In the Battle of Halle on October 17, 1806 a French corps led by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte fights the Prussian Reserve under Eugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg.

The French defeat  their opponents, forcing the Prussians to retreat northeast toward Dessau after suffering heavy losses.

The clash occurs in the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

The city of Halle is located about thirty kilometers northwest of Leipzig on the Saale River.

Emperor Napoleon I of France invades the Electorate of Saxony and inflicts two disastrous defeats on the Prussian-Saxon armies on October 14, 1806.

As the beaten armies flee, Marshal Bernadotte's corps march north and find Duke Eugene's unblooded Reserve located at Halle.

At the beginning of the encounter, two French divisions rush the bridges over the Saale on the west side of the city.

They overrun a weak defending force and quickly occupy the city.

Later in the day, Bernadotte's troops storm out of Halle and attack Eugene's Reserve, which is drawn up to the southeast of the city.

The Prussians are driven from their positions and chased to the northeast.

While this engagement is going on, Bernadotte's third division surrounds and captures a Prussian regiment isolated on the west side of the city.

One of the few intact Prussian forces west of the Elbe River is now crippled.