Battle of Halle In the Battle of Halle on 17 October 1806 a French corps led by Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte fought the Prussian Reserve under Eugene Frederick Henry , Duke of Württemberg . The French defeated their opponents , forcing the Prussians to retreat northeast toward Dessau after suffering heavy losses . The clash occurred in the War of the Fourth Coalition , part of the Napoleonic Wars . The city of Halle is located about 30 kilometers northwest of Leipzig on the Saale River . Emperor Napoleon I of France invaded the Electorate of Saxony and inflicted two disastrous defeats on the Prussian - Saxon armies on 14 October 1806 . As the beaten armies fled , Marshal Bernadotte ' s corps marched north and found Duke Eugene ' s unblooded Reserve located at Halle . At the beginning of the encounter , two French divisions rushed the bridges over the Saale on the west side of the city . They overran a weak defending force and quickly occupied the city . Later in the day , Bernadotte ' s troops stormed out of Halle and attacked Eugene ' s Reserve which was drawn up to the southeast of the city . The Prussians were driven from their positions and chased to the northeast . While this engagement was going on , Bernadotte ' s third division surrounded and captured a Prussian regiment isolated on the west side of the city . One of the few intact Prussian forces west of the Elbe River was now crippled . Background . Political . Napoleon ' s decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 profoundly affected the balance of power in Europe . After this event , Emperor Francis I of Austria sued for peace and Tsar Alexander I of Russia withdrew his crippled army from Austrian territory , ending the War of the Third Coalition . Prussia was caught at a diplomatic disadvantage since her emissary Christian Graf von Haugwitz was on the point of delivering an ultimatum to Napoleon when the war ended , a fact which the French emperor was well aware . In February 1806 , Napoleon pressured a cowed Prussia into handing over several territories to France and her allies in return for the state of Hanover , which was under French occupation . The agreement pushed Prussia into a break with Great Britain whose king was the Hanoverian elector . Napoleon began to remake the face of Europe . He created the Confederation of the Rhine on 25 July . He named his elder brother Joseph Bonaparte king of the newly conquered Kingdom of Naples , brother Louis Napoleon ruler over the Kingdom of Holland , and stepson Eugène de Beauharnais viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy . Then he offered Hanover to Britain in exchange for peace , which infuriated Prussia . The peace - minded Haugwitz was dismissed and , goaded by his beautiful Queen Louise of Mecklenburg - Strelitz , on 7 August King Frederick William III of Prussia decided to go to war against the First French Empire . Prussia mobilized 171 , 000 troops , but its army had missed the changes that had overtaken warfare since the days when King Frederick II of Prussia ' s army was the terror of Europe . Military . As the Prussians advanced into territory belonging to the Electorate of Saxony , they absorbed 20 , 000 Saxon soldiers into their army . The combined forces coalesced into three semi - independent armies under Feldmarschall Charles William Ferdinand , Duke of Brunswick , General of the Infantry Frederick Louis , Prince of Hohenlohe - Ingelfingen , and General Ernst von Rüchel . Brunswick took station at Erfurt in the center while Hohenlohe deployed near Rudolstadt in the east . Rüchel held Gotha and Eisenach at the western end of the line with General Karl August , Grand Duke of Saxe - Weimar - Eisenach ' s division probing south toward Meiningen and the French line of communications . Eugene of Württemberg ' s Reserve was well to the north at Magdeburg . On 8 October , Napoleon launched 180 , 000 troops across the Saxon frontier . His troops were massed in a " batallion carré " ( battalion square ) made up of three columns of two army corps each , plus the Imperial Guard , the Cavalry Reserve , and a Bavarian contingent . On 9 October , the leading division of Marshal Bernadotte ' s I Corps and Marshal Joachim Murat ' s cavalry forced Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien ' s division into a withdrawal in the Battle of Schleiz . The next day , Marshal Jean Lannes ' V Corps attacked the 8 , 300 - man division of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia at the Battle of Saalfeld . The young prince was killed and his division took to its heels after the drubbing it received . Napoleon became convinced that his enemies lay near Erfurt , so he ordered his " batallion carré " to make a left wheel on 12 October . The Prussian generals opted to fall back . Brunswick was to take the main army north from Weimar to Merseburg , while Hohenlohe protected