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109-493: Breitenfeld may refer to: Breitenfeld, Leipzig , a northwestern suburb (once an outlying village and crossroads 4 miles (6.4 km) outside of Leipzig 's curtain walls) on the plain of Leipzig , Germany two battles that were fought there during the Thirty Years' war : Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) Breitenfeld, Saxony-Anhalt ,

218-597: A 300 kilometres (190 mi) march in 10 days. Gustavus Adolplhus marched downstream of the Oder and captured the town of Bärwalde on 13 January 1631, where he met with French diplomat Hercule de Charnacé. With him as his counterpart, the King signed the Treaty of Bärwalde on 23 January 1631. Under its terms, Gustavus Adolphus agreed to maintain an army of 36,000 troops, in return for an annual payment of 400,000 Reichsthalers , for

327-693: A broad counter-charge against both Pappenheim's cuirassiers and Piccolomini's and Merode's harquebusiers. His shock attack immediately threw Pappenheim's exhausted cuirassiers back in disarray, with some units under Pappenheim falling back to the Imperial artillery positions at Galgenberg, while others accompanied Piccolomini in his retreat from the battlefield. The Livonian and Curonian cuirassiers pursued Piccolomini's cuirassiers through Breitenfeld and Halle. With Pappenheim's cavalry taken out of action, only Colonel von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp's infantry regiment remained on this front. The regiment formed into

436-575: A direct confrontation with the Imperial Army. He ordered Field Marshal Horn to gather intelligence about his opponent at Leipzig. The King's confidence was strengthened by the fact that the Swedish scouts had underestimated the strength of the imperial troops, although he viewed the combat readiness of the Elector's allied Saxon army with great skepticism. Two days after the convergence at Düben,

545-595: A dragoon regiment of 464 men. Among the soldiers, 4,628 men originated from Sweden and Finland , while 18,178 men were mercenaries enlisted from the German states, the British Isles , and Livonia . The Swedish right wing consisted of 5,000 men, with Gustavus Adolphus in command of the first line and General Johan Banér in command of the second. The wing were made up of ten cavalry regiments and Banér's musketeer regiment's 8 companies of 900 men, who were placed in

654-425: A final ultimatum for surrender to the city, which was subsequently refused by the city's council. On May 19, Tilly held a council of war with his generals where they decided to make a final assault on the city from six directions the following day. During the morning of 20 May, the city was bombarded by Tilly's guns and Imperial troops broke into the city from several directions. The city was set on fire, Falkenberg and

763-766: A leading figure for the Protestant co-religionists in Northern Germany . Northern Germany were within Sweden's immediate sphere of interest. If the Catholic armies were able to build up a fleet in the Baltic Sea , they could become a large threat to Swedish territory. The conflict escalated following Sweden's intervention in the war, which then spread further along different fronts both within and outside of Europe's borders. Gustavus Adolphus initially laid out

872-430: A little ceasing, the horsemen on both wings charged furiously one another, our horsemen with a resolution, abiding unloosing a pistol, till the enemy had discharged first, and then at a near distance our musketeers meeting them with a salvo; then our horsemen discharged their pistols, and then charged through them with swords; and at their return the musketeers were ready again to give the second salvo of musket amongst them;

981-538: A locality in the town Gardelegen in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Breitenfeld am Tannenriegel , a municipality in Styria, Austria Breitenfeld an der Rittschein , a municipality in Styria, Austria Breitenfelde [ edit ] or a spelling variant... Breitenfelde [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with

1090-828: A member of the Electoral College , Saxony held a dominant position among the Protestant estates within the Imperial Diet . During the Elector's meeting in Regensburg in August 1630, the Electoral College, who saw the Emperor's growing power as a threat, forced the dismissal of Wallenstein and the reduction of both the Imperial and Catholic League's armies respectively. Speaking to the Riksdag of

1199-511: A period of five years. Gustavus Adolphus launched his second invasion against the Duchy of Mecklenburg in February 1631. On March 19, 1631, Tilly left Frankfurt an der Oder with his army and headed for the duchy's border. Tilly ruthlessly captured and sacked the rebellious town of Neubrandenburg , while Gustavus Adolphus avoided two direct confrontations with Tilly's army and instead captured

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1308-490: A rate of fire of three to five volleys to one Imperial volley. Torstenson later changed direction to aim his guns more accurately against the enemy. Tilly's tercios where easy targets for Torstenson's guns, while the Swedish troops were much sparsely spread and stood "as firm as a wall". During the approximately two-hour long cannonade, about 1,000 Swedish soldiers were killed, about the same number of Saxon soldiers and about 2,000 Imperial-League soldiers. Colonel von Baumgarten

1417-702: A reconnaissance mission at the head of 2,000 Imperial horsemen. However, Pappenheim in turn wanted to use this mission to provoke his opponent into an open battle. He sent a false report to Tilly that parts of his troops had deserted to Gustavus Adolphus and lured him into a trap, and that his horsemen would perish unless the Imperial-League army came to his rescue. Although Tilly was already aware of Pappenheim's intentions, he did not want to risk losing his Imperial horsemen, and thus decided to march to Pappenheim's location with his entire army. Pappenheim's vision became partially into reality, as his horsemen clashed with

1526-680: A second Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) , the troops of Sweden and Saxony again defeated the imperial troops. At the Battle of Nations in 1813, the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher established his command post in the Breitenfeld mill, from which he coordinated the attacks on Napoleon 's French troops positioned in Möckern and Gohlis. In 1856, the patrimonial authority was relinquished and Breitenfeld acquired local autonomy within

1635-456: A strong defensive line along the rivers Elbe, Havel and Spree . He also sent smaller detachments to Mecklenburg and Silesia . Pappenheim was by this time exasperated as a result of his stagnant station at Magdeburg. By early July, on his own initiative, he decided to launch a major offensive against Havelberg , Werben and Burg with his 13,000 men, starting from his bridgehead at Havel. The Swedes conducted an immediate counter-attack which in

