Jena - Landgrafenberg

French troops climb the Landgrafenberg from Jena

The battle of Jena was fought on a plateau at the top of a steep hill overlooking the German town of Jean. This print shows Napoleon’s troops making their way up the Landgrafenberg, to reach the plateau

Jena path up the Landgrafenberg

Our group climb the same path leading to the Napoleonstein, which marks the area held by Marshal Lannes corps until the remainder of the French army arrived.

Napoleonstein overlooking Jena

The flat area at the top of the Landrafenberg is called the Windknolle. It is a flat, exposed and of course very windy area which overlooks both the Prussian positions ahead and the town of Jena behind.

Napoleon has not planned to fight a battle at Jena. He was marching towards Gera when Lannes, who was on the left flank of the army, met with the Prussians at Jena. Although Lannes was in real danger of being attacked by overwhelming numbers of Prussians, Napoleon ordered him to hold his position whilst the remainder of the French army marched to their left to concentrate within a mile of the Prussian army.

Jena from Napoleonstein

Looking back towards Jena, the ground appears flat, but in fact there is a steep climb from the town which can be seen beyond the trees.

The Windknolle from Napolstein

Looking towards the Prussian positions, in this small area Napoleon gathered 25,000 men during the night prior to the battle. To reach this area they had to climb the narrow track from Jena, and the artillery was soon brought to a halt by the large rocks which blocked the track. Each battalion of infantry climbing the Landgrafenbert had to take turns labouring to clear the path and allow the guns to reach the plateau.

Cospeda from Napoleonstein

The village of Cospeda, where we started our walking tour of the battlefield. This town was occupied by the French during the early morning of the battle.

Closwitz from Napoleonstein

This area saw the opening moves of the battle of Jena. The French infantry followed the road on the right to attack the Prussian held village of Closwitz, which was the left of their line

Lutzeroda from Napoleonstein

To the Prussian right was the village of Lutzeroda which is hidden by the bush on the left of this photograph. Both of these villages were soon in French hands, which gave Napoleon sufficient space to deploy his army for the second phase of the battle – the advance to Vierzehnheilligen.