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You're listening to an Airwave Media

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Podcast. Come,

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let me introduce you to the world of

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Ancient Egypt.

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The bonus episodes available exclusively

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to Patreon subscribers. These

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have been a lot of fun for me, and the Patreon

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supporters seem to be enjoying them as well.

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I actually had someone tell me they've been enjoying the

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dispatches more than the regular episodes.

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So I think by this point it's safe to say that

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if you're not signed up on Patreon, you're

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missing out on about a third of the show. So

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I hope you'll consider joining us.

1:23

Anyway. Well, we've finally

1:25

reached episode 100. I

1:27

thought about doing something special to mark the

1:29

occasion, but once I realized we

1:32

were on pace to have the Battle of Ailau

1:34

as Episode 100, I figured

1:36

that was occasion enough.

1:40

Ailau is maybe the most mysterious

1:42

of the major battles of Napoleon's career.

1:44

There are different, contesting versions

1:46

of a lot of the stories I am about to tell you.

1:49

The horrible conditions of the campaign, and

1:51

the near-constant snowstorms during the battle,

1:54

made it very difficult for the participants to understand

1:56

what was going on around them.

1:58

as we'll see.

2:00

After the battle, the leadership of both

2:02

sides had incentive to fudge the

2:04

truth about what really happened over those

2:06

two horrible days. I

2:09

should also take the opportunity to warn you

2:11

that this was a very violent battle.

2:14

It's always difficult to strike a balance in depicting

2:16

the horrible bloodshed of this period.

2:18

I don't want to get too graphic and risk

2:21

making the show completely repulsive, but

2:23

I do feel some obligation to depict

2:26

what these people went through.

2:27

Almost everyone who fought at Ailao commented

2:30

on the unusual level of carnage, and

2:32

we will be talking about that.

2:34

So use your judgement if you are sensitive to

2:37

violence or listening with your children.

2:40

Before we dive into the stunning events of Ailao,

2:43

we should remind ourselves of the condition of the

2:45

two armies.

2:47

This is almost starting to feel a bit redundant. Every

2:49

one of the last few episodes in the narrative has

2:51

included a long section describing the

2:54

misery of the French and Coalition forces.

2:56

But the destitution of these armies

2:58

is central to the story.

3:00

In short, little had changed over the last

3:02

few weeks. Food shortages were

3:04

critical on both sides.

3:07

In theory, the French logistics system

3:09

was better organized, more professional, and

3:11

had more resources. However, in

3:14

the rugged Polish terrain and punishing

3:16

winter weather, this doesn't seem to have translated

3:18

into much better performance. Soldiers

3:21

on both sides reported that they sometimes

3:23

went days without rations, forced

3:26

to rely on foraging to feed themselves,

3:29

which was not an easy proposition in this

3:31

poor, sparsely populated part of the world.

3:34

Even senior officers sometimes went

3:36

without food.

3:38

The weather was still bad. It

3:40

was freezing cold, and both sides

3:42

had to deal with biting wind and heavy snow.

3:46

It was miserable, but there was a silver lining.

3:49

Mud was no longer as much of a factor

3:51

as it had been in the month or two previous. Thanks

3:55

to the rotten weather, all that mud was now

3:57

mostly frozen or buried under

3:59

a layer of tight- packed snow.

4:01

These were still far from ideal conditions

4:03

for rapid movement, especially for heavy,

4:06

cumbersome things like wagons and artillery,

4:09

but both armies had regained some

4:11

of their mobility. Exhaustion

4:14

and low morale remained pervasive on

4:16

both sides.

4:17

Units struggled to keep up their strength

4:19

as men dropped out of the ranks, unable

4:22

to continue marching, or slipped

4:24

away to search for food or shelter.

4:27

However, as we've seen repeatedly in past

4:29

episodes, neither army had totally

4:32

lost its fighting spirit.

4:34

Both French and coalition soldiers

4:36

had displayed incredible toughness and resilience

4:39

in this phase of the war.

4:41

One aspect of all this misery that we haven't

4:43

yet discussed is that the three branches of service

4:46

did not suffer equally. The artillery

4:48

had it the worst. Moving heavy cannons

4:51

across this landscape was often simply

4:53

impossible. They sometimes spent

4:55

days more or less stationary, just

4:58

struggling to get their guns over some particularly

5:00

difficult stretch of ground. We've

5:03

already talked at length about how badly

5:05

the infantry was suffering,

5:07

sometimes struggling to find the will to

5:09

go on, according to primary sources.

5:13

However, things were not quite so bad

5:15

for the cavalry.

5:16

Their superior mobility allowed them to

5:19

roam further in search of food.

5:21

Horses have a much easier time navigating

5:23

mud and snow than human beings.

5:26

And even in the poorest, emptiest

5:28

parts of Poland, there was often grass

5:31

or hay for horses to eat.

5:34

If you look through the military history of Eastern

5:36

Europe and compare it to the West, you'll

5:38

find that armies were often much smaller

5:40

and often much more focused on cavalry.

5:44

In the Napoleonic Wars, you typically

5:46

expect around 5 to 15% of

5:48

any given army to be cavalry.

5:51

In the Golden Age of the Polish Commonwealth, they

5:53

often fielded armies that were around half

5:56

cavalry. Quite simply, if

5:58

you were going to be on campaign. this part

6:00

of the world before the invention of the train

6:02

and the automobile, it really helped to be

6:04

on horseback.

6:07

As we've discussed in past episodes, the

6:09

terrain here was fundamentally different from

6:11

anything the French had encountered in Western

6:14

Europe. In some ways, this area

6:16

was more comparable to the Central Asian

6:18

steppe or the American Great Plains

6:20

than to anything in France, Italy, or Germany.

6:23

And think of the armies that had flourished

6:25

in those areas – the Huns, the

6:27

Mongols, the Sioux, the Comanche.

6:30

This was cavalry country.

6:33

As a result, on the eve of Eilau, the

6:35

horsemen of both armies were generally in

6:37

slightly better shape than the infantry and artillery.

6:40

This was especially true of the French, who

6:42

had captured a huge number of high-quality,

6:45

well-trained warhorses during the invasion

6:47

of Prussia. The Prussians

6:50

were widely regarded as the best military

6:52

horse breeders in Europe, and those

6:54

ranches being under French control gave

6:56

Napoleon's cavalry a real advantage.

7:00

In spite of the horrible conditions, the recent

7:02

battles and skirmishes between the two armies had

7:05

been hotly contested,

7:06

although mostly inconclusive. In

7:09

the

7:09

preceding months, French and Russian

7:11

forces had looked more or less evenly matched,

7:14

with perhaps a slight edge to the Grande Armée.

7:17

Surprisingly, that held true for the two commanders

7:19

as well.

7:20

Obviously Napoleon was still Napoleon,

7:23

and his opponent, General Count Levin August

7:25

von Beniksen was mostly untested

7:27

as an army commander, famous more for his role

7:30

in the murder of Emperor Paul I than

7:32

for any military achievement.

7:35

However, despite their very different reputations,

7:37

their performances in this campaign so far

7:40

had strangely mirrored each other.

7:42

Major battles had been mostly draws.

7:45

Beniksen had attempted a bold surprise

7:47

offensive, but had been foiled by bad

7:50

luck.

7:51

Napoleon had used this failure to attempt

7:53

his own surprise offensive, but had

7:55

in turn been foiled by bad luck.

7:59

On the east, the of Eilau, Beniksan had chosen

8:02

a good position for a defensive battle,

8:04

a series of ridgelines just outside

8:06

the town of Eilau.

8:09

Grand-Armee was more spread out, with

8:11

fewer troops concentrated near the main body

8:14

of the enemy.

8:15

However, Napoleon had good incentive

8:17

to attack, because, in theory,

8:19

he had an opportunity to threaten both flanks

8:22

of the more concentrated Russians,

8:24

off their retreat to their main base

8:26

at Königsberg and inflict a devastating

8:28

defeat,

8:29

possibly even surrounding Beniksen

8:31

and forcing him to surrender.

8:34

This all might sound familiar to you because

8:36

it's almost exactly the same scenario as

8:38

the Battle of Putusk, fought about six

8:40

weeks earlier, the main difference being that

8:43

both forces were larger.

