No new snowfalls. While Davout's ammunition wagons rumble to distribute fresh cartridges, Bennigsen discusses retreat with his generals.

"My army has lost over 20,000 men. It has no ammunition, no bread, it no longer has the strength to fight." He pauses to fix each of them in turn with his grey eyes.

"Gentlemen, we MUST retreat. At midnight, you will begin evacuation of the battlefield. The Pussians follow at 2am. The Cossacks cover the withdrawal. We retire on Konigsberg. Goodnight. gentlemen."

Turning his back on his generals' exaggerated protests, Bennigsen rode away to Kuschiten, dismounted stiffly and slept fitfully till dawn. Napoleon, dozing in a chair at Zlegelhof with his jacket and boots still on, was informed of the news at 3.00 a.m. Thank god they had retreated: at least there were some grounds now for claiming a victory. It would fool no-one, of course: the battle had been a bloody and indecisive draw. Ah, how it would set them speculating in the Paris Salons and the Royal Courts of Europe.

The next morning, while Murat's Cavalry gingerly followed the Cossacks northward, the army was confronted with the spectacle of the previous days' carnage. Napoleon had lost some 25,000 men: over a third of his army. When he toured the battlefield on horseback no one cried Vive l'Empereur as they had done before.

They were all cold in body, numbed in spirit and content merely to be alive. Ney, shocked, exclaimed, "What carnage, and nothing to show for it." The Emperor seemed not to hear it at first as they walked their horses past another creaking wagonload of bodies. He was already planning the next campaign, balancingthe thousands of lives he was yet to trade for the territories to be gained. He turned to Ney, distractedly, and gestured at he frozen corpses.

"Small change," he replied. "Small change. One night in Paris will make up for all of this."

More Eylau

Introduction
10am
Charge of Murat
12 Noon
11pm
Eylau Order of Battle
Eylau Map Large (very slow: 245K)
Eylau Map Jumbo (extremely slow: 406K)