Battle of Pultusk, 1703 Apr
21
The Battle
The Saxon army was arranged in two lines, west of
the town on a ridge with a an open field in front of them. In the dawn
twilight, the swedes were approaching from the South with Buchwald's Dragoons
in the lead. As the swedes arrived, Steinau had second thoughts and the
left section of the line retreated hastily into Pultusk. Buchwald's dragoons
pursued and the first squadron crossed the bridge at the heels of the last
saxon squadron. Fierce sword fighting ensued through the streets. In the
town square, the saxons decided to arrange themselves to meet their adversaries,
but as soon as the swedish dragoons arrived, the situation changed. Buchwald
and his dragoons charged and threw the saxons into disorder. The saxons
were driven towards the eastern bridge, which proved to be a serious bottle
neck. Here they had to put up a fight. Steinau and some of his cavalry
managed to escape across the bridge, but the saxon units remaining in the
town surrendered.
As the daylight increased, H I Ridderhjelm, who commanded the reserve,
noticed that the saxon right section was withdrawing from the hill and
ordered LtCol Gyllenstierna to attack with a detachment of around 300 men.
At the same time Major C G Creutz was ordered to take his squadron from
the town to attack the same formation. During the pursuit, the saxons lost
many men.
In all, the saxons have been estimated to have lost around 500 men in
killed and drowned. 758 men and 42 officers were taken prisoner. The saxon
supply train and records were seized. Mj Gen Schulenburg was killed during
the fight and Lt Gen Beust was captured by the King, while trying to hide
in a water mill.
The swedes lost a Cornet and 20 men...
Aftermath:
The saxon cavalry had been dealt a devastating blow and was now separated
from the infantry stationed around Thorn in West Prussia, which was to
become Karl's next objective...
Main Battle screen
Background
Ordre de Bataille
The Officers
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