Talk:Battle of Friedland

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[edit] Bennigsen's folly in crossing the Alle

This is a well written, fluent narrative that provides the reader with most of the salient facts as they unfolded in time and space at Friedland. The foundation has been laid for an eventual top-rated article.

However, one thing that I would have liked to see included is a discussion of Bennigsen's incredible strategic error of sending his troops westward across the Alle -- into a horseshoe-shaped stretch of land -- with the French to the Russians' front and the river to their backs.

Of course, when the Russians came under intense artillery fire and needed to maneuver backwards to maintain their formations, they were hemmed-in by the river. As a result, the French had them trapped.

Bennigsen's decision to put his army in this position is regarded as one of the most reckless, ill-considered moves made by any major commander in the Napoleonic Wars.

I have not read very much about Friedland, so I still don't know why Bennigsen made this mistake. I do think though that Benngisen's lack of judgment was an important part of this battle.

Bennigsen was a bold, intrepid commander who never lost his nerve regardless of the stress he faced. He had the character of a great leader; he was a towering personality. These were valuable traits for a general in his era. But the man lacked the intellectual depth necessary to command large bodies of troops in the field against opponents such as the French.

Kenmore 11:27, 12 December 2006 (UTC)kenmore

Fisher, Lynn, Fremont, Chandler ... and not a single Russian source ?