8:45

However, we don't know exactly how much

8:47

larger. Here's where we get into the

8:49

first big mystery of the battle.

8:52

the number of troops involved very

8:54

wildly.

8:55

Depending on who you ask, Napoleon had

8:58

between 60 and 90,000 men

9:00

at his disposal.

9:01

Low estimates place Beniks and Strank

9:03

at 67,000, and high estimates

9:06

at 76,000.

9:08

Part of the reason for the confusion is that neither

9:10

army was fully concentrated when the fighting began.

9:13

Both sides would spend much of the battle

9:16

waiting for large contingents to arrive.

9:19

For the French, Marshal Ney and VI

9:21

Corps were expected along the left, and

9:23

Marshal de Vous's III Corps along the

9:26

right. These were the forces

9:28

Napoleon hoped to use to turn the

9:30

enemy flanks,

9:31

hopefully achieving his encirclement.

9:34

Bédégzin would be waiting on his allies, the

9:37

remains of the Prussian army under General

9:39

Anton von Lestock.

9:41

The Prussians had been worn down to well

9:43

under 10,000 men, but

9:45

they had recovered from the humiliations

9:47

of the previous autumn and were eager

9:49

to fight.

9:51

Lestock's troops had performed well in

9:53

several recent skirmishes.

9:56

Many of the great battles we've covered in this show

9:58

were set pieces. Both sides

10:01

developed a clear plan, deployed

10:03

their forces, and then, on the day

10:05

of battle, tried to execute those plans.

10:08

Aylao would be different.

10:10

Neither side was fully deployed when the fighting

10:12

began, and neither commander had

10:15

a clearly defined plan he was trying to follow.

10:18

Beniksen

10:18

wanted to hold his ground and

10:20

inflict losses on the French, and Napoleon

10:23

wanted to hold the enemy in place and

10:25

then work around their flanks.

10:27

but neither general had a clear vision of

10:29

how to achieve these objectives. Both

10:32

would be improvising. This

10:33

would be a messy battle to cap off

10:35

a messy campaign.

10:38

The

10:38

two armies made contact on the afternoon

10:41

of February 7th, 1807. Marshal Miraz, Reserve Cavalry

10:45

Corps, and the advanced units of Marshal Soult's

10:47

IV Corps encountered a strong Russian

10:49

rearguard under Prince Pyotr Bagration,

10:52

a brilliant, hard-living Georgian who

10:54

we've met in previous episodes.

10:57

Bagratillon had orders to hold off the

10:59

French. Beniksen was still preparing

11:02

his line on that high ground outside Eilau.

11:04

His artillerymen were having trouble moving their

11:07

guns across the narrow roads and snowy

11:09

ground.

11:10

He placed Bagratillon and

11:12

a second detachment under General Michael Andreas

11:14

Barclay de Toli directly in the path

11:17

of the Grande Armée,

11:18

to screen his struggling artillery

11:20

from the French.

11:22

Murat and Soult saw the opportunity

11:25

and immediately attacked. We've

11:27

seen this style of engagement several times

11:29

in this campaign,

11:30

a desperate Russian rearguard trying

11:32

to hold off superior French numbers.

11:35

As typically happened in these engagements, the

11:37

French advanced and inflicted severe losses

11:39

on the Russians, but failed to trap

11:42

or destroy them.

11:43

The Russians were so hard-pressed they

11:45

were forced to leave behind their wounded

11:48

and even a large number of French prisoners captured

11:51

earlier in the campaign.

11:53

The retreating Russians made a stand in the

11:55

town of Ilao itself. The buildings

11:58

and stone walls made this a highly defensible

12:00

location.

12:01

The French attempted a frontal assault and

12:03

were repulsed.

12:05

They charged again, but again the Russians

12:07

held firm. French casualties

12:09

were so heavy that the Russian positions were

12:12

ringed by a pile of bodies. A

12:14

Russian officer would later recall, quote, From

12:17

the house corners, windows, and roofs,

12:20

the musket balls poured down like hail,

12:22

end quote. It seems almost

12:24

too perfect, but some of the heaviest fighting

12:27

took place in the town cemetery.

12:30

At this point, the Russian commander, General

12:32

Barclay, collapsed.

12:34

At first, people thought he had been hit.

12:37

This

12:37

would have been his second wound in two days.

12:39

You might remember from last episode that

12:41

he had been wounded at the Battle of Hoth, not

12:43

quite 24 hours earlier. As

12:46

it turned out, Barclay had been hiding the

12:48

seriousness of his wound. He was still

12:50

bleeding, and the combination of blood

12:52

loss and exhaustion had pushed him past

12:54

his limit.

12:56

Other sources claim Barclay was actually

12:59

hit again, this time by grapeshot from

13:01

a French cannon. In any case,

13:03

he would live, but was definitely out

13:05

of the fight.

13:07

Shortly after the general was carried off the field,

13:09

the French attacked a third time, and

13:11

finally, this attack gained momentum.

13:14

As the French surged forward, a

13:16

group of Russians barricaded themselves in

13:18

the town mill, and were surrounded.

13:21

The French set fire to the building, and

13:23

the Russians were forced to run out to escape

13:25

the smoke and flames, where they were immediately

13:28

killed by the French.

13:31

Finally, as the sun began to set, the

13:33

Grande Armée secured the town.

13:36

Then, Beniksen seems to have changed his

13:38

mind.

13:39

All this fighting was supposed to be nothing

13:42

more than a delaying action, to ensure

13:44

the rest of the Russian army had time to get

13:46

into position. But

13:47

once the fighting inside Eilau

13:49

began to wind down, Beniksen

13:51

decided he didn't like how how close the outlying

13:54

buildings were to the Russian line, and

13:56

so he sent reinforcements to continue

13:58

the struggle.

14:00

The Russians approached in silence, so

14:02

as not to give away their positions.

14:04

Then, at the last minute, let loose the traditional

14:06

Russian battle cry, ooh-rah, and

14:09

charged with the bayonet.

14:11

Once again the town was the scene of bitter

14:13

street fighting, and within about half an hour

14:15

much of it was back under Russian control.

14:19

The tide of the battle seemed to be shifting, but

14:22

as their units surged forward, many

14:24

of the starving Russian troops paused

14:26

to search nearby buildings for food.

14:29

Frustrated, a Russian colonel ordered

14:31

his drummers to beat out the call to assemble,

14:34

hoping to gather these wayward men and

14:36

redirect them back towards the attack.

14:39

However, his intentions were misunderstood.

14:42

Many of the men who actually were fighting

14:44

turned around and rushed backwards to

14:46

assemble around the colonel.

14:48

The momentum of the assault was totally lost,

14:51

and the Russian leadership now saw no alternative

14:53

but to fall back to the main line, just

14:56

outside town. hours

14:59

the Russian rearguard had struggled against superior

15:01

French numbers. They had paid dearly for

15:03

their obstinates, but they had succeeded

15:06

in their mission. As the fighting raged,

15:09

those Russian guns finally reached the

15:11

main line, and the rest of the army prepared

15:13

themselves for a defensive battle. Beniksen

15:15

had his position, and he was determined

15:18

to hold it, come what may.

15:21

The sun sets early in Poland at this

15:23

time of the year. There

15:24

would be no time to set up a proper

15:26

encampment, and so both

15:29

armies prepared to spend an uneasy night

15:31

out of the open in freezing cold.

15:34

According to one source, the temperature

15:36

got as low as 7 degrees Fahrenheit,

15:39

or minus 13.8 Celsius.

15:42

A French officer described seeing men

15:44

with scorches on their faces in clothing,

15:46

from huddling so close to their camp fibers.

15:50

Unable to find enough food for their horses,

15:52

The men of the French cavalry fed their mounts

15:55

straw from the thatched roofs of nearby

15:57

houses.

15:58

One French officer found

16:00

space in a barn for a few hours' rest,

16:02

only to wake up utterly confused, finding

16:05

himself in the open under the night sky.

16:08

As he rested, the cavalry had

16:10

stripped all the straw from the roof, and

16:12

then the infantry took the wooden boards

16:14

from the walls to use for firewood.

