The Battle
The Imperial forces decided to wait for the Swedes on a range of sandy hills, the Scharfenberg. A part of the Imperial front was further defended with six ditches and a wall of linked wagons. Their commanders waited for some time for the Swedish troops to appear on the open fields to their front. Instead, the Swedish army was turning the Imperial left flank, moving behind the cover of a series of linked hills. The Imperial troops were forced to redeploy their lines to set up a new front.
The battle was begun by small forces detached in detail to secure the hills. The Swedes, under Baner and Leslie had problems moving up reinforcements through marshy ground, but battle was eventually joined along a wide front.
Baner and Leslie had detached one-fourth of the army under General James King, General John Ruthven and General Torsten Stålhandske to take a long detour around the Imperial right flank. They found the traverse difficult leading Baner's troops to take heavy casualties. Alexander Leslie moved six of his regiments to his relief taking heavy casualties in the process with the Scottish and English regiments being particularly badly mauled. Nonetheless they were able to relieve Baner in time for King's cavalry to finally outflank the Imperial troops causing a rout. Now attacked on two fronts, the Imperial forces, having lost all their artillery, retreated under the cover of dusk in full rout.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Wittstock
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“A woman watches her body uneasily, as though it were an unreliable ally in the battle for love.”
—Leonard Cohen (b. 1934)
“Nelson’s famous signal before the Battle of Trafalgar was not: “England expects that every man will be a hero.” It said: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” In 1805 that was enough. It should still be.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)