1744-529: A tercio to stand their ground against attacks from Stålhandske's and Wunsch's Hakkapeliitta. The Finnish horsemen met stubborn resistance, forcing Banér to bring in Ortenburg's cuirassiers and the Yellow Brigade's commanded musketeers at five o'clock, who pulverised the tercio with musketry fire and canister charges from their regimental artillery. Their combined firepower were able to finally bring down

1853-471: A week drove Pappenheim's troops back to the other side of the Havel, while also capturing the strategically important bridgehead of Tangermünde . Gustavus Adolphus regrouped his army of 30,000 men in an attempt to challenge Tilly's Imperial and Catholic League army, which at the time had not yet converged with their reinforcements coming from the south. In tandem, the King drew up a plan of defense centered around

1962-578: The Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. It was erected in 1831 on the two hundredth anniversary of the battle and bears the following inscription: Glaubensfreiheit für die Welt, rettete bei Breitenfeld Gustav Adolf, Christ und Held. Freedom of belief for the world, saved at Breitenfeld, Gustavus Adolphus, Christian and hero. Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Battle of Breitenfeld ( German : Schlacht bei Breitenfeld ; Swedish : Slaget vid Breitenfeld ) or First Battle of Breitenfeld (in older texts sometimes known as Battle of Leipzig ),

2071-649: The Dalarna Regiment 's 7 companies led by himself, the 8 companies from the Skaraborg , Närke and Värmland regiments led by Colonel Axel Lillie , as well as the Savolax Infantry Regiment of 8 companies led by Colonel Claes Hastfer; Colonel Erik Hand's brigade of 1,750 men which included the Östergötland Infantry Regiment 's 8 companies led by himself, Dal's Infantry Squadron's 4 companies led by colonel Wilhelm von Salzburg, as well as

2180-807: The Eighty Years' War against the Netherlands for a long time. Sweden and Russia were in conflict with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Later, Denmark–Norway , the Electorate of Saxony and other smaller German states and imperial cities also became involved in the conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II . At the end of the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1622), the war transitioned into

2289-1395: The Artillery Schönburg and Wengersky's (German) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment with 600 men under Colonel Albrecht Wengersky. The wing also included irregular Croats and Hungarian cavalry units of 1,000 men led by Colonel Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani. The Imperial left wing consisted of 5,300 soldiers under the command of Field Marshal Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim. The wing consisted of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp's (German) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 1,500 under Colonel Adolf von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp , two harquebusier regiments and five cuirassier regiments: Bernstein's (German) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 400 under Colonel Wilhelm von Bernstein, Merode's (Spanish) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment with 500 under Colonel Jean de Merode, Saxe-Lauenburg (German) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 600 under Colonel Franz Albecht von Saxe-Lauenburg, Piccolomini's (German) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment of 800 man under General Ottavio Piccolomini , Rangoni's (German) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 500 men under Colonel Giulio Marchese Rangoni, Strozzi's (Walloon) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment of 500 men under Colonel Giacomo Strozzi, and Trčka's (German) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 500 men under Colonel Adam Erdmann Trčka von Lípa . Generalfeldmarschall Tilly

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2398-490: The Artillery Schönburg consisted of 27 artillery pieces, divided between eleven 32-pounder guns, four 16-pounder guns, one 12-pounder gun, three 8-pounder guns, two 3-pounder guns and six smaller guns. The heavier pieces were placed in front of the middle of the Imperial-League centre, opposite to the Swedish centre and left wing, while the lighter pieces were placed farther to the right of the centre, opposite to

2507-451: The Elbe. At the same time, Colonel Federigo di Savelli succeeded in strengthening Rostock's defenses, thereby deterring the now numerically inferior Swedish troops. Gustavus Adolplhus decided in mid-October to break off the siege and return to Pomerania. This fruitless expedition convinced the King to abandon his attempts to capture the crossings of the Elbe, instead turning his attention to

2616-685: The Elector's Infantry Regiment led by Colonel Johann Casimir von Schaumberg, Colonel Johann von der Pforte's Foot Regiment, and Dam Vitzthum's Foot Regiment. General Hans Rudolf von Bindauf commanded the Saxon left wing, which consisted of six cavalry regiments: Bindauf's Cuirassier Regiment led by himself, Colonel Ernst von Anhalt-Bernburg's Cuirassier Squadron, Colonel Lorenz Hofkirchen's Cuirassier Squadron, Colonel Hans von Löser's Cuirassier Squadron, Duke Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg 's Cuirassier Regiment with 1,200 men, and Colonel Bernhard von Pflugk's Cuirassier Regiment with 1,500 men. Field Marshal Arnim

2725-547: The Electorate in June 1631. The Elector at this time wanted to buy time by engaging in negotiations with Tilly, to avoid a direct counter-offensive. But Tilly chose to quickly end the negotiations and instead begin a siege of Leipzig . With the imminent threat of an imperial occupation of his Electorate, John Georg I decided on 30 August to enter into an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus. With their combined forces, their aim

2834-407: The Electorate of Saxony, whose Elector John George I chose to enter into an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus. With their united troops totalling 40,150 men, the Protestant armies marched to Leipzig to meet Tilly's army, which numbered 31,400 men. The three armies met outside the village of Breitenfeld in early September 1631. At the start of the battle, the Saxon army was knocked off the battlefield by

2943-486: The Emperor, or at least his troops, treated his Protestant subjects. Tilly marched from Magdeburg to face the army of Gustavus Adolphus. Through fresh recruits and troops from Northern Italy , who had previously been engaged in the Mantuan War of Succession , Tilly's field army was supported by three advancing armies totaling 30,000 men. Tilly decided to divide his field army into two parts: one army under Pappenheim

3052-538: The Estates in 1628 and 1629, Gustavus Adolphus emphasized about the necessity of Sweden's entry into the war. This was partly done in defense of the Protestant faith, but also due to the imperial naval armaments in Northern Germany, which could pose a great threat to Swedish territory. After the entire Riksdag approved the king's declaration of war, on June 17, 1630, the King and his army of 13,200 men boarded

3161-592: The Imperial Army in September 1630. Before leaving his post, Wallenstein's last action was to reinforce the garrisons in Pomerania and Mecklenburg with 30,000 men. As these provinces were poor and deprived of means to support these troops, they were unable to be deployed over a large defense perimeter. From the Baltic Sea, Gustavus Adolphus could supply his army through regular deliveries of supplies from

