The Battle of the Göhrde

Yesterday I decided to visit the reenactment of the Battle of the Göhrde, a biannual event which was even more special this year because it was the 200th anniversary.

Even though it had been raining the previous days, about 400 people decided to stay the night on the site and depict a camp of the Napoleonic time.

Some Brits resting...

 

A few Saxons playing cards

 

After a muster in the morning, all marched to the memorial stone to hold a ceremony in remembreance of the men who fought here.

After that I had a good opportunity to capture most of the reenactors on film

After taking a short rest and lunch the units prepared for battle

The battle began with skirmishers from both sides

Then the line troops joined in

Here a short clip of the action

Defending against cavalry

The winning side advances

What remains...

All in all it was a very intense experience. The drums, pipes, shouted commands, the shooting with a tremendous sound level and the smoke it created made me feel a bit of what it must have felt like to be on a battlefield in the Napoleonic era.