16:17

Only a few timbers remained.

16:20

Things were even worse in the Russian lines.

16:22

In order to keep his numbers and exact positions

16:25

concealed, Beniksen had forbidden

16:27

the lighting of campfires.

16:30

Understandably, in both armies many

16:32

of the men found it impossible to sleep, and

16:35

many of their officers were obliged to

16:37

stay up, making the final preparations

16:39

for the confrontation that was sure to come

16:41

in the morning.

16:43

The second day of battle would be fought by totally

16:45

exhausted men.

16:48

As the evening wore on and both armies

16:51

settled into their uneasy rest, something

16:53

surprising happened.

16:54

Something none of the senior leadership on either

16:57

side had planned for.

16:58

The battle resumed early. A

17:01

firefight broke out inside Eilau

17:03

between French and Russian patrols. Hearing

17:06

the sound of gunfire, nearby units

17:08

rushed to the scene and joined in. As

17:11

the scale of the fighting increased, it

17:13

got louder. More units heard the

17:15

noise and rushed into the town.

17:18

Soon, junior officers engaged in this

17:20

fighting were sending out calls for reinforcements,

17:23

and even more soldiers streamed into

17:25

Ailao.

17:27

On their own momentum, without the guidance of

17:29

any senior leadership on either side, thousands

17:32

of men had become engaged in a real

17:34

pitched battle in the darkened streets of the

17:36

town.

17:38

This is another great mystery about this battle,

17:40

accounts vary wildly as to how

17:42

this all started. After

17:44

the fighting, Napoleon claimed he had

17:47

sent patrols into the town to secure

17:49

shelter. patrols had

17:51

then unexpectedly encountered Russian

17:53

patrols and the fighting escalated

17:55

from there.

17:57

However, there is not much evidence for this

17:59

assertion and

18:00

most historians dismiss it.

18:02

The fact that this major skirmish had

18:04

broken out without orders did not reflect

18:06

well on the Grande Armée or its leadership,

18:09

so Bonaparte had an obvious incentive

18:12

to pretend otherwise.

18:14

Other sources claim that French soldiers

18:16

entered the town looking for shelter under their

18:18

own initiative,

18:20

motivated by desperation to escape

18:22

the cold, not by orders.

18:24

There they encountered a Russian patrol, or

18:26

were spotted by a nearby Russian unit who

18:29

then sent men to drive them off, and

18:31

the fighting escalated.

18:34

There is also a slightly more interesting

18:36

story. According to some sources, the

18:38

men in charge of Napoleon's baggage train

18:41

made a mistake, deciding to set

18:43

up the Emperor's lodging and headquarters in

18:45

a building inside the town that was

18:47

far too close to the Russian lines.

18:50

The Russians sent men into the town hoping

18:52

to capture the baggage train, and were

18:54

greeted by members of the Imperial Guard

18:57

who had been assigned to protect Napoleon's

18:59

documents and possessions, and the

19:01

fighting then escalated from there.

19:04

In any case, thousands of men were

19:06

now engaged in intense street fighting

19:09

in freezing darkness.

19:10

This was really brutal combat, not much more

19:12

than a brawl, with no one in command on

19:15

either side, and the darkness, confusion,

19:17

and unfamiliar streets making it impossible

19:20

for anyone to tell what was going on.

19:23

You

19:23

have to imagine that the freezing cold

19:25

added an intensity to the proceedings.

19:28

Frenchmen and Russian alike knew that the

19:30

winners of this fight would have a chance for

19:32

a few hours' rest indoors, next

19:34

to a warm hearth.

19:36

The senior commanders should have stopped

19:38

this unauthorized skirmish, but

19:41

none on either side took any

19:43

serious steps to do so.

19:45

Maybe they knew what capturing the

19:47

town meant to their freezing exhausted

19:49

troops and didn't dare stand in the way.

19:53

After hours of frantic, confused

19:55

fighting, the men of the Grande Armée one out.

19:58

ILA was slightly cli- closer

20:00

to the French lines, which gave them

20:02

an advantage.

20:03

And as we've seen several times during this

20:05

campaign, although the Russians were much

20:07

more of a match for the French than the Austrians

20:09

or Russians, generally speaking, Napoleon's

20:12

soldiers still had the edge in a straight-up

20:14

fight.

20:16

Once they finally secured the town, French

20:19

soldiers crammed themselves into every

20:21

building and aisle, to get a few hours' fitful

20:23

rest before the carnage that would ensue

20:25

in the morning.

20:27

Estimates are sketchy, but perhaps as many

20:30

as 8,000 men were killed or

20:32

wounded in this unsanctioned fight for

20:34

the town.

20:35

This pre-battle skirmish had caused

20:38

almost as many casualties as several

20:40

entire engagements from the War of the First Coalition,

20:43

only a little over a decade earlier.

20:45

Warfare was evolving.

20:47

Armies were getting bigger, and generals

20:49

were concentrating more of their men for major

20:52

battles.

20:53

The fighting that ensued tended to be more

20:55

intense.

20:56

This skirmish in the town would prove

20:58

to be an omen for what would come the next day, a

21:01

frantic, disorganized brawl

21:03

between desperate men, resulting

21:05

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As the two armies tried to rest,

21:44

Napoleon considered his options.

21:46

He had a rough idea of a plan,

21:48

to hold Beniks in a position, bring up

21:51

reinforcements along the enemy flanks, and

21:53

try to envelop them.

21:55

However, he was not convinced the Russians

21:57

would stand and fight.

22:00

this happened in many other engagements

22:02

in this campaign, the Russians fighting rearguard

22:05

or delaying actions, inflicting losses

22:07

on the French, and then falling back in the

22:09

night, rather than facing the full weight

22:11

of the Grande Armée.

22:13

But the Emperor had misread Beniksan's

22:15

intentions. The Russians had more

22:18

of their forces concentrated, including

22:20

a significant advantage in artillery.

22:22

They had good positions on high ground.

22:24

They too were expecting reinforcements.

22:27

Beniksan had finally chosen his moment.

22:30

The Russian leadership believed that in the hills

22:32

outside Eilau, they would deliver Napoleon

22:35

his first major defeat. Through

22:36

the chagrin

22:39

of both sides, the weather got even

22:41

worse in the night.

22:43

The snowfall got heavier and heavier, and

22:45

that cold, biting wind grew stronger.

22:48

By dawn, there were blizzard conditions

22:50

across the whole battlefield.

22:53

This blizzard would be the single most

22:55

important feature of the battle, even

22:57

more so than the terrain.

22:59

The terrific smoke and noise caused

23:02

by early 19th century gunpowder weapons

23:04

made every battle of this era a confusing

23:07

affair,

23:08

but at Ailao the combatants

23:10

sometimes couldn't see more than a few paces

23:12

in front of them. This level of snow

23:14

and wind also had a dampening effect

23:17

on sound.

23:18

Loud noises like the crackle of Musket

23:20

Valleys or the booming of cannon were still

23:23

audible, but didn't travel nearly as far.

23:26

Smaller noises like human voices,

23:28

the jangles of equipment on moving troops,

23:31

or footfalls, were almost totally

23:33

muted.

23:34

This meant you could be standing almost

23:37

right next to an enemy unit without realizing

23:39

they were there.

23:42

There

23:42

is debate over who fired the first

23:44

shots of the second day of battle.

23:46

Some sources claim Beniksen ordered

23:49

his artillery to open up, hoping this

23:51

would prevent the French from discovering that he had

23:53

slightly shortened his line during the night.

23:56

Others claim the firing started more or less

23:58

spontaneously,

24:00

it is unknown which side fired first.

24:03

In any case, sometime shortly after

24:05

dawn, some artillery officer on

24:07

one side or the other opened fire on the enemy.

24:10

On the other side, another battery responded,

24:13

aiming for the muzzle flashes of the enemy guns,

24:15

briefly visible through the blizzard.

24:18

Soon, the two armies were engaged in

24:20

a full-blown artillery duel –

24:22

300 French guns and 400 Russian

24:25

hammering away at each other in the weak morning light.

24:28

They were roughly evenly matched. The

24:30

Russians had the numbers, but the French

24:33

batteries had been deployed more skillfully.

