Battle of Waren-Nossentin | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Fourth Coalition | |||||||
View of Müritz Lake from St. Mary's Church tower in Waren |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of Prussia | French Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
August von Pletz Ludwig Yorck |
Marshal Bernadotte | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
4,000-5,000 4 guns |
12,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Waren: 26 Nossentin: Unknown |
Waren: over 46 Nossentin: Unknown |
The Battle of Waren-Nossentin on 1 November 1806 saw soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by August Wilhelm von Pletz and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg fight a rear guard action against troops of the First French Empire commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. Though forced to give ground, the Prussians successfully kept the French from inflicting serious loss or cutting off any units in this War of the Fourth Coalition action. Waren lies on the northern end of Lake Müritz, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of . Nossentin is a small village on the Fleesen See (Fleesen Lake) about 15 kilometres (9 mi) due west of Waren.
After the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October 1806, Emperor Napoleon launched an all-out pursuit of the defeated Prussians. At the end of October, the Franch managed to cut off and capture large numbers of Prussian soldiers near Prenzlau and Stettin. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's corps evaded capture by turning back to the west. Near Waren, Blücher linked up with another Prussian corps and the combined force withdrew to the west.
As the Prussian rear guard pulled out of Waren, the first French cavalry attacked. This action started an all-day battle between Pletz and Yorck's troops and the French. Though Bernadotte attacked vigorously, the Prussians managed to get away intact after several clashes. In contrast to their dismal performance to date, the Prussians acquitted themselves well in this fight.
The Battle of Prenzlau on 28 October 1806 ended with the capitulation of General of Infantry Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen with his surviving 10,000 Prussian troops to Marshal Joachim Murat. This disaster was followed by the Capitulation of Pasewalk on 29 October and the Capitulation of Stettin on 30 October. In the next few days, the French mopped up the Prussian forces in the area in a series of surrenders at Boldekow on 30 October, Anklam and Küstrin on 1 November, and Wolgast on 2 and 3 November.