Battle French victory

Jena

Name: Jena
Start: 1806-10-14
Location: Thuringia (Germany)

14 October 1806 · Thuringia (Germany)

At Jena and Auerstedt on the same day, Napoleon and Davout crushed the Prussian army. Within weeks, Prussia was brought to its knees. The Grande Armée's reputation reached its zenith.

Forces at play

Outcome: Crushing French victory

France

Napoléon
Lannes
Augereau

~96 000 hommes

Prusse · Saxe

Hohenlohe
Rüchel

~38 000 (Iéna) + 27 000 (Auerstedt)

Jena

Coordonnées 50.9285°, 11.5892°

Battle narrative

Context

Prussia, humiliated after Austerlitz, joined the Fourth Coalition. Napoleon crossed the Thuringian Forest and surprised the Prussians, who believed French retreat was imminent.

Forces

France: About 96,000 at Jena (Napoleon, Lannes, Augereau). Davout faced 27,000 Prussians at Auerstedt with only 27,000 men.

Prussia: About 38,000 at Jena under Hohenlohe. Brunswick's main army was at Auerstedt.

Course of the battle

On the morning of 14 October, the fog lifted. Lannes broke through the Prussian centre. Augereau outflanked on the left. The Prussians, poorly deployed, were crushed. Napoleon wrote to Josephine: "I have crushed the Prussian army." The same day, Davout withstood superior forces at Auerstedt and eventually defeated Brunswick.