24:36

According to one scholar of this battle,

24:38

this was the largest cannonade ever

24:40

witnessed up to this point in history.

24:43

Maybe that's true for a pitched battle on

24:45

land, but I have to imagine that there were naval

24:47

engagements and sieges that saw more

24:49

cannon firing all at once.

24:52

In any case, it was a hellish few hours

24:54

for both sides. There was not much

24:57

cover on the battlefield, and the soldiers

24:59

suffered terribly. A

25:00

young Russian staff officer described the cannon

25:03

fire as, quote,

25:04

a vast hurricane of death that

25:06

seemed to smash and erase from the earth

25:09

everything on its path, end quote. Behind

25:12

the French lines, the commander of

25:14

the Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard,

25:16

one of the most elite units in the army, saw

25:18

his officers ducking and wincing as enemy

25:21

fire landed near their position.

25:23

He felt this set a bad example for the men,

25:25

and admonished them, quote,

25:27

heads up. That's grapeshot, not

25:30

shit."

25:33

Eventually, the gunners of the Grand Armée

25:35

gained the upper hand, but the Russian

25:37

guns were not silenced. Both sides

25:40

would suffer heavy casualties to artillery

25:42

fire throughout the day.

25:45

Meanwhile, fighting had broken out once again

25:48

on the outskirts of Eilau. Dawn

25:50

seems to have reminded the men in this sector of

25:52

the battlefield just how close their lines

25:54

were. The

25:56

closest French-occupied buildings

25:58

were actually within musket range.

26:00

of the Russian position.

26:02

On the French right, Marshal de Vous's Third

26:04

Corps started the morning early, beginning their

26:06

march at five, before dawn.

26:09

Despite the blizzard, they had made good progress

26:11

towards the battlefield.

26:12

Their advance units would soon appear in

26:14

the No Man's Land just beyond Beniksen's

26:17

left flank, held only by a thin

26:19

screen of Cossacks.

26:21

Napoleon had to attack. He

26:24

worried the fighting in the town of Ilao

26:26

might escalate, and lead Beniksin

26:28

to launch a major attack on the town,

26:30

and he needed to distract them from Davout's

26:33

arrival on their left flank. A

26:35

strong attack would also pin down their forces,

26:38

hopefully preventing a quick response to

26:40

Davout.

26:41

We've seen this stratagem before, it was one

26:43

of Napoleon's favourites. Pin down the

26:45

centre, then work around the flanks.

26:48

He chose one of his most reliable subordinates

26:51

to lead the main spearhead, Marshal Ojiro,

26:54

the tough-talking brawler from the Paris

26:56

slums, who had been by Napoleon's

26:58

side since Italy.

27:00

However, Ojiro was not in top form.

27:03

Like many who fought in this campaign, the

27:05

combination of exhaustion, bad food,

27:07

and constant cold had made Ojiro

27:10

sick.

27:11

In fact, that very morning, he had actually

27:13

asked Napoleon to be relieved of command

27:15

of VII Corps. The Emperor

27:17

had ordered him to stay at his post for just

27:20

one more day, and Ojiro relented,

27:22

telling Napoleon that he would lead his men

27:24

even if they had to drag him in a sledge.

27:28

The

27:28

messenger who brought Ojiro the order to

27:30

attack from Napoleon's headquarters was

27:33

torn apart by a Russian cannonball in front

27:35

of the entire staff of VII Corps.

27:37

Not a good omen.

27:39

As Ojiro prepared to lead the attack, he

27:42

was so weak his aides had to help

27:44

him into the saddle. Led by their ailing

27:46

marshal, the two infantry divisions of VII

27:49

Corps formed assault columns and marched

27:51

off into the blizzard.

27:54

Russian line was not really a

27:56

line, but more of a zigzag pattern,

27:58

backed up by a secondary line. line just

28:00

behind the first. Ojiro's

28:03

objective was the closest part

28:05

of the zigzag, where it jutted out towards

28:07

the French lines. In

28:09

a typical battle, this would be a routine

28:11

maneuver and I would jump right into describing

28:14

the fighting between Ojiro's corps and the men

28:16

of the Russian center.

28:17

However, Aylao was anything but

28:19

typical.

28:21

As they marched into the low ground between

28:23

the two armies, the blizzard picked up.

28:25

Ojiro and his men could no longer clearly

28:28

see their objective.

28:30

Without a visual reference point, the slope

28:32

of the heights redirected VII

28:34

Corps.

28:35

Rather than marching directly towards

28:37

that protruding zig in the Russian

28:39

lines, they unwittingly veered around

28:42

it, aiming instead for the concave

28:45

zag of the enemy position,

28:47

exposing their flank to the Russian infantry

28:49

and aiming almost directly for the largest

28:52

the Russian artillery batteries, right

28:54

under the sights of 70 enemy cannon.

28:58

Then disaster struck. One

29:00

of the Russian gunners described what happened

29:02

next. A

29:05

strong blizzard blinded us with snow. Suddenly,

29:08

everything calmed down, and directly

29:10

in front of my cannon, no more than 30 paces

29:12

away, we saw a column of Frenchmen,

29:15

who were also startled by the proximity of

29:17

Arlonne.

29:18

My cannon were loaded with Grapeshot, since

29:21

I had no round shot, and only five

29:23

rounds of Grapeshot per gun.

29:25

The Grapeshot had a devastating effect

29:28

at such close range.

29:29

The column veered right, and charged

29:32

the 2nd Battalion of the Wladimirski Regiment.

29:35

I stood in the interval between the 2nd and

29:37

1st Battalion.

29:38

Our men received the enemy with bayonets,

29:41

but the French broke through the middle.

29:43

I was still firing the last remaining Grapeshot

29:45

rounds, when the artillery men behind me

29:48

shouted, Frenchmen, and made me

29:50

look around. Several Frenchmen stormed

29:52

into the battery from behind, but they were soon

29:54

followed by our men and were all stabbed

29:56

with bayonets.

29:58

I was able to save only a few of them from the

30:00

swords of my men.

30:01

Our horses were wounded and all the ammunition

30:03

was used up.

30:04

The bayonet melee ended with the complete

30:06

destruction of the enemy column.

30:09

Mounds of corpses marked the sight of

30:11

the carnage."

30:14

Ojiro's men tried to fight back as best

30:17

they could, but thanks to the blizzard, they

30:19

had walked right into a vertex of enemy

30:21

muskets and cannon.

30:23

Behind them, French artillery opened up,

30:25

trying to provide a little cover, but they could barely

30:28

see the fighting, and many of their rounds

30:30

fell on their own men.

30:32

The ailing Marshal Ojiro was wounded.

30:35

The commander of the 1st Division, General Desjardins,

30:37

was killed, and the commander of the 2nd

30:40

Division, General Houdelay, was badly

30:42

wounded and had to be rushed to the rear.

30:45

Ojiro was only lightly injured, so

30:47

he would stay in the field. He was now the

30:49

only member of the Corps' senior leadership

30:51

still in command.

30:54

units were mowed down so quickly and so

30:57

completely that the corpses lay in discernible

30:59

formations, as if they had all dropped

31:01

dead from heart attacks at the same moment.

31:05

Another Russian officer described the carnage.

31:07

Quote,

31:09

The French tried to fall back, but it was

31:11

too late,

31:12

since our regiments flanked the two forward

31:14

battalions of each regiment, surrounded

31:16

them, and began to destroy them, applying

31:19

the good old Russian bayonet.

31:21

We were reinforced by considerable forces

31:23

of infantry and cavalry, and horrifying

31:26

piles of enemy corpses soon filled the

31:28

valley in front of the town.

31:30

Together with my company, I was also involved

31:33

in enacting the vengeance of the hardened heart

31:35

amidst the horrors of war never before seen

31:38

among the snowdrifts of the northern realms.

31:41

But

31:41

my martial fury soon subsided

31:43

and was replaced by heartfelt sorrow

31:46

when our enraged soldiers, having crushed

31:48

and destroyed everything in front of them, began

31:50

to tear apart with bayonets, the corpses

31:53

of the enemy,

31:54

seeking the still-living Frenchman underneath

31:56

them."

