JENA–AUERSTEDT – The Triumph of the Eagle

Napoleon I's crushing victory over the Prussian army on 14 October 1806 was in reality the combined effect of two simultaneous but entirely distinct battles.

Before Jena, Napoleon encountered the Prussian and Saxon army of Hohenlohe under numerical conditions favourable to the French army. From that perspective, the Battle of Jena in the strict sense was a brilliant victory, but not a surprising one.

In contrast, the Battle of Auerstedt, fought at the same moment a few leagues further north, remains one of the greatest military feats of all time. There, Davout faced, with his Third Corps alone, the main army of the King of Prussia, achieving the unthinkable by routing the elite of that army which believed itself to be the finest in the world. The Emperor's merits are nonetheless remarkable in the conduct of the strategic phase, in the organisation of his army and in the disposition of his reserves. Napoleon directed the march of his army corps with genius against an adversary bogged down in its discussions and hesitations. He thought fast, he moved fast, and he could only win.

No victory of Napoleon's has been or will ever be as effective and as total as this brilliant double stroke of 14 October 1806. At Jena and at Auerstedt, the Prussian army, defeated on both fronts, was put to flight and soon annihilated. Lannes would be the hero of Jena, Davout the victor of Auerstedt, and both the great architects of the Triumph of the Eagle.

In 120 pages entirely in colour, illustrated with 100 period documents and portraits, nearly 50 uniform plates drawn digitally by André Jouineau and no fewer than 17 maps, Dr E.-G. Hourtoulle brings to life, hour by hour and in their finest details, these great moments in the military history of France.