The Sun.
London, England, 1807-02-28 00:00:00

THE BATTLES OFJENA AIN D AUERSTADT.

- It is long since we have been accustomed to con-
sider Prussia its one of the great military Powers Of
the North, and to contemplate her already-acquired
and rising greatness with satisfaction, as the bulwark
of religious liberty on the Continent, and the guardian
of Cominental freedom against the-mightier monar-
chies in the South. One day has sutficedto crush
this Power, whose future existenceeil it he ordained
ever to take place, may well he termed a regenera-
tion. The events of ;he 14th of October still re-
main incomprehensible; and though they have no
longer any prospective interest, yet they still attract
our attention, so that we believe. our Readers will
gladly receive further communication concerning the
causes of a catastrophe more decisive and more fatal
than any that has, within the Memory of man,
been epresented. to the terrified contemplation of
mankind.
" On the afternoon preceding the battle (the 13th
-of OEtober), several Prussian Generals wished for a
reinforcement- of the wing Commanded by Prince
• Honeseoma, which, from being the left in the ori-
ginal position, had been turned to the right, by the
manaruvres of the enemy with a body oft 5,000 meno
• , from the main army; and had not the Duke 'of B NS- j
WICK rejeeted this proposal, the Corps de Reserve
might at least have served-to render the viCtoryinore
dear to the French, who had. at first begun to yield. 1
But it seems that Prince Honeareene himself ex-
peCted no attack on this decisive day ; for iii the or-
•ders he issued that very morning, he begun," Though
it is not probable that the enemy will to-day," e
From this same mistake we must explain the many
negligent omissions of which the Pruesien wereguilty,
in not taking possession of the passes and glens lead-
ing trcen tine Saal valley by Jena. The turnpike-read
from the Muhl valley, by Jena to Weimar, leading up 1.
the hill, has been with great labour Cut in a serpen-
tide form, and hence is called the' Snake, and this spot
alone. was taken possession of by the Prussians. All' .1
the other paths and roads ',they deemed impassable,
and in their insane confidence left them unguarded;
as,' for instance, that lying near the Snacke, and lead-
ing to Isserstadt and thellaulithal by Swatzen. Yet
here, where it was not believed a man could::ascend,
the French, with their cavalry land artillery, found
their way. This teas effeeted under the diredion of
General D4NZEL, an Alsacer, who had formerly stu-
died at Jena. NAPOLEON, hearing of this circum-
Itance, sent for hint to the French headquarters,
that he might avail himself of his local knowledge.
Theater. staid at Jena on the 12th and 13th', and
wrought great services to the French previous to ,he
battle, and afterwards to the University and Wei-
mar, of which place he Was appointed Commandant.
It was a further misfortune for the Prussian arms,.
that at this moment the Duke of WEI ma a, who with
his .tharatteristie activity, was well acquainted with
every corner of his little territory, was placed by the
Duke of Bitetaswlck at 30 miles distance, its the
Wirra valley, near Meinungen, and Where he com•
manded the van guard, which was now become the
rear ; there_ he stood with 16,000 men, and knew
nothing of the battle, and did not till the'followitig
day begin his retreat over Ohrdrutf and Muhlhagen
towards the Elbe. In tile mean while the passes
near Jena were cited by the French during the
night, and when day broke, the Prussians saw them-
selves attacked- in an elevated.position, which'they
had considered as an impregnable fortress. Gen.
DENZEI, led a French column up to Rauhthal,
where the Prussians did not suspea a :toe, He
- came within 300 paces of theirs without being. per-
ceived; and, after he hadwith infinite labour con-
trived to briag tip six pieces of artillery,- over
paths which had .been Made- during the night,
be began the attack about five in the morning. ,
The Prussiaqs seem trehave,expeefed that the French
would have the couslslais. ace to take the road up the
Snake, here t bey might knock t hen) on the head with
stones. Only one column advanced up to Mahlthal,
in order to conceal the principal aunt. The Prince
• of Hoeterv'eoxe deemed the firing at first to be a false
alarm, as he was confident the main army must he at
Gera, and was displeased, as the General Lieutenant
V. GaawenT gaveehe command to strike the tents
and advance. Tile Duke of BRUNSWICK also, who'
had led the main body, where the King himself was,
to' Auerstadt, remained there in inaation, instead of
advancing a league further, -and making sure of the
eminences at Kosen. The puke did nut even send
any patrol there, so that the French, during the
night, took possession, Without opposition, of an al-
Most impregnable position, and were timely esta-
blished there when the Prussians approached.
" On the hill by Cospeda, the Emperor NAPOLEON
stood with his Adjutants, sending new columns
wherever it. was requisite. Thus Marshal NEY en-
tered on a sudden into the village of Vierzehnhili-
gen, beyond Kotschau, with a fresh corps of 10,000
men, just as the valiant resistance of the Prussians
began to make the issue doubtful, and they already
saw victory was theirs.
- " The most dreadful loss which the Prussians
sustained was at Aschenhausen and Auerstadt.
Tilere, the dead bodies were lying two days after the
battle, in great heaps; The subsequent : flight and
total dissolution of the Prussian army, will render it
for ever impossible to ascertain ehe 'real number
of the killed aqd wounded: but it is a notorious fad,
then graves, or`rather ditches., of 140 feet leng, and
8 feet broad, were dug, into Which from 400 to
600 bodies were cast ; and more than twenty such
ditches were counted. This en oyes, at the Same
time, that the Prussians must shave fought bravely,
whichis, in tact, admitted generally by the Frenetic
But this is said of the infantry only. The greater
part of t hie regiments of cavalry rode borne very early.
Vvriiat, however, tenders this Mae-tit:lay of the line
Prussian cavalry on this decisive . day intelligible, is
this, that both men and horses were fatigued and
N"vorn out by three days abstinence and want; and
'that, when the cavalry were forced to mount on the
morning or the t ath, t he horses had been without corn
for 32 hours; and the men were expected to enteethe
field, upon life and death, without breakfast or a
drop of spirits, after havieg had no hood the day be-
fire. Some sew regiments .of cavalry, by a held
participation in the'bloody contest, 'formed an ho-
nourable exception. •
In tact, the battle, or rather the battles of Jena
and Auerstadt, were already decided at noon. Ge-