Battle of Czarnowo

Battle of Czarnowo
Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition

The Russian army defended the line of the Wkra River.
Date23 December 1806[1]
Location52°28′31″N 20°46′23″E / 52.475278°N 20.773056°E / 52.475278; 20.773056
Result French victory[1]
Belligerents
France French Empire Russia Russian Empire
Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Prussia
Commanders and leaders
France Napoleon Bonaparte
France Louis Davout
France Jean Bessières
France Pierre Augereau
France Jean Marchand
Russia Mikhail Kamensky
Russia A. Ostermann-Tolstoy
Russia M. Barclay de Tolly
Kingdom of Prussia Karl La Roche-Aymon
Kingdom of Prussia Anton von L'Estocq
Strength
8,000–23,200[1]
20 guns
5,000–5,500[1]
48 guns
Casualties and losses
Czarnowo: 846–1,400
Bieżuń: light
Kołoząb: 518
Soldau: 221
Czarnowo: 853–1,401
Bieżuń: 500, 5 guns
Kołoząb: unknown, 6 guns
Soldau: 800, 2 guns
Map
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200km
125miles
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 Napoleon not in command
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The Battle of Czarnowo on the night of 23–24 December 1806 saw troops of the First French Empire under the eye of Emperor Napoleon I launch an evening assault crossing of the Wkra River against Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy's defending Russian Empire forces. The attackers, part of Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout's III Corps, succeeded in crossing the Wkra at its mouth and pressed eastward to the village of Czarnowo. After an all-night struggle, the Russian commander withdrew his troops to the east, ending this War of the Fourth Coalition action. Czarnowo is located on the north bank of the Narew River 33 kilometres (21 mi) north-northwest of Warsaw, Poland.

Several other actions occurred during the same week. On the 23rd, Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières defeated a probe by Prussian troops at Bieżuń. On 24 December, an action occurred at Kołoząb and Sochocin where Marshal Pierre Augereau's VII Corps attempted to cross the Wkra. The French managed to secure a foothold on the east bank, forcing Major General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly's Russian defenders to retreat. On Christmas Day, part of Marshal Michel Ney's VI Corps drove the Prussians from Soldau (Działdowo), forcing them to retreat north toward Königsberg. The Russians, however, were full of fight and two sharp battles occurred on 26 December.

  1. ^ a b c d Bodart 1908, p. 377.