Battle of Dennewitz
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| War of the Sixth Coalition |
|---|
| Lützen – Bautzen – Großbeeren – Katzbach – Dresden – Kulm – Dennewitz – Leipzig – Hanau – La Rothière – Champaubert – Montmirail – Château-Thierry – Vauchamps – Montereau – Craonne – Laon – Arcis-sur-Aube – Paris |
The Battle of Dennewitz took place on 6 September 1813 between the forces of the First French Empire and an army of Prussians and Russians of the Sixth Coalition.
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[edit] Prelude
In late August 1813, Napoleon decided to order a general offensive to take Berlin, the Prussian capital, with the overall goal of knocking the Prussians out of the war. Marshal Oudinot's corps advanced towards this objective along 3 separate roads. The fighting that took place on 23 August was essentially three isolated actions at Blankenfield, Grossbeeren, and Sputendorf. In each case the Allies prevailed and Oudinot retreated to Wittenburg. At this point Napoleon appointed Marshal Ney to command.
[edit] The battle
Ney, with around 58,000 men, renewed the advance on Berlin on 6 September, encountering mixed elements of Prussian and Russian troops under the overall command of Crown Prince Charles of Sweden (formerly French Marshal Bernadotte) at Dennewitz. Ney had decided to move his entire army down a single road. While this allowed him to maintain communications with his entire army, the single road stacked his army for miles. As a result, the battle swayed back and forth with the arrival of fresh French and Allied reinforcements throughout its course.
There were signs that all was not well in the French army at this time. The French empire was seriously short of cavalry troops and mounts since the 1812 Russian campaign. As a result there was a lack of screening and reconnaissance. The French command situation was also strained, as Oudinot was angered at being placed under Ney's command. Marshal Ney was determined to advance with all haste to Berlin and this, combined with the poor reconnaissance, allowed the French army to walk right into an assembled Allied defense. Initially forced back, the Prussian elements of Bernadotte's army were reinforced by General Von Bülow and recovered the lost ground. Von Bülow would now assume command of the allied side for most of the remainder of the day.
A see-sawing battle now developed, but just as the French appeared on the verge of a victory, Ney, not helped by a lack of support from Oudinot, made a mistake that swung the battle. Having joined in the fighting personally and being unaware of the tactical situation due to a sandstorm on the battlefield, Ney ordered Oudinot to form a reserve. This pull back by Oudinot was perceived as a retreat and the Allies redoubled the attack.
Under great pressure, the French were forced back. Swedish Crown Prince Bernadotte arrived with his army on the French left flank. The French, already falling back under heavy pressure, were routed.
The French suffered 10,000 casualties, the Allies some 7,000.
[edit] Aftermath
Bavaria withdrew from the war as a result of the failure of the Berlin campaign. Other German states were now wavering in their support of the French Empire.
Sources Elting: Swords around a throne. http://www.napoleonguide.com/battle_dennewit.htm http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/scholarship97/c_oudinot.html
[edit] Order of battle
Allies
Commander: Bulow
3 Korps: Hohenzollern 3rd Bde:Hessen-Homburg 3/3/1 Line/Gn 3/3/2 Resv / Hussars 3/3/3 Landwehr 4th Brigade: Thuemen 3/4/1 Line / Hussars 3/4/2 Resv 3/4/3 Resv / Dragoons 5th Brigade: Borstell 3/5/1 Line/Gn 3/5/2 Resv / Hussars 3/5/3 Landwehr / LWC 6th Brigade: Krafft 3/6/1 Line 3/6/2 Resv / Hussars 3/6/3 Landwehr Cavalry Reserve: Oppen 3/C1 Treskow (Dragoons) 3/C2 Malzahn (Landwehr) 3: 12-pdr Foot A 3: 12-pdr Foot B 3: 12-pdr Foot C (Russ) 3: 12-pdr Foot D (Russ) 3: 6-pdr Horse A 3: 6-pdr Horse B
4 Korps: Tauentzien 4/1 Resv 4/2 Landwehr 4/3 Silesn Landwehr 4/4 Landwehr 4/5 Landwehr 4: 6-pdr Horse A
French Empire
Commander: Ney
IV corps: Bertrand 12th Division: Morand IV/12/1 Belair (legere) IV/12/2 Toussaint 15th Division (Italian): Fontanelli IV/15/1 StAndre IV/15/2 Moroni IV/15/3 Martel 38th Division (Wurt): Franquemont IV/38/1 Stockmayer IV/38/2 Spitzenberg IV/C1 (Wurt / Pol) IV/C2 Lorge (Chasseurs) IV: 12-pdr Foot A IV: 12-pdr Foot B IV: 6-pdr Horse A IV: 6-pdr Horse B IV: 6-pdr Horse C
VII Corps: Reynier 24th Division (Saxon): Lecoq VII/24/1 Brause (Gd, Lt) VII/24/2 Mellentin (Gn) 25th Division (Saxon): Sahr VII/25/1 Bosch (Gn, Lt) VII/25/2 Rissel 32nd Division: Durette VII/32/1 Devaux (legere) VII/32/2 Jarry (legere) VII/32/3 Lindenau (Wurz) VII/32/4 Zoltowski (Pol) VII/C1 (Saxon) Hussar,Lancers VII/C2 Defrance (Dragoon) VII: 12-pdr Foot A (Saxon) VII: 6-pdr Horse A (Saxon) VII: 6-pdr Horse B (Saxon)
XII Corps: Oudinot 13th Division: Pacthod XII/13/1 Bardet (legere) XII/13/2 Cacault 14th Division Guilleminot XII/14/1 Gruyer (legere) XII/14/2 Villeret 29th Division (Bavarian): Raglovich XII/29/1 Beckers XII/29/2 La Traille XII/C1 Wolff (West, Bav) XII/C2 Fournier (Chasseur,Hussar) XII: 12-pdr Foot A (Bav) XII: 12-pdr Foot B (Bav)
