The Prusso-Saxon Army and the Battles of Jena and Auerstädt, October 14, 1806

The twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt were fought on October 14, 1806 between the Prusso-Saxon forces under King Frederick William III of Prussia and the French forces under Emperor Napoleon I of France. Since these famous battles, many military historians have been quick to claim that the Prusso-Saxon Army of 1806 used tactics that were too outdated and soldiers that were quite incapable of effectively taking on the French. But the Prusso-Saxon Army of 1806 has been greatly misrepresented by these historians, and a recent body of respected scholarship has indicated that the Prusso-Saxon soldiers of 1806 fought well enough and that their tactics were not so outdated. The fact that the Prusso-Saxon Army lost the campaign of 1806 is not disputed, but a fair assessment of the army is due. Using writings from a respected body of scholarship, various memoirs, and military regulations from the period, this thesis will present the Prusso-Saxon Army and the important battles of 1806 from a point of view more in line with the evidence