A PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS ON THE BATTLE OF EYLAU (Essay Sample)

A PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS ON THE BATTLE OF EYLAU Name of Student Student Number Course Date Instructor Napoleon’s military success against the fourth coalition was critical in the expansion of the French empire in the early 17th Century. Prior to 1807, Napoleon had emerged victorious is a series of wars against the alliance. The Battle of Eylau that took place on 8th February, 1807, proved to be the most challenging to the French emperor even though he achieved success yet again. By all standards, the war was evenly matched between Napoleon’s La Grande Armée and Bennigsen’s Imperial Russian Army on accounts of events that took place in the battlefield. According to Fyffe, Beniggsen’s troops fought relentlessly and it is only through Napoleon’s astute tactics that the French army eventually turned the scale. The following presentation is an analysis of the Napoleonic wars, focusing specifically on the Battle of Eylau and events surrounding the confrontation. The discussion employs a review of primary sources including narrative accounts of former soldiers who participated in the war. Accordingly, the findings from this analysis could aid historians and researchers in understanding the factors that contributed to Napoleon’s success at Eylau despite facing strong resistance from the Fourth Coalition. The specific issues involved in researching this topic include the challenge of relying on primary data in without seeking other scholar’s analyses to back up the arguments. However, the research approach suits the study’s aim which is to explore primary sources of information and their contribution to the understanding of past historical events. Thesis Statement This paper will argue that the Battle of Eylau was the most challenging of all Napoleonic wars to the French emperor as the enemy troops were relentless despite facing difficult conditions. Napoleon only emerged successful because of his effective organization and command skills, the resilience of the French army, and availability of adequate resources at their disposal. Outline of the Body Paragraphs The Russian Army, under the command of General Bennigsen relentlessly engaged Napoleon’s troops despite encountering harsh weather conditions and lacking enough resources. Russian troops arrived in Eylau with no fire to counter the chilling weather conditions but nonetheless demonstrated a strong resolve to fight. 138 Bennigsen’s army fought with unbending bravery despite majority of the members suffering from hunger, fatigue and anxiety. 301 French’s army resilience resulted in the occupation of the Bergfriede passage. Prussian army launched a series of counter attacks and repulsed the French army using well equipped artillery. However, the former fought relentlessly and eventually occupied the fortress.3 214 Napoleon’s success could also be attributed to availability of resources and facilities to his solders. The army members were well catered to and were in better condition to engage in war compared to their enemies. Jakob Walters recollects that the troop members were always hea...