| Battle of Lübeck | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Fourth Coalition and theFranco-Swedish War | ||||||||
 Prussian and French troops fighting in front of theBurgtor, drawing by Benjamin Zix (1806) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
 France |  Prussia Kingdom of Sweden |  Denmark-Norway | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
| Jean-Baptiste BernadotteJoachim MuratJean-de-Dieu Soult | Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher  | Johann Ewald | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| 30,000[1]–35,000 90 guns | Prussia: 17,000 52 guns Sweden: 1,800 Total: 15,000[1]–18,800 52 guns | N/A | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||
| 1,500–2,000[1] killed, wounded or captured | 6,000[1]–9,000[2] killed, wounded or captured 9,000 surrender on 7 November | None {{{1}}} | ||||||
  Location within Europe | ||||||||
TheBattle of Lübeck took place on 6 November 1806 inLübeck,Germany between soldiers of theKingdom of Prussia led byGebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who were retreating from defeat at theBattle of Jena–Auerstedt, and troops of theFirst French Empire underMarshalsMurat,Bernadotte, andSoult, who were pursuing them. In thisWar of the Fourth Coalition action, the French inflicted a severe defeat on the Prussians, driving them from the neutral city. Lübeck is an oldBaltic Sea port approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast ofHamburg.
After their shattering defeat in October byNapoleon at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, the Prussian armies withdrew to the east bank of theElbe River north of Magdeburg, then marched northeast, in an attempt to reach theOder River. Aiming to annihilate his opponents' forces, Napoleon launched hisGrande Armée in a headlong pursuit. A large portion of the fleeing Prussians took refuge in the fortress ofMagdeburg where they were surrounded and besieged by Ney's VI Corps. Another large segment was intercepted and destroyed in theBattle of Prenzlau by Murat. This event triggered a series of capitulations of Prussian troops and fortresses.
Blocked from reaching the Oder after Hohenloe's surrender at Prenzlau, Blücher turned and raced to the west, chased by Murat, Bernadotte, and Soult. After a number of well-fought rear guard actions, Blücher's troops forced their way into the neutral city of Lübeck, where they took up defensive positions. Bernadotte's soldiers broke through the city's northern defenses and overwhelmed the troops facing Murat and Soult. Blücher barely escaped from the city, though most of his staff was captured and Prussian casualties were enormous. The French brutally sacked Lübeck during and after the fighting. The next day, the French trapped the surviving Prussians against the Danish frontier and compelled Blücher to surrender.
Danish forces commanded byJohann Ewald were also mobilized and deployed at the nearby Danish-Prussian border with the purpose of preventing any French or Prussian forces from entering their territory (the original Prussian plan was to flee from the coming French to Denmark), as well as being ordered to protect Danish neutrality by force, if necessary; however, the Danish forces did not take any significant part in the armed struggle save for a few minor skirmishes and negotiations with both the Prussian and the French, although during these Ewald himself was briefly detained by the French.[3]
The French captured a smallSwedish force during the battle. Bernadotte's courteous and respectful treatment of its officers and soldiers would in part lead to the kingdom offering its crown to the French marshal, almost four years after this battle.