3270-526: The Imperial troops in Pomerania. But the absence of Wallenstein created a confusing situation, and the poor condition among Conti's troops made him unable to stop Gustavus Adolplhus's conquests. After the Swedish army consolidated their territories in Pomerania during the summer of 1630, Gustavus Adolplhus was able to advance towards Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg was invaded at the end of September by 12,000 Swedish soldiers, with their main objective of securing

3379-632: The Imperials' plunder of Neubrandenburg, the King intended to see that Frankfurt would have to pay in the same coin. On the same day, the Swedes launched a furious attack on the city. After a fierce battle, in which 800 Swedish soldiers fell, the city was captured, and 3,000 men from the city's garrison were massacred together with a number of armed citizens. Following the news of the fall of Frankfurt, Tilly immediately returned to Magdeburg with 25,000 men. Soon after their conquest of Frankfurt an der Oder,

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3488-429: The King's army only at a distinct advantage. Most of his general staff on the other hand, mainly by Fürstenberg and almost all the junior officers, propagated Pappenheim's proposal for an immediate attack. Only a few senior officers agreed with Tilly that they should wait for reinforcements before the upcoming battle. To curtail the internal division in his general staff, Tilly wanted to occupy Pappenheim by sending him on

3597-491: The King's army. Furthermore, the king received subsidies from the deposed dukes of Mecklenburg, whose territories had previously been occupied by Wallenstein and thus saw the Swedish King as their liberator. At the beginning of August, Swedish Major General Dodo zu Knyphausen besieged Wolgast with his 5,000 men, which he was able to capture after three weeks on August 25. Shortly afterwards, Knyphausen also tried to besiege

3706-529: The King's army. On the Catholic side, Conti with 12,000 imperial soldiers was able to occupy strong fortresses at Gartz and Greifenhagen . Their proximity to Stettin caused great problems for the Swedes, both in holding both banks of the Oder and securing the Swedish lines of communication between Pomerania and Magdeburg. On Christmas Day of 1630, Gustavus Adolplhus launched a surprise attack against both Greifenhagen and Gartz. The garrison in Greifenhagen

3815-435: The Oder. Later, Horn's army was reinforced with 11,000 men under Major General Maximilian Teuffel, who by this time had abandoned the siege of Kolberg. A smaller army corps of 2,500 men under Colonel Dietrich von Falkenberg was sent to reinforce the garrison of Magdeburg. Finally, a British expedition of 15,000 men under Marquess James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton landed at the mouth of the river Peene and prepared to join

3924-597: The Palatinate-Danish phase (1623–1629). Through a successful campaign in Northern Germany, the Imperial Army under Generalissimo Albrecht von Wallenstein was able to defeat the Danish Army. Denmark's withdrawal from the war in 1629 led to a de-escalation of the hostilities. Ever since the outbreak of the war, the Protestant states in Germany were forced to endure severe hardships. Against the background of

4033-502: The Protestant army, which he himself regarded as a large "mob army". Pappenheim pointed out that further delay in the arrival of Aldringen's army would reduce their chance of finally dealing with the "arrogant" Swedish King, whose army they had consistently avoided for some months. Tilly replied that he had less respect for the Saxon troops. But during his previous campaign against the Swedes, he had learned to respect Gustavus Adolphus's military achievements and insisted that they should attack

4142-571: The Rhinegrave's Cuirassier Regiment with 700 men under Colonel Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen . The second line were made up of 4 companies with 150 men of Colonel Sigfrid von Dāmitz's Cuirassier Regiment, 4 companies with 200 men of Colonel Ernst Magnus Dönhoff 's Cuirassier Squadron from Courland and 5 companies of 300 men of Lieutenant Colonel Jürgen Aderka's Cuirassier Regiment from Livonia. The Swedish left wing consisted of 3,750 men, with Field Marshal Gustav Horn in command of

4251-461: The Saxon army and the left flank of the Swedish centre. Tercios spearheaded by Philipp von Pappenheim's and Göss's regiments, supported by Wangler's regiment and Erwitte's reserve cavalry, marched down the Galgenberg and made an oblique advance to the right, concentrating on the Saxon troops. Meanwhile, Gallas' tercios advanced to put pressure on the Swedish centre, while Tilly's tercios acted as

4360-512: The Saxon army. Gallas', Tilly's, Göss's, and Pappenheim's tercios were lined up on the intervals between the artillery pieces. The battle began at twelve o'clock with an exchange of artillery fire. Tilly's artillery concentrated their fire against the Saxon troops and the Swedish centre and left wing. The Saxons and Swedes returned fire with their own guns. It took some time before Torstenson's heavy artillery were brought into position to launch its own bombardment. The Swedes demonstrated firepower in

4469-627: The Saxon noble houses, and usually had their seat at Landsberg. During the Thirty Years War , in 1631, in the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) , an alliance of Saxon and Swedish forces, under the command of Gustavus II Adolphus , the king of Sweden , with additional Protestant-German allies and mercenaries, defeated the armies of the Catholic League and the Habsburgs , commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly . In 1642, in

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4578-418: The Swedish vanguard led by Sir James Ramsay . Instead of retreating to Leipzig, he suggested to Tilly that the entire army should assemble at the village of Breitenfeld outside of Leipzig. On September 16, the Swedish and Saxon troops spent the night in full battle formation at the village of Wölchau about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Leipzig. In the evening, Gustavus Adolphus made plans before

4687-422: The Swedish King. On the Catholic side, Ferdinand II had an army totaling 100,000 men, but for logistical reasons the force had been steadily reduced to a field army of 60,000 men. It consisted of 40,000 Imperial soldiers and 20,000 Catholic League soldiers under the joint command of Wallenstein's successor, Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly . Italian Field Marshal Torquato Conti commanded

4796-454: The Swedish army had lost 10 percent of its strength, which included deserters as well as sick and injured soldiers. Tilly's scouts had overestimated their opponent's combined strength. This made Tilly want to avoid a meeting engagement with such a strong enemy force and await reinforcements from Aldringen's army instead. As a means to stop Tilly's delaying strategy, the impetuous Pappenheim wanted to spur Tilly to immediately advance and crush

