Battle of Auerstedt

On the same day as Napoleon at Jena, Davout faced the bulk of the Prussian army. Despite numerical inferiority of roughly one to two, he held all day thanks to the exceptional discipline of his troops. General Brunswick was mortally wounded, the Prussian chain of command collapsed, and Davout turned a defensive position into a brilliant victory.

Napoleon expected to face the bulk of the Prussian army at Jena, but Davout alone with his III Corps encountered the true center of the enemy army. Rather than retreat, he engaged in frontal combat.

Davout used echeloned defense and artillery on reverse slopes to absorb Prussian charges. French infantry maneuvered in flexible lines. He counterattacked at the right moment on disorganized flanks. The extreme cohesion of his troops largely compensated for numerical inferiority.

This humiliating defeat for Prussia marked the collapse of its army and military system inherited from Frederick II. Davout received the title Duke of Auerstedt, and Napoleon regarded this victory as even more meritorious than his own at Jena.