On 14 October 1806, Napoleon crushed the Prussian field armies in theBattle of Jena-Auerstedt. In the chaos after the debacle, the shattered remains of what had been three Prussian controlled armies coalesced into several major elements.General of InfantryFrederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen took command of one column that retreated through theHarz Mountains.General-Leutnant Blücher and General of InfantryFriedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth, followed in Hohenlohe's wake[4] with a 12,000-man column.[5] These forces were trailed by 12,000 troops under GeneralKarl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and General-Leutnant Christian Ludwig von Winning. The last-named corps missed Jena-Auerstedt. Meanwhile, thePrince of Orange surrendered at least 10,000 Prussians to Marshal Murat's Cavalry Corps in theCapitulation of Erfurt on 16 October.[6]
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The 16,000 fresh troops of the Prussian Reserve, commanded byEugene Frederick Henry, Duke of Württemberg, had remained atHalle since the 13th.[7] On 17 October, the 20,600 men of Marshal Bernadotte's I Corps[8] mauled Württemberg's force in theBattle of Halle.[9] The Reserve retreated toMagdeburg where it joined Hohenlohe on 20 October. Marshal Soult with the IV Corps and Murat's cavalry reached the outskirts of the city that day and demanded Hohenlohe's surrender, which he refused.[10] On the 22nd, Soult and MarshalMichel Ney's VI Corps invested the fortress on the west bank of the Elbe. After leaving what was intended to be 9,000, but thanks to miscommunication amongst the Prussians proved to be over 20,000 additional troops to man the fortress, Hohenlohe marched to the northeast viaBurg bei Magdeburg. He was soon joined by Kalckreuth who crossed the Elbe to the north atTangermünde.[11]
As Hohenloe was manoeuvring north toNeustadt an der Dosse, Blücher moved northeast fromNordhausen, through the Harz Mountains, pastBraunschweig, and boated across the Elbe atSandau on 24 October. Similarly, Saxe-Weimar marched fromBad Langensalza toMühlhausen, and on toOsterode. After feinting at Magdeburg to trick Soult, he successfully reached the Elbe at Sandau too.OberstLudwig Yorck von Wartenburg conducted a skillful action atAltenzaun on the afternoon and evening of the 26th, the Prussian rear guard holding off Soult's advance guard until Saxe-Weimar's troops safely reached the east bank, then Yorck also slipped away. At this time, Winning took over command of the column from Saxe-Weimar.[12]
Hohenlohe reachedNeustadt an der Dosse on the evening of 24 October. After he crossed the Elbe, Blücher accepted command of Hohenlohe's rear guard. There was a network of canals, along with theHavel River, that ran east and west roughly between the Elbe and Oder. Hohenlohe planned to sendGeneral-Major Christian Ludwig Schimmelpfennig von der Oye with a flying column to protect his right flank by destroying all the bridges along this stretch of water.[13]
By nightfall on 25 October, Hohenlohe's main body was betweenNeuruppin andLindow, a little farther east. General-Major von Schwerin's cavalry and Oberst von Hagen's infantry brigade marched towardWittstock. General-Major Rudolf Ernst Christoph von Bila reachedKyritz, north of Neustadt, with a cavalry-infantry brigade. Blücher's rear guard was near Neustadt, after a clash with Bernadotte's leading troops. In an ominous development, French cavalry seizedOranienburg before Schimmelpfennig arrived there.[14]
On 26 October, Murat routed Schimmelpfennig's column atZehdenick, sending the Prussians fleeing toStettin[15] after losing more than 250 cavalry from their 1,300-man force.[16] The next day, in confused fighting atBoitzenburg, Hohenlohe overcame a French road block and pressed on to the east after losing a cavalry regiment.[17] On 28 October, Murat attacked the Prussians in theBattle of Prenzlau. One of General of DivisionEmmanuel Grouchy'sdragoon brigades hewed a path through Hohenlohe's column. General of DivisionMarc Antoine de Beaumont and his 3rd Dragoon Division pounced on the now-isolated rear guard under OberstPrince Augustus of Prussia, forcing it to surrender. Murat then succeeded in bluffing Hohenlohe into capitulating, even though the Prussian was neither surrounded nor outnumbered. Not including 2,000 previous losses,[18] about 10,000 soldiers, 64 guns, and 1,800 cavalry horses fell into the hands of the French.[19]
