Napoleon orders a general attack, all along the line.
THE BATTLE OF AUERSTÄDT
During the evening of 13 October, a minor cavalry skirmish took place near the village of Taugwitz. Reports of this alarmed Marshal Davout, now at Naumburg with the French III Corps. He immediately went forward personally, at the same time ordering a battalion to secure the defile formed by the hills and the bridge over the Saale at Kösen. His cavalry took several prisoners, from whom he learned enough to realize that the main body of the enemy, (Brunswick’s army, now reinforced by a cavalry division under General Blücher) with the King and Queen at its head, was approaching the defile, evidently en route for Naumburg. Why Brunswick had not made arrangements to secure that defile remains a mystery to this day. Davout’s immediate reaction was to order his three divisions forward by forced marching. He also sent word to Marshal Bernadotte, whose headquarters were also at Naumburg, but whose orders from Napoleon he chose to interpret as meaning he was to go to Dornburg. He thus failed to support Davout throughout the coming battle, and, in fact, I Corps took no part in either of the battles on 14th.
At about the same time as the attack of V Corps was launched on Closewitz, Davout’s men were marching through the fog from Naumburg to Hassenhausen, with a view to advancing to Apolda in accordance with Napoleon’s orders, and also to engage the enemy now known to be approaching. Brunswick’s advance guard ran into that of Davout near the village. Davout’s leading division, that of General Gudin, seized Hassenhausen, and prepared to meet the Prussian attack of Schmettau’s division, which was supported by Blücher’s cavalry. By about 08:30 a second Prussian division, that of Wartensleben, came into action on Schmettau’s right. Gudin was now in serious trouble, but Friant’s division arrived in the nick of time to take post on the French right, taking the village of Spielberg. For a while the situation was critical for Davout, but both Schmettau and Brunswick were mortally wounded, so the Prussian command structure faltered, giving the French time to reorganize. Furthermore, Davout’s third division, that of General Morand, now came up to reinforce his colleagues on the left flank. King Frederick William, now actually as opposed to nominally in command, was bravely but inexpertly trying to encourage his right flank. He appears to have been under the impression that Napoleon himself was directing French operations. The Prussian chief of staff, Von Scharnhorst, was presently with the left wing and, it seems, was not informed of Brunswick’s fatal wound for some time. The consequence was that, by about 13:00, Prussian morale completely collapsed and the will to fight evaporated. French artillery was now engaging the enemy in enfilade from both flanks. By 14:30 the Prussians were in full flight. During the afternoon, Davout advanced to the general line Eckartsberga–Auerstädt, where his exhausted infantry halted for the night.
The injured supreme commander of the Prussian army, the Duke of Brunswick, is led away from the battle on horseback.
Davout’s report reached Napoleon, who had spent the night in Jena, at about 09:00 on 15 October. At first he could not believe what had happened. He said to the courier, ‘Your Marshal must be seeing double!’, a reference to the fact that Marshal Davout was extremely short-sighted. However, he soon realized the truth of the matter, and his praise for Davout and III Corps was more than generous. Davout, probably the most loyal and effective of Napoleon’s marshals, was subsequently made ‘Duke of Auerstädt’.
AUERSTÄDT TIMELINE
| 13 October | III Corps (Marshal Davout) reaches Naumburg and secures the bridge at Kösen. Davout receives Napoleon’s orders to advance on Apolda, begins crossing the Saale at Kösen. Bernadotte (I Corps) receives a copy of Davout’s orders and decides he should return to Dornburg; takes no further part in the battles. |
| 14 October | Thick fog at dawn. |
| 06:30 | Davout’s advance guard clashes with Prussian advance guard at Hassenhausen. Davout orders his three divisions forward. |
| 08:00 | Schmettau’s division attacks Gudin’s at Hassen-hausen, supported by Blücher’s cavalry; attack fails. |
| 08:30 | Friant’s division arrives on Gudin’s right; captures Spielberg. |
| 09:00 | III Corps cavalry arrives at Hassenhausen. |
| 10:00 | Prussians attack Hassenhausen with two divisions, temporarily carry the village; Brunswick is mortally wounded; Prussian command now in the hands of King Frederick William. Gudin’s division wavers, but Morand’s division arrives at the double to cover his left; the Prussian attack falters; the French begin a general advance. |
| 13:00 | Prussians fall back on Auerstädt in disorder. |
THE AFTERMATH
Early on 15 October the French began to follow up their success. One by one the great fortresses along the Elbe surrendered. By early November Prussia and Saxony had lost 25,000 men, killed or wounded, some 4000 guns and 20,000 horses. More than 100,000 men were prisoners of the French. The military might of both countries had been destroyed. In recognition of Marshal Davout’s victory at Auerstädt, III Corps was accorded the honour of leading the army into Berlin.
From the point of view of strategy and tactics there have been few victories so decisive. However, Napoleon himself knew better than most at the time that, from the political point of view, he still had much to do. For the destruction of British credit was essential for his dream of a Europe united under France. This he hoped to achieve with his Continental System, which both Prussia and Saxony were obliged to accept.
VISITING THE BATTLEFIELDS TODAY
Both battlefields are easily accessible and relatively unspoiled. Recommended maps are the German Topographische Karte series 1:25 000 numbers 4835 Eckartsberga, 4935 Apolda and 5035 Jena (plus 5034 Weimar to cover the final stages of the Jena battle). The street map of Jena (Stadtplan Jena mit Umgebungskarte) published by Falk-Verlag is also very useful for the Jena battle, particularly the Umgebungskarte side at 1:100 000 which covers the whole area from Jena to Weimar to Apolda to Eckartsberga and Naumberg.
At Jena, the route taken by V Corps to ascend the Landgrafenberg begins at a turning off