Battle of Schleiz

Battle of Schleiz
Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition
Drawing by Benjamin Zix, 1806
Date 9 October 1806 Location Schleiz, Thuringia, Germany 50°35′00″N 11°49′00″E / 50.5833°N 11.8167°E / 50.5833; 11.8167 Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire	Prussia Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Joachim Murat Jean Bernadotte Jean-Baptiste Drouet	Bogislav von Tauentzien
Strength
20,594 34 guns Engaged: 4,000 12 guns	9,000 Engaged: 2,600 8 guns
Casualties and losses
light	566 1 gun lost

War of the Fourth Coalition

200km
125miles

Friedland

27

26

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23

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Eylau

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Berlin

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Jena–Auerstedt

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⬤ current battle

⬤ Napoleon not in command

⬤ Napoleon in command

The Battle of Schleiz took place on 9 October 1806 in Schleiz, Germany between a Prussian-Saxon division under Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien and a part of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps under the command of Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon. It was the first clash of the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. As Emperor Napoleon I of France's Grande Armée advanced north through the Franconian Forest it struck the left wing of the armies belonging to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Electorate of Saxony, which were deployed on a long front. Schleiz is located 30 kilometers north of Hof and 145 kilometers southwest of Dresden at the intersection of Routes 2 and 94.

At the beginning of the battle, elements of Drouet's division clashed with Tauentzien's outposts. When Tauentzien became aware of the strength of the advancing French forces, he began a tactical withdrawal of his division. Joachim Murat assumed command of the troops and began an aggressive pursuit. A battalion-sized Prussian force to the west was cut off and suffered heavy losses. The Prussians and Saxons retreated north, reaching Auma that evening.