The Battle of Wittstock was fought on 24 September (Julian calendar) or 4 October (Gregorian calendar) 1636, between a Protestant Swedish army and an alliance of the Holy Roman Empire and Saxony.
The Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, with his Saxon and Roman Catholic allies, was contesting Northern Germany with the Swedes. The German main army was screening the Swedish army behind the Elbe while a smaller army under General Klitzing was overrunning B...
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The Battle of Wittstock was fought on 24 September (Julian calendar) or 4 October (Gregorian calendar) 1636, between a Protestant Swedish army and an alliance of the Holy Roman Empire and Saxony.
The Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, with his Saxon and Roman Catholic allies, was contesting Northern Germany with the Swedes. The German main army was screening the Swedish army behind the Elbe while a smaller army under General Klitzing was overrunning Brandenburg. Baner crossed the Elbe with a surprise march and the Swedish army intercepted their opponents in the forested hilly landscape slightly south of Wittstock.
The German army was equal in strength to the Swedish army, but at least one-third of it was composed of Saxon units of questionable quality. The Swedish artillery was considerably stronger, leading the German commanders to adopt a defensive stance.
The Germans decided to wait for the Swedes on a range of sandy hills, the Scharfenberg. A part of the German front was further...
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