Battle of Ekau
| Battle of Ekau (Iecava) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French invasion of Russia | |||||||
 The Battle of Eckau on 19 July 1812. Painting by August Friedrich Andreas Campe | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russian Empire | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Friedrich von Löwis |  Julius von GrawertFriedrich Graf Kleist von Nollendorf | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 3,000–4,000 men 10 guns | 7,000 men 32 guns | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 600 killed, wounded and missing, 300 captured[1] | Minimal[1] | ||||||
 | |||||||
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The Battle of Ekau took place during the initial phase of the French invasion of Russia. Napoleon's troops from the X Corps of Marshal MacDonald, who had the advantage, defeated the troops of Alexander I defending under the command of General Friedrich von Löwis of Menar.[1]
Prelude
On the morning of 18 July, General Löwis, commander of the Russian forces in Mitau, received news of the occupation of Bauska by the 27th Prussian Division of General Grawert. General Löwis, aiming to prevent the movement of the Napoleonic armada to Riga, took the position at the castle of Ekau. In turn, General Grawert made known to General Kleist, who was with his forces to the east, about the impending case. Emperor Alexander I, who was all the time at the 1st Western army, together with his retinue left for St. Petersburg on the night of 19 July.[2]
Battle
On the morning of 19 July, General Grawert began an artillery attack. Then he sent Westphalian cuirassiers to attack Russian positions. The situation remained stable until the evening, when the approaching troops of General Kleist struck on the positions of Löwis from the east. This decided the outcome of the case.
Aftermath
The strategic importance of the battle was reduced to the fact that the selected troops of Löwis, intended to protect Riga, were defeated. This forced the Russian forces to leave the entire left bank of the Western Dvina and, as a preventive measure, to burn the Mitau suburb of Riga.[1]
Legacy
In connection with the 195th anniversary of the battle, the military historical clubs of Latvia, Russia, Poland and Lithuania conducted a costumed staging of the battle. In 2012, to the 200th anniversary of the battle, the Latvian Public Jubilee Committee commemorating the Patriotic War of 1812 in Riga published the book by Oleg Pukhlyak "The Battle of Gross Ekau".[3]
See also
Notes
References
- klio (2021). "French invasion in Latvia". Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- latvian (2021). "Battle of Iecava". Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- notabene (2021). "Patriotic War of 1812". Retrieved 6 April 2021.
External links
Media related to Battle of Ekau at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded byBattle of Mir (1812) | Napoleonic WarsBattle of Ekau | Succeeded byBattle of Salamanca |