Battle of Dessau
Engraving from the contemporary historical work Theatrum Europaeum depicting the battle at the Dessau Bridge
| date | April 25, 1626 |
|---|---|
| place | Dessau |
| output | Wallenstein's victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
imperial army |
Danish-Mansfeld Army |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 12,000 | |
| losses | |
|
3000-4000 |
|
In the Battle of Dessau during the Thirty Years War on April 25, 1626 Protestant troops under Count Mansfeld met an imperial army under Wallenstein and were defeated by it.
prehistory
In order to prevent the army of Mansfeld or the army of the Danish King Christian IV , coming from Northern Germany, from crossing the Elbe and moving in the direction of Silesia or Bohemia, Wallenstein had the first military operation after his appointment in April 1625 in the winter of 1625 / 26 the Elbe bridge near Dessau was occupied. On the right, eastern bank of the Elbe he had a small fortress built as a bridgehead, and further fortifications had also been built on the left, western bank. Thousands of the mercenaries recruited by the drafting commissioner Johann von Aldringen were used for this, but farmers in the area were also forced to serve.
course
In the spring of 1626, Peter Ernst II von Mansfeld set out from Brandenburg with his army of around 12,000 men and moved along the eastern bank of the Elbe towards Magdeburg . At the beginning of April he appeared with his army of around twelve thousand men in front of the fortress-like bridgehead of the Elbe bridge near Dessau and, in turn, had cannon-equipped entrenchments built and approved digging. Why Mansfeld decided to attack the bridge is not clear, because he could have crossed the Elbe further south. Perhaps he did not want to have an enemy behind him when he marched towards Bohemia and Austrian hereditary lands, but he must also have been concerned with renewing his withered fame and defeating the newly appointed Imperial General Wallenstein. But he had underestimated his opponent. Although Wallenstein lacked military experience at the time, he was a forward-looking and thorough planner who wanted to take his first chance to establish himself as a general and refute his opponents at the imperial court in Vienna.
Initially, Wallenstein stayed with the army under construction in his headquarters in Aschersleben , where he prepared an attack on the troops of the Danish king. He appointed his draft and payment commissioner Johann von Aldringen , who already had military experience, to be in command of the defense of the bridgehead . Two regiments were subordinate to him and thus the number of the imperial troops was hopelessly inferior to the troops of Mansfeld. However, the bridgehead was heavily fortified and Aldringen had 86 top- quality cannons that could effectively support the defensive measures. In addition, the cannons were so cleverly hidden in trenches and field fortifications that their number appeared to be fewer than they actually were. When Mansfeld ordered an assault on the bridgehead after his arrival, he failed completely. Thanks to clever defensive measures with night raids, Aldringen was able to hold the bridgehead for several days. Several times he asked Wallenstein for support and due to the increasingly difficult situation, Wallenstein moved with the entire army to the Elbe bridge, where he arrived on April 14th.
The decisive battle took place on April 25th. On the morning of the day Mansfeld decided to attack the defenders of the bridge. The battle lasted a total of six hours, making it unusually long. All attacks by Mansfeld's soldiers on the strongly fortified imperial positions were repulsed and then the counterattack followed. Covered by shelling of the left wing of the Mansfeld troops by the imperial artillery posted on the western bank of the Elbe, the imperial army, led by Wallenstein, broke out of the bridgehead and attacked. When Mansfeld had already ordered the retreat, Count Heinrich Schli (c) k's cuirassiers attacked Mansfeld's flank from an ambush in a small forest, which turned the orderly retreat into a wild escape. The regiment of Count Schli (c) k had Wallenstein secretly dragged across the bridge during a break in the battle in the morning and let themselves be hidden in the grove. When Mansfeld's powder wagon also exploded at last, the Mansfeld troops believed themselves to be surrounded on all sides and the already existing chaos increased.
The battle cost the lives of about three to four thousand Mansfeld soldiers, including high-ranking officers, colonels and captains. Around 1,500 men were captured and, according to the military rules of the time, incorporated into Wallenstein's army a little later. Wallenstein pursued Mansfeld to Zerbst until evening , but did not resume the pursuit the next day, but returned to Aschersleben. There were only about 5,000 men left of Mansfeld's army.
aftermath
The battle of Dessau was Wallenstein's first military success in the service of the imperial Habsburgs, and he proudly reported in letters to the emperor
- Can E. obediently leave the Imperial Majesty untouched, as today God, who always stood by E. Majesty in a just cause, gave me the good fortune that I hit the Mansfelder on the head.
At the imperial court in Vienna, however, Wallenstein was accused of not having used the success to finally defeat Mansfeld. Wallenstein, however, was skeptical about further developments and justified the refusal to persecute Mansfeld, criticized at the court in Vienna, with dangers in Central Germany threatened by the Danish king, with the poor supply situation for the army and with the threatened mutiny of the soldiers. In fact, Mansfeld recovered very quickly from the defeat, moved to the defenseless Brandenburg and replenished his troops with Scots, Danes and the army of Duke Johann Ernst von Weimar . After only six weeks in the Altmark , Mansfeld's army had the same troop strength as before the battle.
Even Johann von Aldringen stressed in letters to Vienna his achievements in battle and was then to Baron appointed. Wallenstein found out about this correspondence and disrespectfully called Aldringen an "ink blot", alluding to his low origin and his former work as a secretary. Aldringen never forgave Wallenstein's derisive remark and 10 years later he was involved in the plot that led to his deposition and, in February 1634, to the murder of Wallenstein.
Individual evidence
- ↑ quoted from Golo Mann, p. 324
- ↑ Wallenstein. His life is told by Golo Mann . Fischer, Frankfurt / Main 1971, ISBN 3-10-047903-3 (hardback) and Fischer, Frankfurt / Main 1997, ISBN 3-596-13654-7 (paperback).
- ↑ CV Wedgwood: The 30 Years War . Paul List Verlag Munich 1967. (p. 183) ISBN 3-517-09017-4
literature
- Walter Krüssmann: Ernst von Mansfeld (1580–1626). Count's son, mercenary leader, war entrepreneur against Habsburg in the Thirty Years War . Berlin 2010 (Duncker & Humblot, Historical Research , Vol. 94), ISBN 978-3-428-13321-5 ; on the battle of Dessau pp. 588-595.
- Golo Mann : Wallenstein . 6th edition, Frankfurt / Main 2005, ISBN 3-596-13654-7 .
- Cicely Veronica Wedgwood: The 30 Years War . 8th edition, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-471-79210-4 .
