Anton Wilhelm von L ' Estocq Anton Wilhelm von L ' Estocq ( 16 August 1738 – 5 January 1815 ) was a Prussian cavalry general best known for his command of the Prussian troops at the Battle of Eylau . Biography . L ' Estocq was born in Celle , Electorate of Hanover , the son of a Huguenot Prussian officer . In 1757 he became a cadet officer of the Gensd ' armes regiment of Berlin . During the Seven Years ' War , he participated in the battles of Zorndorf , Kunersdorf , and Torgau . After a battle near Langensalza , he received the Pour le Mérite . In 1768 L ' Estocq became first lieutenant and served in the hussar regiment of General Hans Joachim von Zieten . Initially Zieten ' s adjutant , he was promoted successively to cavalry captain , major , lieutenant colonel , and colonel . In 1790 King Frederick William II of Prussia named L ' Estocq battalion commander of the Regiment von Eben ( 2nd Hussar Regiment ) . During the First Coalition against revolutionary France , L ' Estocq participated in the battles of Kaiserslautern , Morsbrunn , and Trippstadt . In 1794 he took command of the 2nd Hussar Regiment , which was stationed in Westphalia to guard the border with France after the 1795 Peace of Basel . Major - general . Promoted to major - general , L ' Estocq was stationed in New East Prussia in 1803 , commanding all troops in the province as head of the 9th Hussar Regiment . In 1805 he was promoted to lieutenant - general . During the War of the Fourth Coalition , L ' Estocq and his chief of staff , Gerhard von Scharnhorst , commanded some 15 , 000 troops based at Thorn in December 1806 and at Freystadt in January 1807 . Harassed by Marshal Ney , L ' Estocq marched his troops from February 2 – February 8 through snowy and forested East Prussia ; it has been described as " a model of the way in which a flank march in the face of a near and powerful adversary should be conducted " . The Russian troops of Bennigsen were hard - pressed by Marshal Davout in the Battle of Eylau ( February 7 - February 8 , 1807 ) . Leading the last operational unit in the Prussian army , L ' Estocq was only able to bring eight battalions , twenty - eight squadrons , and two horse artillery batteries ( estimated at 7 , 000 - 9 , 000 men ) to the battle ; the rest of his soldiers were defending against Ney . Upon the small Prussian contingent ' s arrival at Preußisch Eylau , Bennigsen wanted it split up to reinforce his weakened Russian troops . Scharnhorst , however , advised L ' Estocq to strike with his cavalry around the Russian lines at Davout ' s exhausted troops ; the sudden attack threw the French into disarray . Following the battle , L ' Estocq ' s corps retreated to Preußisch Friedland to maintain coalition communications with Russia . Honours . For their leadership in the battle , L ' Estocq received the Order of the Black Eagle and Scharhorst the Pour le Mérite . While the Prussian Army had been crushed at Jena - Auerstedt , L ' Estocq ' s troops restored honor to the demoralized military . Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz wrote , " it was at Eylau in 1807 , and not the War of Liberation in 1813 , that the old army vindicated itself before the tribunal of history " . Von der Goltz attributed the success to Scharnhorst ' s planning and L ' Estocq ' s initiative and willingness to attack . After the coalition defeat in the Battle of Friedland and the humiliating Treaties of Tilsit , L ' Estocq was part of an investigatory commission into the causes of Prussia ' s defeat in the Fourth Coalition . Because of his successful cooperation with L ' Estocq , Scharnhorst successfully lobbied for attaching a chief of staff to each field commander in 1813 . L ' Estocq became Governor of Berlin on 12 November 1808 , and of Breslau in 1814 . After his death in Berlin on 5 January 1815 , L ' Estocq was buried in the cemetery of the city ' s garrison church three days later .