the move by standing on the defensive near Jena . Rüchel ' s orders were to hold Weimar until Saxe - Weimar returned with his division . On 14 October , the double Battle of Jena - Auerstedt occurred as Napoleon attacked Hohenlohe while Brunswick ran head - on into the III Corps of Marshal Louis Davout . Both Prussian armies as well as Rüchel ' s corps were driven in rout from the two battlefields . Brunswick ' s army suffered 13 , 000 casualties and its commander was mortally wounded , while the combined forces of Hohenlohe and Rüchel lost as many as 25 , 000 . When Davout marched from Naumburg to glory at Auerstedt , Bernadotte refused to join his fellow marshal despite positive orders to do so . Instead , he executed an earlier set of orders to march to Dornburg and missed the fighting at both Jena and Auerstedt . Bernadotte found himself in serious trouble with his emperor . In a conversation with General of Division Jean Rapp Napoleon guessed that Bernadotte ' s behavior was caused by professional jealousy . The emperor remarked to General of Division Anne Jean Marie René Savary , " This business is so hateful that if I send him before a courtmartial it will be the equivalent of ordering him to be shot ; it is better for me not to speak to him about it , but I shall take care he shall know what I think of his behavior . I believe he has enough honor to recognize that he has performed a disgraceful action regarding which I shall not bandy words with him . " In the end , Bernadotte ' s career may have been saved because of Napoleon ' s fondness for his wife Désirée Clary , whom he almost married . Battle . Forces . At the beginning of the campaign , Bernadotte ' s I Corps consisted of 19 , 014 infantry , 1 , 580 cavalry , and 34 artillery pieces . General of Division Pierre Dupont de l ' Etang led the 7 , 000 - man 1st Division , General of Division Olivier Macoux Rivaud de la Raffinière commanded the 5 , 600 - strong 2nd Division , Jean - Baptiste Drouet , Comte d ' Erlon headed the 5 , 800 - man 3rd Division , General of Brigade Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly commanded the corps cavalry brigade , General of Division Jean Baptiste Eblé commanded the corps artillery reserve . The 1st Division consisted of General of Brigade Marie François Rouyer ' s 9th Light Infantry Regiment , three battalions , General of Brigade François Marie Guillaume Legendre d ' Harvesse ' s 32nd and 96th Line Infantry Regiments , two battalions each , and two foot artillery batteries of 12 total guns . The 2nd Division included General of Brigade Michel Marie Pacthod ' s 8th Light Infantry Regiment , two battalions , General of Brigade Nicolas Joseph Maison ' s 45th and 54th Line Infantry Regiments , two battalions each , and one horse and one foot artillery battery of 12 total guns . The 3rd Division comprised General of Brigade Bernard Georges Frère ' s 27th Light Infantry Regiment , two battalions , General of Brigade François Werlé ' s 94th Line Infantry Regiment , two battalions , 95th Line Infantry Regiment , three battalions , and one horse and one foot artillery battery of 16 total guns . Tilly ' s cavalry brigade consisted of the 2nd and 4th Hussar Regiments and the 5th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment , four squadrons each . In the artillery reserve there were one horse and one foot artillery battery of 12 total guns . Before 1806 , a French infantry battalion was made up of nine companies . In September 1806 , Napoleon decreed that each infantry regiment must have three battalions of eight companies each , including one of grenadiers and one of " voltiguers " or skirmishers . Each foot artillery battery normally numbered six cannons and two howitzers , while each horse artillery battery counted four cannons and two howitzers . The French utilized 4 - pounder , 6 - pounder , 8 - pounder , and 12 - pounder cannons , including many captured Austrian pieces . The 12 - pounders were generally employed by the corps artillery reserve . Eugene of Württemberg ' s Reserve included two infantry divisions , an advance guard , and a cavalry reserve . General - Major Hans Christoph von Natzmer ' s 1st Division comprised the " Natzmer " Infantry Regiment # 54 , " Kauffberg " Infantry Regiment # 51 , and " Treskow " Infantry Regiment # 17 , two battalions each , the " Schmeling " and " Crety " Grenadier battalions , and one and a half foot artillery batteries of 12 guns . General - Major Balthasar Wilhelm Christoph von Jung - Larisch ' s 2nd Division consisted of the " Jung - Larisch " Infantry Regiment # 53 , " Kalkreuth " Infantry Regiment # 4 , and " Manstein " Infantry Regiment # 55 , two battalions each , the " Vieregg " Grenadier battalion , and one and a half foot artillery batteries of 12 guns . General - Major Johann von Hinrichs ' Advance Guard included the " Borell " Fusilier battalion # 9 , " Knorr " Fusilier battalion # 12 , and " Hinrichs " Fusilier battalion # 17 , two squadrons of " Usedom " Hussar Regiment # 10 , one squadron of " Hertzberg " Dragoon Regiment # 9 , one squadron of " Heyking " Dragoon Regiment # 10 , and two horse artillery pieces . The reserve cavalry comprised eight squadrons of " Usedom " Hussar Regiment # 10 , four squadrons of " Hertzberg " Dragoon Regiment # 9 , four squadrons of " Heyking " Dragoon Regiment # 10 , and one horse artillery battery of six guns . In total there were 18 battalions , 20 squadrons , and 32 guns . In 1806 , Prussian heavy cavalry regiments were made up of five squadrons , while light cavalry regiments usually consisted of 10 squadrons . Foot artillery batteries included six 12 - pounder cannons and two 10 - pounder howitzers , while horse artillery batteries had six 6 - pounder cannons and two 7 - pounder howitzers . An infantry regiment comprised three line battalions . Each line battalion had five 174 - man companies , while each fusilier battalion had four 165 - man companies . Each line battalion was assigned a 6 - pounder cannon and four gunners to work the piece . The fusilier battalions did not go to war with their regimental cannons in 1806 . Action . At the close of the Jena - Auerstedt battle , Bernadotte had the divisions of Drouet and Rivaud near Apolda while Dupont ' s and the corps artillery remained at Dornburg . On the morning of 15 October , Napoleon instructed Bernadotte to march to Bad Bibra , Querfurt , and Halle . By the morning of the 16th Bernadotte ' s advance guard was about five kilometers north of Bad Bibra . He heard that the Prussian Reserve lay at Halle and planned to attack it . At the beginning of the campaign , Eugene of Württemberg mustered 16 , 000 troops in the Reserve . On 10 October , as he was marching to Magdeburg , he received orders to proceed to Halle . On the 13th , the Reserve was at Halle , with a battalion at Merseburg to the south and another detachment at Leipzig to the southeast . The " Treskow " Infantry Regiment was to the northwest at Aschersleben , en route from Magdeburg . On the 14th , Eugene received an order to remain at Halle and that the main army was falling back in his direction . That day he heard the cannonade from the Jena - Auerstedt battles . It was not until the evening of the 15th that he heard about the military disaster . On the 16th , Eugene had received no further orders . He instructed the detachment at Merseburg , which had been reinforced to two and a half battalions , to pull back to Halle . The Leipzig force was also recalled , while he sent back a detachment to hold Dessau on the Elbe River . He deployed his main force on high ground on Halle ' s south side , with his battle line facing northwest toward the city and his left bent back . The two and a half battalions from Merseburg were left to defend the bridges on the east side of Halle , together with a dragoon regiment . The " Usedom " Hussars were nearby , at the junction of the Saale and the Weisse Elster Rivers , just south of Halle . The " Treskow " Regiment was at Eisleben , to the west - northwest of Halle . Before dawn on the 17th , Bernadotte ' s corps set out from Querfurt to the west - southwest of Halle . Before long , he received intelligence that a Prussian column was approaching from Eisleben . He left Drouet ' s division to observe the Eisleben column and hurried on toward Halle with Dupont and Rivaud ' s divisions . On the west side of Halle , the Saale divides into three branches . In 1806 , the road from Querfurt and Eisleben crossed these branches via a series of covered bridges , called the " Hohe Brücke " . On the west bank , to the north of the highway , stretched the Dolau wood . From Halle , which is entirely on the east bank , radiated roads to Magdeburg in the north , to Dessau and Wittenberg in the northeast , to Leipzig in the southeast , and to Merseburg in the south . The city gate to the northeast was named the Steinthor and the gate to the southeast was called the Galgenthor . On 17 October , Eugene of Württemberg counted 11 , 350 infantry , 1 , 675 cavalry , and 58 guns at Halle , not including the " Treskow " Regiment . Not counting Drouet ' s division , Bernadotte ' s force that morning numbered 12 , 190 infantry , 1 , 000 cavalry , and 12 guns . Beginning at 8 : 00 AM , Bernadotte ' s advance guard pressed back the dragoon regiment from Passendorf on the west bank . In response , Eugene sent four infantry companies and two guns to support the dragoons . Five more companies with four cannons defended the first island in the Saale . About this time , Eugene belatedly started his wagon train back toward Dessau . Fearing that the French were at hand , the teamsters panicked and fled up the road , abandoning many wagons . Bernadotte determined to attack at 10 : 00 AM . Holding back his cavalry and the 96th Line , he sent Dupont ' s 32nd Line charging