27. A Daring Demand
Napoleon dealt Prussia a heavy defeat at the twin battles of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806. He then ordered a vigorous pursuit of the retreating Prussians and the rounding up of their garrisons. The once-proud Prussian army, less than two decades removed from its glory days under Frederick the Great, was thoroughly demoralized. It was against that backdrop that a French cavalry brigade under General Antoine Lasalle approached the Prussian port city of Stettin.
Lasalle had about 500 hussars under his command, and 2 light field guns. Stettin was a well-fortified port city with a garrison of nearly 10,000 men, protected by 281 cannons. The city was well provisioned by the British Royal Navy, whose supply-laden ships sailed in and out of the port with no hindrance. Its commander, General Friedrich von Romberg, was a veteran with over 50 years’ experience. He had fought in the Seven Years’ War, under Frederick the Great. Undaunted, Lasalle sent a subordinate under a flag of truce on the afternoon of October 29th, 1806, to demand Stettin’s surrender, promising to treat its garrisons with all the honors of war.
