The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-15

~ ~ uuuef FRINGE f1OnenlOhe
near Jena, and another and the larger
part OF 1t near Weimar some miles
east OF jena. On Oct. IL, the Prus-
SANS learned of Davcust's startling
movement. Despite the fact that his
army was inferior in numbers to that
OF the enemy and that the latter was
commanded by general hitherto nm.
interruptedly victorious, the duke of
Brunswick decided to leave Prince
Hohenlohe at Jena and withdraw tn
Auerstadt, several leagues distant In
the direction of Berlin. And this st
the very moment when Napoleon was
marshalling, behind the heights of
Jena, enc hundred thousand men for
the attack
To assail the Prussians he had to
bring his infantry and artillery across
a rldge OF heights west of Jena. The
ascent was difficult for infantry and
almost impossible for artillery. His
torlans tell us that here Napoleon,
mat master of infinite detail, called
into requisition the knowledge he had
acquired as young artilleryman and
engineer. Late into the night of Oct.
To- 70 the astcnishment of his soldiers.
ne personally directed the construc-
!loh OF the necessary roads by blast
ing and manual labor, assisting at
times with his own hands 1t can,
10 some extent, be imagined even now
no" TINS personal activity reused the
russians. At midnight the French
trops scaled the heights and the two
armies were face to face.
At four o'clock on the morning of
oct. IA, Napoleon was on horseback
and rode the lines already formed for
the attack. Soldiers" he cried. the
Prussian army is turned as the Aus
trlan was year ago at Austerlitz; 1t
now fights only to secure means Of
retreat. The corps that permits itself
TO be broken would be dishonored.
Fear not its renowned cavalry! on
pose to their charges firm squares and
the bayonet." The morning was dark
and foggy and it was not until siy
o'clock that the signal for attack was
strong, assailable only through mar
row defiles, but, strange as it NAV
seem the attack found them unpre-
pared. The surprised outposts were
soon driten in and in front and on both
Hanks the French columns attacked
With persistent vehemence. The sun
rose and dispersed the mists, and then
1t was seen that the Prussian army
was being attacked by an army supe-
flor in numbers, in fact, some his
torians hold that the latter outnum-
bered the former by two to one. From
the first the French were successful.
though the Prussian infantry fought
stubbornly and their famous cavalry
made some gallant charges But the
French troops would not be denied and
the Prussians commenced to yield on
all sides. Napoleon seized the critical
moment and threw Murat with fifteen
thousand cavalry on the broken lines
OF the enemy. The Prussians, after
eight long hours of unsuccessful fight
ing could make no resistance. their
whole army broke and fed, leaving
behind its cannon, it's dead and
wounded and thousands of prisoners
of war
on the same day the king of Prus-
sla met the French right wing under
Davoust at Auerstadt, about so miles
nortn OF the road from Jena to Berlin.
lnls battle really reflects more glory
on the French army than Jena, for
Da!oust was greatly outnumbered.
ihiers says he had $4,000 men against
6o,0OO Prussians, but this historian
has been much criticised for habitu-
ally exaggerating the forces of the
enemy while minimizing those of his
countrymen. The famous Prussian
general, Butcher. led successive
charges of cavalry which We're check
ed by the French infantry in squares.
The duke of Brunswick fell mortally
wounded. After long and desperate
hghting the French succeeded in gain
Prusslan line of retreat and the king
gave the order to withdraw in the d.
rection of Hohenlohe's army. knowing
nothing of its disastrous defeat. Ac-
cordlngly the kings army fell in with
the fug.tives from Jena. who crossed
its line OF retreat. The double dis
aster now being known, panic en-
sued and the army now became a dis
orderly mass and abandoned guns and
ammunition wagons in it's flight. Ma
poleon believed he had been opposed
at Jena by the whole Prussian army
and could not credit the first account
of Davoust's battle Your marshal
sees double he said to the men. BIT
In later bulletins he did justice to
Davoust and his gallent men.
Thus in one day was the military
power OF Prussia destroyed, and Ma
poleon raised to position of power
certainly unparalleled in modern
times. position which he maintained
until he led his legions to the fatal
invasion of Russia in 1912. The fugi-
tive and leaderless Prussian soldiers
surrendered by thousands. Fortresses
of immense strength capitulated at
mere summons Even the gallant
Butcher was driven to lay down his
arms. Berlin at once fell and on Oct.
q, Napoleon. surrounded by his fam
GUS marshals and in the midst of his
eXultant troops. all in magnificent
array. entered in triumph the Prus-
sian capital. And this on Oct. ~,
when he had left Paris only on Sent.
20. and war had only been declared
on Oct. S!
So fell Prussia. But it arose again
in. 1913, in that magnificent outburst
against despotism known as the War
of Liberation. In 1914 the Prussian
army entered Paris as it did also in
1915 after Waterloo. What happened
on March l, 1871. is within the men,
DRY of many surviving officers and SOL
diers of that great army. which
marched triumphantly from the banks
of the Rhine to and through the gates
of Paris.