31:57

End quote.

32:00

Those who could ran, but

32:02

many were trapped.

32:03

The Russians seized the initiative, brought

32:05

forward reinforcements, and closed

32:07

the triangle around the spearhead of the doomed

32:10

corps.

32:11

Many of Ojiro's men panicked, but the

32:13

soldiers of the 14th Regiment of the Line

32:15

held their nerve.

32:16

One of their officers found a small patch of high

32:19

ground and formed a square.

32:21

From his position, the sick and wounded

32:23

Marshal Ojiro could just barely see

32:26

the square of the 14th through the snow. He

32:29

sent one of his aides to ride through

32:31

the Russian gauntlet to order the regiment to

32:33

retreat, but the man went down to a musket

32:35

shot. He sent another. This

32:37

man, too, went down. This

32:39

process repeated until Ojiro

32:41

picked a man we know from past episodes,

32:43

Lieutenant Marcela Marbeau, whose

32:45

memoirs I have quoted from many times.

32:48

Marbeau finally made it through, found

32:51

the senior surviving officer, a major,

32:53

and relayed Ojiro's instructions.

32:55

However, by now it was too late.

32:58

Major told him, quote,

33:00

I can see no way of saving the regiment.

33:02

Return to the Emperor and give him the farewells

33:05

of the fourteenth of the line which has faithfully

33:07

carried out his orders,

33:09

and take him the eagle he gave us,

33:11

which we can no longer defend.

33:13

It would be too terrible to see it fall into enemy

33:16

hands during our last moments. End

33:18

quote. There was

33:20

no chance of the infantryman of the 14th

33:23

marching out of the trap. But,

33:25

mounted on his horse, Marbeau

33:27

did stand a chance.

33:29

He took the eagle and galloped back towards

33:31

the French lines.

33:33

Even in the middle of a blizzard, that shining

33:35

gold standard attracted a lot of attention.

33:38

The

33:38

Russians tore off after him.

33:40

Marbeau and his horse were both hit several

33:42

times, but they didn't slow down.

33:45

Somehow he managed to ride right

33:47

through the prongs of the Russian trap as

33:49

they closed around VII Corps.

33:51

The Eagle was saved.

33:55

Other sources tell a slightly different story

33:57

that the unfortunate major of the 14th

34:00

was killed before he could pass the eagle

34:02

to Marbeau, that Marbeau galloped

34:04

back empty-handed and the eagle was

34:06

taken by the Russians.

34:08

Marbeau himself doesn't mention the

34:10

incident at all in his memoirs, which

34:12

seems a bit strange.

34:14

In any case, the men of the 14th held

34:16

on bravely, but after heroic struggle

34:19

they made the mistake of opening their square

34:21

to let in survivors from other regiments.

34:25

An officer of the Pavlovsky-Grenadier Regiment

34:27

saw the opportunity and order to charge.

34:30

The Russians were able to reach the square before

34:32

it could be reformed.

34:34

Enemy grenadiers streamed into the formation,

34:36

and the whole regiment was massacred.

34:40

Large numbers of men from VII Corps were

34:42

able to escape. The still ongoing

34:45

blizzard helped provide cover for many

34:47

of the survivors.

34:48

However, for all practical purposes,

34:51

Ojiro's Corps had been destroyed.

34:54

The survivors fell back towards their starting positions,

34:57

just outside Eilau, pursued by the

34:59

enemy.

35:00

When the sick, wounded Marshal was

35:02

finally able to rally the remnants of his corps,

35:05

there were only about 3,000 men still

35:07

unhurt and in good order.

35:10

7th Corps fell back so far that

35:12

their pursuers came within about 100 yards, or 91 meters,

35:16

of Napoleon's headquarters.

35:18

The Emperor's personal bodyguards were

35:20

forced to launch a desperate counterattack.

35:23

They succeeded in blunting the Russian advance,

35:25

but at a tremendous cost.

35:28

The

35:28

destruction of Ojiro's Corps has to

35:31

rank as the worst setback experienced

35:33

by a French army since Napoleon took power.

35:37

It should be said that this fiasco

35:39

actually did achieve some of its objectives.

35:42

While the Russians were busy slaughtering

35:44

Ojiro's men, Marshal de Vous and

35:46

Third Corps had been able to get into position,

35:49

and they were now putting severe pressure on

35:51

Beniksen's left flank.

35:54

However, the massacre of VII Corps

35:56

had put the rest of the Grande Armée in

35:58

terrible jeopardy.

36:00

Beniksan now had a huge number of troops

36:03

concentrated in the center of the battlefield, and

36:05

Napoleon had lost almost all of his

36:07

infantry in this sector.

36:09

If Beniksan counterattacked now, there

36:11

would not be much stopping him from punching

36:14

right through Napoleon's center, splitting

36:16

the Grande Armée in two and practically

36:18

guaranteeing a Russian victory.

36:22

But the Emperor had never been the type of commander

36:24

to sit around and wait for the enemy to make their

36:26

move. Even now, after suffering

36:29

one of the worst disasters of his whole career,

36:31

he would seek to control the tempo of the battle,

36:34

and maintain the initiative.

36:36

Napoleon ordered his center to attack

36:39

again. That

36:40

might sound insane, given what had just

36:42

happened, but most of Napoleon's remaining

36:44

strength in the center was cavalry, who

36:47

were pretty ineffective fighting on the defensive,

36:49

but incredibly powerful on the attack.

36:52

They would fare much better charging the Russian

36:54

lines than they would trying to stand their

36:56

ground in the face of a strong counterattack.

37:00

And so Napoleon turned to his old

37:02

friend and brother-in-law, Marshal Joachim Murat,

37:05

gestured towards the Russians and asked

37:07

him, quote,

37:08

Are you going to let those fellows devour us?

37:11

end quote.

37:13

He ordered Murat to attack with

37:15

all of the Reserve Cavalry Corps, and

37:18

lent him the mounted units of the Imperial

37:20

Guard as well.

37:22

This would be over 10,000 horsemen,

37:25

all launching themselves at the Russian lines

37:27

together in a single attack.

37:29

Nearly one out of every six French

37:31

soldiers on the battlefield would be riding

37:33

out with Mira.

37:36

In European warfare of this era, a

37:38

cavalry charge at this scale was almost

37:40

unheard of. This

37:41

was more the type of thing you might see in

37:43

the Middle East with a the Mamluk army.

37:46

In fact, Napoleon's own tiny

37:48

regiment of Mamluks, brought back from Egypt,

37:51

would participate in the attack.

37:53

A big Western European cavalry charge of

37:55

this era was typically a few thousand

37:58

men, and against a soft target.

38:00

not right into the center of a prepared

38:02

enemy position in the face of artillery.

38:05

But,

38:05

as they say, desperate times

38:07

call for desperate measures.

38:10

As we discussed earlier in the episode, the French

38:12

cavalry was in relatively good

38:14

shape compared to the rest of the army, and

38:17

Murat and his generals were optimistic

38:19

as they formed their men into two gigantic

38:22

parallel attack columns, stretching

38:24

all the way back beyond the French rear. fear.

38:26

With

38:27

the poor visibility, the men at the back

38:29

of the columns could barely even see the front.

38:32

As always, Mural would charge alongside

38:35

his men.

38:36

He was still wearing that outlandish Polish

38:38

warlord costume we've discussed in previous

38:40

episodes, looking like a cross between

38:43

Santa Claus and the Angel of Death, although

38:45

for this bloody mission he

38:47

had traded in his jewelled riding crop

38:49

for a sabre. Many

38:51

of the Russian units in the centre of the battlefield were

38:53

out of position, from their recent pursuit

38:56

of the remains of Ojiro's Corps.

38:58

They were still threatening,

39:00

but not prepared to face a mass

39:02

cavalry charge.

39:04

The flamboyant Marshal drew his sword

39:06

and began to trot forward, alongside

39:09

more than ten thousand of the best horsemen

39:11

in Europe. One of the greatest

39:13

cavalry charges in history had

39:16

begun. Those

39:18

Russian columns at the center of the battlefield

39:20

were taken completely by surprise.

