Battle of Schleiz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Schleiz |
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| Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition | |||||||
 Schleiz from an 1810 painting |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire |
 Prussia Saxony |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Joachim Murat Jean Bernadotte Jean-Baptiste Drouet |
Bogislav von Tauentzien |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 20,594 34 guns Engaged: 4,000 12 guns |
9,000 Engaged: 2,600 8 guns |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| light | 566 1 gun lost |
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The Battle of Schleiz happened on October 9, 1806, in Schleiz, Germany. It was the first fight of the War of the Fourth Coalition, which was part of the bigger Napoleonic Wars. In this battle, French troops led by Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon fought against a Prussian-Saxon army division. This division was commanded by Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien.
The French army, called the Grande Armée, was moving north through the Franconian Forest. They surprised the left side of the Prussian and Saxon armies. These armies were spread out over a long area. Schleiz is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Hof.
At the start of the battle, Drouet's French soldiers met Tauentzien's outposts. When Tauentzien realized how strong the French were, he began to pull his troops back. Joachim Murat, a French commander, took charge and chased the retreating Prussians. A Prussian group to the west was cut off and lost many soldiers. The Prussian and Saxon forces kept retreating north. They reached Auma later that evening.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
Political Tensions Before the War
In 1805, during the War of the Third Coalition, Frederick William III of Prussia, the King of Prussia, made a deal with Alexander I of Russia. Russia was already fighting against France. King Frederick William promised to try and make peace between France and its enemies. He said Prussia would join the fight if France's leader, Emperor Napoleon I of France, didn't agree to certain terms. These terms included giving up control of places like Holland and Switzerland.
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Prussia had already prepared its army against Russia in September 1805. This was because the Russian Tsar wanted Prussia to join the Third Coalition. Prussia was also annoyed when Napoleon's army marched through its territory of Ansbach. This made Prussia want to work with Russia.
Napoleon was clever and delayed the Prussian ambassador, Christian Graf von Haugwitz. He waited until after his big victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805. After this, Austria asked for peace, and Russia pulled its troops out. This ended the Third Coalition.
In February 1806, Napoleon convinced Prussia to trade some of its lands for Hanover. Hanover was a territory that France had taken over. France also invaded the Kingdom of Naples in Italy. By July, Napoleon had created the Confederation of the Rhine. This was a group of German states that were allied with France.
Because of these actions by France, the people in Prussia who wanted war gained more power. Queen Louise was a key figure in this group. The peace-loving minister Haugwitz was removed from his job. On August 7, 1806, King Frederick William decided that Prussia would go to war against Napoleon.
Armies Get Ready for War
Prussia got 171,000 soldiers ready for war. This included 35,000 cavalry (soldiers on horseback) and 15,000 gunners. They also had 20,000 soldiers from their ally, Saxony. These troops were divided into three main armies.
- Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick led the central army near Leipzig.
- Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen commanded the left army, which included the Saxon soldiers, near Dresden.
- Ernst von Rüchel and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher led the right army near Göttingen.
Napoleon soon found out about Prussia's war preparations. He called up 50,000 new soldiers in September. He also put his French forces in Germany on high alert. When he learned that Prussia had joined forces with the Saxon army, he quickly gathered his Grande Armée. His goal was to defeat the Prussian army.
On October 5, Napoleon gave orders for his army to invade Saxony.
- The central column was led by Marshal Bernadotte's I Corps.
- The right column was led by Marshal Soult's IV Corps.
- The left column was led by Marshal Lannes' V Corps.
Napoleon sent the right column towards Hof, the center column from Kronach to Schleiz, and the left column from Coburg to Saalfeld.
The Prussian commanders held several meetings to plan their strategy. But they couldn't agree on a plan. Then, on October 5, they found out that Napoleon's forces were already moving north. They were heading from Bayreuth towards Saxony.
So, the Prussians decided that Hohenlohe would move to Rudolstadt. Brunswick would go to Erfurt, and Rüchel to Gotha. A reserve army under Eugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg was ordered to move from Magdeburg to Halle.
The Thuringian Forest and Franconian Forest are areas with wooded mountains. In 1806, there were only a few poor roads through them. Napoleon chose his invasion route where this rough terrain was narrowest. This was the Franconian Forest to the east.
The French army crossed into Saxony on October 8. Light cavalry rode ahead to scout. Napoleon wasn't sure where the Prussian-Saxon army was. So, his army marched in a special formation called a battalion carré. This formation allowed them to quickly gather their forces against attacks from any direction.
