Tactical Map
The
campaign opened with the Russian Army west of the river Saale, with three corps
concentrated around Erfurt. A fourth
corps was further north, and east of the river, at Weissensee.
Davout
opened the campaign in the south with an attack on Amstadt. The Russian retreat forced them to abandon
Erfurt and redeploy west of the river.
The French attempted to pursue but were defeated as they attempted to
cross the river.
The
French held both Erfurt (the campaign objective) and the west bank of the river
Saale. Faced with a strongly held river
line, Wittgenstein decided to tempt the French to cross to the east bank. He ordered 2nd corps to move
south to lure the French to take Weissensee.
They would then attack as the French crossed the river Saale. However the French crossed and immediately
deployed. The Russian attack failed and
they moved south to join the main army.
The
Russian Army was now deployed east of the river in the centre. The French moved two corps north of the
bend and attacked from Erfurt. Another
victory forced the Russians to retreat to Rudolstadt.
The
final battle would involve all eight corps.
Davout attacked as the Russians were concentrating. His three corps gained an early advantage,
but the fourth Russian corps arrived and drove them back. The Westphalian corps had a long approach
march, and did not arrive in time to take part in the battle. The Russians held Rudolstadt throughout the
battle and claimed a victory. However
they had lost two of their four corps and had to retreat during the night.
The
campaign ended in a French victory.
Strategic Map
The
Erfurt campaign was the fifth phase in Central Germany between the Second
French and the Russian armies. It lasted
13 days and there were five battles.
The French won three, the Russians won two.
French
lost 8800 infantry and 500 cavalry
Russians
lost 15200 infantry, 600 cavalry and 3 guns
The
French won the Erfurt campaign phase
The
campaign started on 31 July and ended on 22 October 2017
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