39:23

Now it was the Russians' turn to stand

39:25

helplessly and be cut down by an overwhelming

39:28

enemy. A

39:29

French cavalry officer would later remember,

39:32

The brave phalanx of infantry

39:34

was soon leveled to the earth, like a wheat

39:37

field swept by a hurricane. Mirat

39:42

had succeeded at his primary mission. The

39:44

center of the Grande Armée was out of immediate

39:46

danger. But

39:47

he had no intention of stopping.

39:50

The two French assault columns were so long,

39:52

most of his men hadn't even engaged yet.

39:54

Murat and his generals would carry

39:57

the momentum of the charge as far as they could.

40:00

One column pressed forward, while the other

40:02

veered right, to spread the damage

40:04

towards Beniksan's left, where Davout's

40:07

corps was pushing forward.

40:09

Many of the hapless Russian units in the

40:11

path of the charge could not see

40:13

or hear the advancing French until it was

40:15

too late to form a square.

40:17

Still, they opened fire on the French horsemen

40:19

to deadly effect. Hundreds

40:21

of cavalrymen fell, but it was not enough

40:24

to stop the momentum of the charge.

40:26

The French slammed into the main enemy

40:28

line.

40:29

In some places the Russians were scattered

40:31

like bowling pins by the units at the front of

40:33

the column, and then ridden down and

40:35

killed or captured by those that followed.

40:38

In other places, resistance was more

40:41

stiff, and the French had to charge

40:43

multiple times before they could overwhelm

40:45

their enemies.

40:47

Still, the momentum of the charge was nowhere

40:50

near spent. Murat and other commanders

40:52

fanned out to attack other nearby Russian

40:55

units, while Marshal Bécier,

40:57

commander of the Imperial Guard, continued

40:59

to push forward into Beniksen's reserve.

41:03

We can only imagine how surprised these

41:05

units must have been, thinking of themselves

41:08

as behind the action, waiting to

41:10

go into battle,

41:11

and then suddenly finding almost all

41:13

of the French cavalry right on top of them.

41:16

The whole Russian center was in pandemonium.

41:19

In the raging blizzard, panicked men didn't

41:21

know where to run.

41:23

Everywhere, French horsemen who had peeled

41:25

off from the main body of the charge were

41:27

riding around with bloody sabers, hunting

41:30

down and killing any Russian they could see.

41:32

Other French troopers

41:34

dismounted and took the time to disable

41:37

most of the Russian cannon in this sector, which

41:39

had been abandoned by their crews. Deep

41:43

in the Russian rear, a bold group

41:45

of the mounted grenadiers of the Imperial

41:48

Guard had pushed much farther than anyone

41:50

else, and soon found themselves

41:52

nearly alone in a mass of Russian infantry.

41:55

They were led by Colonel Louis Lapic, who had so crudely told

41:57

his officer that he had been crudely told his officer.

42:00

to keep their heads up earlier

42:02

in the day.

42:03

Once the Russians realized how few

42:05

Frenchmen were still chasing them, they found

42:08

their nerve, turned around, and surrounded

42:10

this small group.

42:12

A Russian officer called out in French, quote,

42:15

surrender, Colonel. Your

42:17

bravery has carried you too far. You are

42:19

within our lines, end quote. Lapic

42:23

called back to him, quote, look at these

42:25

faces and see if they mean anything like

42:27

surrender, end quote.

42:29

He then turned to his troopers and called out,

42:31

quote, follow me men, end

42:33

quote, and spurred his horse

42:36

back towards the French lines. Despite

42:38

heavy casualties, this small body

42:40

of men was able to cut their way through the Russians

42:43

back to safety.

42:45

Further back, the biggest officer in the Grande

42:47

Armée, the Quirassier general, Jean-Joseph

42:50

de Poule, charged towards the Russian square.

42:53

He and his horse punched right through

42:55

it,

42:55

avoiding the raised bayonets and bowling

42:58

over both ranks of infantry.

43:00

The square was broken.

43:02

However, the Russians were able to close the gap

43:04

before any of Doth-Pul's queer seers could

43:06

follow.

43:07

He was alone, inside the enemy formation.

43:10

He was last seen falling from his horse,

43:12

surrounded by Russian infantry. Other

43:15

sources claim Doth-Pul was hidden the leg

43:18

by a Russian grapeshot round and slowly

43:20

bled out among his own men. Whatever

43:23

the case, he did not survive the

43:25

charge.

43:27

You

43:27

might remember from episode 99 that

43:29

after the Battle of Hoth, Napoleon had been

43:32

so pleased with Dothuil that he had embraced

43:34

him in front of the whole division.

43:36

Dothuil had told the Emperor that the

43:38

only way to thank him for this honor would

43:40

be to get killed in his service.

43:42

Less than two days later, he made good

43:44

on that promise.

43:46

Writing of Dothuil's death in his memoirs,

43:49

Marcelin Marbeau ends the story with

43:51

this sentence, quote,

43:53

such were the men of that time, end

43:55

quote.

43:58

after charging nearly a

44:00

mile and a half, or about 2.2 kilometers,

44:03

Murat finally called a halt.

44:06

He and his men had torn a huge bloody

44:08

hole right through the center of the Russian position.

44:11

Now they found themselves alone, unsupported

44:14

by infantry or artillery,

44:16

right in the middle of the enemy army.

44:19

The only thing left for them to do was reform

44:22

and charge again.

44:23

Murat and his generals rallied their men

44:26

and reassembled their units into another assault

44:28

column,

44:29

and then did it all over again, smashing

44:32

right through another section of the Russian lines,

44:34

this time from the rear.

44:36

This second charge took the French

44:38

cavalry almost right back to where they started,

44:41

in Napoleon's center.

44:42

Murat's wild ride was finally

44:45

over.

44:50

Around 1,500 French

44:52

horsemen had been killed, wounded, or captured

44:54

by the Russians, just short of 15%

44:58

of the men who had galloped forward less than

45:00

an hour earlier.

45:02

Russian casualties from the charge are almost

45:04

impossible to calculate. There

45:06

were around 15,000 men in

45:08

those assault columns that had been dispersed

45:10

at the beginning of the charge.

45:12

Those units were now totally destroyed,

45:15

but we don't know how many of the men were killed

45:17

and wounded versus how many had run

45:19

off into the blizzard and were only temporarily

45:21

separated from the army.

45:23

There were surely even more casualties when

45:25

the French broke through the main line and charged

45:28

the reserve.

45:29

However, the exact number of men killed

45:31

and wounded during the French charge is not as

45:34

important as the overall effect it had

45:36

on the Russians. Beniksen's

45:38

forces in the center and center-left

45:40

of the battlefield were in chaos. So

45:43

many men were killed and wounded, and so

45:45

many of the survivors totally dispersed

45:47

that command and control had almost totally

45:50

broken down.

45:51

The ongoing blizzard made rallying

45:54

and reorganizing the masses of panicked

45:56

men very difficult.

45:59

Obviously

46:00

the Russians needed to bring in men from the reserve

46:02

to plug the gaps,

46:04

but as we know, the reserve had

46:06

also been charged by the French, and was

46:08

also in chaos.

46:10

At the height of the charge, French horsemen

46:12

had advanced so deep into the Russian rear

46:15

that they had actually been visible from the Russian

46:17

headquarters with the naked eye.

46:19

To his credit, Beniksen did not panic,

46:22

although apparently some of the younger and less

46:24

experienced members of his staff did.

46:28

In fact, he organized a counterattack.

46:30

A move so brazen, Napoleon himself

46:33

did not believe the initial reports that

46:35

the Russians were advancing.

46:37

As he raised his spyglass to watch

46:39

his own men fighting off this counterattack,

46:42

the emperor couldn't help but admire them, saying,

46:44

quote,

46:45

"...what audacity, what audacity,"

46:48

end quote.

46:50

As the situation now stood, if Napoleon

46:53

had infantry on hand to exploit

46:55

Murat's charge, This episode

46:57

would probably be almost over.

46:59

If only a few thousand foot soldiers

47:01

had advanced into the gaping hole in the Russian

47:04

position, Beniksin's main line would

47:06

have been broken in two, and he would have had little

47:08

choice but to fall back.

