The Battle of Werben was a battle of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, fought on 7 August 1631 ( N.S.),Henrik O. Lunde: A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower 1611-1721, 2014, p.109. between the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. The Swedes had 15,100 soldiers and were led by Gustavus Adolphus, while the Imperialists had 16,200 soldiers and were led by Field-Marshal

Count Tilly Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League (Ge ...

. Tilly's troops attacked Gustavus' entrenchments in front of Werben (Elbe), but Swedish batteries and the cavalry under

Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin or Bauditz (1579–1646) was a distinguished Protestant German cavalry commander who rose to the rank of field marshal during the Thirty Years' War. He was a member of the Baudissin family, an old noble family of Lus ...

forced them to retreat, at the cost of 1,000 Imperials and 200 Swedes. Gustavus inflated Imperial losses to 7,000 to win German support.

References

Bibliography

* George Bruce. ''Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles''. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (). * * 1631 in Europe Werben Werben Werben Werben Werben 1631 in the Holy Roman Empire Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden {{Sweden-battle-stub