The Twilight of Prussian Power

In the autumn of 1806, Prussia stood at a crossroads. For over two decades, the kingdom had basked in the military prestige of Frederick the Great, but now, under the shadow of Napoleon Bonaparte, its power crumbled in a matter of weeks. The twin defeats at Jena and Auerstedt on October 14 shattered Prussia’s armies, leaving its remnants in disarray. Napoleon, ever the strategist, assigned one of his most dynamic commanders, Marshal Joachim Murat, to pursue and annihilate what remained of Prussia’s forces. What followed was one of the most astonishing cavalry pursuits in military history.

The Aftermath of Jena: Chaos and Retreat

The Prussian army, once a symbol of disciplined might, dissolved into panic after Jena. Broken into scattered columns, the survivors fled north, then northwest, and finally westward, hoping to regroup or escape. Napoleon, meanwhile, advanced toward Berlin with his main force, detaching two corps to support Murat’s relentless chase.

On October 15, just a day after the battle, Murat’s cavalry appeared outside Erfurt, where the last organized Prussian resistance stood. His first charge alone netted vast supplies and 800 prisoners. Circling the city, Murat cut off the retreat of thousands of Prussians crammed into its streets. Among them were General Möllendorf and Prince William of Orange-Nassau, who attempted to negotiate terms. Murat, ever the showman, demanded unconditional surrender—though he knew his cavalry alone couldn’t storm the city. Fortunately, Marshal Ney arrived with infantry, forcing the garrison’s capitulation: 14,000 men (half wounded) and 100 cannons fell into French hands. Leaving Ney to handle prisoners, Murat raced onward.

The Chase Intensifies: From Magdeburg to Prenzlau

Murat’s cavalry soon caught up with Prussian columns under the Duke of Weimar and Prince Hohenlohe. Shadowing their flanks, Murat prevented their unification, harrying their rearguard and capturing stragglers. By October 20, he reached Magdeburg, where Hohenlohe crossed the Elbe, leaving the fortress’s commander, General Kleist, to defy Murat’s surrender demand. Undeterred, Murat left Ney to besiege Magdeburg and pressed eastward, covering the French advance toward Berlin.

On October 25, Napoleon entered Berlin, but Murat’s work was unfinished. Learning that Hohenlohe aimed to escape toward Stettin (Szczecin), Murat lunged north. At Prenzlau on October 28, after a day of skirmishes, Murat’s cavalry and arriving infantry trapped Hohenlohe’s force. The Prussian prince, realizing escape was impossible, surrendered his 16,000 men, 45 flags, and 64 guns.

The Fall of Stettin and the Pursuit of Blücher

Murat’s audacity reached its peak at Stettin. With only two hussar regiments, his subordinate Lasalle bluffed the fortress into surrendering—though the Prussians briefly resisted upon realizing their captors were mere cavalry. Reinforcements soon secured the city, and Napoleon, amused, wrote to Murat: “If your light cavalry can take fortresses, I may disband my engineers!”

The final quarry was General Blücher, who retreated toward Lübeck with 15,000 men. Murat’s cavalry, alongside Bernadotte and Soult’s infantry, hounded him. On November 6, after brutal street fighting in neutral Lübeck, Blücher fled to the Danish border, only to find his escape blocked. On November 7, the veteran of Frederick’s wars surrendered. Murat reported to Napoleon: “Sire, the campaign is over—no enemies remain.”

The Scale of the Disaster

In 24 days, Murat’s cavalry had marched 800 kilometers, capturing 50,000 Prussians and 200 guns. Prussia’s military, save a rump force in East Prussia, ceased to exist. The speed and brutality of the campaign stunned Europe. Historian von Hossitzky later tabulated the pursuit as “a masterpiece of mobility and psychological warfare.”

Murat’s Polish Gambit: Dreams of a Crown

With Prussia broken, Napoleon turned east against Russia. Murat, ever ambitious, saw opportunity. Entering Warsaw on November 28 in a gilded uniform befitting a king, he was hailed by Polish nobles hoping for independence. Prince Poniatowski, scion of Poland’s last king, even gifted him the sword of King Stephen Báthory, hinting at a crown. Murat, envisioning himself as a Polish monarch, wrote to Napoleon of the people’s enthusiasm.

But Napoleon, focused on war, deferred the question. When Russian armies advanced in December, Murat’s cavalry fought at Golymin and Pultusk. Though illness kept him from the front initially, he later rallied troops in the brutal winter Battle of Eylau (February 1807), where his massed cavalry charges saved Napoleon from near-disaster.

Legacy: The Art of the Pursuit

Murat’s 1806 campaign redefined cavalry’s role. Unlike traditional slow-moving armies, his horsemen combined speed with shock, exploiting victory before enemies could regroup. Prussia’s collapse underscored the lethality of Napoleon’s “strategic pursuit”—a tactic later studied by generals from Moltke to Patton.

For Murat, the campaign burnished his legend but left his Polish dream unfulfilled. Napoleon, wary of creating rival power centers, eventually made Warsaw a duchy under Saxon rule. Yet Murat’s chase remains a benchmark in military history: a whirlwind of hoofbeats and steel that erased a kingdom in weeks.

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### Key Themes Covered:
– Prussia’s military decline post-Frederick the Great
– Murat’s unmatched cavalry maneuvers
– Psychological impact of relentless pursuit
– Geopolitical consequences for Central Europe
– The intersection of ambition and military genius

This article blends operational detail with narrative flair, offering readers both the “how” and “why” behind one of Napoleon’s most decisive campaigns.