47:11

Even after the destruction of Ojiro's core,

47:14

the Emperor still had his Imperial Guard

47:16

available,

47:17

but these were his last reserves, and

47:19

Napoleon felt he couldn't risk committing

47:21

them, knowing that the Russians might be reinforced

47:24

by their Prussian allies at any moment.

47:27

Some modern historians have criticized

47:29

this decision, but Napoleon felt it

47:31

wasn't worth the risk.

47:34

And so, despite all its glory, and

47:36

all the chaos and devastation it had sown

47:38

in the Russian lines, Murat's charge

47:40

was not a battle-winning maneuver.

47:44

Once again, the Grande Armée and their Russian

47:46

enemies had traded blow for blow, inflicting

47:49

terrible damage on each other, but neither

47:51

side had been able to land a knockout. The

47:54

Battle of Ailao would not be decided here.

47:59

While this drama unfolded in the

48:01

center of the battlefield, there was serious

48:04

action on Napoleon's right as well.

48:06

Davout

48:06

and III Corps were pushing

48:08

slowly but steadily into the Russian

48:10

left. There

48:12

was nothing flashy about the combat

48:14

in this sector, just two forces

48:17

of veteran soldiers slugging it out.

48:20

There

48:20

were several small villages in this area,

48:22

and their buildings became strong points for

48:24

the the Russian defenders.

48:27

Third Corps advanced, but repeated

48:29

enemy counterattacks forced Davout to keep

48:32

a strong reserve, preventing him from

48:34

deploying his full force in the main line.

48:36

The

48:37

Russians had the artillery advantage in

48:39

this sector.

48:41

Davout's gunners struggled heroically

48:43

to take out the enemy guns, or at

48:45

least provide a distraction, but there was

48:47

no way to prevent them from pouring fire

48:49

into the helpless French infantry.

48:52

After only a few hours of fighting, General

48:54

Charle Antoine Morant, who commanded an

48:57

infantry division in III Corps, reported

48:59

that his advance units were down to 50% strength.

49:04

And remember, it had only been a few months since

49:06

III Corps had fought off an entire Prussian

49:09

army at Auerstedt. There had not been

49:11

much time to rest and wait for replacements

49:13

since that terrible day, and most of

49:15

the Corps' units were still badly depleted.

49:18

Still, despite fierce resistance, Davout's

49:21

men pushed forward.

49:23

The Russians kept giving up ground, but

49:25

did not break.

49:26

Third Corps was, in effect, bending

49:29

the Russian line.

49:31

After a few hours, some Russian units

49:33

in this sector were arranged almost

49:36

perpendicular to the main line.

49:38

The Russian army had bent almost 90 degrees,

49:41

and the French now occupied much of the

49:43

high ground in this sector.

49:46

Despite

49:46

the horrific failure of Ojiro's

49:48

attack in the morning, it was beginning to

49:50

look like Napoleon and the Grande Armée

49:53

would snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

49:56

The Russian center was still reeling from

49:58

the charge, and their left

50:00

was falling back.

50:01

Davout and III Corps were now dangerously

50:04

close to the main road back to Königsberg,

50:06

the main base of operations for all

50:08

of the coalition forces in this area.

50:11

If that bending line on the Russian

50:13

left flank finally broke, which

50:16

looked like it was only a matter of time, Davout

50:18

and his men would be able to sever the road and

50:21

stream directly into the Russian rear.

50:24

Between the blizzard and all the chaotic fighting,

50:27

a huge proportion of the Russian soldiers had

50:29

become separated from their units.

50:31

Many were no longer fighting, but

50:33

without their own officers to lead them, had

50:35

simply gone to the rear, to await

50:38

further instructions, and mostly to

50:40

get away from all the deadly combat along

50:42

the main line.

50:44

Russian officers tried to rally these

50:46

men, but had little success.

50:48

The army was nearing the limits of its endurance.

50:52

A dark mood was beginning to set

50:54

in among the Russian ranks.

50:56

Defeat was in the air.

50:59

The French were now so close to Beniksan's

51:01

headquarters that it was coming under artillery fire.

51:03

A senior Russian general

51:05

begged Beniksan to move.

51:08

Using the familiar Russian form of the commander's

51:10

name, he said, quote,

51:12

My dear Leonty,

51:14

you will be struck dead like a lazy dog,

51:16

and that won't do anyone any good. you should

51:18

get out of this hellhole before it's too late." Begrudgingly,

51:24

Beniksen took his advice and moved

51:26

his headquarters deeper into the rear. Unfortunately

51:29

for the Russians, this led to rumors that

51:31

he had fled the battlefield, another blow

51:33

to morale. The

51:36

Russian army needed a miracle,

51:38

and they got it.

51:41

Just when collapse was beginning to look inevitable,

51:44

General Astok and his Prussians began

51:46

to arrive in the Russian rear.

51:48

The appearance of their allies reinvigorated

51:51

the Russians. Many of those stragglers

51:53

picked up their muskets and fell in line

51:55

with Lestoc's regiments.

51:58

nearly a year earlier, Emperor Al- Alexander

52:00

had been determined to invade

52:02

and conquer Prussia,

52:03

but now the two country soldiers were

52:05

marching into battle side by side.

52:09

Beniksen deployed Lestock's division

52:12

on his stricken left.

52:13

Soon, they stabilized to the line, and

52:16

before long, Davout and III Corps

52:18

were giving up ground.

52:20

Now, the coalition line was bending

52:22

back the other direction.

52:26

News of the Prussian's arrival on the battlefield

52:28

was a terrible blow to French morale.

52:31

By now, the fighting had picked up again in the center

52:33

of the battlefield.

52:34

Once again, Napoleon's headquarters

52:36

came under threat.

52:38

Some officers began to question whether

52:40

or not the Emperor should move further to the rear,

52:43

or call forward the infantry of his Imperial

52:45

Guard to drive the enemy away.

52:48

They were informed that the army's morale

52:51

was so fragile that Napoleon worried

52:53

deploying the guard or departing from

52:55

his headquarters might create a general

52:57

panic and lose him the battle.

53:00

Fortunately for the French, some nearby cavalry

53:03

under General Grouchy were able to drive

53:05

away the most threatening enemy units.

53:09

All was not lost for the French.

53:11

At almost the exact same time, Lestac

53:13

and the Prussians arrived, the Grande Armée

53:15

received reinforcements as well. well.

53:18

Marshall Nae and his Sixth Core had

53:20

arrived on the battlefield.

53:22

It was actually not a coincidence that these two

53:24

formations arrived at Ailao at almost

53:26

the same time.

53:28

You might remember from episode 99 that

53:30

Marshall Nae had been ordered to shadow the Prussians,

53:33

and try to prevent them from linking up with Beniksen.

53:36

A skillful Prussian rearguard had prevented

53:39

him from achieving the second part of his mission, but

53:41

he had shadowed them right to the battlefield.

53:45

As soon as Sixth Corps was formed up, the

53:47

bold, red-haired Marshal immediately led

53:49

them into an attack along the Russian right, and

53:52

the fighting in this sector intensified again.

53:55

Mercifully, night comes early

53:57

in northeastern Europe at this time of the year.

54:00

By

54:00

late afternoon, the light was beginning

54:02

to fade.

54:03

The sun sat at around 5.30.

54:06

Combat continued all along the line,

54:09

but with both armies exhausted and demoralized,

54:12

and visibility getting even worse, the

54:14

action began to slow down.

54:16

Like many engagements of this campaign,

54:19

the second day of the Battle of Eilau slowly

54:21

petered out rather than reaching a decisive

54:24

ending point. Behind

54:25

the Russian lines, a group of wounded

54:28

officers was lying in a makeshift hospital,

54:30

discussing the events they had just barely

54:33

survived.

54:34

One of them remarked, quote,

54:37

I don't think one can envision any worse

54:39

massacre between the children of Adam than the

54:41

one that occurred today, end quote.

54:44

One of his comrades chimed in, quote,

54:46

If anyone tried to surpass

54:48

today's butchery, Satan himself would

54:50

never allow it, for he exhausted all

54:52

his devilish skills today, and what

54:55

a job he did." End

54:56

quote.

