Battle of Dennewitz
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| Battle of Dennewitz | |||||||
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| Part of the War of the Sixth Coalition | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Empire |
 Kingdom of Prussia, Russian Empire |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Nicolas Oudinot, Michel Ney |
 Crown Prince Charles John, Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 58,000 | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 10,000 | 7,000 | ||||||
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The Battle of Dennewitz (German: Schlacht von 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 three 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 Wittenberg. At this point Napoleon appointed Marshal Michel 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 Bülow and recovered the lost ground. 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. 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. Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow was entitled "Count of Dennewitz".
[edit] Order of battle
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Allies
Commander: Bulow
3 Korps: Hohenzollern
- 3rd Bde: Hessen-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: Tauentzien: lightly engaged.
Swedish Corps: not engaged.
KEY: IR = Infantry Regiment, LW = Landwehr (militia), W = West, E = East, Prus = Prussian, Res = Reserve. Bde = Brigade; Prussian infantry brigades were division-sized.
French Empire
Commander: Marshal Ney
IV Corps: General Bertrand
- 12th Division (French): Morand: 1st Bde. Belair (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Toussaint.
- 15th Division (Italian): Fontanelli: 1st Bde. St Andre, 2nd Bde. Moroni, 3rd Bde. Martel.
- 38th Division (Wurttemberg): Franquemont: 1st Bde. Stockmayer, 2nd Bde. Spitzenberg.
- Cavalry IV: 24th Lt Cav Bde. Jett: (Wurttemberg & Poles).
- Artillery IV: 12-pdr Foot (2 batteries), 6-pdr Horse (3 batteries).
VII Corps: 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): Durutte: 1st Bde. Devaux (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Jarry (Lt inf), 3rd Bde. Lindenau (Wurzburg), 4th Bde. Zoltowski (Poles).
- Cavalry VII: Saxon Bde. (Hussars, Lancers).
- Artillery VII (Saxon): 12-pdr Foot, 6-pdr Horse (2 batteries).
XII Corps: Marshal Oudinot
- 13th Division: Pacthod (French): 1st Bde. Bardet (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Cacault.
- 14th Division Guilleminot (French): 1st Bde. Gruyer (Lt inf), 2nd Bde. Villeret.
- 29th Division (Bavarian): Raglovich: 1st Bde. Beckers, 2nd Bde. La Traille.
- Cavalry XII: 29th Lt Cav Bde. Wolff (Westphalian & Hessian).
- Artillery XII (Bav): 12-pdr Foot (2 batteries).
III Cavalry Corps: General Arrighi
- 5th Lt Cav: Lorge: 12th Lt Cav Bde. Jacquinot, 13th Lt Cav Bde. Merlin.
- 6th Lt Cav: Fournier: 14th Lt Cav Bde. Mouriez.
- 4th Heavy Cav: Defrance: Bde. Avice (Dragoons), Bde. Quinette (Dragoons).
- 8th Lt Cav: Kruckowiecky: (Poles)
KEY: Lt inf = light infantry, Bde = Brigade.
[edit] References
Elting: Swords around a throne. http://www.napoleonguide.com/battle_dennewit.htm http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/scholarship97/c_oudinot.html http://opusnet.com/jac4789/scenarios/dennewitz.htm Smith, Digby, Napoleonic Battles Data Book, Greenhill, 1998.
