Battle of Dennewitz

Battle of Dennewitz, visible in the middle is the Swedish crown prince Karl Johan with lancers behind him, to the right Prussian infantry can be seen formed into a square. Painting by Alexander Wetterling 1842.

Date	6 September 1813
Location	South of Berlin
Result	Coalition victory

Belligerents

French Empire

Kingdom of Prussia

Russian Empire

Sweden

Commanders and leaders

Michel Ney

Nicolas Oudinot

Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow

Bogislav von Tauentzien

Strength

60,000

100,000

Casualties and losses

21,000

7,000–10,000

The Battle of Dennewitz (German: Schlacht von Dennewitz) took place on 6 September 1813 between the forces of the First French Empire and an army of Prussians and Russians of the Sixth Coalition. It occurred in Dennewitz, a village in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, near Jüterbog, 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Berlin.

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. Marshal Oudinot's corps advanced towards this objective along three separate roads. The fighting that took place on 23 August was essentially three isolated actions at Blankenfield, Grossbeeren, and Sputendorf. In each case the Allies prevailed and Oudinot retreated to Wittenberg. At this point Napoleon appointed Marshal Michel Ney to command.

Ney, with around 58,000 men, 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. He encountered mixed elements of Prussian, Russian, and Swedish troops under the overall command of Crown Prince Charles John of Sweden (formerly French Marshal Bernadotte) at Dennewitz. Ney had decided to move his entire army down a single road and was shadowed to the north by Bülow's III Corps. While this allowed Ney to maintain communications with his entire army, the single road stacked his army for miles. As a result, the battle swayed back and forth with the arrival of fresh French and Allied reinforcements throughout its course.

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