CASUALTY RECORD // April 25, 1626
Battle of Dessau Bridge
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 6,000 estimated
Denmark–Norway
4,000
Medium-confidence figure
Holy Roman Empire
2,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Dessau Bridge was fought on the Elbe River outside Dessau on 25 April 1626, pitting a Danish Protestant force of 12,000 under Ernst von Mansfeld and Christian William of Brandenburg against an Imperial Catholic army of 20,000 commanded by Albrecht von Wallenstein, Torquato Conti, and Johann von Aldringen. The disparity in force sizes was compounded by the outcome in casualties: Denmark–Norway suffered approximately 4,000 losses against the Holy Roman Empire's 2,000, reflecting a decisive Imperial advantage in the engagement. The battle fell during the Danish phase of the Thirty Years' War, in which Christian IV of Denmark–Norway had intervened to support Protestant interests against Habsburg power in the Empire. A defeat of this scale for Mansfeld's force, one of the principal Protestant field armies in the theater, weakened the Danish war effort and underscored the military ascendancy that Wallenstein was establishing for the Imperial cause during this period of the conflict.
‹ Full battle dossier