| Capitulation of Erfurt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Fourth Coalition | |||||||
 Surrender of the Prussian troops after the capture of the city of Erfurt, 16 October 1806 Drawing by Benjamin Zix, 1806 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |  Prussia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Joachim Murat | Prince of Orange | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 16,000 | 10,000[1]–12,000, 65 guns | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 10,000[1]–12,000, 65 guns | ||||||
 | |||||||
In theCapitulation of Erfurt on 16 October 1806, a large body of troops from theKingdom of Prussia underLieutenant General thePrince of Orange surrendered toMarshalJoachim Murat of France, at the city ofErfurt (now in Germany). The Prussian soldiers were demoralized by their shattering defeat at theBattle of Jena–Auerstedt on 14 October and unwilling to put up much resistance. The event occurred during theWar of the Fourth Coalition, part of theNapoleonic Wars. Erfurt is located on theGera River about 40 kilometers west ofJena.
Only eight days before, EmperorNapoleon I of France invaded theElectorate of Saxony with a large army and quickly inflicted two minor setbacks on his enemies. This was followed by the catastrophe of 14 October. In the aftermath of the battle, the organization of the Prussian army disintegrated. Large numbers of Prussian fugitives from the battle entered Erfurt and could not be induced to leave. When Murat's French cavalry arrived before the city, it was surrendered without any fighting.
At the beginning of October, three Prussian armies assembled in theElectorate of Saxony underFeldmarschallCharles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick,General of InfantryFrederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, and General of InfantryErnst von Rüchel. Hohenlohe's army included 20,000 Saxons.[2] In the center, Brunswick concentrated atErfurt, Hohenlohe defendedRudolstadt in the east, and Rüchel heldGotha andEisenach in the west. GeneralKarl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach's division of Rüchel's right wing felt south toward the French line of communications. GeneralEugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg's Reserve lay far to the north atMagdeburg.[3]
On 8 October, Napoleon's 180,000 troops began crossing the Saxon border through theFranconian Forest. His troops formed in abatallion carré (battalion square) made up of three columns of two army corps each, plus the Cavalry Reserve,Imperial Guard, and someBavarian allies.[4] On 9 October, the French won the minorBattle of Schleiz.[5] The next day, MarshalJean Lannes' V Corps crushed the division ofPrince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia at theBattle of Saalfeld, killing the young prince.[6]
On 12 October, Napoleon ordered his army to make a left wheel to the west. The Prussian generals decided to retreat, using theSaale River to protect their flank. Brunswick marched the main army north fromWeimar, while Hohenlohe stood on the defensive nearJena as a flank guard.[7] Rüchel's orders were to stay at Weimar until Saxe-Weimar returned with his division.[8] The doubleBattle of Jena-Auerstedt occurred on 14 October as Napoleon attacked Hohenlohe while Brunswick ran into MarshalLouis Davout's III Corps. The troops of Brunswick, Hohenlohe, and Rüchel were driven in rout from the two battlefields. Brunswick's army lost 13,000 men and its commander was mortally wounded. Hohenlohe and Rüchel suffered as many as 25,000 casualties.[9]
At 5:00 AM on 15 October, Napoleon began issuing orders to exploit his tremendous victory at Jena. He heard about MarshalLouis Davout's triumph atAuerstedt four hours later. Murat's Cavalry Reserve was split, with half directed to advance west to Erfurt and half northwest toButtelstedt. Napoleon sent MarshalMichel Ney's VI Corps toward Erfurt to back up Murat's horsemen, and ordered MarshalNicolas Soult's IV Corps to Buttelstedt. The emperor instructed MarshalJean-Baptiste Bernadotte's untouched I Corps to march toBad Bibra north of Auerstedt so that he could prevent the fleeing Prussians from escaping east across theElbe River. In consideration for the troops that had done the hardest fighting on the 14th, he allowed MarshalJean Lannes' V Corps and MarshalPierre Augereau's VII Corps to remain nearWeimar and Davout's III Corps to march a short distance toNaumburg.[10]