The next day, 4,000 Prussians surrendered to two French light cavalry brigades in theCapitulation of Pasewalk. That night General of BrigadeAntoine Lasalle and his light cavalry accepted theCapitulation of Stettin after bluffing the fortress commander into surrendering with over 5,000 troops.[20] In the wake of these humiliating defeats, a number of smaller Prussian columns were mopped up. On 30 October, Major von Höpfner surrendered an artillery convoy with 600 soldiers, 25 guns, 48 wagons, and 800 horses atBoldekow south ofAnklam. Bila, his older brother General-Major Karl Anton Ernst von Bila, and their 2,173 troops laid down their arms at Anklam to General of DivisionNicolas Léonard Beker's dragoons on 1 November. Approximately 100 km to the east of Berlin, that day also saw the fortress ofKüstrin capitulate to one of MarshalLouis Davout's III Corps brigades.[21]
Leaving Ney to carry out theSiege of Magdeburg, Soult crossed the Elbe at Tangermünde and headed northeast. He reachedWusterhausen near Neustadt on 30 October, with his cavalry probing toward Wittstock. Farther to the east, Bernadotte captured a Prussian supply convoy and 20 field pieces on the 26th and reached Boitzenburg on the evening of 29 October. The next morning, finding that Blücher had veered northwest, Bernadotte marched towardNeustrelitz.[22] Leading one of Bernadotte's cavalry regiments, ColonelÉtienne Maurice Gérard captured 400 troops belonging to Blücher and reported that the Prussian was making forWaren.[23]
On 31 October, the columns of Blücher and Winning met near Waren. Winning wanted to escape to the port ofRostock to the north, and had already sent General-Major Karl Georg Friedrich von Wobeser ahead to organize the evacuation. However, Blücher overruled him and proceeded with his own strategy, which was to recross the Elbe atBoizenburg. From there, he planned to either join with GeneralKarl Ludwig von Lecoq in the formerElectorate of Hanover or Lieutenant GeneralFranz Kasimir von Kleist at Magdeburg. Blücher reorganized his small army into two corps. Winning led the 11,000-strong I Corps, while Blücher commanded the 10,000-man II Corps. Each corps was subdivided into two heavy and one light divisions.[24]
At this time, there were 47,252 Frenchmen hunting for Blücher. Bernadotte's I Corps numbered 15,450, Soult's IV Corps counted 24,375, and from Murat's Cavalry Reserve, General of DivisionLouis Michel Antoine Sahuc led 2,550 dragoons, Grouchy another 2,432 dragoons in his division, Lasalle counted 785 light cavalry, and General of DivisionJean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul led 1,660cuirassiers. Bernadotte pressed ahead with 12,000 of his most fit troops, leaving the rest behind. Murat and his cavalry were rapidly moving west from their victories atPrenzlau and Stettin.[24]
On the morning of 1 November, the Prussians evacuated Waren. Blücher moved to the northwest covered by a rear guard under General-Major Friedrich Gottlieb von Oswald. Winning marched due west covered by Oberst August Wilhelm von Pletz's rear guard. That morning the Prussians brawled near Waren with both Soult's and Bernadotte's light cavalry brigades, plus General of DivisionAnne Jean Marie René Savary's 1stHussar and 7thChasseurs à Cheval Regiments, before falling back to the west. Under Yorck's tactical direction the three Prussianfusilier battalions, sixJäger companies, and 20 squadrons of hussars gave a good account of themselves in thebattle of Waren-Nossentin. Though Bernadotte committed General of DivisionJean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon's dragoon division to the capture of Nossentin village, Yorck and Pletz drew off in good order toAlt Schwerin that night.[25]
On the morning of 2 November, Sahuc's 4th Dragoon Division set out fromRathenow and Murat leftDemmin (west of Anklam) sweeping west with Lasalle (light cavalry), Grouchy (dragoons), and d'Hautpoul (cuirassiers). Bernadotte was at Nossentin, whilst Soult was further east, at Waren.[26] That day, nearGranzin, Drouet's division (of Bernadotte's I Corps) caught up with the 500 men of the 2nd battalion of theTschammer Infantry Regiment Nr. 27, inflicting a loss of one cannon and 57 casualties, including Major Puttkammer captured. Away to the northeast on 2 and 3 November, the port ofWolgast surrendered to the 22nd Dragoon Regiment of General of BrigadeAndré Joseph Boussart's brigade (Grouchy's division). Hohenlohe's baggage train with 2,500 mostly non-combatants thus fell into the hands of Grouchy's division.[27]
Oswald's rear guard made a stand atCrivitz on 3 November in an action called a Prussian victory. The Prussian led the Fusilier battalionsGreiffenberg Nr. 4,Knorr Nr. 12, andOswald Nr. 16, the Grenadier battalionsSchmeling andVieregg, and theHahn horse artillery battery Nr. 5. His cavalry units were theHertzberg Dragoon Regiment Nr. 9, five squadrons, and theRudorff Hussar Regiment Nr. 2, five squadrons.[27] In total there were about 2,500-3,000 infantry and 1200-1500 cavalry, with 8 guns.
