Versailles Museum mv 2140 © RMN-Grand Palais (Château de Versailles) / Gérard Blot

Battle of Eylau, 8 February 1807, the Russian army pushed back by the charge of the cavalry and Imperial Guard, watercolour by Jean Antoine Simeon Fort.

The Battle of Eylau took place in the north of East Prussia. It lasted two days, with heavy artillery use. Murat, however, led one of the largest cavalry charges in history with 12,000 men, marking a crucial French victory with a bitter tinge: nearly 20,000 deaths on both sides, and 10,000 wounded Russians who died from a lack of care.