Leslie and Banér commanded two distinct armies: Banér commanded the Swedish main army (huvudarmén), and Leslie commanded the Army of the Weser. Their subordinate officers included the Swedish Count and Major General Lennart Torstenson, Lieutenant General James King (later first Lord Eythin), and Major General John Ruthven. The latter is sometimes erroneously conflated with his uncle Patrick Ruthven who was also a Lieutenant General in the Swedish army, but not present at Wittstock.[3]
The Holy Roman Emperor, with his Saxon and Roman Catholic allies, was fighting for the control of northern Germany against the Swedes and an alliance of Protestant princes opposed to Habsburg hegemony. The Swedes were also allied to the French, but the latter played no part in the battle. The Imperial main army was screening the Swedish army behind the Elbe while a smaller army under General Klitzing was overrunning Brandenburg. Field Marshal Johan Banér commanding the main Swedish army was joined by Field Marshal Alexander Leslie commanding the Army of the Weser which comprised German, Scottish and (at least one) English regiments. Together they crossed the Elbe with a surprise march and met their opponents in the forested hilly landscape slightly south of Wittstock.
The Imperial army was larger in strength than the Swedish army, but at least one-third of it was composed of Saxon units of questionable quality. The Swedish artillery was considerably stronger, leading the Imperial commanders to maintain a largely defensive position on the hill tops.
The battle
The Imperial forces decided to wait for the Swedes on a range of sandy hills, the Scharfenberg. A part of the Imperial front was further defended with six ditches and a wall of linked wagons. Their commanders waited for some time for the Swedish troops to appear on the open fields to their front. Instead, the Swedish army was turning the Imperial left flank, moving behind the cover of a series of linked hills. The Imperial troops were forced to redeploy their lines to set up a new front.
The battle was begun by small forces detached in detail to secure the hills. The Swedes, under Banér had problems moving up reinforcements through marshy ground, but battle was eventually joined along a wide front.
Banér and Leslie had detached one-fourth of the army under Lieutenant-General James King and Major-General Torsten Stålhandske to take a long detour around the Imperial right flank. They found the traverse difficult and slow, leading Banér's troops to take heavy casualties and begin to retreat. Alexander Leslie moved five of his regiments to his relief taking heavy casualties in the process with the Scottish and English regiments being particularly badly mauled. Nonetheless they were able to relieve Banér in time for King's cavalry to finally outflank the Imperial troops causing a rout. With Major General Vitzthum in the reserve refusing to engage the Imperials, his role was taken by Major-General John Ruthven (Leslie's son-in-law) who had been so deployed for just such an emergency. Now attacked on two fronts and with the reserve brigades engaged, the Imperial forces, having lost all their artillery, retreated under the cover of dusk in full rout.
Conclusion
In the accounts of the battle preserved in National Archives of Sweden, Johan Banér accredits the victory to Field Marshal Leslie. Leslie, in his personal correspondence to the Swedish Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, was clearly horrified at the losses sustained by his army and implies that there had been disagreement about the wisdom of Banér's tactics before the battle. A third report, by James King conforms with Leslie's, but also contains additional information. All three have been transcribed, translated and published in English.[4] Nevertheless, Wittstock was a resounding victory for the Swedish forces and corrected any delusions harboured by the Imperials that they were a spent force after the earlier battle of Nördlingen.
^'Rikskansleren Axel Oxenstiernas Skrifter och Brefvexling (Second Series, 13 vols., Stockholm, 1888- ), IX, pp.465-468'
^Steve Murdoch, Kathrin Zickermann and Adam Marks, ‘The Battle of Wittstock 1636: Conflicting Reports on a Swedish Victory in Germany’ in Northern Studies, 43 (2012), pp.71-109
Sources
Crossland, David (31 July 2007), "Mass Grave Sheds Light on Europe's Bloody History", Der Spiegel
Hall, Allen (4 August 2007), , The Independent, archived from the original on 1 October 2007. — originally published in the Independent under the byline of "Allen Hall in Berlin" on Page 29.
Guthrie, William P. (2003), "The 1636 Campaign", The Later Thirty Years War: From the Battle of Wittstock to the Peace of Westphalia, Contributions in Military Studies, vol. 222 (illustrated ed.), Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 43–61, ISBN9780313324086
Reuters agency report (25 July 2007), "Pictures of the remains of soldiers killed during the Battle of Wittstock", China Daily{{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
Trueman, Chris (16 February 2011), Thirty years War
Wilson, Peter (2009). Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War. Allen Lane. ISBN978-0713995923.