The French foot soldiers were part of an advance guard of Bernadotte's I Corps. Generals of BrigadeMichel Marie Pacthod led the 8th Line, andNicolas Joseph Maison the 27th Light and 94th Line Infantry Regiments. These were supported by the 2nd and 4th Hussar, and 5th Chasseur à Cheval Regiments under General of Brigade Pierre Watier (who had temporarily replacedJacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly), plus one horse and one foot artillery battery. All told, there were 6,500 Frenchmen and 12 guns, including 750-1,000 horsemen.[28]
Maison drove Oswald's troops out of Crivitz after a tough fight. At first, the Prussians fell back to high ground behind the village, then continued their retreat. General of BrigadePierre Watier galloped forward from the village with the light cavalry. Watier summoned the Prussians to surrender, but their response was a charge by the Rudorff hussars. The French horsemen unwisely opened fire with their carbines and were swept away by Oswald's counterattack. Aide de Camp ColonelGérard was captured and Bernadotte had to take shelter inside of an infantry square. The hussars were finally halted by Pacthod's infantry. Later that evening, Soult's cavalry joined Bernadotte's forces and the French were able to seize the village of Meuss nearSchwerin.[29] During the action, the French cut off and wiped out the 1st battalion of theArnim Infantry Regiment Nr. 13 atPinnow.[27]
By 4 November Sahuc and Murat had nearly caught up with Soult and Bernadotte. Meanwhile, after receiving a false report that Soult was between him and Boizenburg, Blücher decided to fall back from Schwerin toGadebusch, site of abattle in 1712.[30] On the 4th, Oberst Christian Friedrich von der Osten with a dragoon regiment, a fusilier battalion, and one company of Jägers joined Blücher from Lecoq's corps atHameln. Wobeser also rejoined with his column. On the 5th, Savary's two regiments caught up with another stray Prussian force under General-Major Friedrich Leopold Karl Bernhard von Usedom at the port ofWismar. The Frenchman claimed that he captured 700 cavalry, while the Prussians admitted surrendering 367 troopers.[31] The Prussians belonged to theUsedom Hussar Regiment Nr. 10 and part of Blücher's wagon train under Major Panwitz.[32]
By this time, Blücher's force was reduced to around 16,000 to 17,000 soldiers. Though he possessed 100 artillery pieces and the Gadebusch position was strong, the Prussian declined battle because his troops were hungry and worn out by constant marching. He decided to fall back to theHanseaticcity-state of Lübeck, where he hoped to join a force of Swedes that he knew were in the area.[33] The Prussian army appeared before neutral Lübeck on the morning of 5 November. At midday, they forced their way through the southern gate and occupied the city. Addressing the city senate in theRathaus, Blücher demanded large amounts of food, drink, fodder, and currency for his army, but promised not to fight in the city.[34]
Meanwhile, a brigade of 1,800 Swedes had entered Lübeck on 31 October, hoping to secure transport vessels to carry them home. When they finally boarded ship on the 4th, they found themselves trapped in theTrave River by contrary winds.[35] Aiming to capture the Swedes, Bernadotte sent one battalion to the mouth of the Trave and another detachment under Maison to Schlutup, which is on the Trave downstream from the city. Also on the 5th, Soult attacked one of Blücher's rear guards under General-Major Karl Gerhard von Pelet atRoggendorf, driving it away to the south of Lübeck. Soult pressed on and captured 300 Prussians atRatzeburg. He and Murat were now poised to advance on Lübeck from the south.[36] As these events unfolded, aDanish force commanded by Lieutenant GeneralJohann Ewald marched towardStockelsdorf. Ewald notified Blücher that he was prepared to defend his nation's neutrality by force.[3]
Most of Blücher's army spent the night in Lübeck. To protect his south flank, the Prussian general posted a dragoon regiment and half of a horse artillery battery at Moisling. General-Major Balthasar Wilhelm Christoph von (Jung-)Larisch with the 2nd Division of II Corps guarded the Trave north of the city. Blücher's rearguard under Oswald remained outside the northern gate, while a regiment of hussars stayed outside the southern gate.[3]
