Battle of Rathenow
| date | June 15, 1675 |
|---|---|
| place | Rathenow in Brandenburg |
| output | Brandenburg victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Colonel Wangelin |
Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger |
| Troop strength | |
| about 700 men | about 1000 men |
| losses | |
|
390 dead |
50 dead and wounded |
.svg){kind=small}
Northern War (1674–1679)
Rathenow - Nauen - Fehrbellin - Wismar - Wolgast 1675 - Wolgast 1676 - Bornholm - Öland - Peenemünder Schanze - Stettin (1676/77) - Køgebucht - Bergen - Warksow - Rügen (1678) - Stralsund (1678) - Greifswald - Tilsit - Splitter - Telschi - Porta Westfalica
The Battle of Rathenow or the attack on Rathenow was the first battle between the troops of Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden in the Swedish-Brandenburg War .
The battle took place on June 15, Jul. / June 25, 1675 greg. and ended with the capture of the city of Rathenow , which had been occupied by the Swedes in advance, by the Brandenburgers.
Among the Swedes, led by Colonel Wangelin , about 700 men, with the Brandenburgers, commanded by Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger and General von Götze, about 1,000 men participated in the battle.
Prehistory of the battle
The Swedish troops had invaded far into the Electorate of Brandenburg due to the lack of large Brandenburg troop contingents . Its troops were fighting the French in Bavaria. The Swedes, who surprisingly entered the war on the French side, were able to penetrate far into the electorate and occupied the city of Brandenburg under Field Marshal Wrangel without major resistance. The city of Rathenow was also occupied by Swedish troops, because Wrangel wanted to cross the Elbe from here, via Havelberg , and unite with the Hanoverian troops. The goal was to conquer the important Brandenburg fortress of Magdeburg . The Swedish advance command under Colonel Wangelin occupied Rathenow (and Havelberg) to first secure the Havel crossings and then advance to Magdeburg.
In order to stop the advance of the Swedes, the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich Wilhelm wanted to stab the Swedish troops in the back and, in turn, unite with the troops from the Magdeburg fortress.
Attack of Rathenow on June 15, 1675
The town of Rathenow is located on the eastern bank of the Havel and is protected to the west by a wide swamp area between the main arms of the Havel and was also surrounded by a moat. Only parts of the medieval fortifications were left, but they still offered adequate protection from an army that was not prepared for a long siege. So the gates were fortified and had drawbridges .
The plan of the Brandenburg troops was to penetrate through the western gate, the Haveltor . The Brandenburg troops under Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger advanced over the Havel Bridge at around 2 a.m. Derfflinger, who had been in the Swedish service for a long time during the Thirty Years' War , rode in the lead with only a few dragoons and prompted the guard with the assertion made in fluent Swedish: He was a Swedish lieutenant from the Bülow Regiment of the garrison of Brandenburg and he was there on the run from the Brandenburg troops to lower the drawbridge. This enabled the dragoons to enter the city. According to other information, the Brandenburg field marshal is said to have ridden to the gate alone and only after it had been opened did his dragoons rush to the aid to penetrate the city like a handful.
In the meantime, the Elector Major General von Götze and 600 musketeers advanced over the Mühlendamm to the Mühlentor. Here it came to a battle in which the Swedes could hold the position for the time being due to the further fortification of the city. Another unit that wanted to penetrate by barges from the Havel via the south side was also initially repulsed. Only in the second attack did the Brandenburgers succeed in penetrating the city. The attack also succeeded via the mill gate. At the same time General von Gotze had succeeded in taking the mill gate. After a fierce battle, the Swedish occupation was defeated and the commanding Swedish Colonel Wangelin capitulated.
“The very best fat man this morning we got the Basse Ratenau with a stormy hand, they defended themselves vaillamently, and as they best defended themselves, the adjutant Canolski suddenly came in with 300 servants on the side, caught Wangelin and his beloved , as well as the Obristl. and major, 2 captaines and quite a few lieutenents, and 100 common men, they were 600 men, the rest of them were all undone, we have the honest obL. Ückermann and a fendrich sambt lose 40 to 50 mean ones, it's the most beautiful action in the world, in front of the whole feindtl. Armada orders such a considerable order to win, whether God wills there is a lot more, we have our infantry with us, if we want to beat the enemy well, if God will make it easy. Goodbye, I can no longer write. Your servant and servant Friedrich L. z. Hesse"
Result and consequences of the battle
The battle claimed 390 dead and 270 prisoners among the Swedish troops. The Brandenburg troops had only 50 dead and wounded to mourn. They captured 500 to 600 horses from the Swedes.
The Swedes, who were previously invincible, had suffered their first defeat. As a result of this defeat, the Swedes had to give up their actual plan to cross the Elbe near Rathenow near Havelberg in order to attack the important Brandenburg fortress of Magdeburg from there. Instead, the Swedes, completely ignorant of the enemy’s real strength and position, were forced to retreat northward as quickly as possible in order to secure their own routes that were now threatened.
Due to the persecution of the Brandenburgers, this retreat turned into a downright haphazard escape over the next few days, which finally ended after three days on June 28 with the decisive defeat of the Swedes in the battle of Fehrbellin .