battle, wittstock, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, written, like, personal, reflection, personal, essay, argumentative, essay, that, stat. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article is written like a personal reflection personal essay or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor s personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle of Wittstock took place during the Thirty Years War 1618 1648 It was fought on 24 September Julian calendar or 4 October Gregorian calendar 1636 A Swedish allied army commanded jointly by Johan Baner and Alexander Leslie decisively defeated a combined Imperial Saxon army led by Count Melchior von Hatzfeld and the Saxon Elector John George I Battle of WittstockPart of the Thirty Years WarDate4 October 1636LocationWittstock Electorate of Brandenburg present day Brandenburg Germany ResultSwedish victoryBelligerentsSweden Holy Roman Empire SaxonyCommanders and leadersJohan Baner Lennart Torstensson Alexander Leslie James KingGraf von Hatzfeldt John George IStrength17 000 1 60 guns18 000 1 32 gunsCasualties and losses3 500 dead or wounded 2 15 flags5 000 2 2 000 dead 3 000 captured 32 guns 151 flags and baggageWittstockclass notpageimage Location within BrandenburgShow map of BrandenburgWittstockWittstock Germany Show map of Germany Leslie and Baner commanded two distinct armies Baner commanded the Swedish main army huvudarmen and Leslie commanded the Army of the Weser Their subordinate officers included the Swedish Count and Major General Lennart Torstenson Lieutenant General James King later first Lord Eythin and Major General John Ruthven The latter is sometimes erroneously conflated with his uncle Patrick Ruthven who was also a Lieutenant General in the Swedish army but not present at Wittstock 3 Contents 1 Context 2 The battle 3 Conclusion 4 Maps 5 References 6 SourcesContext EditThe Holy Roman Emperor with his Saxon and Roman Catholic allies was fighting for the control of northern Germany against the Swedes and an alliance of Protestant princes opposed to Habsburg hegemony The Swedes were also allied to the French but the latter played no part in the battle The Imperial main army was screening the Swedish army behind the Elbe while a smaller army under General Klitzing was overrunning Brandenburg Field Marshal Johan Baner commanding the main Swedish army was joined by Field Marshal Alexander Leslie commanding the Army of the Weser which comprised German Scottish and at least one English regiments Together they crossed the Elbe with a surprise march and met their opponents in the forested hilly landscape slightly south of Wittstock The Imperial army was larger in strength than the Swedish army but at least one third of it was composed of Saxon units of questionable quality The Swedish artillery was considerably stronger leading the Imperial commanders to maintain a largely defensive position on the hill tops The battle EditThe Imperial forces decided to wait for the Swedes on a range of sandy hills the Scharfenberg A part of the Imperial front was further defended with six ditches and a wall of linked wagons Their commanders waited for some time for the Swedish troops to appear on the open fields to their front Instead the Swedish army was turning the Imperial left flank moving behind the cover of a series of linked hills The Imperial troops were forced to redeploy their lines to set up a new front The battle was begun by small forces detached in detail to secure the hills The Swedes under Baner had problems moving up reinforcements through marshy ground but battle was eventually joined along a wide front Baner and Leslie had detached one fourth of the army under Lieutenant General James King and Major General Torsten Stalhandske to take a long detour around the Imperial right flank They found the traverse difficult and slow leading Baner s troops to take heavy casualties and begin to retreat Alexander Leslie moved five of his regiments to his relief taking heavy casualties in the process with the Scottish and English regiments being particularly badly mauled Nonetheless they were able to relieve Baner in time for King s cavalry to finally outflank the Imperial troops causing a rout With Major General Vitzthum in the reserve refusing to engage the Imperials his role was taken by Major General John Ruthven Leslie s son in law who had been so deployed for just such an emergency Now attacked on two fronts and with the reserve brigades engaged the Imperial forces having lost all their artillery retreated under the cover of dusk in full rout Conclusion EditIn the accounts of the battle preserved in National Archives of Sweden Johan Baner accredits the victory to Field Marshal Leslie Leslie in his personal correspondence to the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna was clearly horrified at the losses sustained by his army and implies that there had been disagreement about the wisdom of Baner s tactics before the battle A third report by James King conforms with Leslie s but also contains additional information All three have been transcribed translated and published in English 4 Nevertheless Wittstock was a resounding victory for the Swedish forces and corrected any delusions harboured by the Imperials that they were a spent force after the earlier battle of Nordlingen Maps Edit Initial Swedish attack and Imperial realignment Swedish breakthrough and Imperial retreat References Edit a b Wilson 2009 p 582 a b Wilson 2009 p 583 Rikskansleren Axel Oxenstiernas Skrifter och Brefvexling Second Series 13 vols Stockholm 1888 IX pp 465 468 Steve Murdoch Kathrin Zickermann and Adam Marks The Battle of Wittstock 1636 Conflicting Reports on a Swedish Victory in Germany in Northern Studies 43 2012 pp 71 109Sources EditCrossland David 31 July 2007 Mass Grave Sheds Light on Europe s Bloody History Der Spiegel Hall Allen 4 August 2007 Mass grave offers a glimpse of wartime life in 17th century The Independent archived from the original on 1 October 2007 originally published in the Independent under the byline of Allen Hall in Berlin on Page 29 Guthrie William P 2003 The 1636 Campaign The Later Thirty Years War From the Battle of Wittstock to the Peace of Westphalia Contributions in Military Studies vol 222 illustrated ed Greenwood Publishing Group pp 43 61 ISBN 9780313324086 Reuters agency report 25 July 2007 Pictures of the remains of soldiers killed during the Battle of Wittstock China Daily a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a author has generic name help Trueman Chris 16 February 2011 Thirty years War Wilson Peter 2009 Europe s Tragedy A History of the Thirty Years War Allen Lane ISBN 978 0713995923 Coordinates 53 09 49 N 12 29 08 E 53 1636 N 12 4855 E 53 1636 12 4855 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Wittstock amp oldid 1150640199, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
