Sth, the 4th corps marched to Wolfs. cavalry. Re-inforcement after re. dorf, where it fell in with the divi. inforcement, of both infantry and sion of Kamenskoy, on its way to cavalry, was sent to the rear-guard, rejoin the main body. The French from the main army, which was corps attacked and defeated it, and posted at Heilsberg: and many in the evening took its position at efforts were made by the Russians, Aldkirken.

At the same time, who wore defended by the fire of Buonaparte with the corps of the more than sixty pieces of cannon, marshals Ney, and Lasnes, his to maintain themselves in their po. guard, and the cavalry of reserve, sitions before that town, in vain. advanced to Gutstadt. Part of the Several of their divisions were rout. rear guard of the Russian army, ed, and at nine in the evening, the comprising 10,000 cavalry, and French found themselves under the 15,000 infantry, took a position at Russian entrenchments. The fusiGlottaw, and attempted to dispute leers of the guard, commanded by the way. The grand duke of Berg, general Savary, were put in motion after some very skilful manquvres, to sustain the division of Verdier. drove the Russians from all their And some of the corps of in: fantry positions. Three brigades of light, of the reserve, under marshal Las. anda division of heavy cavalry, car- nes, attacked the enemy, at the close ried all before them. And the of the day, when it had begun to be French having taken 1,000 prison. dark, in order to cut off his comers, and all the positions and re- munication with Lansberg: in which doubts, of the Russians, between he completely succeeded. The ar. them and Gutstadt, entered that dour of the troops was such, that town, sword in hand, at eight o'clock several companies of the infantry of in the evening. On the 10th, the the line insulted the Russians in French army moved towards Heils, their entrenchments. A number berg, and oo its march took several of them fell in the ditches of the of the enemy's camps.

About a redoubts, at the foot of the palquarter of a league beyond these lisades. camps, it came up with the rear- Buonaparte passed the 11th on guard of the allied army, consist the field of battle. He there drew ing of from 15, to 18.000 cavalry, up the different corps and divisions and several lines of infantry. It of the army in order of battle, that the was immediately attacked by a divi. war might be terminated at once by sion of French dragoons, the cui. a decisive engagement.

The whole rassiers of another division, and a of the Russian arıny was assembled brigade of light cavalry. The at Heilsberg, where the magazines French were repulsed again and were established, and it cxcupied again, and as often renewed the at. a position strong by nature, and tack. At two o'clock the corps under farther strengthened by the labour marshal Soult was formed. Two of four months. At four in the divisions marched to the right, .afternoon, Buonaparte ordered mar. while a third marched to the left, shal Davoust to change his front, to seize on the edge of a wood, the and push forward the left wing of occupation of which was necessary, his corps ; movement which in order to support the lest of the brought him upon the lower Alla,

and

a

and completely blocked up the road In the mean time, the light corps of from Eylau. To every corps

of the

army

advanced in various direc. the army, was assigned its proper tions in order to pass the Russians, station. They were all of them re- and get between them and their maassembled except the firstcorps, which gazines, by cutting off their retreat continued to manc'uvre on the low- to Koningsberg. On the same day, er Passarge. Thus the Russians, at 5 o'clock P. M. the head quar. who had been the first to recom- ters of the French army had arrived mence hostilities, found themselves at Eylau. Here the fields were blockaded in their entrenched camp, no longer covered with ice and snow, and were ofiered battle on the ground but, on the contrary, presented which they themselves had chosen. one of the most beautiful scenes in It was for a long time believed that nature. The country was every they would make an attack on the where adorned with beautiful woods, 11th. At the moment when the intersected by lakes, and enlivened French were making their dispo. by handsome vil.ages. On the 13th, sitions, the Russians shewed them. while the grand duke of Berg, and selves ranged in columns, in the the marshals Soult, and Davoust, had midst of their entrenchments, for orders to manoeuvre before Koningstified wita batteries. But at ten bergh, Buonaparte with the corps o'clock at night they began to pass of Ney, Lasnes, Mortier, the imthe Alla, abandoning the whole perial guard, and the first corps, country to the left, and leaving their commanded by general Victor, ad. magazines, and their wounded, to vanced on Friedland. On the same the disposal of the conqueror.

