Battle of Pułtusk (1703)
Battle of Pułtusk | |||||||
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Part of Great Northern War | |||||||
Battle of Pultusk, 1703. The Swedish army upper left, Saxon army upper right. The final battle at the bridge, low center. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Swedish Empire | Saxony | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Charles XII | Adam Heinrich von Steinau | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
3,000 cavalry[1] | 3,500 cavalry[2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
60:[3] 40 wounded |
1,300:[3] 800 captured |
The Battle of Pułtusk took place on April 21, 1703 in
Charles later went on to take Toruń (Thorn) in December.[4]
Background
In the first months of 1703 the war in Poland ceased. In March,
Battle
Field Marshal Adam Heinrich von Steinau, who commanded the Saxon army, had no idea of the actual strength of the Swedes and initially only expected a smaller battle. When he saw the entire cavalry, he assumed that the Swedish infantry was also present. He immediately had his troops withdraw to Pułtusk. Charles XII had the retreat route of the Saxons cut off by a dragoon regiment. The Swedish dragoons managed to penetrate the town at the same time as the Saxons, whereupon Charles XII streamed in with the rest of the cavalry. Lithuanians and Saxons fled the town across the bridge of the southern arm of the Narew with almost no resistance. They demolished the bridge too soon to prevent the Swedes from persecuting it. Due to the failure of the only escape route, many Saxons who were still in the town were cut off and were massacred, driven into the river or captured by the attacking Swedes. Soon the southern bridge could be restored so that the pursuit of the fleeing Saxons and Lithuanians could be resumed.
Result
The battle cost the Swedes only forty men, while the Saxons and Lithuanians had several hundred dead and 700 prisoners. Field Marshal Steinau was able to escape while August II was staying in Marienburg, where he was watching a play in which the Saxons defeated the Swedes.
References
- ^ Sundberg, Ulf, Sveriges krig, Del 3: 1630–1814. Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek (2010). p. 223.
- ^ Fr. Rudolf Antoni, Fälttåget i Polen, 1703. Berlingska boktryckeriet 1915. p. 33.
- ^ a b Fr. Rudolf Antoni, Fälttåget i Polen, 1703. Berlingska boktryckeriet 1915. p. 34.
- ISBN 9781851096671