Battle of Altenburg

The raid at Altenburg on 28 September 1813 took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition's German Campaign of 1813.[3] The raid was carried out by the Streifkorp under the command of Saxon General Johann von Thielmann commanding seven regiments of Cossacks, a squadron each of Saxon Hussars and Dragoons, and a detachment of Saxon Freikorps numbering about 1,500 cavalry. The objective of the raid was to attempt harassment of the French lines of communication 25 miles (45 km) south of Leipzig shortly before the Battle of Leipzig. The Austrian contingent was commanded by Emmanuel Mensdorff and the Russian contingent of Cossacks by Matvei Platov.[2][4]

Battle of Altenburg
Part of the German campaign of the Sixth Coalition

Battle of Altenburg engraved by Ant. Tessaro
Date28 September 1813[1]
Location
Altenburg, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
50°59′6″N 12°26′0″E
Result Coalition victory[1]
Belligerents
 Prussia
 Austria
 Russia		  France
 Baden
Commanders and leaders
Thielmann
Mensdorff
Platov		 Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes
Strength
8,000[1]
Casualties and losses
300[1] dead or wounded 600[1] dead or wounded
1,000[2]-1,400[1] taken prisoner
Battle of Altenburg is located in Europe
Battle of Altenburg
Location within Europe
War of the Sixth Coalition:
German campaign
🌍
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

Background

The battle was the culmination of a raid in which Thielmann cavalry successfully attacked Napoleon's lines of communications along the roads between Erfurt and Leipzig in the Saale valley.[2][5]

Battle

Thielmann completely surprised and routed a larger force of French cavalry, including Cavalry of the Imperial Guard and a small force of 2nd Baden Infantry Regiment (Infanterie-Regiment No.2 ‘Markgraf Wilhelm’) nominally under the command of Lefebvre-Desnouettes numbering some 8,000. The French, completely surprised, broke and fled from Altenburg losing a third of their number (2,100), in the process running over the Baden infantry which was taken prisoner despite attempting to resist.[6] Thielmann's force lost about 200 in casualties.

Notes
  1. Bodart 1908, p. 459.
  2. Jaques 2007, p. 40.
  3. p.155, Riley
  4. UMKP staff 1813, p. 330.
  5. Clarke 1815, pp. 631–632.
  6. pp. 4233-4237, Anonymous

References
  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  • Clarke, Hewson (1815). "Twelfth Bulletin". An Impartial History of the Naval, Military and Political Events in Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution to the Entrance of the Allies Into Paris, and the Conclusion of a General Peace [...]. Brightly & Childs.
  • Jaques, Tony, ed. (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-first Century (3 volumes ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. LCCN 2006015366. OCLC 68786744. OL 10420610M.
  • UMKP staff (1813). The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure. J. Hinton. p. 330.
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