| Battle of Ekau (Iecava) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theFrench invasion of Russia | |||||||
.jpg) Theater of military operations | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russian Empire | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Friedrich von Löwis |  Julius von GrawertFriedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000–4,000 men 10 guns | 7,000 men 32 guns | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 600 killed, wounded and missing, 300 captured[1] | Minimal[1] | ||||||
TheBattle of Ekau took place during the initial phase of theFrench invasion of Russia.Napoleon's troops from theX Corps of MarshalMacDonald, who had the advantage, defeated the troops ofAlexander I defending under the command of GeneralFriedrich von Löwis of Menar.[1]
On the morning of 18 July, General Löwis, commander of the Russian forces inMitau, received news of the occupation ofBauska by the 27th Prussian Division of GeneralGrawert. General Löwis, aiming to prevent the movement of the Napoleonic armada toRiga, took the position at the castle ofEkau. In turn, General Grawert made known to GeneralKleist, who was with his forces to the east, about the impending case. Emperor Alexander I, who was all the time at the 1st Western army, together with his retinue left forSt. Petersburg on the night of 19 July.[2]
On the morning of 19 July, General Grawert began an artillery attack. Then he sentWestphalian cuirassiers to attack Russian positions. The situation remained stable until the evening, when the approaching troops of General Kleist struck on the positions of Löwis from the east. This decided the outcome of the case.
The strategic importance of the battle was reduced to the fact that the selected troops of Löwis, intended to protect Riga, were defeated. This forced the Russian forces to leave the entire left bank of theWestern Dvina and, as a preventive measure, to burn the Mitau suburb of Riga.[1]
In connection with the 195th anniversary of the battle, the military historical clubs of Latvia, Russia, Poland and Lithuania conducted a costumed staging of the battle. In 2012, to the 200th anniversary of the battle, the Latvian Public Jubilee Committee commemorating the Patriotic War of 1812 in Riga published the book by Oleg Pukhlyak "The Battle of Gross Ekau".[3]
Media related toBattle of Ekau at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Battle of Mir (1812) | Napoleonic Wars Battle of Ekau | Succeeded by Battle of Salamanca |
