Battle of Dennewitz
Battle of Dennewitz | |||||||
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Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
Painting by Alexander Wetterling, 1842 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Prussia Russia Sweden | France | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Crown Prince Charles John |
Michel Ney Nicolas Oudinot | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
80,000[4]–85,000[2][5] 150 guns[1] |
45,000[4]–70,000[1] 200 guns[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
9,700[6]–11,000[1] Details: 9,000 killed or wounded 2,000 captured[1] |
20,000[1]–23,215[3][7] 53 guns[3] Details: 10,000 killed or wounded[7][3][8] 13,500 captured[1] | ||||||
The Battle of Dennewitz (
Prelude
In late August 1813,
Battle
Ney, with around 60,000, renewed the advance on Berlin on 6 September, but moving first eastwards in order to advance on Berlin from the Southeast. This was because he mistakenly expected Napoleon, away to the southeast near Dresden, to support him from this direction. Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden, learning from Oudinot's first attack at Großbeeren, wherein the French were strung out on the few north–south roads south of Berlin, laid a trap.[11] Coalition forces were established in a defensive disposition wherein any Allied corps that came into contact with the main French thrust were to engage and hold them in order to gain time for the rest of the army to arrive and administer the killing blow via the plentiful east–west roads and open terrain of the region. Ney had decided to move his entire army down a single road and was shadowed to the north by Bülow's III Corps where they collided at Dennewitz. While this allowed Ney to maintain communications with his entire army, the single road stacked his army for miles as Bernadotte had anticipated. As a result, the battle swayed back and forth with the arrival of fresh French and Allied reinforcements throughout its course.[5][11]
The Prussian General Tauentzien was at Jüterbog, blocking Ney's route to Berlin. Ney's troops reached Dennewitz as Bülow was approaching Jüterbog along an eastward route to their north. To keep Tauentzien and Bülow from uniting, the French occupied the heights north of Dennewitz, now known as the Denkmalsberg (Monument Hill). Despite early damage done to Tauentzien's Corps, Bülow saved the situation by taking the hill. This was followed by a charge of the Brandenburg
There were signs that all was not well in the
A see-sawing battle then developed. Just as the French appeared on the verge of a victory, however, Ney, hindered by a lack of support from Oudinot, made a mistake that swung the battle in favor of the Allies. Having joined in the fighting personally and being unaware of the tactical situation due to a rainstorm on the battlefield, Ney ordered Oudinot to form a reserve. This pull back by Oudinot was perceived as a retreat and the Prussians redoubled the attack.[13]
Under great pressure, the French were forced back. It was at this time that Bernadotte arrived with the rest of the Army of the North, over 45,000 men including a Russian Corps, and the Swedish Corps. He proceeded to take the French under fire from an enormous grand battery of 150 cannon, as well as a battery of British Congreve Rockets, the first artillery rockets, commanded by their inventor Sir William Congreve himself, that supported an advance of seventy fresh infantry battalions and 10,000 cavalry into the crumbling French left flank.[5]
The French, already falling back under heavy pressure from the Prussians, became completely disorganized and were utterly routed with Prussian and Swedish cavalry in pursuit well into the following day. The French losses were heavy; suffering 10,000 casualties on the field of battle, while the Prussians lost 9,700.[6][14] During the pursuit that evening, and into the following day, the Swedish and Prussian cavalry took a further 13,000 prisoners.[5][15] The total French loss was tallied as Ney finally reached safety at Torgau with losses of 413 vehicles, 53 guns, 4 Eagles and 23,215 men.[3]
The French had been decisively defeated. Ney, upon reaching Wittenberg, wrote to Berthier: "I have been totally beaten, and still do not know whether my army has reassembled."[16]
Aftermath
The Allied victory at Dennewitz sent shockwaves through Germany where French rule had become unpopular. Tyrol rose in revolt and Bavaria withdrew from the war as a result of the failure of the Berlin campaign. Other German states then wavered in their support of the French Empire. Playing on this wave of German nationalism, Bernadotte issued a proclamation that invited the Saxon Army, with whom he was personally popular, as he had commanded them during the Wagram Campaign of 1809, to defect from the French cause and join his army. Saxon discontentment was high and Saxon officers openly toasted the Swedish Crown Prince.[9] The King of Saxony had to re-affirm the loyalty of his wavering Army in a memorandum written to Napoleon. However, a month later the Saxons accepted Bernadotte's invitation and switched sides at a crucial moment during the Battle of Leipzig, contributing to the French defeat.[17][18]
The French defeat threw Napoleon's plans into disarray. Napoleon upbraided Ney for his failures and began to plan a new campaign which he would lead personally with the intent to not only take the Prussian capital, but to also drive Bernadotte and his army back to
The victors of Dennewitz were highly decorated for their impressive feat of arms. For his superb generalship and courage during the battle, Bülow was awarded the Grand Cross of the Swedish
Order of battle
Allies
Army of the North Commander: Crown Prince Charles John
- 3 Korps: Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow
- 3rd Bde: Hesse-Homburg: 2nd E Prus Grenadier battalion, 3rd E Prus IR, 4th Res IR, 3rd E Prus LW IR, 1st Hussars.
- 4th Bde: Thuemen: 4th E Prus IR, 5th Res IR, Elbe IR, E Prus Jaegers, Pommern Kurassers.
- 5th Bde: Borstell: 1st Pommern IR, Pommern Gren bn, 2nd Res IR, 2nd Mark LW IR, Pommern Hussars.
- 6th Bde: Krafft: Kolberg IR, 9th Res IR, 1st Mark LW IR, 1st Pommern LW Cavalry.
- Cavalry Reserve: Oppen
- Bde. Treskow: Brandenburg Dragoons, Koenigin Dragoons, W Prus Uhlans.
