French officer Noel Bagnost on the battle of Friedland

… After having spent thirty-five days in the cantonments of Neumark, we departed from this place on 11 June to make camp near the river, which we crossed the next day.

At the fort of Spanden, we were provided with biscuit, and, crossing the small town of Mehlzach, we bivouacked on the plains of Eylau on the 13th. The misery was so widespread that nothing could be found; the villages had not yet recovered from the last calamities, and the inhabitants had not returned. Finally, we spent the night in this position, and on the 14th, early in the morning, we set out for Friedland, passing by the small town of Preuss-Eylau [sic], situated on an eminence surrounded by small forest patches. On the neighbouring hillsides, I could still perceive the remains of the batteries of the Russian army, whose sixty guns had been stormed on the 8th of February. The town, as well as the surrounding countryside, appeared to be in disarray and abandoned. The locals had not returned since the battle; all the houses were ruined and partly burnt down, only their four walls were still standing. One cannot imagine anything more depressing. However, after a considerable march across these plains, we were halted in a large meadow, and an order was issued forbidding any man to remain in the rear.

A general distribution of brandy was made to the troops, and then our commander exhorted us with a few words, explaining that we would soon be fighting a fierce battle on the fields of Friedland. Everyone therefore maintained ranks. I could observe squadrons on every side, moving to the right and to the left, weapons at the ready. I also spotted the Emperor, at the head of his [Imperial] Guard and his cuirassiers, heading for Friedland, which stood quite a distance away, for the gunfire could not be heard, even though the battle had begun. But when we had reached the far end of a wood, I suddenly heard a rather vigorous command, of which only the resulting smoke could be seen rising above a thick mass of fir trees which masked the vast plain. This prompted us to hasten our pace, and we soon reached the village of … (Posthenen), from which I already began to distinguish the battlefield, which, in all its extent, resounded with the din of the fusillade. We were about to engage the enemy; cannonballs and shells, which ricocheted very close to our columns, instilled in us a certain sense of terror despite ourselves.

The division of General Oudinot had attacked the enemy in the morning. Marshals Mortier and Ney, who subsequently arrived in a second column with VI and VIII Corps, did not delay to attack the enemy army in their turn, whose artillery occupied the outskirts of the town of Friedland. We were ordered to arrange our dispositions for combat. The general ordered a halt. We found ourselves on a large plateau adjacent to a large patch of magnificent looking peas, which were appetizingly green, and to which all our soldiers, who had been suffering from hunger and thirst for four days, rushed towards with eagerness, but the sound of the guns soon roused their attention, and they thought only of fighting fiercely when their turn came to enter the line.

After having remained in this position for half an hour, we observed the artillery, which formed the centre of the enemy masses, moving towards our columns with such swiftness that their projectiles reached far beyond our lines. At the time of the offensive, the Emperor in person approached us to have us press on the right, saying that we were being targeted by their batteries. Indeed, we had hardly carried out his orders, when I witnessed in an instant that a tremendous shower of projectiles fell on this initial position: shells burst with force, cannonballs which fell on all sides in great numbers caused no less noise wherever they flew. I was oddly surprised to be spared of such danger, although I happened to be in the very thick of the battle. Our division would certainly have suffered considerable losses had it not been for this wise manoeuvre.

I allowed myself to carelessly observe the movements and furious charges conducted by [our] squadrons, which the Emperor had ordered. I could spot him in the centre, accompanied by a single aide-de-camp, issuing his orders. The enemy, by the very heavy firing which they maintained on every point, and by the movements of their artillery, appeared to force us to retreat; but they did not realise that the Emperor was trying to draw them into the plain in order to obtain a more decisive victory. The Russian columns had been able to advance unimpeded against ours, since nothing hindered their operations except our cavalry. Our batteries had not yet taken up a fixed position; they were only conducting a limited cannonade, with the aim of inciting the enemy to pursue us, and for which we were carrying out a semblance of a withdrawal.

In the end, all this display of bravery lasted only until two o’clock in the afternoon, when four corps suddenly emerged from the end of the woods and moved into line for an engagement which immediately became fierce. Our artillery, which up to now had not assumed an advantageous position, sought to settle on the heights, in order to monitor the enemy’s manoeuvres. Having positioned themselves close to their columns, they soon opened a formidable fire, scouring with fury those strong Russian divisions which, since the morning, had been boldly attacking General Oudinot’s single division. At the same time, our infantry, supported by these gun barrages, was animated with the most lively ardour, and waited firmly for the moment to charge with the bayonet.

