The Russians pressed back their opponents in such a way that saw Ney fight a brilliant rearguard action with his heavily outnumbered forces.

During the 6th, Ney successfully disengaged his troops and pulled back to the west side of the Pasłęka (Passarge) River.

To occupy the French troops on Ney's left, Bennigsen sent General-Leutnant Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq's Prussians to attack Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's troops at Spędy (Spanden) and ordered Lieutenant General Dmitry Dokhturov's Russians to assault Marshal Nicolas Soult's men at Stolno (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship) [pl] (Lomitten).

Afraid of being cut off in his turn, Bennigsen ordered a retreat on the night of the 7th as Napoleon instructed his forces to counterattack the Russians.

After the bloody Battle of Eylau on 7 and 8 February 1807, Napoleon's forces lingered in the vicinity so that the emperor could claim a victory.

[5] L'Estocq's attempt to pursue the French came to grief at Braniewo (Braunsberg) on 26 February, when Bernadotte's corps drubbed his advance guard.

His Swedish opponent, General-Leutnant Hans Henric von Essen immediately pushed back the outnumbered besiegers.

Quickly returning with the bulk of his soldiers, Mortier drove the Swedes north of the Peene River and the two sides concluded an armistice on 29 April.

After a prolonged defense in the Siege of Danzig, General of Infantry Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth surrendered on 24 May.

When he received intelligence that the Russians intended to attack him, the emperor thought the enemy move "ridiculous" since they had done little to trouble him while Danzig was under siege.

[13] Masséna's instructions were to cover Warsaw, guard the right wing, and threaten the Russian strategic left flank.

The Russian commander planned to destroy Ney's exposed corps in an overly complex operation involving six advancing columns.

He sent the 1st Column with 24 battalions and 4 batteries through Orneta (Wormditt), then south, to drive the French troops from the east bank of the Pasłęka.

The Russians would then move south and take position near Eldyty Wielkie (Elditten), thus preventing Soult from supporting Ney.

[13] Lieutenant General Fabian Gottlieb von Osten-Sacken led the 2nd Column, which consisted of 42 battalions, 140 squadrons, and nine batteries.

This column, which was composed of the army Advance Guard, would attack north of Guttstadt with the aim of cutting off some of Ney's troops.

[15] Lieutenant General Aleksey Gorchakov exercised authority over the 4th Column, a body made up of the 6th Division with 12 battalions, 20 squadrons, and three regiments of cossacks.

Supported by Major General Bogdan von Knorring's 6th Division brigade, this column would cross the Łyna at Bergfriede (Barkweda) and try to envelop Ney's right flank.

Finally, Lieutenant General Pyotr Aleksandrovich Tolstoy with 15,800 soldiers kept Masséna's right wing under observation northeast of Warsaw.

[15] Because Ney's front was screened by forests, Bennigsen had a reasonable hope that he could fall on the Frenchman's troops before his opponent could take effective countermeasures.

The 27th Light Infantry, supported by four cannons and one howitzer, waited until the Russians were within close range before blasting them with a series of volleys.

The only French loss of consequence was Bernadotte, who was wounded in the head by a bullet and had to hand over command of the I Corps to General of Division Claude Perrin Victor.

Carra Saint-Cyr posted the rest of his division to the rear near Miłakowo (Liebstadt)[21] Dokhturov launched three attack columns at the French works at 8:00 AM on 5 June.

At about the same time, a detachment of Russian cavalry crossed the Pasłęka near Sporthenen and a force of infantry and artillery probed at Alken.

Since the Russian artillery had nearly leveled the earthworks and set the village of Lomitten on fire, the division commander exercised his discretion and pulled back.

The local French commander, General of Division Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire defended the crossing in strength and the Russian leader did not try to attack.

This blunder relieved the pressure on the French right and the marshal used the respite to shift troops to shore up his left and center.

[18] However, Bennigsen became so enraged at his failure to crush Ney that he vented his anger on Osten-Sacken,[27] who he claimed, had ignored repeated orders to attack.

[27] According to their official bulletins,[29] the French lost 400 killed or wounded and 250 captured, along with two guns and the VI Corps baggage train.

The Russians captured 73 officers and 1,568 men, including General of Brigade François Roguet;[18] 2,000 French were claimed to have been killed.