- Bde. Malzahn: 2nd Pommern LW, 4th Kurmark LW, 2nd Kurmark LW, 2nd W Prus Dragoons.
- Bde. Cossacks: Bychalov II Pulk, Illowaisky V Pulk.
- Artillery 3: 12-pdr Foot (Prus-2 batteries), 12-pdr Foot (Russian-2 batteries), 6-pdr Horse (Prus-3 batteries), 6-pdr Foot (Prus-4 batteries).
- 4 Korps: Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien: lightly engaged.
- Swedish Corps: Field Marshal Curt von Stedingk: lightly engaged.
- Russian Corps: lightly engaged.
French Empire
Commander: Marshal Michel Ney
- IV Corps: General of Division Henri Gatien Bertrand
- 12th Division (French): Charles Antoine Morand: 1st Bde. Belair (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Toussaint.
- 15th Division (Italian): Achille Fontanelli: 1st Bde. St Andre, 2nd Bde. Moroni, 3rd Bde. Martel.
- 38th Division (Württemberg): Frederic von Franquemont: 1st Bde. Stockmayer, 2nd Bde. Spitzenberg.
- Cavalry IV: 24th Lt Cav Bde. Jett: (Württemberg & Poles).
- Artillery IV: 12-pdr Foot (2 batteries), 6-pdr Horse (3 batteries).
- VII Corps: General of Division Jean Reynier
- 24th Division (Saxon): Lecoq: 1st Bde. Brause (Guards, Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Mellentin (Grenadiers).
- 25th Division (Saxon): Sahr: 1st Bde. Bosch (Grenadiers, Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Rissel.
- 32nd Division (French): Pierre François Joseph Durutte: 1st Bde. Devaux (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Jarry (Lt inf), 3rd Bde. Lindenau (Würzburg), 4th Bde. Zoltowski (Poles).
- Cavalry VII: Saxon Bde. (Hussars, Lancers).
- Artillery VII (Saxon): 12-pdr Foot, 6-pdr Horse (2 batteries).
- XII Corps: Marshal Nicolas Oudinot
- 13th Division (French): Michel Marie Pacthod: 1st Bde. Bardet (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Cacault.
- 14th Division (French): Guilleminot: 1st Bde. Gruyer (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Villeret.
- 29th Division (Bavarian): Clemens von Raglovich: 1st Bde. Beckers, 2nd Bde. La Traille.
- 29th Lt Cav Bde. (Westphalian & Hessian): Wolff
- Artillery XII (Bavarian): 12-pdr Foot (2 batteries).
- 13th Division (French):
- III Cavalry Corps: General of Division Jean-Toussaint Arrighi de Casanova
- 5th Lt Cav: Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge: 12th Lt Cav Bde. Jacquinot, 13th Lt Cav Bde. Merlin.
- 6th Lt Cav: Fournier: 14th Lt Cav Bde. Mouriez.
- 4th Heavy Cav: Jean-Marie Defrance: Bde. Avice (Dragoons), Bde. Quinette (Dragoons).
- 8th Lt Cav (Poles): Kruckowiecky:
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bodart 1908, p. 457.
- ^ a b Leggiere 2002, p. 209.
- ^ a b c d e Leggiere 2015, p. 391.
- ^ a b Clodfelter 2008, p. 178.
- ^ a b c d e Barton 1925, pp. 91–92.
- ^ a b Leggiere 2015, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d Barton 1925, pp. 85–91.
- ^ Atteridge 1912, p. 228.
- ^ a b Scott 1935, pp. 101–103.
- ^ Chandler 1991, pp. 905–908.
- ^ a b c d Chandler 1991, pp. 908–911.
- ^ Chandler 1991, pp. 880–891.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, p. 374.
- ^ Atteridge, A. Hillard (1912). Marshal Ney: The Bravest of the Brave. P. 228. Meuthen.
- ^ Tingsten 1924, pp. 112–143.
- ^ Watson 1957, p. 214.
- ^ Scott 1935.
- ^ Barton 1925, pp. 91–99.
- ^ Barton 1925, pp. 95–100.
- ^ Leggiere 2015, pp. 385–393.
- ^ Barton 1925, pp. 91–94.
- ^ Barton 1925, pp. 95–97.
References
- Atteridge, A. Hilliard (1912). Marshal Ney: Bravest of the Brave. Meuthen.
- Barton, Sir Dunbar Plunket (1925). Bernadotte: Prince and King. John Murray.
- Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 4 June 2021.
- Clodfelter, M. (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0786433193.
- Chandler, David (1991). The Campaigns of Napoleon. Easton Press.
- Leggiere, Michael V. (2002). Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813. University of Oklahoma Press.
- Leggiere, Michael V. (2015). Napoleon and the Struggle for Germany: The Franco-Prussian War of 1813. Cambridge University Press.
- Scott, Franklin D. (1935). Bernadotte and the Fall of Napoleon. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Tingsten, Lars (1924). Huvuddragen av Sveriges Krig och Yttre Politik, Augusti 1813-Januari 1814. Stockholm.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Watson, S.J. (1957). By Command of the Emperor: A Life of Marshal Berthier. Ken Trotman.
Further reading
- Chandler, David (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 9780025236608. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- Elting. Swords around a throne.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Greenhill. ISBN 1853672769.
- Wencker-Wildberg, Friedrich (1935). Bernadotte: A Biography. London: Jarrolds. OCLC 592750.
External links
- The Battle of Dennewitz 1813, troops, color map, battle
- Dennewitz 6 September 1813
- Marshal Nicolas Charles Oudinot: Le Bayard de l'Armée Français
- Media related to Battle of Dennewitz at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of San Marcial |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Dennewitz |
Succeeded by Second Battle of Kulm |