wing,
while Lannes and the Guard held the central height, and Augereau's
corps in the Muehl-thal threatened the Saxons and Prussians guarding
the Schnecke.[106]

A dense fog screened the moves of the assailants early on the morrow,
and, after some confused but obstinate fighting, the French secured
their hold on the plateau not only above the town of Jena, where their
onset took the Prussians by surprise, but also above the Muehl-thal,
where the enemy were in force.

By ten o'clock the fog lifted, and the warm rays of the autumn sun
showed the dense masses of the French advancing towards the middle of
the plateau. Hohenlohe now saw the full extent of his error and
despatched an urgent message to Ruechel for aid. It was too late. The
French centre, led by Lannes, began to push back the Prussian lines on
the village named Vierzehn Heiligen. It was in vain that Hohenlohe's
choice squadrons flung themselves on the serried masses in front: the
artillery and musketry fire disordered them, while French dragoons
were ready to profit by their confusion. The village was lost, then
retaken by a rally of the Prussians, then lost again when Ney was
reinforced; and when the full vigour of the French attack was
developed by the advance of Soult and Augereau on either wing,
Napoleon launched his reserves, his Guard, and Murat's squadrons on
the disordered lines. The impact was irresistible, and Hohenlohe's
force was swept away. Then it was that Ruechel's force drew near, and
strove to stem the rout. Advancing steadily, as if on parade, his
troops for a brief space held up the French onset; but neither the
dash of the Prussian horse nor the bravery of the foot-soldiers could
dam that mighty tide, which laid low the gallant leader and swept his
lines away into the general wreck.[107]

In the headlong flight before Murat's horsemen, the fugitives fell in
with another beaten array, that of Brunswick. At Jena the Prussians,
if defeated, were not disgraced: before the first shot was fired their
defeat was a mathematical certainty. At the crisis of the battle they
had but 47,400 men at hand, while Napoleon then disposed of 83,600
combatants.[108] But at Auerstaedt they were driven back and disgraced.
There they had a decided superiority in numbers, having more than
35,000 of their choicest troops, while opposite to them stood only the
27,000 men of Davoust's corps.

Hitherto Davoust had been remarkable rather for his dog-like devotion
t