page_title: Battle of Waren-Nossentin
section_title: Result
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Waren-Nossentin / Result
caption_attribution_description: Général_Jean_Baptiste_Drouet
context_page_description: The Battle of Waren-Nossentin on 1 November 1806 saw soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by August Wilhelm von Pletz and Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg fight a rear guard action against troops of the First French Empire commanded by Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. Though forced to give ground, the Prussians successfully kept the French from inflicting serious loss or cutting off any units in this War of the Fourth Coalition action. Waren lies on the northern end of Lake Müritz, about 70 kilometres southeast of Rostock. Nossentin is a small village on the Fleesen See about 15 kilometres due west of Waren.
  After the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on 14 October 1806, Emperor Napoleon launched an all-out pursuit of the defeated Prussians. At the end of October, the Franch cut off and captured large numbers of Prussian soldiers near Prenzlau and Stettin. Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher's corps evaded capture by turning back to the west. Near Waren, Blücher linked up with another Prussian corps and the combined force withdrew to the west.
  As the Prussian rear guard pulled out of Waren, the first French cavalry attacked.
context_section_description: Later, Bernadotte claimed to have fought 12,000 or more Prussians, while Soult estimated there were between 5,000 and 6,000 enemies. Petre, who gives no casualty figures, suggested that the Prussians had only about 2,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry available, in addition to a half battery of horse artillery, plus regimental guns. Since a Prussian horse battery comprised six 6-pound guns and two 7-pound howitzers, Yorck's half-battery must have had four guns. Gunther E. Rothenberg states that the fusilier battalions did not use regimental guns in 1806.
  When Murat heard about the fighting at Waren and Nossentin, he abandoned his march on Rostock and decided to march to the I Corps' assistance. He later found that Bernadotte and Soult joined hands and realized that they did not need his help. Petre credits the Prussian success to Yorck's tactical competence and the fact that his troops missed the Jena-Auerstedt disaster. Yorck sensed when each of his positions became untenable and issued orders to fall back just in time. In his after battle report, Bernadotte admitted that his enemies fought well, but tried to minimize the action. Savary criticized Bernadotte for not supporting his cavalry with infantry attacks. The French pursuit continued until Blücher was crushed at the Battle of Lübeck on 6 November.
caption: General Drouet
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