4905-790: The Swedish army in traditional formation, as the Saxons had not had time to be trained in Swedish combat techniques. Elector John George was Commander-in-chief with Field Marshal Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg as his second-in-command. Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg was in command of the Saxon centre. The centre consisted of nine infantry regiments: Field Marshal Arnim's Militia Regiment with 2,200 men led by himself, Colonel Hans Kaspar von Klitzing's Militia Regiment with 2,200 men, Colonel Hans von Löser's Militia Regiment with 2,200 men, Colonel Moritz Dietrich von Starschedel's Infantry Regiment with 2,200 men, Colonel Siegmund von Wolfersdorf's Foot Regiment, Colonel Karl von Bose's Foot Regiment,

5014-496: The Swedish commanded musketeer platoons fired a concentrated volley at point-blank range. Short after, the Swedish cuirassiers fired their pistols at the approaching Imperial cuirassiers. The surprisingly accurate Swedish fire disrupted the charge of the Imperial cuirassiers and forced them to withdraw. Pappenheim regrouped his cuirassiers for a renewed attack, with fire support from musketeers of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp regiment and Piccolomini's and Merode's harquebusiers. While

5123-540: The Swedish fleet at Älvsnabben in the Stockholm archipelago ; the fleet consisted of 60 warships and 200 smaller boats. On June 25, 1630, the fleet rounded Cape Perd on Rügen and the king landed with his army at Peenemünde in Usedom two days later. Their landing went unopposed on the Imperial side, whose few garrisons in the general area quickly retreated to Wolgast . Wallenstein was dismissed as Commander-in-Chief of

5232-496: The Swedish mainland. During the first month after the landing, the Swedes occupied the city of Kammin and the islands of Rügen, Usedom and Wollin . They captured the Pomeranian capital of Stettin on July 20, whose garrison surrendered without resistance. Through the Treaty of Stettin , concluded on August 25, Duke Bogislav XIV of Pomerania was forced to enter into an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus and assist with supplying

5341-480: The Swedish musketeers reloaded their muskets, the Swedish cavalry mounted swift counter-charges against Pappenheim's scattered cuirassiers. The horsemen then fell back to their previous positions to avoid the fire from Pappenheim's harquebusiers and musketeers, allowing the Swedish musketeers to fire a new volley at Pappenheim's cavalry. This process was repeated each time Pappenheim made a new attempt to penetrate Gustavus Adolphus' lines. "By half three, our cannon

5450-640: The Swedish right wing at two o'clock. He executed a flanking maneuver to avoid the fire of the Swedish guns. His harquebusiers and the Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp regiment advanced behind his cuirassiers. Pappenheim's aim was to employ caracole tactics to penetrate Gustavus Adolphus' front. Banér and the King had by this time fully deployed their troops into lines, and were fully prepared to defend themselves against Pappenheim's assault. As soon as Pappenheim's cuirassiers approached Gustavus Adolphus' front and discharged their pistols at them,

5559-574: The Swedish right wing. Half an hour after Pappenheim's first charge, Fürstenberg's and Isolani's cavalry, on the Imperial-League right wing, made a direct assault of their own against the Saxon centre and left wing. They were spearheaded by Cronberg's and Schönburg's cuirassier regiments. Schönburg attacked the Saxon Horse Guards, which were quickly routed after a brief struggle. Saxe-Altenburg's and General Bindauf's regiments resolutely defended themselves against Baumgarten's cavalry attack, with

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5668-600: The Swedish troops were able to capture the town of Landsberg . The garrison in Kolberg also capitulated in March 1631, after five months of resistance against the Swedes. Gustavus Adolphus had thus taken control of the entire territory northeast of Frankfurt and was able to exert diplomatic pressure on the Protestant electors. In May 1631, he marched his troops against Potsdam and Berlin , held by his brother-in-law, Elector George William of Brandenburg , and succeeded in capturing

5777-845: The Västgöta Regiment's 8 companies led by Colonel Carl Hård af Segerstad; and the Blue Brigade 's 24 companies of 1,800 men led by General Hans Georg aus dem Winckel, which included 12 companies of Winckel's "blue" infantry regiment and 12 companies of Colonel Geisbrecht von Hogendorf's "red" infantry regiment. The reserve of the first line consisted of Colonel Johann Philip von Ortenburg's cuirassier regiment of 500 men, Colonels Donald Mackay 's and Robert Monro 's infantry regiment of 8 companies with 400 men, Colonel Sir James Ramsay 's infantry regiment of 8 companies with 350 men and Colonel Sir John Hamilton's infantry regiment of 8 companies with 250 men. Hepburn's troops of 6,000 men in

5886-399: The Yellow Brigade launched their own attack and were able to create a gap between Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp's regiment and Piccolomini's harquebusiers on Pappenheim's right flank. Following Pappenheim's seventh repulse at about four o'clock in the evening, Gustavus Adolphus ordered Banér to rally the cavalry of Sperreuth, Stenbock, Soop, Tott, Stålhandske and Wunsch. Banér led them in

5995-477: The Younger's Slavic and Pomeranian cavalry's 4 companies with 300 men. Colonel Lennart Torstensson 's artillery park was positioned in front of Teuffel's troops in the centre, which consisted of four 24-pounder guns, eight 18-pounder guns and 42 lighter regimental guns . Torstenson placed the heavier pieces in front of the middle of the Swedish centre. 24 regimental guns were placed in front of each brigade on

6104-490: The battlefield, losing two-thirds of his army after the battle. The Swedish-Saxon victory at Breitenfeld allowed Gustavus Adolphus to launch a campaign against southern Germany. It was the King's most notable military victory and cemented his reputation of being one of the greatest military commanders in modern history. His army at Breitenfeld utilized an early form of combined arms and mobile units, combined with superior discipline, organizational flexibility and initiative. As

6213-434: The campaigns that took place outside the borders of his Electorate. This policy hindered both the King's and Tilly's continued warfare. Since the beginning of April 1631, Magdeburg was besieged by imperial troops. The city's commandant Falkenberg was ordered by Gustavus Adolphus to hold the city for at least two months. Initially, Falkenberg had been able to take advantage of Tilly's hesitation for his siege, by strengthening