On day, the 9th regiment of hussars en. the 12th, at day-break, all the corps tered that town, but was driven out of the army were in motion, and of it again, by 3,000 Russian caval. took different directions. In the ry: On the 14th, the Russians ad. different actions, from the 5th to vanced on the bridge of Friedland, the 12th, according to the French with the intent of persuing their accounts, the Russian army was march to Koningsberg, andat three in deprived of about 30,000 fighting the morning a cannonade was heard

The number of wounded " It is a fortunate day (said Buo. left prisoners in the hands of the naparte) it is the anniversary of the

) French amounted, to between 3 battle of Marengo.” Different move. and 4,000. The loss of the French, ments and actions took place, by as stated by them, amounted to no which the Russians were stopped on more than 6 or 700 killed, 2,000, their march, and could not pass the or 2,200 wounded, and 300 prison. village of Postenheim. A mighty ers. On the 12th, at four in the struggle was now unavoidable; and morning, the French army entered both armies prepared for a decisive Heilsberg, where they found in the battle. By five in the evening, the magazines, several thousand quin- several corps of the French were tals of grain, and a great quantity at their appointed stations. Mar of different kinds of provisions. A shal Ney was on the right wing; division of dragoons, and a brigade marshal Lasnes in the centre; and of light cavalry, pursued the Rus- marshal Mortier on the left wing. sians to the right bank of the Alla. The corps of general Victor and

the

men.

a

the guards formed the reserve. right, he commenced the attack The cavalry under the command of with the first part of that wing; general Grouchy supported the left the firing of twenty cannon from a wing: the division of dragoons of battery being the signal of battle. general La Tour Maubourg, was sta. At the same moment the division tioned as a reserve behind the right; under general Marchand supported and general La Housaye's division on the left by another division, of dragoons, with the Saxon cui advanced sword in hand, on the rassiers formed a reserve for the cen. enemy, his line of direction being tre.— The whole of the Russian pointed towards the steeple of the army was also drawn up in the best town. When the Russians per. order, that the place and circum. ceived that marshal Ney had left the stances seemed to the general to wood in which his left wing had admit. His left wing extended to been posted, they endeavoured to the town of Friedland, and his right surround him with some regiments wing a league and a half in the other of cavalry, and a multitude of Cos. direction. The position taken by sacks : hut gencral La Tour Mau. general Bennigsen on the left bank bourg's division of dragoons, rode of the Alla, was, apparently one up at full gallop to the right wing, continued plain ; but intersected by and repelled the attack.

In the a deep ravin full of water, and al. mean time general Victor, who most impassable. This ravin ran in a commanded, as has been mentioned, line between Domnow and Fried. a corps of the grand army, erected land where it formed a lake, to the a battery of 30 cannon in the front left of that place, and separated the of his centre. And his works pushed right wing of the Russians from their forwards more than 400 paces, centre.

A thick wood at the dis. greatly annoyed the Russians: whose tance of about a mile and a half from various manæuvres for producing a Friedland, on more elevated ground, diversion were all in vain. Marshal fringed the plain of the Alla, nearly Ney was at the head of his troops in the form of a semicircle, except directing the most minute movce at its extremity at the left, where ments with his characteristic intre. there was an open space between the pidity and coolness. Several Russia wood and the river. in front of columns that had attacked his right the wood about a mile from the town wing were received on the point of of Friedland, and nearly opposite the bayonet and diven into the to the centre of the army, was the

Alla, Thousands were lost in that small village of Henrischsdorf. The river, and some escaped by swim. field of battle lay between the left ming. In the mean time, marshal of this village and the Alla to the Ney's left wing reached the rave. south of Friedland*.

line which surrounded the town of Buonaparte having reconnoitred Friedland. The imperial guard of the position of the enemy, instantly Russia, both horse and foot, which determined to take the town of had been placed there in ambush, Friedland. Then suddenly chan. rushed suddenly on marshal Ney's ping his front and advancing his left wing, which for a a moment

a

.

Relation de la Campagne de Pologne par un témoin oculaire.

wavered. But Dupont's division, to 18,000 : and that of the dead on which formed the right of the re. their own side, at less than 500. serve, fell on the Russian imperial But they admitted that the number guards, and defeated them with of their wounded amounted to 3000. great slaughter. Several other Eighty cannon, and a great number bodies were sent from the centre of of covered waggons and standards the Russian army for the defence of fell into the hands of the conquerors. the most important position of Fried. The Russians were pursued in their land. But the impetuosity, the retreat towards Koningsberg till numbers, and the prompt and skil, 11 o'clock. During the remainder fui co-operation of the assailants of the night, the cut-off columns with an immense artillery, prevailed. endeavoured to pass, and part of Friedland was taken ; and its streets them did pass the Alla at several bestrewed with dead bodies. The fordable places. But next day coattempts of the Russians on the left vered waggons, cannon and harness wing of the French being defeated, were every where seeil in the river. they made repeated attacks on their "The battle of Friedland,” says centre. But all the efforts of both the French bulletin, " is worthy to their infantry and cavalry, to ob. be numbered among those of Maren. struct the progress of the French go, Austerlitz, and Jena. The enemy columns, were exerted in vain.