After the battles on the 14th, a large number of refugees appeared at Erfurt. At first they were refused entrance, but later the gates were opened and soon the city thronged with at least 12,000 demoralized soldiers. Attempts were made by some officers to return the troops to their regiments, but the men refused to cooperate. By noon on the 15th, Murat was near Erfurt with the leading elements of his cavalry. General-Major von Jung-Larisch stood in battle line in front of the city. His position was poor, with the Gera River at his back, so he ordered his infantry to retreat into the city. Murat's horsemen charged and drove Jung-Larisch's cavalry back across the river, capturing an artillery battery. Losses for this action are not given.[11]
The Duke of Saxe-Weimar's division, which missed the 14 October battle, soon appeared west of Erfurt.FeldmarschallWichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf attempted to organize an orderly retreat from Erfurt northwest toBad Langensalza, ordering Saxe-Weimar to cover the move. The wagon train was to lead the retreat, followed by the cavalry, then the infantry. Möllendorf, who had been wounded at Auerstedt, then collapsed and proved unable to carry out the operation.[12]
At 2:30 PM, Murat sent French Colonel Claude Antoine Hippolyte Préval into Erfurt under a flag of truce. The Frenchman demanded an immediate surrender, which the Prussian fortress commandant at first refused. Saxe-Weimar waited near Erfurt in the hope that large numbers of troops would join the retreat, but few did so. In the evening, Saxe-Weimar withdrew toward Langensalza. After joining with General Johann Friedrich Winning's detachment, he commanded 12,000 troops and 24 guns in 14 battalions, 30 squadrons, and three batteries.[13]
With Möllendorf out of the picture, the resolve of the fortress commandant weakened and broke. That night, he signed the articles of capitulation. Included in the terms were the surrender of thePetersberg Citadel and large quantities of gunpowder and munitions.[13]
Altogether, about 12,000 Prussian and Saxon troops under command of the Prince of Orange became prisoners and 65 artillery pieces were captured. Colors (in parentheses) from the following units were surrendered to the victors, Infantry RegimentsGrenadier Garde # 6 (2),Schenck # 9 (4),Wedel # 10 (4),Arnim # 13 (1),Brunswick # 21 (1),Winning # 23 (4),Zenge # 24 (1),Alt-Larisch # 26 (1),Hohenlohe # 32 (2),Prince Ferdinand # 34 (2),Prince Heinrich # 35 (2),Zweiffel # 45 (1),Hessen # 48 (4), andWartensleben # 59 (2), and Dragoon RegimentIrwing # 3 (4).[14]
Another authority states that between 9,000 and 14,000 Prussian troops fell into French hands at the surrender.[15] The number may include up to 8,000 wounded.[13] At the time of the capitulation, Murat had about 16,000 troops near Erfurt.[14] The 7,000 cavalry immediately available includedGeneral of DivisionÉtienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty's 1st Cuirassier Division, General of DivisionJean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul's 2nd Cuirassier Division, and General of DivisionMarc Antoine de Beaumont's 3rd Dragoon Division.[16]
As the first batch of prisoners were being marched from Erfurt toFrankfort-on-the-Main, the column encountered 50 troopers of thePletz Hussar Regiment # 3. The hussars scattered the inadequate escort and released between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners. When he heard about it, an enraged Napoleon blamed Murat for the fiasco. However, Saxe-Weimar was unable to exploit this success. He tried to round up the released prisoners but they all ran away, and none could be returned to their units.[16]
Erfurt's surrender permitted Napoleon to reroute his line of communication fromMainz on theRhine's west bank, to Frankfort-on-the-Main,Eisenach,Gotha, and Erfurt. He abandoned the more circuitous route throughWürzburg andForchheim.[15]
After the surrender, Murat advanced to Langensalza with his three divisions but Saxe-Weimar was able to break contact. General of DivisionLouis Klein's 1st Dragoon Division, General of DivisionLouis Michel Antoine Sahuc's 4th Dragoon Division, andGeneral of BrigadeAntoine Lasalle's light cavalry pursued the Prussians farther to the east, nearWeißensee andButtelstedt.[16] TheBattle of Halle occurred on 17 October between Bernadotte's corps and Duke Eugene of Württemberg's Reserve. In the action, the French inflicted 5,000 casualties on the Reserve.[17]
HistorianFrancis Loraine Petre remarked that Erfurt was the first of a series of "pusillanimous capitulations" by Prussian fortress commanders. He wrote that Napoleon's plans might have been delayed if the city had held out for just a few days. Instead, the French emperor was able to immediately launch the entire army after his fleeing enemies.[13]
Media related toCapitulation of Erfurt at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Battle of Jena–Auerstedt | Napoleonic Wars Capitulation of Erfurt | Succeeded by Battle of Halle |