6322-436: The city's defenses and reorganizing his 2,500-strong garrison to be supported by 5,000 armed citizens. But after the fall of Frankfurt, Tilly returned to Magdeburg at the end of April. He systematically attacked the city's outer defenses from several sides, which were gradually abandoned by the Swedish defenders. The Imperial troops dug trenches which, by mid-May, ran only five meters from the city's walls. On May 18, Tilly issued

6431-511: The coastal town of Kolberg . When both Kolberg and the nearby town of Greifswald put up stubborn resistance, Knyphausen was forced to withdraw at the end of 1630. Through the summer campaign of 1630, the Swedish bridgehead along the German Baltic Sea coast was consolidated, while the Swedish army was strengthened through the recruitment of mercenaries from the surrounding area. At the beginning of his campaign, Gustavus Adolplhus

6540-417: The combatants. Tilly had no longer the opportunity to avoid a confrontation, and his forces found themselves at a numerical disadvantage as a result of the union between the two Protestant regents. A southern retreat would worsen his situation, as an entry into Bohemia could lead to a declaration of war from Wallenstein, who since the spring of 1631 had begun negotiations with Gustavus Adolphus. Tilly's only hope

6649-898: The command of Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, was lined up along a 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) long front line in an east–west direction. Among the troops, 14,700 were Imperial soldiers, 15,700 were Catholic League army soldiers, and 1,000 irregular soldiers. In total, the army consisted of 27 artillery pieces, 21,400 infantry divided between fourteen infantry regiments, and 10,000 reiters divided between eleven cuirassier regiments and six harquebusier regiments, including irregular cavalry units. The infantry consisted of 8,600 Imperial soldiers, who formed eight tercios with just over 1,000 men each, and 12,800 League soldiers who formed six more robust tercios of over 2,000 men each. The fourteen tercios were divided into four groups commanded by Tilly, General Matthias Gallas , Colonel Philipp von Pappenheim and Colonel Johan Göss. The majority of

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6758-618: The command of Major General Dietrich Ottmar von Erwitte. The reserve consisted of Erwitte's League Cuirassier Regiment with 600 men, Montecuccoli's (German) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 300 men under Colonel Ernesto Montecuccoli , Caffarelli's (Spanish) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment with 300 men under Colonel Francesco de Caffarelli, Colloredo's (German) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment with 400 men under Colonel Giovanni Battista von Colloredo, and Coronini's (German) Imperial Harquebusier Regiment with 400 men under Colonel Johann P. Coronini von Cronberg. The Imperial artillery park under General of

6867-481: The duchy of Saxony, as a community with its own village council. In 1923, the village formed part of the conjoined community of Lindenthal, and in 1999, joined with the city of Leipzig. Since 2002, Breitenfeld has been the main home of the Leipzig animal rescue, and the city's fairgrounds and exhibition hall is located at the village. In the eastern portion of the village, a monument to Gustav Adolf reminds viewers of

6976-652: The east and Möckern (4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) south of Breitenfeld) in the west. A country road ran from Leipzig to the town of Düben in a north-easterly direction, through the eastern part of the Linkelwald and across the battlefield before crossing the Lober through Zschölkau. The battlefield is today bisected by the Bundesautobahn 14 and Bundesstraße 2 motorways, which have their exit to Leipzig- Mitte between Wiederitzsch and Seehausen. The Swedish army

7085-400: The enemy thus valiantly resisted by our horsemen, and cruelly plagued by our platoons of musketeers; you may imagine, how soon he would be discouraged after charging twice in this manner, and repulsed." Within an hour Pappenheim made three frontal caracole attacks, all of which were repulsed by the cooperation between the Swedish musketeers and horsemen. Despite this setback, his offensive power

7194-443: The entire city garrison were massacred, and the Imperial troops pillaged the city for several days while committing cruel acts of violence against the city's 25,000 inhabitants. By the time Tilly ordered an end to the looting on 24 May, Magdeburg was turned into a smoldering ghost town, resulting in the deaths of around 20,000 inhabitants. The destruction of Magdeburg had dire consequences for both Tilly and Gustavus Adolphus. Tilly

7303-531: The faces of the Swedish soldiers. To circumvent this and attempt to get the wind on their side, the King ordered his right wing to pivot to the left. This movement was observed by both Tilly and Pappenheim. The latter's cavalry was struck hard by the heavy Swedish artillery fire. The impetuous Pappenheim wanted to immediately unleash his cavalry upon the Swedes, while the latter was busy regrouping their ranks. Without receiving any orders from Tilly, Pappenheim went on his own initiative with his cuirassiers and attacked

7412-513: The first line and Colonel Adolf Didrik von Efferen-Hall in command of the second. The wing were made up of Colonel Berthold von Waldstein's infantry regiment's 8 companies with 1,000 men, who were placed in the gaps between the squadrons, as well as four cavalry regiments and a dragoon regiment. At the first line, Lieutenant General Wolf Heinrich von Baudissin 's Cuirassier Regiment had 12 companies with 600 men and Colonel Moritz Pensen von Caldenbach's Cuirassier Regiment had 8 companies with 650 men. At

7521-409: The first line of the centre, while 18 regimental guns were in front of each brigade on the second line. According to Jan Glete, the Saxon army consisted of 17,325 men, of which 12,100 were infantry divided between nine infantry regiments and 5,225 were reiters divided between twelve cavalry regiments. The army also brought 12 artillery pieces of unknown caliber. The army was lined up to the left of

7630-434: The fortress of Spandau . These actions forced the Elector to enter into an alliance with Sweden. The alliance was ratified on June 22, 1631, where Brandenburg agreed to assist Sweden with monthly subsidies. Despite this threat to his northern border, John George of Saxony was still not persuaded or forced to enter into an alliance with Sweden. The Elector instead continued to maintain a policy of strict neutrality in relation to

