The Combat at Hoff, 6^th February.

More artistic propaganda.
The Combat at Hoff. By G. Neymark

Christopher Summerville, quoting from A.H. Atteridge, Murat’s biographer, informs us that:

‘Murat had nothing but his horsemen and light artillery in hand; but a few miles away the corps of Soult and Augereau, under the emperor’s personal command, were coming up in a long marching column. It would have been common prudence to content himself with merely skirmishing with the enemy, and keeping them under observation till the infantry and field batteries were ready to come into action. But this was not Murat’s way. For him “to see the enemy and to charge him, was the same thing.” Reckless of the force opposed to him and the strong position it held, he flung his horsemen into action. Even before his main body had come up, his advance guard, formed of Colbert’s dragoon regiments, were sent struggling through the thawing marshes [sic] along the brook, and launched upon the enemy in a reckless charge, from which it came back with many empty saddles...’[1]

Well, for a start, the “thawing marshes” cause us the first problem with Murat’s precursor to Eylau. All authorities studied by Petre confirm that between the 1^st and 10^th of February 1807 there was only frost and snow. No mention of a thaw is made until the 10^th as noted by the surgeon Larrey.

The Russian rearguard, for that is what Murat came up against at Hoff, was commanded by General Barclay de Tolly (who was acting under the orders of the overall rearguard commander, General Bagration), and consisted of 4 infantry regiments, 3 cavalry regiments, 2 regiments of Cossacks, and a horse artillery battery.[2]

The details concerning Hoff suffer from the same, but to a lesser extent, lack of information obtainable from Russian sources as does the battle of Eylau – there are very few available. Petre makes the mistake of relying too heavily on General Sir Robert Wilson’ works, Remarks on the Russian Army, which, unfortunately, although being quite interesting in regard to the operations carried out by the Russian’s during the 1807 Polish campaign, are not reliable when it comes to battlefields and unit details. Indeed, the Duke of Wellington himself, who knew Wilson, called him, ‘A very slippery fellow,’ therefore care should be taken when studying the facts of both Hoff and Eylau as given by Petre when quoting from Wilson.

The battlefield of Hoff. (Now Dwόrzno) Map supplied by Alexander Mikaberidze

The position taken up by the Russian’s at Hoff is also the subject of controversy. Since Petre’s map of the campaign does not show the road crossing a river in this area, then it must have been no more than a stream, which was passable by a bridge. Why the Russian’s did not destroy this crossing after they had themselves passed over is unclear and quite out of character when we consider that they had destroyed the bridges at Hielsberg? Also, if the Alle River was iced over, then we can be sure that the streams would also be in the same condition, maybe even frozen enough to allow for the passage of troops?[3] Indeed, one fails to see how any cavalry squadrons/regiments could get across a single (narrow?) wooden bridge, possibly only in column of two’s or four’s, without being swept away by artillery and musket fire before they had time to deploy on the other side. Therefore it is possible that the stream was frozen hard, enabling the French to cross on a wider front?

Dr Alexander Mikaberidze, quoting from Mikhailovsky Danilevsky’s account of the engagement at Hoff states:

Barclay de Tolly deployed his forces in the following order: two squadrons of Izumsk Hussar Regiment under Dorokhov and two guns of the horse artillery under Lieutenant Sukhozanet at the bridge in front of Hof; Oliviopol Hussars, 20^th Jagers, Kostroma Musketeers in second line. On the right flank, the 1^st Jagers was deployed in the woods, and the 3^rd Jagers was on the left. The 20^th Jager were later moved to the left flank to support the 3^rd Jager. There were also Cossack regiments but there is no indication of where they were deployed.

As the French approached the bridge, the Russian horse battery opened [with] canister fire, but it was soon suppressed by the French artillery. The French cavalry soon attacked and Dorokhov counterattacked with his hussars and Cossacks. Simultaneously, [the] Oliviopol Hussars advanced without Barclay’s orders, but were badly mauled by the French. They fell back on the Izumsk squadrons and spread confusion among them as well. Dorokhov was wounded. As the Russian hussars were routed, the French cavalry charged the Kostroma Regiment under Prince Sherbatov. The Russians repulsed three charges, giving the Izumska and Oliviopol Hussars time to rally. They drove the French dragoons back (Mikhailovsky does not indicate who these troops were), but encountered newly arrived French cuirassiers, who hammered the hussars and cut through the Kostroma Regiment. Barclay de Tolly reported, “I had the misfortune to witness the complete annihilation of this excellent unit.” The French captured the regimental guns and all the flags except one, which was rescued by Junker (?) Tomilovsky.

Meantime, on the right flank, the 1^st Jager was surrounded and virtually wiped out. On the left flank, the 3^rd and 20^th Jager “were retreating in good order.”

Barclay de Tolly rallied his forces behind Hof, where he was reinforced by Major General Prince Dolgorukov with five battalions. He ordered Dolgoruky (sic) to halt the French while Barclay himself moved with the 3^rd and 20^th Jager to the left flank to prevent the French flanking attack. The fighting continued for some time and, as darkness fell on the battlefield, Barclay received reinforcements [from] His Majesty [Emperor’s] Cuirassier and Military Order [Ordenskii] Regiments.[4]

As will be noted below, there is a problem with which bridge Danilevsky is talking about. If, as he states, the two guns of the horse artillery and the two squadrons of the Izumsk Hussars were, “at the bridge in front of Hof,” then that would place them at bridge number 1 shown on the map. However we can see that a whole battery of guns are drawn up to contest the crossing of bridge number 2, and that at least four squadrons of Russian cavalry are in close support. I will deal with these and other problems later. First we must study a few of the rather scant Russian sources.