were numerous, had fine cavalry, Marshal Mortier, who, during the and fought bravely.”-Next day, whole day, had xhibited the great. June 15, the Russians endeavoured est coolness and intrepidity, in sup- to re-assemble on the right bank of porting the left wing, now advanced, the Alla, while the French army and was in his turn supported by manoeuvred on the left bank to cut the fuzileers of the guard under the them off from Koningsberg. The command of general Savary. The heads of the hostile columns arrived French columns pressed forward on at Wehlaw, a town situated at the the Russians, chietly along the sides confluence of the Alla and the Preof the ravin; which was, thus, gel nearly at the same time. The as advantageous to the French, as Russians at day-break, on the 16th disadvantageous to the Russians. passed the Pregel, and continued Victory, which had never in the their retreat to the Niemen.--The judgment of the French generals, French bulletin says, that “having who drew up the bulletin, been for destroyed all the bridges, they took a moment doubtful, now declared advantage of that obstacle to pro. decidedly in their favour. 'T'he ceed on their retreat." If there French horse and foot guards, and were several bridges on the Pregel, two divisions of the reserve attached they must, however, have left one to the first corps, were not in the at least standing, till they had action. The field of battle pre- crossed the river themselves, though sented one of the most horrible the French gazetteers would insi. spectacles of wounded, dying, and nuate, that they escaped only by dead men and horses, that was ever means of the demolition of all the beheld. The number of the dead bridges. The consistent and true on the side of the Russians was account of the matter, seems to be estimated by the French at from 15, that which is given by the eye-wit.

a

ness of the campaign in Polund, French armies have seldom obtained above quoted, who says that at such great advantages with so little “Wehlaw the Russian army passed loss." the Pregel, without any loss or eren Over the conduct of this short annoyance, on a single bridge. A campaign, on the part of the Rus. detachment of 4000 French troops sians as well as its commencement watched their movements, but did after the reduction of Dantzis, there not oppose their retreat. The bridge still hangs a mysterious cloud. Af. was then burnt: and the Russians ter this important event, and the continued their retrograde move- addition that was made to the ment to Pepelken, where they were French army by the liberation of rejoined by the Prussian corps, between 30, and 40,000 fighting under general Lestocg, and a Rus. men, it was universally supposed, sian corps under general Kaminskoy, that general Bennigsen would play who had been detached to Konings. the part of Fabius. As the posses, berg on the 10th: for after the de. sion of Dantzig and the peninsula of feat of the main Russian army, Nehrung gave great facilities to the Koningsberg was untenable." At French, while they presented so eight in the morning Buonaparte strong a front on the Passarge and threw a bridge over the Pregel, and from thence to the heights of the took a position there with the army. Alla, for turning the right Aank of Almost all the magazines which the the Russian army on the north, it enemy had on the Alla, had been was supposed, that instead of ma. thrown into the river or burnt. At king an attack, he would fall back Wehlaw, however, the French behind the Pregel and support his found more than 6000 quintals of right on Koningsberg ; where he corn-possession taken of would be nearer his resources, and Koningsberg by the corps under the French farther from their's. marshal Soult. At this place were Thus, also, time would have been found some

hundred thousand afforded for the execution of those quintals of corn, more than 20,000 military plans which were projected wounded Russians and Prussians, in Swedish and Prussian Pomerania. and all the ammunition that had But, if general Bennigsen wished been sent to the Russians by En- to put an end to the war, at once, gland, including 160,000 muskets by a decisive action, why did he rea that had not been landed. The fuse to give battle in his strong po. French bulletin (79) concluded as sition at Heilsberg ? The conduct follows : “ It was on the 5th of of the Russian general, who had June that the enemy renewed hostie been so much extolled when his lities. Their loss in the ten days operations were supposed to have that followed their first operations been successful, was now, as com. may be reckoned at 60,000 men, monly happens to the unfortunate, lilled, wounded, taken, or other. very much censured. The grounds wise put hors de combat. They of censure appear indeed to have have lost a part of their artillery, been, at least, very plausible. But almost all their ammunition, and the the world did not then know, nor whole of their magazines on a line do we now know, the whole of the of more than 40 leagues. The case. That the Russians should

was