7739-929: The gaps between the cavalry squadrons. The first line were made up by 12 companies of Nyland Cavalry Regiment (also known as the Hakkapeliitta ) with 800 men under General Åke Henriksson Tott , 4 companies of the Östergötland Cavalry Regiment with 150 men under Colonel Klaus Dietrich von Sperreuth, 8 companies with 400 men of the Småland Cavalry Regiment under Colonel Fredrik Stenbock, the Västergötland Cavalry Regiment 's 8 companies with 400 men under Lieutenant Colonel Knut Soop, Lieutenant Colonel Torsten Stålhandske 's Hakkapeliitta's 4 companies with 350 men and Colonel Reinhold Wunsch's Hakkapeliitta's 4 companies with 350 men. The first line's reserve consisted of 15 companies of

7848-399: The imperial cavalry, whereupon Tilly with his infantry tried to engage the Swedish army with a pincer movement . Through quick improvisation and the flexibility and firepower among the Swedish troops, they were able to regroup and launch a series of counterattacks against Tilly's troops. When Gustavus Adolphus performed a broad counteroffensive with his cavalry, Tilly was forced to retreat from

7957-476: The latter did not want to risk a second assault against the strong Swedish position, the imperial troops retreated on August 8. Both Tilly and the King spent the following weeks to reinforce their armies. By the arrival of Fürstenberg's army at the end of August, Tilly had a total of 35,000 men at his disposal, while Gustavus Adolphus's army at the time was numerically inferior. The Saxon policy of neutrality continued to hinder Tilly's army. The Electorate blocked

8066-452: The latter soon being reinforced by Cronberg's cavalry. General Bindauf and Colonel Starschedel were both shot to death, resulting in their regiments disintegrating and routing from the battlefield. Colonel Steinau was captured by the Imperial-League troops during the commotion, along with most of his regiment. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Tilly recognized an opportunity for a main assault with his Imperial-League infantry against both

8175-545: The lines of communication between the Imperial and League armies that crossed the Swedish line of defense along the Elbe and Oder. John Georg I also wanted to strengthen his Electorate by issuing a decree for the recruitment of militia regiments, which was met with condemnation from Emperor Ferdinand. Tilly feared that the Elector of Saxony would ally himself with Gustavus Adolphus, who had already entered into an alliance with Brandenburg. In order to present John Georg I with an ultimatum regarding his recruitment, Tilly chose to invade

8284-536: The neighboring village of Podelwitz . Meanwhile, Tilly sent his Croatian and Hungarian cavalry units to disrupt the Swedes' passage through the swampy terrain. Their attack was repulsed when they were fired upon by Swedish musketeers. Tilly used this skirmish to order his army into full combat readiness at a pair of ridges close to Breitenfeld. The battle took place on a gently sloping field about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Leipzig. The field covered an area of about 20 km , with crossroads stretched between

8393-462: The north and Göbschelwitz (2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Seehausen) in the south. Between Breitenfeld and Seehausen ran the Galgenberg, a pair of gently sloping ridges where Tilly placed his artillery, while his army was lined up just behind the ridges. Behind his army, just northeast of Wiederitzsch, laid the deciduous Linkelwald forest. Tilly had his army camp between the villages of Eutritsch (3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Wiederitzsch) in

8502-553: The outlines of a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which were intended to satisfy the interests of the Protestants in Northern Germany. After fruitless negotiations with Ferdinand II in Danzig in the spring of 1630, it proved impossible for the King to reach a satisfactory settlement. Despite continued and far-reaching offers, Gustavus Adolphus also initially failed to reach an agreement with Elector John George I of Saxony . As

8611-409: The river Oder further east. During the winter months of 1630 he strengthened his army, which including garrisons numbered over 100,000 men by the end of the year. He now divided his army into four separate army corps. The largest was the royal army of 30,000 men, under the King's personal command. A corps of 15,000 men led by the king's deputy, Field Marshal Gustav Horn, Count of Pori , advanced along

8720-566: The river crossings over the Elbe . Half of these troops, under the direct command of the King, captured the town of Ribnitz and some minor imperial fortresses before launching a siege of the port city of Rostock . Meanwhile, on 23 October his ally William of Hesse-Kassel was defeated by the Imperial Field Marshal Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim , whose troops had arrived in the lower reaches of

8829-474: The same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Breitenfeld&oldid=1048127638 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Breitenfeld, Leipzig Breitenfeld

8938-657: The second line to reinforce his exposed flank, allowing him to gradually extend his own line rightward. First to deploy on the King's right flank was the Rhinegrave's cuirassiers, later followed by Aderkas' Livonians, Dönhoff's Curonians and Kochtitzky's Slavic and Pomeranian cavalry. Pappenheim made three flanking attacks against the Swedes. The regimental commanders Aderkas and Damitz fell during this action. Both Gustavus Adolphus and Banér encouraged their horsemen and musketeers to remain steadfast. With all his attacks repulsed, Pappenheim fell back with heavy casualties and left his remaining cuirassiers demoralized and exhausted. Meanwhile,

9047-1118: The second line were made up of three infantry brigades: the Green Brigade's 24 companies of 2,200 men led by Hepburn himself, which included 8 companies of Hepburn's "Green" Infantry Regiment, Baron Robert Monro of Fouli 's Scottish Infantry Regiment of 8 Companies, and Colonel von Bock's musketeer regiment's 8 companies; General Jindřich Matyáš Thurn 's brigade of 1,900 men which included 8 companies of Thurn's "Black" Infantry Regiment, 8 companies of Colonel Adolf Theodor von Efferen-Hall's "Black" Infantry Regiment, and 12 companies of Colonel Sigfrid von Dārgitz's "White" Infantry Regiment; as well as Colonel Johann Vitzthum von Eckstädt's brigade of 1,200 men which included 8 companies of Eckstädt's "Orange" Infantry Regiment, 5 companies of Colonel Wilhelm Kasper von Mitschefall's Infantry Squadron, and 8 companies of Lieutenant Colonel John Ruthwenn's Infantry Regiment. The second line's reserve consisted of Colonel Adam Schaffman's Czech and Silesian cuirassier squadron's 4 companies with 400 men and Colonel Andras Kochtitzky

