In Germany, a New Dawn of Idealism

The epochal Battle of Jena was fought on Oct. 14, 1806. A massive French army under Napoleon cut off Prussian and Saxon troops from access to the Elbe River and from possible Russian reinforcements. The French demolished the Germans and within six weeks had conquered all of Prussia. The subsequent Treaty of Tilsit made allies of France and Russia, pitilessly reduced Prussia and Austria, and planted French client states throughout central Europe. The 1,000-year-old Holy Roman Empire, dominated for centuries by the Austrian Habsburgs, came to its end. Everywhere Bonaparte was acknowledged as the “new Charlemagne.”