On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig ended when Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth capitulated to French Marshal Francois Joseph Lefebvre. With Gdansk (Danzig) secured, Napoleon was now free to turn against Bennigsen's army. Yet it was the Russian who struck first when he ordered his columns to converge on Marshal Michel Ney's exposed VI Corps on 2 June. Outnumbered 63,000 to 17,000, Ney fought a brilliant rear guard action at the Battle of Guttstadt-Deppen on 5 and 6 June. Though he lost his baggage train, two guns, and 2,042 men, Ney managed to escape to the southwest over the Pasłęka (Passarge) River with the bulk of his soldiers, leaving Bennigsen seething with rage over his missed opportunity.
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http://dbkwik.webdatacommons.org | 4 |