Battle of Nauen

In December 1674, the Swedish army from Swedish Pomerania invaded the undefended possessions of Brandenburg and launched the Swedish-Brandenburg War. However, in June 1675, the Brandenburg army returned home from Franconia, where it fought with the French in the framework of the Franco-Dutch war to liberate the occupied homeland.

The operational task of the Swedes under the command of Field Marshal Waldemar Wrangel was to advance from Hafelberg , cross the Elbe, join forces with Hanover and move to Magdeburg . The Swedish field marshal sent a regiment under the command of Colonel Wangellin to Rathenow to secure the right bank of the river. The situation suddenly changed when the Brandenburg army was able to regain this strategically important place at the Battle of Rathenow , which completely destroyed the Swedes' plans for crossing the Elbe in Hafelberg.

Having received news of the fall of Rathenov, Wrangel ordered the army to advance to Nauen in order to occupy the banks of the Rhine near Ferbellin. When the Elector of Brandenburg found out about this, he immediately began the persecution of the Swedes.

At the same time, 1,200 Brandenburg soldiers ^[2] under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Zidov advanced to the outskirts of Nauen. The approaches to the city were occupied by a swamp, and the Swedes placed their artillery batteries in advantageous positions along the only road through the quagmire. However, the gunners showed no resistance when they noticed the approach of a large number of enemy cavalry. Instead, they drowned their cannons in a nearby lake and hastily retreated. Fleeing Swedes were pursued by the Brandenburg cavalry on the outskirts of Nauen, inflicting heavy losses on them.

Most of the Swedish contingent left through the creek out of town. The remaining contingent of musketeers occupied Nauen, meeting the impending Brandenburgers with fierce fire from muskets and cannons. Nevertheless, while the Swedish garrison fired at the Brandenburg dragoons at the gates of the city, 200 Brandenburg soldiers came from the rear and scattered the Swedish rearguard of 1000 cuirassiers ^[3] . As a result, the Swedes quickly surrendered Nauen and fled, pursued by the Brandenburg cavalry.

Having occupied the city, the Brandenburg cavalry could not capture the ford across the creek outside the city. Here, at the end of the bridge, the Swedes established a defensive position with several cannons. The fire from these guns caused the Brandenburgers to retreat with losses. Behind the fortification, the main Swedish army deployed for battle. However, the attack did not take place: Field Marshal Derflinger's unit managed to restore the bridge, damaged by enemy fire, and install three guns that destroyed the Swedish guns. Nevertheless, the enemy was in a favorable position, so a frontal attack would be too risky. In addition, Brandenburg troops were exhausted. As a result, the Brandenburgers retreated back to Nauen and camped for the night.

By the evening of June 27, the two armies were in close proximity to each other. The Brandenburgers hoped to start the battle the next morning in front of the gates of Nauen. However, the Swedes used night cover to retreat to Fairbellin . At 5:30 in the morning, the Brandenburgers began chasing the enemy.

The Swedes lost 200 people killed in the battle of Nauen.

• Curt Jany: Geschichte der Preußischen Armee - Vom 15. Jahrhundert bis 1914 . Bd. 1, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1967.
• Alois Straka: Schlacht bei Fehrbellin, 18. Juni 1675 . Rat der Stadt, Fehrbellin 1987.
• Frank Bauer: Fehrbellin 1675 - Brandenburg-Preußens Aufstieg zur Großmacht . Potsdam 1998, ISBN 3-921655-86-2 .