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Battle of Friedland
Cranston Military Prints By Subject Military Art Napoelonic Wars Battle of Friedland |
Battle of Friedland. Our page of art prints and paintings depicting the Battle of Friedland during the Napoleonic Wars. |
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Battle of Friedland by Horace Vernet. As the evening draws to a close Napoleon is seen riding amongst his men after their victory at the Battle of Friedland. Due to the French pressure the Russian Commander General Levin Bennigsen moved his army back to his main camp at Konigsberg in June 1807, while his army of 60,000 men crossed the River Alle at Friedland. It was faced by a French force of 26,000 under the command of Marshal Jean Lannes. The Russian Commander attacked early on the 14th of June. The much smaller force fought of the Russian attacks for nine hours, giving time for the main French force of 80,000 to arrive. Marshall Neys Force came up from the south and attacked the Russian left flank which gave way all the way along the river until just outside Friedland where it was halted. A second corps under the command of General Laude Victor came to the support of Neys left flank. Victor also brought up 30 Artillery pieces which blasted the Russians at very short range. The Russians that were massed in the tiny village and unable to cross the River received huge numbers of casualties due to the artillery fire. General Bennigsens army was decimated with most of his troops killed, wounded or forced to cross the river. The actual looses were 11,000 dead, 7,000 wounded and many thousands of troops drowned trying to cross the river. This compared to the French losses of 1372 killed 9,108 wounded. The French army pursued the Russians with Marshal Soult occupying Konigsberg on June 16th. A few days later Czar Alexander I arranged a truce and on the 25th of June on a barge like raft on the River Niemen along with the Prussian King Frederick Willaim III drew up the Treaty of Tilset. Prussia ceded to France all the territories West of the Elbe, becoming the Kingdom of Westphalia and from the area of Poland both Russia and Prussia recognised the new state, The Duchy of Warsaw. |
Friedland, 1807 by Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier. Napoleon with his general staff salutes a regiment of Cuirassiers who charge by during the Battle of Friedland. |
Viva L Empereur after Edouard Detaille. Charge of the 4th Regiment of Hussars at the Battle of Friedland, June 14th 1807. |
Napoleon at Friedland by Mark Churms. The year is 1807, the French Empire is at the pinnacle of its power. Although not yet 38 years of age the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is marching towards the heights of his military career. It is the anniversary of his great victory against the Austrians at Marengo seven years before. Since then the soldiers of The Grand Armee have faithfully followed The Little Corporal from victory to victory across Europe. Now, in eastern Prussia, the Russians alone are holding out against the might of France. Bennigsens army is strung out on a four mile front along the banks of the river Alle, near the town of Friedland. With their backs to the unfordable river the brave Russian soldiers are drawn up in a poor position to give battle. It is already midday when Napoleon arrives on the field. Much of the French force is still some miles away but the commanders keen eye immediately perceives an opportunity for victory. He decides to attack. The vigourous assault on the Russian lines commences at about 5.30 pm. Bennigsen, anticipating an engagement on the following day, is completely surprised by this ferocious attack so late in the afternoon. The fighting begins as his divisions are preparing to withdraw across the river Alle, to a stronger position. Napoleons master stroke throws the enemy into confusion. By 8.30 pm the French are masters of the field, the Russians have lost nearly a third of their army and 80 cannons. The town of Friedland is ablaze and the Tsars army in full retreat. In simple attire and characteristically astride a nimble arab grey, Napoleon Bonaparte rides forward with his reserves of the Guard to survey the final victory. Within a few days the defeated Tsar Alexander will embrace the French Emperor on a raft anchored in the middle of the Niemen at Tilsit. At their monumental meeting they will talk of peace, co-operation against the British, the division of Prussian Territories and France with Russia will form their uneasy alliance that will quickly collapse into open hostility and present Napoleon with his greatest challenge: The invasion of Russia itself. |
Napoleon Watching the Battle of Friedland by James Alexander Walker. Napoleon at the battle of Friedland watching as a regiment of Cuirassiers charge by. Battle of Friedland was a major victory for Napoleon. |
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