February 7 in Military History — On This Day

Battle of Eylau

Fought in a blinding blizzard across the frozen plains of East Prussia (present-day Bagrationovsk, Russia), Eylau was the bloodiest battle Napoleon had fought to that point. The Russian army under Bennigsen fought stubbornly and nearly broke the French center when a massive artillery bombardment devastated Augereau's corps. In desperation, Napoleon ordered Marshal Murat to lead the largest cavalry charge of the Napoleonic era — 10,700 horsemen thundering through the snowstorm — buying time until Ney's corps arrived to stabilize the line. When the smoke cleared, the field was carpeted with dead on both sides and the result was inconclusive.

Eylau demonstrated that the Grande Armée was not invincible and that determined resistance could check Napoleon. The gruesome cost foreshadowed the attritional campaigns to come. Napoleon reportedly surveyed the blood-soaked field and remarked that no parent seeing this would be so quick to make war.

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⚔️📍 Olustee, Florida1864

Battle of Olustee — Largest Civil War Battle in Florida

Confederate forces decisively defeated a Union army attempting to cut Confederate supply lines through Florida, in the largest Civil War battle fought in the state. Three United States Colored Troops regiments fought in the engagement.

Olustee ended Union hopes of using Florida as a base and showed the effectiveness of Black Union troops fighting alongside white regiments.

Outcome

Confederate victory; Union retreats to Jacksonville

Casualties

2,800