9156-411: The second line, there were 5 companies with 250 men of Colonel Nicholas de Courville's Cuirassier Regiment, 12 companies with 800 men of Colonel Efferen-Hall's Cuirassier Regiment and 4 companies with 450 men of Colonel Georg Christoph von Taupadel's German Dragoon Squadron. The Swedish centre consisted of 14,650 men, divided between seven infantry brigades and three cavalry regiments. The first line

9265-898: The soldiers originated from the German states, while other contingents came from Spain , Wallonia in Habsburg Netherlands and the constituent kingdoms of Italy , Croatia and Hungary . The Imperial-League right wing consisted of 5,400 soldiers under the command of General Egon von Fürstenberg. The wing were made up of Colonel Johann von Wangler's (German) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 1,200 men and five cavalry regiments: Altsächsisch's (Protestant) Imperial Cuirassier Regiment with 300 men under Colonel Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg , Baumgarten's (Italian) League Cuirassier Regiment with 500 men under Colonel Wilhelm von Baumgarten, Cronberg's League Cuirassier Regiment with 900 men under Colonel Adam Philip von Cronberg, Schönburg's League Cuirassier Regiment with 900 men under General of

9374-471: The strengthened position of the Emperor and the Catholic side, the Edict of Restitution was issued in March 1629, which would have brought a killing blow to the independence of the Protestant states. It was against this background, as well as after the signing of the separate treaty with Poland in September 1629, that Gustavus Adolphus , King of Sweden , planned his own intervention in the war and came to be

9483-418: The tercio. Out of 1,500 men, only 300 men of the Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp regiment survived after the battle. Colonel von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was mortally wounded during this action and was escorted as a Swedish prisoner of war to Eilenburg for treatment. He succumbed to his wounds two days later. Tilly's infantry remained stationary on the Galgenberg while Pappenheim's made his assault against

9592-421: The town of Demmin . The King then turned his attention to Frankfurt an der Oder, both to secure the river crossing over the Oder and to deter Tilly from threatening Magdeburg. On learning of the Swedes' plans, Tilly found himself in a dilemma whether to rescue Frankfurt or complete his siege of Magdeburg. On April 13, Gustavus Adolphus' army of 23,000 men arrived outside the walls around Frankfurt (Oder). Knowing of

9701-600: The town of Werben, which the Swedes had recently recaptured from Pappenheim's troops. Meanwhile, Tilly had converged with Pappenheim's army to with their combined 20,000 troops attempt to challenge Gustavus Adolphus in open battle. The King, in turn, had assembled 15,000 men at a heavily fortified camp in Werben. Tilly advanced slowly towards Werben. On 27 July, some of his regiments stationed at Burgstall were chased away by Swedish cavalry units. Distressed by this setback, Tilly arrived with his army outside Werben on 5 August. He

9810-470: The upcoming battle with John Georg I and his own general staff. The staff agreed that the united army should draw Tilly into open battle. On the morning of September 17, Gustavus Adolphus ordered his troops to march south through hilly terrain. Only 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) separated the King's and Tilly's armies. After a two-hour long march, the King's troops arrived at the Lober stream, whose swampy banks they were forced to cross with great difficulty to reach

9919-478: The villages of Breitenfeld in the west, Seehausen in the east, Podelwitz in the north and Wiederitzsch in the south. The marshy Lober stream flowed behind Podelwitz, which ran from Schladitzer See 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of the village. The Swedish army was drawn up in the open field just south of Podelwitz. The Saxon army was deployed on the Swedish army's western flank, between the villages of Zschölkau (3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northeast of Podelwitz) in

10028-688: The war progressed, several armies, including the imperial army, began to adopt the Swedish military doctrine . The Thirty Years' War was an interweaving of several larger and smaller interlinked conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in Europe . The first spark of the war was the Protestant revolt in Bohemia , which occurred after the much-publicized defenestration of Prague in May 1618. The war

10137-472: Was among the first to die from a Saxon cannonball. Both forces on the battlefield remained stationary throughout the cannonade and refused to advance against their adversary. Tilly did not want to abandon the Galgenberg, whose advantageous position Gustavus Adolphus feared to attack. Furthermore, the gunpowder smoke from the cannons and the advance of the troops accumulated large clouds of dust and smoke, which with strong south-westerly winds blew straight into

10246-432: Was annihilated, while the garrison of Gartz retreated following a Swedish bombardment of the fortress. The fleeing troops led by Colonel Hannibal von Schauenberg made it to safety into Brandenburg. Despite his small losses of 500 men throughout the Swedish operation, Conti's troops was forced to evacuate all of Pomerania. Meanwhile, Tilly and his army had arrived at Frankfurt an der Oder in mid-January 1631, having covered

10355-605: Was aware that a frontal assault against the strong Swedish camp would end in a massacre of his troops. On the morning of August 6, while a thick fog covered their surroundings, Tilly chose to use the fog as a smoke screen and ordered his troops to advance towards the camp's weakest sections. When the fog suddenly dispersed during the march, Tilly's troops were immediately exposed to Swedish artillery fire and were forced to retreat with heavy casualties. Tilly then arrayed his army in battle formation and stood idle for two days, but Gustavus Adolhpus refused to accept Tilly's challenge. Since

10464-403: Was commanded by Major General Maximilian Teuffel and the second by Colonel John Hepburn . Teuffel's troops of 8,650 men in the first line consisted of four infantry brigades: the Yellow Brigade's 12 companies of 1,700 men led by himself, which also included an infantry squadron of 4 companies under Colonel Niklas von Chemnitz; Colonel Åke Gustafsson Oxenstierna's brigade of 1,400 men which included

10573-644: Was first mentioned in documents in 1271, as part of the estate of the Margrafs of Landsberg. When the elder Dietrich of Landsberg died, his illegitimate son, Dietrich II, inherited the property. The property of Breitenfeld, which included Wiederitzsch and Lindenthal, came under the legal jurisdiction of the Bishopric of Merseburg . After the Reformation , Breitenfeld came into the possession of different Saxon noble families. These occupants were counted among

10682-443: Was fought at a crossroads near Breitenfeld approximately 8 km north-west of the walled city of Leipzig on 17 September ( Gregorian calendar ), or 7 September ( Julian calendar , in wide use at the time), 1631. A Swedish - Saxon army led by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Saxon Elector John George I defeated an Imperial - Catholic League Army led by Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly . It

