Battle at Luckau

Battle at Luckau

Part of: Wars of Liberation

Course of the spring campaign

date	June 4, 1813
place	Luckau
output	Victory of Prussia

Parties to the conflict
France	Prussia Russia
Commander
Charles Oudinot	Friedrich von Bülow
Troop strength
32,000	15,000
losses
2,500 dead, 800 prisoners, 3 guns	700 dead and wounded

The battle near Luckau took place on June 4, 1813 in the course of the wars of liberation against Napoleonic France . A 30,000-strong French corps under Marshal Oudinot went over the Black Elster to Sonnenwalde . It was here that the advance guard of the Prussian army corps under General von Bülow met with a surprise during its advance to Berlin , which is about 70 km further north . This had the order to secure the Mark Brandenburg and Berlin with his Prussian and Russian soldiers . The advance guard withdrew to the main army in Luckau.

The French now turned their attention to this city. They succeeded in taking the Calau suburb and occupying the gate. However, the Prussian Rittmeister von Burstini was able to carry out a successful counterattack and recapture the gate. The French made several attempts to drive the Prussians out again, but all of them failed. So they set the city on fire and withdrew. Now General von Oppen succeeded in attacking the front and the right side of the French and inflicting heavy losses on them.

By defeating Oudinot, Bülow succeeded in thwarting the advance of the French troops on the Prussian capital. Instead, the marshal withdrew to Übigau .

Luckau was badly damaged in the fighting; 120 houses, especially the entire eastern suburb of Calau, burned down and the Red Tower was damaged.

On the Schanzenberg in the west of the city you can find the former defenses of the Prussians and a memorial reminiscent of the battle.

literature

• Friedrich Rudolf von Rothenburg, Battles, sieges and skirmishes in the year 1813 , p.39

Web links

• Diary entry from June 1813 on napoleon-online.de
• Bülow saves Berlin three times