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Book 15, Chapter 4 (7229 words) |
 | The night before the battle of Jena, Napoleon slept on the heights of Landgrafenberg, whither he had led his army with incredible toil, and at four in the morning—it was an October morning—rode along the lines and addressed his soldiers in that stirring eloquence which he knew so well how to use. |
| The battle rested on his life; yet his personal presence at the points of danger was equally necessary to victory, and he seemed to forget he had a life to lose. |
| The battle of Eckmuhl, where he carried the title of Prince, was distinguished by one of the fiercest cavalry actions on record; and as described by Stuttenheim, Pelet, and others, must have been a magnificent spectacle. |
| The Prussian Army at Auerstadt: 14 October 1806 (587 words) |
| The Battle of Auerstadt is considered to be one of the best examples of corps-level tactics in military history. |
| Auerstadt demonstrated that a resourceful corps commander leading well-trained troops could, with a little luck, overcome a large numerical inferiority on the battlefield (other good example is GdI Reinhard von Scheffer-BoyadelÂ’s successful withdrawal of XXV Reserve Corps east of Lodz on 24-26 November 1914). |
| The slow rate of the Prussian advance (due to staff inefficiency as well as severe troop congestion in the armyÂ’s rear area), the un-coordinated Prussian attacks and the serious wounding of Prussian army commander GFM Karl-Wilhelm-Ferdinand, Herzog von Braunschweig (with King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of PrussiaÂ’s subsequently failing to assume command) all worked in DavoutÂ’s favour. |
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