Battle of Halberstadt

Battle of Halberstadt
Part of theWar of the Fifth Coalition
Plan of the storming of Halberstadt
Date 29 to 30 July 1809 Location Halberstadt,now in theGermanstate ofSaxony-Anhalt 51°53′45″N11°2′48″E Result Victory for the Brunswick Ducal Corps
Belligerents
Black Brunswickers	Kingdom of Westphalia
Commanders and leaders
Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel	Pierre Simon Mayronnet, Count Wellingerode
Strength
2,110	1,980 plus local troops
Casualties and losses
c. 400	c. 600 and 2,080 captured

War of the Fifth Coalition:
Rebellion Brunswick

200km
125miles

Ölper

3

Halberstadt

2

Gefrees

1

  

The color black indicates the current battle.

TheBattle of Halberstadttook place on 29 and 30 July 1809 atHalberstadtin theKingdom of Westphalia,during theWar of the Fifth Coalition.A Westphalianinfantryforce attempted to halt theBlack BrunswickersunderFrederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttelwho were heading forNorth Seacoast. However, the Brunswickers surprised the Westphalians by a rapid advance and defeated them inside the town.

Background

Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttellost his father in battle and his duchy toNapoleon Bonapartewho incorporated it in his Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807, ruled by his brotherJérôme Bonaparte.In exile in Austrian controlledBohemia,Duke Frederick raised a volunteer force orfreikorpsto fight the French and their German allies. The volunteers were equipped by theAustrian Empire;the main colour of their uniforms was black, giving rise to the epithet ofSchwarze Schar( "Black Horde" ) but were known in English as the "Black Brunswickers".The corps campaigned with theAustrian Armyin the summer of 1809, but when the Austrians concluded theArmistice of Znaimon 12 July, the duke refused to be bound by it and declared his intention to join with the forces of theUnited Kingdom,the only power of theFifth Coalitionwho were still fighting Napoleon.

The Duke of Brunswick and his corps began their remarkable fighting march towards the north German coast atZwickauon 24 July. Entering the town ofHallein Westphalia on 26 July, the duke appropriated its civic funds. This prompted Jérôme to order three generals,Jean-Jacques Reubell(also spelt Reubel or Rewbel in various accounts), Pierre Guillaume Gratien andClaude Ignace François Michaud,to gather their forces and destroy the Brunswickers.

The battle

An artist's impression of Duke Frederick William leading the storming of Halberstadt. Engraving by Hermann Lüders (1836–1908) published in 1870.

The nearest troops to the duke's line-of-march were the 1,980 strong 5th Westphalian Infantry Regiment, who formed the garrison ofMagdeburg;they were ordered to join forces with Reubell's division before engaging the Brunswickers. The 5th Infantry, led by Colonel Pierre Simon Mayronnet (Count Wellingerode), reached Halberstadt at 11 am on 29 July, still 150 kilometres from Reubel. At 1 pm, localgendarmeswarned Wellingerode that the Brunswickers were inQuedlinburg,some 14 kilometres distant. The Westphalians took little immediate action, possibly believing that the Brunswickers would take a considerable time to cover the distance and was apparently surprised to find that they were approaching the town at 5 pm. Sending out hisvoltigeursto form a skirmish line, Wellingerode sent the rest of his infantry to defend the gates of the medieval town walls, supported by the troops of the town's garrison.At 7 pm, the duke led one column against the Harsleber Gate while a second attacked the Kuhlinger Gate and a third, the Johannis Gate. Despite a spirited defence, all three gates were breached and obstructions, including carts full of manure, were cleared away. The Brunswickers rushed into the town shouting theirbattle cryofSeig oder todt!( "Victory or death!" ); when the cavalry reached themain squarethey found the powerful regimental reserve, but this contingent, believing that they were surrounded by superior forces, surrendered.By midnight, most of the town was under Brunswick control; only the 5th Infantry's twogrenadiercompanies held out by barricading themselves into some large houses, but finally surrendered at 5 am when the duke brought his artillery into position outside.Westphalian losses were about 600 dead and wounded, with 2,080 taken prisoner and theregimental colourscaptured. The Brunswick Corps lost about 400 killed and wounded.

An artist's impression of Brunswick lineinfantry(left) andsharpshooters(right), as they appeared in 1809

Aftermath

The Duke of Brunswick resumed his march on the same day, 30 July, taking with him 200 of his prisoners who had decided to join his corps. He headed first to his former capital, the city ofBrunswick,where he hoped to gain more recruits; however, few were forthcoming. Although his path was successfully blocked by Reubell outside Brunswick at theBattle of Ölperon 1 August, the Westphalians gave away their advantage by withdrawing under cover of darkness and allowing the Black Brunswickers to continue their march northwards.Closely pursued by their enemies, they finally reached the coast atElsflethon 6 August, where they embarked onRoyal Navyships and sailed for England.The Brunswick Corps went on to fight with theBritish Armyin thePeninsular Warand theWaterloo Campaign.

References

• Gill, John H. (2010).With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign.Frontline Books.ISBN978-1848325821.
• Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1990).The Napoleonic Source Book.Guild Publishing.ISBN978-1854092878.
• Pivka, Otto von (1985).Brunswick Troops, 1809-15.Osprey Publishing.ISBN978-0850456134.

External links

• Media related toBattle of Halberstadtat Wikimedia Commons