Battle of Gadebusch

Swedish soldiers in the battle of Gadebusch

Date	9 December 1712 (O.S.) 20 December 1712 (N.S.)
Location	Wakenstädt near Gadebusch, 35 km southern of Lübeck in modern Germany
Result	Swedish victory

Belligerents

Swedish Empire

Denmark–Norway

Electorate of Saxony

Commanders and leaders

Magnus Stenbock

Frederick IV

Jacob Heinrich von Flemming

Strength

12,500:

6,500 foot,
6,000 horse,
20 or 30 cannon

17,000:

8,300 Danish foot,
4,900 Danish horse,
3,800 Saxon horse,
14 cannon

Casualties and losses

1,600:

550 killed,
1,022 wounded

6,500:

2,500 killed,
4,000 captured (of which 1,500 were wounded)

Notes

^[a] The Swedes had 19 battalions and 54 (or 58) squadrons with an effective fighting force of between 12,000 and 14,000 men (6,000 being cavalry) and 20 or 30 cannons. Reportedly, the Swedish army counted 10,600 men after the battle, which, if the artillery crew of 300 men and the 1,600 losses is applied, presents a figure of 12,500 men.
^[b] The Danes had 19 (or 18) battalions and 46 (or 48) squadrons with an effective fighting force of between 13,200 and 16,000 men (about 5,000 being cavalry) and 14 cannons. The Saxons had 32 squadrons (some sources mentions 2 battalions as well) with between 3,000 and 3,800 men. In total, the Danes and Saxons had 19 battalions and 78 squadrons with between 17,000 and 20,000 men.
^[c] The Swedish losses were 29 officers killed, 62 officers wounded with between 491 and 521 commons killed and between 895 and 960 wounded. The higher number is regarded the more reliable one.
^[d] The Danes and Saxons had sustained over 2,000 or possibly 3,000 men killed in the battle. Up to 4,000 or 4,500 had been captured (about 1,700 took Swedish service after the battle) of which a third, or about 1,500 men, were wounded. The amount of wounded which slipped away in the retreat is unknown. Furthermore, 13 cannons, 2 drums and 13 standards and banners were lost to the Swedes.

12,500:

17,000:

1,600:

6,500:

The Battle of Gadebusch or Wakenstädt (20 December 1712) was Sweden's final great victory in the Great Northern War. It was fought by the Swedes to prevent the loss of the city of Stralsund to Danish and Saxon forces.

During 1712, all of Sweden's dominions south of the Baltic Sea, apart from forts, had been conquered by the allies Denmark, Saxony, and Russia. In the Baltic the Danish admiral Gyldenløve patrolled with a squadron to disrupt Swedish supply lines to the Continent. It was vital for Sweden not to lose Stralsund, as it was the gateway to campaigns in Poland.

While a Danish army moved in the region of Hamburg, a large Russian-Saxon force stood south of Stralsund. Stenbock could hardly attack this force with a frontal assault, but hoped that by moving west towards Mecklenburg it could be encircled or scattered. Such a movement would also prevent the joining of the two allied forces. The Danish army under Frederick IV of Denmark was led by general Jobst von Scholten closer to the Russian-Saxon army, and on December 3 the Danish forces reached the little town of Gadebusch, southwest of Wismar. Fortunately for Stenbock the allied movements were slowed due to disagreements among the allied commanders. On December 8 he marched the Swedish army to Gross Brütz less than ten kilometers east of Gadebusch. Now the Russian infantry was too far away to assist the Danes, but the Saxon cavalry under Jacob Heinrich von Flemming was approaching quickly.

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