I was pleased to notice, on the plain, the thinning of the enemy’s masses under the continual fire of our formidable artillery. The battery on the left, in particular, did not cease to break up their ranks, raining down shells, and then promptly decided on a hasty retreat. Disorder was gradually spreading in their army; their splendid artillery, which had been used with such force against our troops, was annihilated: only here and there a few field pieces were firing while withdrawing.

At this moment, the Emperor, who continued to observe all the movements of the action, gave the order to all the columns to charge with the cold steel, and directed the cavalry on the Russians, who were driven into the river Alle which they were preparing to cross again. Thus, in less than three hours, these forces were routed, suffered considerable losses; that while many villages and the town of Friedland were burned and partly destroyed. Meanwhile, the fire had not ceased to be lively; at every sector, a most intense cannonade could be heard. This vast plain, as I noticed with interest, was indeed a favourable location for such exploits: therefore our Emperor was able to inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy there.

The Russians retired along the river Alle and the town of Friedland, heading for Tilsit. This day cost them more than 30,000 men, a great number of artillery, flags, crews and officers who fell into our hands. The wounded, scattered all over the plain, begged for help and cried for mercy. This magnificent Russian Imperial Guard, which I had already observed at Austerlitz, had been completely defeated at the gates of Friedland, precisely at the time of the passage of the Alle, by our formidable cavalry, and the narrow passageway was literally littered with the dead. The town itself had not suffered less from this precipitous retreat, in the confusion of men and baggage: looted and overturned, its houses had been rendered uninhabitable.

We spent the night as well as we could in this position, tormented by hunger, for food had been scarce for three days, especially bread. In order to obtain some food, which would enable us to endure a hasty march, we had to go and explore the surrounding villages, from which we were fortunate enough to bring back some abandoned cattle at times, whose meat we devoured at the bivouac.

The next day, 15 June, the army set off again in pursuit of the enemy. As we left the plain, we entered a dense forest where at every moment, the trails of the troops retreating before us could be followed, as Russian soldiers could be found exhausted due to fatigue, unable to go any further. Soon we spotted their rear guard, which formed a column as if to resist our approach. A few pieces of artillery were brought forward, and the first cannonballs that were launched towards it convinced the enemy to resume their retreat. Nevertheless, pursued at length beyond the small town of Wehlau, they severed the bridge which was thrown over the Pregel, which abruptly halted the progress of our army. We had then reached a rather beautiful valley, in the middle of which was situated the town of Wehlau, whose storehouses and everything else that could have been of use for our supplies and the repair of the bridge had been burnt by the enemy. We were forced to encamp there until a new bridge could be built that would allow us to cross the river. On the other side of the stream, I could distinguish the Russian divisions arranged in attack columns and, from one side to the other, it seemed that they were still preparing themselves for a lively engagement. The Emperor, seated at the foot of a hill, surrounded by his staff, was attentively observing all the movements of the enemy. On the top of the hill, our artillery had positioned itself in order to repel any enemy initiative for an offensive. The Emperor was in a hurry to ensure the advance of his army, in order to drive the Russians back towards the Niemen.

Once the bridge had been completed and the troops moved across, our generals made their arrangements in front of the beautiful castle of … (Tapiau?), situated half a league from the town, on the same river surrounded by magnificent avenues lined with trees, canals and walls, and decorated with superb flowerbeds, elegant constructions and remarkable sculptures.

On the evening of the 16th I handed out brandy to my company, and the next day we set out for Tilsit. We successively crossed several hills dotted with pretty villages through which the enemy had effected their retreat. On arriving on the heights which dominate the town, I beheld an immense valley, formed and watered by the splendid course of the Niemen, on the left bank of which lay, among verdant meadows, the houses of Tilsit, the frontier of the Russian Empire …

Source : La bataille de Friedland racontée par un soldat, by A. Tausserat-Radel. Revue de Champagne et de Brie : histoire, … , volume VII, 1895, pp. 521-525.