54:59

By around ten o'clock the two armies were

55:01

disengaged, and the firing had more

55:03

or less stopped. And by eleven

55:05

things had calmed down enough for Beniksen

55:08

to assemble his senior officers for a council

55:10

of war.

55:11

One question dominated the agenda.

55:14

Should the Allied army use the cover of darkness

55:17

to retreat,

55:18

or should they hold their ground and

55:20

square off against the French again in the

55:22

morning.

55:24

Remember, the Battle of Hoth had taken

55:26

place the day before the first day of combat

55:28

at Aylal.

55:29

So, if the Russians stayed, that

55:32

would make four days of consecutive

55:34

hard fighting.

55:36

Despite the dire condition of their troops, many

55:38

of the assembled generals argued for this

55:40

course of action.

55:42

They felt the arrival of Lestocque had

55:44

turned the tide of the battle, and that with

55:46

another day they could deal the Grande armée

55:49

its first major defeat.

55:51

The issue was discussed for quite some time,

55:54

but Beniksen did not share their confidence.

55:58

At around midnight, the outposts of

56:00

III Corps began to hear movement in the Russian

56:02

lines.

56:03

Fearing an attack, they informed Marshal de

56:05

Vous, who came forward personally,

56:07

to see what the fuss was about.

56:10

The Marshal placed an ear to the frozen ground

56:12

and listened for a few seconds. Then,

56:15

told his troops, they were mistaken. The

56:17

sounds of marching men and trotting horses

56:19

were getting fainter, not louder.

56:22

The enemy was in retreat.

56:25

Once again, the Russians had stood their

56:27

ground in the face of ferocious attacks,

56:30

only to slip away in the night.

56:32

The Battle of Ilao was over.

56:35

Between the darkness and the blizzard, with

56:37

the French cavalry tired and battered

56:39

from their charge, there was little chance

56:42

of a successful pursuit, and Napoleon

56:44

soon called it off.

56:46

The two armies passed another uncomfortable

56:48

and mostly sleepless night. The

56:50

French hunkered down in the ruins of Aylao,

56:53

surrounded by the wounded and the dead, and

56:55

the Russians slogging through the blizzard

56:57

in the dark.

56:59

By morning, the snowstorm had finally

57:01

subsided, and the men of the Grande Armée

57:03

got their first clear view of the

57:05

carnage all around them.

57:08

Compared to many of the battles we've covered, Aylao

57:10

was fought in a very small geographic

57:13

area. With so many casualties

57:15

occurring in this cramped space, the

57:17

bodies had literally stacked up.

57:20

Huge mounds of dead soldiers were

57:22

scattered across the battlefield,

57:24

often marking the places where entire

57:26

units had been wiped out all at once.

57:30

When they found the remains of the 14th regiment

57:32

of the line, who had given their eagle to

57:34

Lieutenant Marbeau, their square

57:36

formation was still discernible in

57:38

the mass of corpses where they had made their last

57:40

stand. The Russian grenadiers had

57:43

killed them all so fast there hadn't been

57:45

time to break formation.

57:48

In some places, these mounds

57:50

of bodies had become truly grisly.

57:52

Where the fighting was particularly ferocious,

57:55

enemy soldiers had stabbed into them with

57:57

bayonets, hoping to kill any wounded

57:59

men.

58:00

trapped beneath.

58:01

In other places, cavalry units had

58:03

charged across them, or wagons

58:05

had driven over them, mutilating the corpses.

58:09

Even seasoned veterans were disgusted

58:11

by the state of the battlefield.

58:13

Even the army's surgeons, who saw

58:15

more than their share of blood and gore, were

58:17

horrified.

58:19

Napoleon gathered his staff together, and

58:22

they mounted up to ride around the battlefield

58:24

and offer help to the wounded, as was his custom

58:26

after a major engagement.

58:29

Amazingly, there were wounded men

58:31

still alive in this hellish landscape.

58:33

Napoleon and his staff offered

58:35

them brandy and whatever medical treatment

58:37

they could.

58:39

As he and his staff wandered, the Emperor

58:41

ran into Marshal Ney.

58:43

Ney was an emotional man, and he was

58:46

deeply affected by the horrible scenes

58:48

all around him. He said, quote,

58:50

What a massacre, and without result,

58:53

end quote. He

58:55

was right. Despite two days of

58:57

brutal combat and absolutely horrific

58:59

casualties, the battle had achieved

59:02

nothing.

59:03

As Napoleon and his staff continued

59:06

their ride, they got closer and closer

59:08

to the areas where the most intense fighting

59:10

had taken place.

59:11

Soon, they found it impossible to navigate

59:14

the ground without their horses stepping

59:16

on the dead. Disgusted, Napoleon

59:19

called a halt.

59:20

Then, the Emperor of the French began

59:23

to cry. A

59:25

few weeks later, he would write to his brother

59:27

Joseph, one of the few people he was truly

59:29

close to. He confided, quote,

59:32

Here we have war in all its fierceness

59:34

and all its horrors, end quote.

59:38

In his official bulletin after the battle,

59:40

Napoleon claimed victory.

59:42

In the most narrow, technical sense

59:45

that might have been true.

59:46

The Russians were the ones who retreated, leaving

59:49

the French in control of the battlefield.

59:51

But the plan to trap Beniksan

59:53

had failed completely, and at

59:55

a terrible cost.

59:57

However, the Bulletin was surprisingly frank.

1:00:00

about the horrific fighting.

1:00:02

When Police Minister Joseph Foucher

1:00:04

read the Bulletin, he told Napoleon that

1:00:06

it would be too damaging to public opinion.

1:00:08

Apparently Bonaparte didn't care, it

1:00:10

was published anyway.

1:00:12

As I'm sure you know by now, it was second

1:00:15

nature for Napoleon to put his own

1:00:17

spin on the truth, to put it diplomatically.

1:00:20

And although he did his best to paint Ialau

1:00:23

as a success, and presented some

1:00:25

very optimistic casualty estimates,

1:00:28

he was surprisingly frank about the nature

1:00:30

of the combat. Quote,

1:00:32

The slaughter was horrible. End

1:00:35

quote. Both

1:00:37

armies reported around 15,000

1:00:39

casualties.

1:00:41

Almost all modern historians agree

1:00:43

those numbers are far too low.

1:00:46

As you might imagine, both commanders had

1:00:48

strong incentive to downplay how

1:00:50

many men they had sacrificed in a totally

1:00:53

indecisive battle.

1:00:55

High estimates are almost double

1:00:57

the official numbers,

1:00:59

over 29,000 French casualties and over 26,000 Russian.

1:01:01

If those high

1:01:04

estimates are correct, around

1:01:07

one third of the men who fought at ILA

1:01:09

were killed or wounded.

1:01:12

It is worth mentioning again that in Napoleonic

1:01:14

warfare only a fraction of the casualties

1:01:16

were actually killed in action.

1:01:18

For instance, that high estimate of over 29,000

1:01:20

French casualties places

1:01:23

the number of men actually killed in action

1:01:25

at just under 5,000.

1:01:27

Still, by any measure, Ayla was

1:01:29

a horrible slaughter. The

1:01:32

men who took part in this battle would remember

1:01:34

it as particularly vicious and bloody.

1:01:37

For the second time in as many months, Napoleon

1:01:40

ordered the Grande Armée to make winter quarters.

1:01:43

Beniksen did the same.

1:01:45

Both armies would need months to rest,

1:01:47

resupply, treat the wounded, and

1:01:49

await fresh replacements from home.

1:01:52

Despite the terrible calamity at Ailao,

1:01:55

the wider war showed no signs of stopping

1:01:57

anytime soon.

1:02:00

fighting would continue.

1:02:02

That's all for now. Before I go, I'll

1:02:04

remind you once again to check out some of the other

1:02:07

great podcasts on the Airwave Network, like

1:02:09

The Constant, The Explorers podcast,

1:02:12

and The Conspirators.

1:02:14

And don't forget to sign up on Patreon

1:02:17

if you want access to the next dispatch, which

1:02:19

will be out in a few weeks. Until

1:02:22

next time, thanks for listening.

1:02:36

apply.