Lübeck was once heavily fortified, but by 1806 its defenses were partially dismantled. Nevertheless, the wet ditches in front of its old walls presented a serious obstacle to an attacker. East of the Trave, there were three gates into the city. The northern gate, known as theBurgtor, overlooked a narrow strip of land between the Trave andWakenitz Rivers. The southern gate was called the Mühlentor (Mills Gate) and the eastern gate was named the Hüxtertor. On the west bank of the Trave, there was only one gate, theHolstentor. The Wakenitz protected much of the eastern side of the town.[37]
At the Burgtor, Blücher packed eight guns into a semicircular fortification in front of the gate and added two more cannons near the gate. He placed four more guns on the Bellevue bastion on the west bank in order to take any attackers under a crossfire. In addition to Oswald's rear guard, other infantry were available to defend the position. Blücher put the Burgtor sector under the command of General-MajorFrederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He defended the Mühlentor with four or five battalions, plus a 6-pounder battery. The Hoxtertor was held by an infantry regiment, two horse artillery guns, and four regimental pieces. Other troops remained in reserve under General-Major Hans Christoph von Natzmer, so that a total of 17 battalions and 52 guns defended Lübeck. When a delegation of city fathers reminded Blücher of his promise not to do battle in the city, the Prussian brushed them off, vowing that he would fight.[38]
Natzmer's 1st Division included the Infantry RegimentsTschammer Nr. 27,Kauffberg Nr. 51,Natzmer Nr. 54, andManstein Nr. 55, two battalions each, theHertzberg Dragoon Regiment Nr. 9, five squadrons, one foot artillery battery, and half of a horse artillery battery. Larisch's 2nd Division contained the Infantry RegimentsKalckreuth Nr. 4,Owstein Nr. 7, andJung-Larisch Nr. 53, two battalions each, the 2nd battalion of theBrunswick Infantry Regiment Nr. 21, theHeyking Dragoon Regiment Nr. 10, five squadrons, and a horse artillery battery. Oswald's command comprised ten squadrons of theBlücher Hussar Regiment Nr. 8, theSchmeling andVieregg Grenadier battalions, elements of several fusilier battalions, and half of a horse artillery battery.[32]
After beginning its march at 2:00 AM, Bernadotte's corps bumped into an enemy column atSelmsdorf, east of Lübeck. The French quickly enveloped the Prussian force, a convoy marching from Wismar, and secured the surrender of 1,000 troops and 300 wagons. Meanwhile, General of BrigadeMarie François Rouyer intercepted some Swedish transports near Schlutup. After a brief cannonade, 600 Swedes surrendered.[39]
Bernadotte's I Corps includedPierre Dupont de l'Etang's 1st Division, Rivaud's 2nd Division, Drouet's 3rd Division, Tilly's light cavalry,[32] and General of DivisionJean Baptiste Eblé's artillery reserve. Dupont had three battalions of the 9th Light Infantry and two battalions each of the 32nd and 96th Line Infantry Regiments.[40] Rivaud's division and Tilly's brigade were the same as at the action of Crivitz (see above). Drouet's division contained the 27th Light Infantry and the 94th and 95th Line Infantry Regiments, a total of seven battalions. The artillery train included three foot and four horse artillery batteries.[32]
Soult's IV Corps comprised three infantry divisions. General of DivisionLouis Vincent Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire's eight-battalion 1st Division included the 10th Light, 35th, 45th, and 55th Line Infantry Regiments. General of DivisionJean François Leval's 10-battalion 2nd Division was made up of the 24th Light, 4th, 28th, 46th, and57th Line Infantry Regiments. General of DivisionClaude Juste Alexandre Legrand's nine-battalion 3rd Division was composed of the 26th Light, 18th and 75th Line Infantry Regiments, along with theTirailleurs Corses andTirailleurs du Po, Italian units. Supporting corps units included General of BrigadePierre Margaron's light cavalry brigade, consisting of the 8th Hussar Regiment, the 11th, 16th, and 22nd Chasseurs à Cheval Regiments, and eight foot and two horse artillery batteries.[32]
At 6:00 AM, Murat, with Soult's cavalry and Lasalle's brigade, fell upon thePletz Hussar Regiment Nr. 3 on the southern approaches, capturing 200 troopers and chasing them inside Lübeck. The guns defending the Mühlentor repulsed the pursuing French cavalry. Soult's corps and Sahuc's dragoons arrived and their artillery began pounding the Prussians at the southern gate.[39]