Map supplied by Alexander Mikaberidze

The following comments are taken from another Russian manuscript written in the late 19^th century by Karpov, and so far not published:

“The rear guard was deployed behind the river[sic] – battalion of 20^th Jager Regiment was at the village of Zinken, and two squadrons of Izumsk Hussars and two pieces of horse artillery, comprised [Barclay’s] advanced units. Around 3.00 p.m. the French approached [the Russian positions]. General Dorokhov reinforced the advanced units with two squadrons of hussars, but had to retreat after a brief engagement to the position where Barclay arranged his troops in the following order: Izumsk and horse artillery were posted at the bridge; Oliviopol Hussars, 20^th Jager and Kostroma Musketeer Regiment were in second line. The 1^st Jager Regiment occupied the nearby heights on the right flank, while the 3^rd Jager, supported by the 20^th Jager, was spread in the woods on the left flank.

“Having approached the [Russian] positions, the French tried to cross the bridge but were halted by the artillery fire. Napoleon moved forward his artillery and forced our horse artillery to withdraw. As the French advanced, Dorokhov counterattacked and drove them back across the bridge. The Olivipol Hussars pursued the [French] to the opposite bank but were routed and driven back [upon] the Izumsk Regiment. Yashvili’s horse artillery halted the French attack. The French cavalry then resumed its charges, routed our hussars and charged the Kostroma Regiment. This regiment repulsed three attacks and the [Russian] hussars counterattacked. However, the French cuirassiers arrived to the scene and overwhelmed the hussars and virtually annihilated the Kostroma Regiment. Only one flag was rescued by Sublieutenant [sic] Tomilov of the Izumsk Regiment. On the right flank, the 1^st Jager Regiment was cut off from the main force and surrounded by enemy cavalry, and had to spread out into the forest. [On the left flank] the 3^rd and 20^th Jagers were also hard pressed but retreated in good order.

“Having retreated behind Hof, Barclay began deploying his troops at new positions. He was reinforced by 5 infantry battalions under Prince Dolgorukov. Barclay left him to defend the new position, while he [led?] the 3^rd and 20^th Jagers into bushes to halt the French flanking manoeuvre onto Landsburg. [Meantime] Dolgorukov faced superior forces and was preparing to leave the position when he was reinforced by the Military Order and His Majesty [Emperor] Cuirassier Regiments. However, the darkness fell and Napoleon recalled his attacks.

“[The Russians] suffered substantial losses at Hof, but the goal [of halting the French] was accomplished. Some 2,000 soldiers and 28 officers were killed and wounded.”[5]

Another Russian source comes from Colonel Aleksey Yermolov who commanded the horse artillery in General Bagration’s main rear guard (this is doubtful, see below).

“[Barclay de Tolly] reached the village of Hoff, which lay in view of the rest of the [Russian] army. He halted here but deployed his troops at disadvantageous positions. [The] village of Hoff is located in a valley surrounded by steep hills. [Barclay] had the village behind him and so, as the superior enemy cavalry engaged his exhausted cavalrymen, they had nowhere to go but to retreat through the narrow streets of the village.

“The infantry, which should have been deployed in the village and nearby gardens surrounded fences, was deployed by Barclay in lines in front of the village and it could not have retreat in any other way, but through the village, because of the deep snow on the plain. So, it turned out that the [French] routed our cavalry and drove it back onto the infantry and batteries. One of the batteries was captured right away. Commander of the second battery, Lieutenant Markov, opened canister fire against [its own] Olioviopol Hussar Regiment which was covering his range of fire; but he also halted the enemy [attack] and forced it back with casualties.

“The [Russian] infantry repulsed new charges, although the enemy cavalry reached the lines. [Here the text becomes a little confused “Pekhota na sei raz otrazila s tverdostiu napadenie; nepriatelskaya konnistsa pronikla do samikh eye linii”] Soon the enemy made another assault, and this time was more successful. [The] Dnepr and Kostroma Musketeer Regiments withstood the charge but they were exhausted by [by the previous marches] and did not retain formation for a long time; they were routed and, at least half of them cut down. The flags and the regimental guns were captured. Those who managed to get into the safety of the gardens, as well as the Jager regiments, suffered minor casualties.

“This action demonstrates how disastrous can be deployment of the line infantry on the open terrain, when it was necessary to find means to protect it. Barclay de Tolly was soon reinforced by five battalions under Major General Prince Dolgorukov (Vasilii Yurievich), but this force was not sufficient in the ongoing confusion, and the new battalions were routed as well. The [Russian] troops, as they retreated through narrow [streets] of Hoff, suffered from a terrible artillery fire the [French]. Fearless Barclay de Tolly disregarded the dangers and appeared everywhere [vsudu nakhodilsia sam]. However, he did not demonstrate his commanding skills [resporiaditelnost] at the battle...[6]

It will be noted from the above that the Russian infantry were exhausted by their constant marching, their cavalry likewise; therefore the French must have been in a similar state. Under normal circumstances one would expect the tough soldiers of Mother Russia to withstand an arduous campaign without complaint, but as Petre says:

The troops fought in 1807 in a country whence the terror of war and famine had driven every inhabitant who could by any possibility quit it. In their flight the peasants carried with them all that was portable. What they had to leave behind they had done their best to bury beyond the reach of the approaching armies. With a commissariat of the most wretched description, unable often to supply any food, the sufferings from hunger of the Russian soldiery are easier to imagine than to describe. They could live only on what was provided by their own diligence in unearthing and robbing the hidden stores of the inhabitants...[7]

With the Russian’s grubbing - up everything they could lay their hands on for miles around, while at the same time retiring, thus reducing to some extent the distance its scanty supply system had to travel, then one wonders just what was left for the French who were constantly in pursuit?