Battle of Punitz, 28 October (Swedish Style)/ 7 November NS 1704

The battle of Punitz was a minor victory for Charles XII during the Great Northern War. It was fought between the Swedish army under Charles XII and a Saxon army under Johann Matthias von Schulenburg. In the summer of 1704 Augustus II of Poland had reoccupied Warsaw while Charles XII was campaigning in the south and east of Poland-Lithuanian. In the autumn of 1704 Charles returned west, chasing Augustus out of Warsaw, although the Swedes were unable to catch Augustus before he could escape across the Vistula. Frustrated at the Vistula, Charles turned his attention towards Schulenburg, who had an army 4,000 strong.

Charles and the Swedish cavalry caught up with Schulenburg at Punitz, close to the Silesian border. The ensuing battle began too late in the day to allow a decisive result and under cover of night Schulenburg was able to escape across the Silesian border. This was Habsburg territory, and so after a short pursuit Charles returned to Poland. Over the winter of 1704-1705 Charles concentrated on preventing Augustus returning to Poland at the head of a Saxon army. On 24 September 1705 (NS) his candidate for the Polish throne, Stanislaus, was crowned at  Warsaw, a major victory for Charles in his attempt to turn Poland-Lithuania from an enemy into an ally.

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (9 August 2007), Battle of Punitz, 28 October (Swedish Style)/ 7 November NS 1704 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_punitz.html

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