Battle of Wittenweiher

Battle of Wittenweiher

Part of: Swedish-French War, Thirty Years War

Battle scene with the Swedes at Witteweiher and Kappel

date	August 9, 1638
place	Wittenweier near Schwanau , Baden
output	Victory of the troops of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar , French, Swedish, German side
consequences	The fortress of Breisach, besieged by Bernhard Sachsen-Weimar, remains very endangered if not supplied

Parties to the conflict
France , Sweden , Protestants	Imperial Bavarian troops , Catholics
Commander
Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar	Federigo Savelli Johann von Götzen
Troop strength
13,000	18,500
losses
600 dead, 1000 wounded	1,500 dead or wounded, 1,300 prisoners

The battle of Wittenweiher took place on August 9, 1638 near the village of Wittenweiher (today: Wittenweier, a district of Schwanau ), which was completely destroyed in the course of the battle.

prehistory

The Swedish-German army of General Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar , which was financed by France, had established itself on the Upper Rhine after the battle of Rheinfelden in the southwest of the empire, which was won in spring . Since 19 May this army besieged the imperial fortress Breisach and was supported by French troops, commanded by the future Marshal Turenne .

Soon after the siege began, the besieged Breisach fortress suffered from a severe shortage of food and therefore attempts to relieve and supply the fortress were urgently required. The first attempt by an Imperial Bavarian Army took place three months after the siege began, under the leadership of Generals Federigo Savelli and Johann von Götzen .

Lineup

The Imperial Bavarian Army had set out in Offenburg , had a strength of around 18,500 men and was accompanying a supply train with many food wagons for the Breisach Fortress. The advancement of this army was not hidden from Bernhard von Sachsen Weimar and he and part of his siege troops - a total of 13,000 so-called Weimarians - moved from their quarters near Langendenzlingen towards the advancing enemy. But their opponent had also heard about the departure of the Weimarians, stopped the approach and initially holed up in a fixed position near Friesenheim in order to fend off the expected attack. The Weimarians, however, did not allow themselves to be tempted to risk the risky attack and retreated to Mahlberg in the expectation that the supply convoy was destined for the Breisach fortress and therefore had to leave soon to reach its destination.

In fact, the supply train set in motion again in the direction of Breisach and began to move into a new battle line-up near the village of Wittenweiher. The right wing of the imperial troops under Götzen stood at Wittenweier and the left wing under Savelli was oriented towards Kappel .

Bernhard's troops were also deployed in an express march from Mahlberg, first had to pass a forest and a bridge in order to get to the center of the battle formation and then positioned themselves on the edge of the forest. While Reinhold von Rosen commanded the right wing, the reserve was under the command of Colonel Kanoffski (also: Chanowsky). The left wing was led by Georg Christoph von Taupadel , the reserve was by Count Wilhelm Otto von Nassau-Siegen .

Course of the battle

First the artillery opened the battle, but soon imperial cuirassiers and other cavalry on the left wing stormed under idols against the troops of Taupadel and drove the Weimaraner back so far that the reserves had to intervene. With their reinforcements, the imperial cavalry could be thrown far back and began to flee. At the same time, Rosen and Nassau attacked the Bavarian and Imperial cavalry on the right wing and pushed them back to the foot soldiers, who then fled.

Duke Bernhard now sent trumpeters and drummers into the forest to simulate an attack from a far side. The Imperialists fell for the trick and moved troops to the site of the expected attack. Now Weimaran troops could advance in the center and there was a bloody fight with naked weapons. Savelli was shot in the back and had to be transported away wounded. In the course of the fighting, the imperial army captured the Weimaran artillery, which however ran out of ammunition. At the same time, the Weimaraners also managed to capture the imperial artillery, whose crews fled or were killed. These cannons were turned upside down and used very effectively against the Imperial Bavarian troops.

After five hours the imperial family gave up the battle, cleared the field and fled in the direction of Offenburg. 4000 men under the leadership of Götzen secured the bridge for the retreat. When the Weimaraners pursued impetuously, Taupadel was taken prisoner and the Count of Nassau was wounded.

Bernhard's troops captured 12 artillery pieces, 60 flags and the entire baggage of the Imperial Bavarian troops, of which 1,500 men remained dead or wounded on the battlefield. 1,300 men were taken prisoner. About 600 dead and 1,000 wounded were counted among the Weimaraner.

consequences

Since the reinforcement from Breisach did not take place, the situation of the fortress became more and more desperate. The food was now used by the besiegers, who were also supplied with ammunition. On December 17, 1638, the most important imperial fortress in southwest Germany fell.

Memorial plaque for the "Battle of Wittenweiher"

The large ditch, which today marks the boundary between Nonnenweier and Wittenweier, is said to have turned blood red as a result of the battle, according to contemporary reports. Therefore, it is still called the blood pit today. In August 2009 a memorial plaque was placed there to commemorate the battle.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Schwanau: Memorial plaque for the battle in the Thirty Years War , Badische Zeitung, August 10, 2009, accessed on December 16, 2011

literature

• EO Schmidt, Germany's battlefields: reports on the battles that took place on German soil since 1620 - 1813 , digitized
• O. Schmidt, History of the Thirty Years War , p. 283ff, digitized
• Carl Du Jarrys de la Roche, The Thirty Years' War from a Military Point of View , Volume 3, p. 152 digitized

Web links

• Plaque
• Contemporary report
• Also a contemporary report

Coordinates: 48 ° 20 ′ 9 ″  N , 7 ° 45 ′ 37 ″  E