However, realising his mistake in allowing the French to cross the Vistula, Kamensky advanced at the beginning of December to try to regain the line of the river.

[8] French forces crossed the Narew River at Modlin on 10 December, and the Prussian Corps commanded by General-Leutnant Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq failed to retake Thorn (Toruń).

This led Bennigsen on 11 December to issue orders to fall back and hold the line of the River Wkra.

[10] Kamensky reversed the Russian retreat, and he ordered an advance to support the troops on the River Wkra.

[11] On the night of 23 and 24 December, Davout's corps forced a crossing of the lower Wkra in the Battle of Czarnowo.

[14] Realising the danger, Kamensky ordered a retreat to Ostrołęka; the old field marshal, however, appears to have had a mental breakdown and withdrew himself to Grodno.

[16] The usual frosts, which rendered the inadequate roads passable after the muddy conditions of autumn, were broken by thaws.

[8] The result was that both sides found it very difficult to manoeuvre; in particular the French (as they were advancing) had great difficulty bringing up their artillery.

Provisions became very scarce; no more wine, hardly any beer, and what there was exceedingly bad, no bread, and quarters for which we had to fight the pigs and the cows.

A second road from Warsaw entered the town from the south-west, and then ran along the west bank of the river towards Różan.

Smith itemized Colbert-Chabanais' 6th Corps cavalry but repeated Trelliard's list of regiments, which was clearly a misprint.

[21] General of Brigade Joseph Augustin Fournier Marquis de D'Aultane was the acting commander of the 3rd Division of Davout's corps.

Major General Koschin's cavalry brigade included the Life Cuirassier, Kargopol Dragoon, and Soum Hussar Regiments, plus two cossack units.

Major General Karl Osipovich Lambert's cavalry brigade comprised the Ekaterinoslav Cuirassier, Kiev Dragoon, and Alexandrov Hussar Regiments, plus one Tatar and one cossack unit.

On the extreme right Major General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly occupied part of the Mosin wood with three battalions, a cavalry regiment and an artillery battery covering the road to Gołymin.

Baggovut covered the left of the line and the bridge over the Narew from a position in front of the ravine with ten battalions, two squadrons of dragoons and an artillery battery.

Deployed along the edge of the ridge were 28 squadrons of cavalry linking Barclay de Tolly and Baggovut.

After struggling through the mud, his first troops reached the area at about 10:00 AM,[23] and drove the cossacks back onto the Russian main line.

The Russian left had held, the French centre was suffering from the artillery fire, and on the right increasing pressure was beginning to force Suchet's men out of the wood.

The 3rd Division of Davout's 3rd Corps, temporarily commanded by his Chief of Staff Fournier, had been ordered to pursue a Russian column apparently retiring on Pułtusk.

Concerned about the strength of the Russian cavalry force which was escorting guns and stores, Fournier had pursued but not engaged.

[2] Seeing this force approach, Bennigsen wheeled back his main line to face the wood, thus reducing the artillery fire directed at Lannes's units.

Barclay, finding Fournier attacking his right flank, fell back to the right of the main Russian line.

During the night, Bennigsen decided to retire, and did so the next day, 27 December, using the longer road to Różan along the east bank of the Narew.

The consensus seems to be[36] that having decided to fight, in defiance of his orders he could have better disposed his forces, taken the offensive and destroyed Lannes's corps before Fournier came up.

Lannes, on the other hand, was following his orders, and the result was to find himself facing a superior force in a good defensive position.

On 28 December, Napoleon stopped his advance and, having lost contact with the Russian army, decided to go into winter quarters.

Soon afterward, Bennigsen was appointed army commander and he launched an unexpected winter offensive into East Prussia.

Aimed at the French strategic left flank, the Russian blow was blunted at the Battle of Mohrungen on 25 January 1807.