Bennigsen made a name for himself in Russian history as the man who fought Napoleon Bonaparte with distinction at the Battle of Eylau; but, suffering from ill-health, he was then defeated at Friedland several months later.

In 1787 his conduct at the storming of Ochakov won him promotion to the rank of brigadier, and he distinguished himself repeatedly in smashing the Kościuszko Uprising (battles of Lipniszki, Soły) and in the Persian War of 1796 where he fought at Derbent.

[5] Here he could claim to have inflicted the first reverse suffered by Napoleon, but six months later Bennigsen met with the crushing defeat of Friedland (14 June 1807) the direct consequence of which was the treaty of Tilsit.

He was present at Borodino, and defeated Murat in the engagement of Tarutino[4] where he was wounded in the leg,[5] but on account of a quarrel with Marshal Kutuzov, the Russian commander-in-chief, he was compelled to retire from active military employment on 15 November.

On the same evening he was made a count by the emperor Alexander I, and he afterwards commanded the forces which operated against Marshal Davout in North Germany,[4] most notably in the year-long Siege of Hamburg (1813–14).

[citation needed] After the general peace Bennigsen held a command from 1815 to 1818, when he retired from active service and settled on his Hanoverian estate of Banteln near Hildesheim.