Capitulation of Erfurt 1806
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 16 October 1806 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1806 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Fourth Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.9781, 11.0289 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
In the Capitulation of Erfurt on 16 October 1806, a large body of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia under Lieutenant General the Prince of Orange surrendered to Marshal Joachim Murat of France, at the city of Erfurt (now in Germany). The Prussian soldiers were demoralized by their shattering defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt on 14 October and unwilling to put up much resistance. The event occurred during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Erfurt is located on the Gera River about 40 kilometers west of Jena.
Only eight days before, Emperor Napoleon I of France invaded the Electorate of Saxony with a large army and quickly inflicted two minor setbacks on his enemies. This was followed by the catastrophe of 14 October. In the aftermath of the battle, the organization of the Prussian army disintegrated. Large numbers of Prussian fugitives from the battle entered Erfurt and could not be induced to leave. When Murat's French cavalry arrived before the city, it was surrendered without any fighting.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Capitulation of Erfurt (revision 1370608132), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Langensalza (1761) 1761 · 30 km
- Battle of Jena–Auerstedt 1806 · 38 km
- Battle of Frankenhausen 1525 · 42 km
- Battle of Saalfeld 1806 · 44 km
- Battle of Eisenach 908 · 50 km
- Battle of Dermbach 1866 · 66 km
Other battles of the War of the Fourth Coalition
- Battle of Czarnowo 1806
- Battle of Halle 1806
- Battle of Lübeck 1806
- Battle of Pułtusk (1806) 1806
- Battle of Saalfeld 1806
- Battle of Schleiz 1806
- Battle of Allenstein 1807
- Battle of Friedland 1807
- Battle of Guttstadt–Deppen 1807
- Battle of Heilsberg 1807
All 15 battles of the War of the Fourth Coalition →
Browse more: battles in Germany · Europe · 19th century battles