|
After a long siege in the summer of 1636,
the joint Imperial and Saxon troops managed to take Magdeburg. The Swedish
army led by Banner was positioned to the north of the city, near Werben,
but they were too weak to assist the Magdeburg garrison. Then the opposing
armies began approaching one another. Banner intended to invade Saxony,
while the Imperials strove to fight him back. The battle finally broke out
near Wittstock, in the county of Prignitz. It was one of the most
astonishing battles in world history. Banner's army of 16,000 soldiers was
outnumbered by the enemy's 22,000. Certain that the enemy would be
unattainable from the front, Banner outflanked the Imperials from both
sides. The battle raged until dusk, and Banner won a brilliant victory
over a numerically vastly superior enemy.
|
