Battle of Werben

Battle of Werben
Part of Thirty Years' War
Date July 22 or August 1, 1631 Location Werben (Elbe), Brandenburg (present-day Germany) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Gustavus Adolphus Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin	Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly
Strength
16,000 soldiers	23,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Unknown but much less	6,000 killed, wounded or dead from starvation (July 22 - August 6)

The Battle of Werben was a battle of the Thirty Years' War, fought on July 22 (O.S.) or August 1, 1631 (N.S.), between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. The Swedes had 16,000 soldiers and were led by Gustavus Adolphus, while the Imperialists had 23,000 soldiers and were led by Field-Marshal Count Tilly. Tilly's troops attacked Gustavus' entrenchments in front of Werben (Elbe), but Swedish batteries and the cavalry under Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin forced them to retreat. The attack was renewed a few days later with a similar result, and Tilly then drew off his forces, having suffered a loss of 6,000 men.

Illustration of the Battle of Werben (detail)

Bibliography

• George Bruce. Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN 0-442-22336-6).