Battle of Wittstock

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Battle of Wittstock
Part of the Thirty Years' War
Date 4 October 1636 Location Wittstock, Electorate of Brandenburg (present-day Brandenburg, Germany) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Holy Roman Empire  Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Johan Banér Lennart Torstensson Alexander Leslie James King	Graf von Hatzfeldt John George I
Strength
17,000,[1] 60 guns	18,000,[1] 32 guns
Casualties and losses
3,500 dead or wounded,[2] 15 flags	5,000[2] 2,000 dead, 3,000 captured, 32 guns, 151 flags and baggage

The Battle of Wittstock took place during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). It was fought on 24 September (Julian calendar) or 4 October (Gregorian calendar) 1636. A Swedish-allied army commanded jointly by Johan Banér and Alexander Leslie decisively defeated a combined Imperial-Saxon army, led by Count Melchior von Hatzfeld and the Saxon Elector John George I.

Leslie and Banér commanded two distinct armies: Banér commanded the Swedish main army (huvudarmén), and Leslie commanded the Army of the Weser. Their subordinate officers included the Swedish Count and Major General Lennart Torstenson, Lieutenant General James King (later first Lord Eythin), and Major General John Ruthven. The latter is sometimes erroneously conflated with his uncle Patrick Ruthven who was also a Lieutenant General in the Swedish army, but not present at Wittstock.^[3]