Murat's bluff at Prenzlau induced an entire Prussian corps to surrender, accelerating Prussia's collapse after Jena-Auerstedt.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 October 1806
- Distance from Berlin
- ~90 km north
- French commander
- Marshal Joachim Murat
- Prussian commander
- Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen
- Outcome
- Entire Prussian corps surrendered via French bluff
- Context
- Followed Prussian defeat at Jena-Auerstedt, 14 Oct 1806
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following their catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October 1806, Prussian armies fled north pursued by Napoleon's forces. Hohenlohe's corps, attempting to reach safety behind the Oder River, was intercepted by Murat's cavalry moving north from Berlin after several clashes on 26 and 27 October.
On 28 October 1806 at Prenzlau, Marshal Murat's two cavalry divisions and some infantry engaged Hohenlohe's retreating Prussian corps. After initial fighting, Murat falsely claimed the Prussians were surrounded by overwhelming forces. The demoralized Hohenlohe, believing the bluff, surrendered his entire corps, though in reality only a brigade of infantry and Murat's cavalry were nearby.
The surrender accelerated the disintegration of Prussian resistance, with French forces subsequently coercing additional Prussian units and fortresses to capitulate in the following days. A second Prussian corps under Blücher, finding its northeastern route blocked, was forced to veer northwest toward Lübeck, prolonging but not reversing Prussia's defeat.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Marshal Joachim Murat.
Side B
1 belligerent
Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.