Battle of Fehrbellin

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Fehrbellin


caption=
partof=the Northern Wars
date=June 28, 1675
place=near Fehrbellin, Germany
result= German victory
combatant1=Brandenburg
combatant2=Sweden
commander1=Georg von Derfflinger
commander2=Waldemar von Wrangel
strength1=5,600 cavalry, 13 guns
strength2=7,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 28 guns
casualties1=500 men
casualties2=2700 men The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 28, 1675 between Sweden and Brandenburg. The Swedes, under Count Waldemar von Wrangel (stepbrother of Carl Gustaf Wrangel), had invaded and occupied parts of Brandenburg from their possessions in Pomerania, but were repelled by the forces of Frederick William, the Great Elector, under Fieldmarshal Georg von Derfflinger near the town of Fehrbellin. The battle took place during the so-called Long Regency that finally led to Charles XI becoming absolute ruler in 1693.

Prelude

Prior to the battle the Swedes and Brandenburg had been allies in various wars against Poland. However, when Frederick joined an allied expedition against Louis XIV, the French persuaded Sweden (which had been increasingly isolated on the continent) to attack Brandenburg while their Army was away.

When Frederick heard of the attack and occupation of a large part of his nation, he drew his army out of the coalition and marched it 250 kilometres in only two weeks - considered one of the great marches in military history. He did it by abandoning his supply wagons and having his army buy supplies from the locals, but forbidding pillaging.

Storming of Rathenow

Once he returned to Brandenburg, Frederick William immediately realized that the Swedes were dispersed and ordered Derrflinger to take the central town of Rathenow in order to split the Swedes roughly down the middle. Frederick bribed a local official loyal to him to hold a large and elaborate banquet for the Swedish officers of the fortress in order to get them drunk before the assault began. Derfflinger then personally impersonated a Swedish officer and convinced the guards to open the gates of the town by claiming that a Brandenburg patrol was after him. Once the gates were opened for him, he personally led the charge of 1,000 dragoons against the city and the rest of the army soon followed. He was 69 years old at the time.

Opening Stages of the Battle

Once Derfflinger had expelled the Swedish forces from Rathenow, this made the Swedish lines vulnerable. The Swedish commander, Wrangel, harassed by Brandenburg raiding parties under the command of Colonel Joachim Hennings, found itself hemmed in by a destroyed bridge over the Rhin River at the town of Fehrbellin. Impassable marshes on both flanks left Wrangel little choice but to give battle here while his engineers repaired the bridge.

5,600 cavalry and 13 guns on the Brandenburg side faced 7,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 38 guns on the Swedish side. By placing his guns on a series of low hills to his left, while the Swedes had only swamps to their flanks and a river behind them, Frederick William and Derfflinger gained a decisive tactical advantage. These guns opened fire around noon on the 28th and caused heavy casualties on the Swedish right flank. The Swedes attempted several times to wrest control of the hills but were stopped each time. Frederick William had his main attack press the right flank of the Swedes, eventually causing their cavalry to flee, and exposing their infantry to a flank attack. The Brandenberg cavalry then turned and routed a regiment of Swedish infantry. The Swedish right held up long enough though for the bridge to be repaired and Wrangel was able to get a large portion of his army across before darkness fell. The Brandenburg troops lost about 500 men. Wrangel's forces, although routed, lost only about the same amount on the day of the battle, but lost much more in the coming days' retreat. Raiding parties, desertion, starvation, and other factors reduced the retreating Swedish army to a fraction of what it once was.

Historical Significance

Although militarily only of minor importance, the victory had enormous psychological impact: the Swedes, long considered unbeatable, had been bested. Frederick William henceforth was known as the Great Elector, and the army that he and Derfflinger had led to victory became the core of the future Prussian army. June 28th was a holiday that would be celebrated in Germany up until 1914, when on the same day, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, beginning World War I.

References

Citino, Robert M.. "The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years War to the Third Reich". University Press of Kansas. Lawrence, KS, 2005. ISBN 0-7006-1410-9