedly replied, "Then we have already made peace." The two emperors spent several days reviewing each other's armies, passing out medals, and frequently talking about non-political subjects.

Although the negotiations at Tilsit featured plenty of pageantry and diplomatic niceties, they were not spared from ruthless politics. Alexander faced pressure from his brother, Duke Constantine, to make peace with Napoleon. Given the victory he had just achieved, the French emperor offered the Russians relatively lenient terms–demanding that Russia join the Continental System, withdraw its forces from Wallachia and Moldavia, and hand over the Ionian Islands to France. [31] By contrast, Napoleon dictated very harsh peace terms for Prussia, despite the ceaseless exhortations of Queen Louise. Wiping out half of Prussian territories from the map, Napoleon created a new kingdom of 1,100 square miles called Westphalia. He then appointed his young brother Jérôme as the new monarch of this kingdom. Prussia's humiliating treatment at Tilsit caused a deep and bitter antagonism which festered as the Napoleonic Era progressed. Moreover, Alexander's pretensions at friendship with Napoleon led the latter to seriously misjudge the true intentions of his Russian counterpart, who would violate numerous provisions of the treaty in the next few years. Despite these problems, Tilsit at last gave Napoleon a respite from war and allowed him to return to France, which he had not seen in over 300 days. [31] His arrival was greeted with huge celebrations in Paris.


  1. Dowling T. C. Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond. ABC-CLIO. 2014. P. 279: "Napoleon, with 80,000 men and 118 cannon".
  2. Chandler, D. The Campaigns of Napoleon. Scribner, 1966, p. 576.
  3. 1 2 Tucker S. C. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. 2009. P. 1055: "The Battle of Friedland of June 14, 1807, pits Napoleon with 80,000 men against Bennigsen with only 60,000".
  4. 1 2 Emsley C. Napoleonic Europe. Routledge. 2014. P. 236
  5. 1 2 Sandler S. Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. 2002. P. 304: "Friedland... A battle in East Prussia between French forces, ultimately numbering 80,000, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, and Russian forces, numbering about 46,000 under Levin, Count Bennigsen".
  6. 1 2 Nicholls D. Napoleon: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO. 1999. P. 105: "Some 50,000 Russians under Levin von Bennigsen faced 80,000 of the Grande Armée".
  7. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Warfare. Penguin. 2012. P. 427
  9. 1 2 3 Chandler 1995 p. 582.
  11. Dwyer Ph. Citizen Emperor: Napoleon in Power 1799-1815. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2013. P. 359
  12. 1 2 Weigley R. F. The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo. Indiana University Press, 2004. P. 407
  13. Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (editor). The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. 2006. Volume 1. P. 392
  14. 1 2 Gregory Fremont-Barnes (editor).The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. A Political, Social, and Military History. V. I. ABC CLIO. 2006. P. 388-389.
  15. Roberts, Andrews. Napoleon: A Life. Penguin Group, 2014, p. 455
  17. McLynn, p. 354
  18. 1 2 McLynn p. 355
  19. McLynn p. 356
  20. Chandler 1995 p. 502
  21. Chandler 1995 p. 515
  23. 1 2 Fisher & Fremont-Barnes p. 77
  24. Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan. 1966. P. 536
  25. Esdaile Charles J. The Wars of Napoleon. Routledge, 2014. P. 66
  28. 1 2 Roberts, A. Napoleon: A Life. Penguin Group, 2014, p. 450.
  29. 1 2 Roberts, A. Napoleon: A Life. Penguin Group, 2014, p. 452-3.
  30. Roberts, A. Napoleon: A Life. Penguin Group, 2014, p. 457.
  31. 1 2 Roberts, A. Napoleon: A Life. Penguin Group, 2014, p. 458-9.

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Coordinates: 54°27′N21°01′E﻿ / ﻿54.450°N 21.017°E﻿ / 54.450; 21.017