for the bridges , with one battalion of the 9th Light and three guns in support . Racing along the embanked road in columns and flanked by skirmishers , the French punched through the defenders to seize the first bridge and the island . The Prussians foot soldiers on either side of the road were cut off from the bridge and became prisoners . Those dragoons who did not pull back in time were forced to swam across the river . In less than an hour , Dupont ' s troops captured all three bridges and General von Hinrichs . They burst into the town , overwhelmed a Prussian battalion in the marketplace , and chased a second battalion out the Steinthor . Rapidly , Halle was occupied along with both the Galgenthor and Steinthor . Here the French paused to wait for the rest of Bernadotte ' s corps to appear . Deployed southeast of Halle , Eugene found himself in an awkward position with his line of retreat to the north stretching past the east side of Halle . He quickly shifted two battalions northward to face the Steinthor and prevent the French from cutting him off from Dessau . Reinforced by the remainder of Dupont ' s division , the French improvised defenses at the Steinthor and Galgenthor and in the gardens along the edge of Halle . When Rivaud ' s division began to arrive , led by the 8th Line , it was fed into the line near the Galgenthor . This allowed Dupont to mass his division , together with a hussar regiment , to the north near the Steinthor . The French skirmishers moved forward and subjected the Prussians to severe harassing fire . At length , the French surged forth from Halle and attacked the Prussian line . In between the town gates , the defenders swept the ground with intense artillery fire . But at the Steinthor and Galgenthor , the attackers rapidly gained the upper hand and pushed back the Prussians . The Prussian cavalry , which deployed east of the Funckengarten , near the Steinthor , was flanked and fell back toward Mötzlich to the northeast . Eugene ' s formation split in two , his right wing retreating toward Dessau and his left wing toward Bitterfeld . The right wing fell back in good order , pausing at Mötzlich and at Oppin where a cavalry charge discouraged further pursuit . The left wing had worse luck , being chased by Rivaud ' s division and most of Bernadotte ' s cavalry . The Prussian horsemen managed to repulse the French cavalry near Rabatz , but were driven off by Drouet ' s newly arrived 94th Line . The French chased the left wing as far as Bitterfeld where the Prussians managed to burn the bridge over the Mulde River . General - Major Karl Peter von Treskow with his regiment , finding the highway blocked by Drouet ' s division at Nietleben , tried to reach Halle by moving to the north of the Dolau wood . As he approached the Halle bridges , Treskow ' s progress was checked by Maison and a few infantrymen of the 8th Line until Drouet arrived on the scene . The Prussians deployed with their left flank on the Saale and their right on a vineyard . Believing he had enough troops to deal with Treskow , Drouet sent the 94th Line and the 5th Chasseurs à Cheval to help Dupont and Rivaud . He then attacked the Prussians with the 27th Light , 95th Line , and two cannons . Prevented from escaping through the Dolau wood by a blocking force left there by Drouet , Treskow retreated north along the west bank in two battalion squares . Near Kröllwitz , the Prussian force fell into confusion as it crossed a marshy area and lost all of its cannons . Soon after , Drouet pounced on the hapless " Treskow " Regiment and forced its surrender after inflicting 200 killed and wounded on it . Result . The Prussians reported 13 officers killed , 26 wounded , and 74 captured . Altogether , about 5 , 000 Prussian soldiers were killed , wounded , or captured . Four colors of the " Treskow " Regiment and 11 guns were captured , along with " many " battalion pieces . Bernadotte admitted about 800 killed and wounded . Historian Digby Smith writes that Eugene of Württemberg " dallied far too long in Halle " . Francis Loraine Petre faults Eugene ' s defense as " half - hearted and disjointed " and writes that his defensive position south of Halle was " badly chosen " with its line of retreat exposed . Petre suggests that too few troops defended the bridges , inviting defeat , and that the Prussians should have burned the bridges and held the east bank . Better yet , Eugene should have retreated to Magdeburg where his intact corps might have provided a rallying point for the shattered main armies . Instead , the Reserve was half - ruined by the battle . On 18 October , Bernadotte rested his troops , who were worn out by a 28 kilometer march followed by a major battle . Eugene ' s survivors crossed the Elbe at Rosslau and limped into Magdeburg on the 19th . External references . " This is an excellent source for the full names and ranks of French generals . "