Marshal Murat personally led the light cavalry in front of Napoleon's army. On the eastern side, General Lasalle scouted towards Hof. On the western side, General Milhaud scouted towards Saalfeld. Napoleon ordered General Watier to send one regiment far ahead of the I Corps. The goal of these cavalry scouts was to find Prussian and Saxon units and learn about the roads.
On October 8, Murat's cavalry captured the bridge at Saalburg-Ebersdorf. A small group of defenders fell back east to Gefell. There, they met General-Major Tauentzien as his division retreated north from Hof. That evening, Tauentzien gathered his troops at Schleiz.
About 9,000 Saxon soldiers were at Auma, 15 kilometers (9 miles) north-northeast of Schleiz. Oberst Carl Andreas von Boguslawski's Prussian group was 18 kilometers (11 miles) north-northwest at Neustadt an der Orla. General-Major Christian Ludwig Schimmelpfennig's group of 600 cavalry was 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest at Pößneck.
Tauentzien's division had 6,000 Prussians and 3,000 Saxons. Bernadotte's I Corps had three infantry divisions. These were led by Generals of Division Drouet, Dupont, and Rivaud. His corps also had a cavalry brigade led by General Delaistre de Tilly. General Jean Baptiste Eblé commanded the corps' artillery.
The Battle of Schleiz
On October 9, the first fighting happened between Bernadotte's French troops and Tauentzien's Prussian-Saxon forces. This was near the Oschitz Wood, a forest south of Schleiz. Bernadotte ordered General Werlé to clear the forest on the right side as Drouet's division moved towards Schleiz.
In the thick woods, the French infantry moved forward. Watier's cavalry regiment followed behind. Werlé's leading troops took control of the woods. But a Prussian force under General-Major Rudolf Ernst Christoph von Bila stopped them from going further.
By 2:00 pm, the French had many soldiers in the area. Tauentzien decided to leave Schleiz. The Prussian division retreated north. Bila's rear guard, made up of one infantry battalion and one and a half cavalry regiments, covered their retreat. Drouet attacked Schleiz at 4:00 pm and pushed out the last Prussian soldiers.
North of the town, Murat charged the Prussian rear guard with the 4th Hussar Regiment. But the Prussian cavalry fought them off. Murat then got help from the 5th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment and infantry. He pushed Bila's troops back to the woods north of Oettersdorf.
Earlier, Tauentzien had sent an officer named Hobe with one battalion, one cavalry squadron, and two cannons. They went to Crispendorf, about six kilometers (4 miles) west of Schleiz. Hobe's job was to protect the right side of the army. He also had to keep in touch with Schimmelpfennig's cavalry in Pößneck.
When Tauentzien started to retreat, Hobe's group also pulled back. They moved northeast to rejoin their division. At the woods near Pörmitz, a village four kilometers (2.5 miles) north of Schleiz, Hobe's group got trapped. They were caught between Murat's cavalry and one of Drouet's battalions. Hobe's force was badly beaten in the marshy forest. They lost one of their cannons.
Most of the losses in the battle came from Hobe's unlucky group. The Prussians and Saxons lost 12 officers and 554 soldiers. These were killed, wounded, captured, or went missing. They also lost one cannon. French losses are not known, but they were likely small.
After the Battle
Tauentzien retreated to Auma. His tired and hungry troops set up camp there at 7:00 pm. They joined with Saxon troops led by General Hans Gottlob von Zeschwitz. The total number of soldiers at Auma was 16,400.
That evening, Boguslawski's 3,000 men were still at Neustadt. Schimmelpfennig's 600 cavalry were still at Pößneck. Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia's division of 8,000 men was at Saalfeld to the west. Hohenlohe had 8,000 troops at Orlamünde, south of Jena.
The rest of the Prussian army was spread out to the west. Brunswick, with the main army, was at Erfurt. Rüchel was further west near Gotha. Blücher was at Eisenach. General Karl August led an 11,000-man corps. Its leading group was at Schmalkalden, and another group under General Christian Ludwig von Winning was at Vacha. Duke Eugene of Württemberg's reserve army was far to the north, between Magdeburg and Halle.
When Hohenlohe heard about the fight at Schleiz, he ordered his left wing troops to gather between Rudolstadt and Jena. Then they were to move east to help Tauentzien and the Saxons. However, Brunswick would not allow this plan. So, Hohenlohe stopped it. Meanwhile, Hohenlohe sent a confusing order to Prince Louis Ferdinand. The prince misunderstood it as an order to defend Saalfeld. The Battle of Saalfeld happened the next day. It was fought in front of Lannes' French corps.