10791-630: Was fueled by several internal and external tensions against the Habsburg monarchy . The religious division between the Catholic and Protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire came to develop during the course of the war into a minor world war between the great powers of Europe . During the second half of the war, Catholic France would find itself at war with both the Habsburgs and Catholic Spain . Spain, in turn, had been involved in

10900-1574: Was in command of the Imperial-League centre, which included 18,700 troops, with General of the Artillery Otto Friedrich von Schönburg auf Wesel as his second-in-command. The centre was made up of twelve infantry regiments: Baldiron-Dietrichstein's (Spanish-Italian) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 1,100 under Colonel Antoni von Baldiron-Dietrichstein, Blankart's ( Westphalian ) League Infantry Regiment with 2,000 under Colonel Otto Ludwig von Blankart, Chiesa's (German-Italian) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 1,000 under Colonel Kaspar Francesco Chiesa, Comargo-Reinach's League Infantry Regiment with 2,000 under Colonel Hans Ludwig von Grotta, Fürstenberg's (German) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 1,100 under General Fürstenberg, Gallas' (German-Italian) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 900 under General Matthias Gallas, Geleen's (Bavarian) League Infantry Regiment with 2,000 under Colonel Gottfried Huyn von Geleen , Göss (German) Imperial Infantry Regiment with 900 under Colonel Max von Liechtenstein, Pappenheim's League Infantry Regiment with 2,400 under Colonel Philipp von Pappenheim, Savelli's (German) Imperial Infantery Regiment with 900 men under Colonel Federico Savelli , Tilly's League Infantry Regiment from Würzburg with 2,200 men under Generalfeldmarschall Tilly, and Wahl's League Infantry Regiment with 2,200 men under Colonel Joachim Christian von Wahl. Tilly placed his reserve of 2,000 men behind his centre, divided between five cavalry regiments under

11009-486: Was in command of the Saxon right wing, which consisted of six cavalry regiments: Arnim's Life Guard with 200 men led by himself, the Elector's Life Guard with 600 men led by Colonel Dietrich von Taube, Colonel Wolf Adam von Steinau's Cuirassier Regiment with 500 men, Colonel Albrecht von Kalckstein 's Cuirassier Regiment, Colonel Wilhelm Leib's Cuirassier squadron, as well as Duke Friedrich Wilhelm's Cuirassier Regiment led by himself. The Imperial-Catholic League army, under

11118-501: Was in great need of both economic and military support from the Protestant powers in Germany, whose enthusiasm for the Swedish landing was extremely limited. Among the Electorates of Saxony and Brandenburg, including some smaller duchies, Gustavus Adolplhus was regarded as a foreign invader. Only William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel , the city of Magdeburg and the dukes of Mecklenburg and Saxe-Weimar declared themselves in favor of

11227-401: Was now to engage with Tilly's army and stop the siege of Leipzig. At the end of August, Bremen and William V of Hesse-Kassel also chose to join the Protestant alliance. Gustavus Adolphus and John Georg I united their armies on September 15 at the town of Düben . By this time Tilly's army had already stormed and conquered Leipzig. At this point, only 25 kilometres (16 mi) separated between

11336-599: Was ordered to guard the vicinity of Magdeburg, while a second led by Tilly himself was to march towards Thuringia to meet Saxe-Weimar's troops. Meanwhile, two Imperial and Catholic League armies under Generals Egon of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and Johann von Aldringen , who occupied the Duchy of Württemberg and the city of Ulm , marched from the south while a third army under General Otto Heinrich Fugger, Count of Kirchberg , occupied Hesse. Gustavus Adolphus now prepared to prevent further imperial depredations by establishing

11445-696: Was positioned on the far right of the allied formation and was deployed on two offset line formations , with each line being supported by tactical reserves . According to calculations by Swedish military historian Julius Mankell , Gustavus Adolphus commanded a total of around 23,520 Swedish soldiers at the time of the battle. The army consisted of 8,572 musketeers, 3,440 pikemen, 464 dragoons, 7,700 reiters and 3,344 officers. According to Swedish historian Jan Gletes ' studies, Gustavus Adolphus commanded over 22,806 Swedish soldiers at Breitenfeld, which consisted of 14,742 infantry divided between 26 infantry regiments, 7,600 horsemen divided between 17 cavalry regiments and

11554-501: Was still strong and he was able to quickly recoil and regroup his dispersed cuirassiers. As the firepower from the King's front proved extremely taxing, he decided to extend his cavalry line leftward and go around the King's front to envelop his right flank. By performing this evasive maneuver, he directed his attacks against the King's right flank, as well as Banér's troops in the second line. Gustavus Adolphus promptly responded to this threat by ordering his reserves and Banér's units from

11663-758: Was the Protestants' first major victory of the Thirty Years War . Sweden entered the Thirty Years' War in 1628 in an attempt to prevent the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II from expanding his power to the Baltic Sea and threaten Swedish territory. King Gustavus Adolphus landed with a Swedish army in the Duchy of Pomerania in 1630 to intervene in favor of the German Protestants. In the spring of 1631, Field Marshal Tilly had assembled an army to restore Imperial control over northern Germany. Already that summer, Tilly invaded

11772-461: Was to consolidate his position at Leipzig and await for reinforcements. A Catholic League army of 17,000 men under General Aldringen was already advancing from the south. Meanwhile, the Protestant forces, consisting of 30,000 Swedes and 20,000 Saxons, had assembled at Düben. By virtue of his numerical superiority, Gustavus Adolphus felt confident before his upcoming meeting with Tilly's assembled army. He had up until this point deliberately avoided

11881-508: Was unable to support his troops in the vicinity of the city, while the King's failure to rescue the city in time damaged his reputation. Another consequence was that the loss of Magdeburg persuaded the King to abandon his previous cautious method of warfare and instead seek redress for the ruthless massacre of Magdeburg's Protestant population. The Swedes turned the sack of Magdeburg to good use: broadsides and pamphlets distributed throughout Europe ensured that prince and pauper alike understood how

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