Soon after, Bernadotte's advance guard pushed Oswald's rear guard back toward the northern gate. Drouet'stirailleurs soon secured the Galgenburg, a hill east of the Burgtor, and cannons were massed on the height. Bernadotte deployed the division of Drouet on the left and Rivaud on the right, with Dupont supporting the right. General of BrigadeFrançois Werlé led the 27th Light Infantry Regiment of Drouet in the center against the St. Gertrude Church. At first, the French were stopped, but the commander of the Prussian battery was wounded and this lowered its effectiveness. A second effort carried the churchyard, but then Werlé's men were enfiladed by the Bellevue battery, which inflicted heavy losses. Drouet's 94th Line Infantry Regiment then rushed forward on the left. Meanwhile, Brunswick decided to supervise the battle from the Bellevue bastion, so he crossed to the Trave's west bank.[41]
Undetected in the battle smoke, the 94th Line overran a small redoubt. Then the regiment stormed the semicircular position, seizing the entire battery. At about 1:00 PM, the Prussian defenders fled through the Burgtor, followed by the victorious French. Bernadotte directed Drouet to the right to take the bridge over the Trave, while sending Rivaud to the left to take the Mühlentor's defenders from the rear. Other French troops boated across the Trave and forced the Bellevue battery to withdraw.[42]
Believing his northern defenses secure, Blücher retired to his headquarters at the Golden Angel Inn near the Mühlentor. He was surprised there by Rivaud's skirmishers and barely escaped with his son andKarl Freiherr von Müffling, though hischief of staff,Gerhard von Scharnhorst and the rest of his staff became prisoners. Meanwhile, the French pushed through the market place and the Königstrasse amid vicious street fighting in which Yorck was wounded and many other Prussians were killed or wounded. At the head of a troop of cuirassiers, Blücher tried without success to rescue his staff. Then the group cut their way to the bridge over the Trave and safety.[43]
Soult sent Leval to take the Hoxtertor, Legrand to attack the Mühlentor, while holding Saint-Hilaire in reserve. The Prussians defending the Mühlentor were taken in rear by Rivaud's division, though they fought back furiously. Hit by fire from all directions, the defenders sustained heavy losses, including 300 in one regiment alone. Finally, 2,000 Prussians surrendered and Murat's horsemen surged through the gate and into the streets. The next victims were the Hoxtertor's defenders, theOwstein Regiment. Engulfed by cavalry and infantry, the regiment formed aninfantry square but was soon forced to surrender after suffering heavy losses. By 3:30 PM, the French firmly controlled Lübeck, though sporadic fighting continued.[44]
Hearing the racket as the French stamped out resistance at the eastern and southern gates, Blücher tried to organize another attack. He sent theKuhnheim Regiment Nr. 1 to attack the Holstentor, but Drouet's troops already occupied the bridge and the western defenses. The French repulsed the Prussians with heavy losses and forced them back toBad Schwartau. French troops then emerged from the city in pursuit.[45]
The French marshals estimated Prussian losses in Lübeck as 3,000 killed and wounded, plus 5,000 to 6,000 captured.[2] HistorianDigby Smith gave the Prussian losses at Lübeck as 2,000 killed and wounded, plus a further 4,000 captured out of 15,000 troops. The Infantry RegimentsOwstein,Tschammer, andNatzmer were wiped out and 22 guns lost. The French employed between 30,000[32] and 35,000 men in the battle.[46] In addition to 2,000 Prussians killed and wounded and 4,000 captured, French historian Alain Pigeard also noted that the Prussians and Swedes lost 24 flags, two standards and at least 50 artillery pieces. According to the same source, overall French losses amounted to 1,500 killed and wounded, including the IV Corps artillery chief, ColonelPierre-Elisabeth Peytes de Montcabrié, who died on 8 November, following the wounds he had received two days earlier.[47]
However, the French were not finished for the day. At Paddeluge, Soult's cavalry captured four infantry companies and two guns under Captain Witzleben. Grouchy's dragoons trotted through the city to capture Major Friedrich Albrecht Gotthilf von Ende's force before ending the day at Vorwerk.[45]
