Battle of Dennewitz

In late August 1813, Napoleon decided to order a general offensive to take Berlin, the Prussian capital, with the overall goal of knocking the Prussians out of the war. Berlin and its environs was defended by the Coalition's Army of the North, composed of Prussian, Russian and Swedish troops, under the command of Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden (formerly French Marshal Bernadotte). Marshal Oudinot's three corps advanced towards this objective along three separate roads. The Army of the North was prepared for battle and well positioned along an east–west axis.[5] The heavy fighting that took place on 23 August was essentially three isolated actions at Blankenfield, Grossbeeren, and Sputendorf, but is known as the Battle of Grossbeeren. In each case the Allies prevailed and Oudinot retreated to Wittenberg. At this point Napoleon appointed Marshal Michel Ney to command.

Ney, with around 60,000, renewed the advance on Berlin on 6 September, but moving first easterwards in order to advance on Berlin from the Southeast. This was because he mistakenly expected Napoleon, away to the southeast near Dresden, to support him from this direction. Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden (formerly French Marshal Bernadotte), learning from Oudinot's first attack at Großbeeren, wherein the French were strung out on the few north–south roads south of Berlin, laid a trap.[6] Coalition forces were established in a defensive disposition wherein any Allied corps that came into contact with the main French thrust were to engage and hold them in order to gain time for the rest of the army to arrive and administer the killing blow via the plentiful east–west roads and open terrain of the region. Ney had decided to move his entire army down a single road and was shadowed to the north by Bülow's III Corps where they collided at Dennewitz. While this allowed Ney to maintain communications with his entire army, the single road stacked his army for miles as Bernadotte had anticipated. As a result, the battle swayed back and forth with the arrival of fresh French and Allied reinforcements throughout its course.

The Prussian General Tauentzien was at Jüterbog, blocking Ney's route to Berlin. Ney's troops reached Dennewitz as Bülow was approaching Jüterbog along an eastward route to their north. To keep Tauentzien and Bülow from uniting, the French occupied the heights north of Dennewitz now known as the Denkmalsberg (Monument Hill). Despite early damage done to Tauentzien's Corps, Bülow saved the situation by taking the hill. This was followed by a charge of the Brandenburg Dragoons down the hill. This gave time for the Prussian units which had earlier wavered to regroup.

Bülow memorial

There were signs that all was not well in the French army at this time. The French Empire, bogged down and losing the Peninsular War in Spain, was also seriously short of cavalry troops and mounts since the 1812 Russian campaign. As a result, there was a lack of screening and reconnaissance. The French command situation was also strained, as Oudinot was angered at being placed under Ney's command. Marshal Ney was determined to advance with all haste to Berlin and this, combined with the poor reconnaissance, allowed the French army to walk right into an assembled Allied defense. Initially forced back, the Prussian elements of Bernadotte's army were reinforced by General Bülow and recovered the lost ground. Bülow would now assume command of the allied side for most of the remainder of the day.

A see-sawing battle now developed, but just as the French appeared on the verge of a victory, Ney, hindered by a lack of support from Oudinot, made a mistake that swung the battle. Having joined in the fighting personally and being unaware of the tactical situation due to a rainstorm on the battlefield, Ney ordered Oudinot to form a reserve. This pull back by Oudinot was perceived as a retreat and the Allies redoubled the attack.

Under great pressure, the French were forced back. It was at this time that Bernadotte arrived with the remainder of the Army of the North, including his Swedish Corps, on the French left flank and proceeded to attack with seventy fresh battalions.[7] The French, already falling back under heavy pressure, became disorganized and were utterly routed. The French losses were heavy. They lost 400 vehicles, 50 guns, 4 Eagles and over 20,000 casualties, while the Allies lost some 10,000.[8] During the pursuit that evening, and into the following day, the Swedish and Prussian cavalry took a further 13,000-14,000 prisoners.[9]

Memorial of the battle, built by Schinkel

The Allied victory at Dennewitz sent shockwaves through Germany where French rule had become unpopular. Tyrol rose in revolt and Bavaria withdrew from the war as a result of the failure of the Berlin campaign. Other German states were now wavering in their support of the French Empire. Playing on this wave of German nationalism, Bernadotte issued a proclamation that invited the Saxon Army, with whom he was personally popular, as he had commanded them during the Wagram Campaign of 1809, to defect from the French cause and join his army. Saxon discontentment was high and Saxon officers openly toasted the Swedish Crown Prince. The King of Saxony had to re-affirm the loyalty of his wavering Army in a memorandum written to Napoleon. However, a month later the Saxons accepted Bernadotte's invitation and switched sides at a crucial moment during the Battle of Leipzig, dooming the French to defeat.[10]

The French defeat threw Napoleon's plans into disarray. Napoleon upbraided Ney for his failures and began to plan a new campaign which he would lead personally with the intent to not only take the Prussian capital, but to also drive Bernadotte and his army back to Stralsund and into the sea and cause a rift between the Prussian, Russian and Swedish allies. Napoleon also wished to punish what he considered perfidy on the part of his ex-Marshal as well as undermine the new Crown Prince's popularity with his adopted homeland. However, Blücher and Bernadotte kept a wary eye on the Emperor's movements, maneuvered to avoid his advances, and in mutual support advanced when the other was forced to retreat, ultimately preventing Napoleon from catching either army out in the open and leading to his decision to finally accept battle at Leipzig.[11]

The victors of Dennewitz were highly decorated for their impressive feat of arms. Bernadotte was given the prestigious Russian Order of St. George, First Class Grand Cordon, awarded only to generals-in-chief upon victory in a battle of high importance, the grade of the Order of whom he was the only current living member, the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (then a brand new honor) and the Austrian Order of Maria Theresa.[12] For his superb generalship and courage during the battle, Friedrich Wilhelm von Bülow was awarded the Grand Cross of the Swedish Order of the Sword on the battlefield by Bernadotte and was subsequently ennobled as Graf von Dennewitz by the King of Prussia.[13]

• Barton, Sir Dunbar Plunket. Bernadotte: Prince and King. John Murray. 1925.
• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. Easton Press. 1991.
• Elting: Swords around a throne.
• http://www.napoleonguide.com/battle_dennewit.htm
• http://www.napoleonicsociety.com/english/scholarship97/c_oudinot.html
• Scott, Franklin D. Bernadotte and the Fall of Napoleon. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. 1935.
• Smith, Digby, Napoleonic Battles Data Book, Greenhill, 1998.
• Tingsten, Lars. Huvuddragen av Sveriges Krig och Yttre Politik, Augusti 1813-Januari 1814. Stockholm. 1924.
• Wencker-Wildberg, Friedrich. Bernadotte: A Biography. Jarrolds, 1935.

• The Battle of Dennewitz 1813, troops, color map, battle