At Krempelsdorf, Ende surrendered 360 men and four guns, including five squadrons of theKöhler Hussar Regiment Nr. 7, one squadron of theKing of Bavaria Dragoon Regiment Nr. 1, and a half horse battery. TheBailliodz Cuirassier Regiment Nr. 5 laid down its weapons at Steckenitz. Smith credits Tilly's brigade with Ende's capture, while Petre credits Grouchy.[32] At Schwartau that evening, Oberst Löben surrendered to Bernadotte with 1,500 troops. These included theBila Fusilier battalion Nr. 2, theKuhnheim,Jung-Larisch, andManstein Infantry Regiments, plus theOsten Dragoon Regiment Nr. 12.[48]
Having stormed the city, the French troops thoroughly plundered Lübeck amid cries of "pillage, rape, and murder." Bernadotte and other superior officers tried to restrain their men, with Bernadotte personally defending several houses using his saber, but the French soldiers ran completely amok.[49] That the troops were guilty of atrocities was admitted by contemporary writers such asAntoine-Henri Jomini andGuillaume Mathieu, comte Dumas. HistorianFrancis Loraine Petre noted that Blücher's decision to fight a pitched battle in a neutral city made him at least partly culpable for the sack of Lübeck.[50]
At daybreak, Blücher stood atRatekau, north-northeast of Lübeck, with the remnant of his army. The Prussian general commanded only 4,050 infantry and 3,760 cavalry out of a force that had numbered 21,000 on 1 November. In his immediate front were three French marshals with as many as 35,000 soldiers. To his left was the Trave, to his rear was the Baltic Sea, and to his right was the Danish frontier, defended now by Ewald's force. Since resistance was obviously hopeless, Blücher requested terms and was told he must surrender his soldiers as prisoners of war. He dispatched a document that announced his surrender to Bernadotte and complained that he was out of food and ammunition. Murat refused to accept it, pointing out that the Prussians must capitulate to all three marshals and that stating his reason for surrendering was irregular.[51] Blücher thereupon surrendered to Bernadotte, Soult, and Murat, though he was allowed to append a statement at the end of the document. He wrote,
"I capitulate, since I have neither bread nor ammunition - BLUCHER."[46]
Pigeard stated that Blücher surrendered with a total of 8,000 to 9,000 men, with 80 artillery pieces, which constituted all that was left of his army corps.[47] The Prussian foot units that lost flags (in parentheses) were the Infantry RegimentsKuhnheim Nr. 1 (4),Kalckreuth Nr. 4 (4),Alt-Larisch Nr. 26 (2),Borcke Nr. 30 (4), andKauffberg Nr. 51 (4). The cavalry regiments losing standards were theBeeren Cuirassiers Nr. 2 (5),Katte Dragoons Nr. 4 (2),Königin Dragoons Nr. 5 (1),Hertzberg Dragoons Nr. 9 (5),Heyking Dragoons Nr. 10 (5), andWobeser Dragoons Nr. 14 (1).[52]
On 8 November, the Prussian detachment atTravemünde surrendered to Rivaud. Drouet was sent to theLower Elbe to hunt down Pelet's force, which was included in the capitulation.[53] When Drouet caught up with him, Pelet surrendered with 420 men and half of a horse artillery battery at Boizenburg on the 12th. Four squadrons of theKing of Bavaria Dragoons and one squadron of theKöhler Hussars also laid down their arms.[54]
Bernadotte first came to the notice of the Swedish authorities with his courteous treatment of the captured Colonel Count Gustav Mörner and his officers, who mainly hailed from the province ofÖstergötland. Bernadotte treated Count Mörner with the utmost courtesy, placing his own lodgings at the Count's disposal whilst a prisoner of the French.[55][56]Marcellin Marbot, a hostile witness, wrote in his memoirs that Bernadotte, "was especially desirous to earn the character of a well-bred man in the eyes of these strangers."[57] Mörner, and his nephew, BaronKarl Otto Mörner, later played a key part in the early stages of the process that eventually led to the 1810 election of Bernadotte as Crown Prince of Sweden by theRiksdag of the Estates and in 1818 ascended the throne as KingCharles XIV John of Sweden.[58]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)The following are excellent sources for the full names of French and Prussian officers.
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