The Battle of Lützen, fought on 6 November 1632, is considered one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years' War. A combined Swedish-German army led by Gustavus Adolphus narrowly defeated an Imperial force under Albrecht von Wallenstein. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, with Gustavus among the dead.
The first part of the battle featured a series of frontal attacks by the Swedes, which nearly succeeded before being repulsed by Imperial cavalry under Pappenheim. Gustavus was killed trying to reform his shattered infantry, but his subordinates rallied their men and supported by close range artillery fire overran the Imperial centre just before nightfall. Wallenstein withdrew in good order although he abandoned his wounded, many of his guns and most of his supply train.
Despite the loss of their king, the Swedes continued the war under the direction of Axel Oxenstierna and formed the Heilbronn League with their German allies in April 1633. Backed by French subsidies, the coalition defeated an Imperial army under von Gronsfeld at Oldendorf in July. Wallenstein's alleged failure to support his colleague and rumours he was contemplating switching sides led to his removal and assassination by Imperial agents in February 1634.
Background
Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War began in June 1630 when nearly 18,000 troops under Gustavus Adolphus landed in the Duchy of Pomerania. Backed by French subsidies and supported by Saxony and Brandenburg-Prussia, he defeated Imperial armies at Breitenfeld in September 1631, then Rain in April 1632. However, this drew him deep into Southern Germany and Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein established himself at Fürth, threatening to cut his lines of communication to the north. The largest battle of the war took place on 3 September, when an assault on the Imperial camp outside the town was bloodily repulsed, arguably the greatest blunder committed by Gustavus during his German campaign.
After this success, Wallenstein joined Heinrich Holk in attacking Saxony, hoping to force John George I, Elector of Saxony, out of the war and obliging Gustavus to follow him. Leipzig was captured in early November and on 14th Wallenstein decided to establish winter quarters there. However, next day the Swedes learned Pappenheim's corps of 5,800 men had been detached and sent to Halle, leaving Wallenstein with between 13,000 to 15,000 men. Since this gave Gustavus and his 19,000 men numerical superiority, he decided to attack and quickly advanced from his base at Naumburg. As well as troops in Swedish service, his force included 850 from Hesse-Kassel and some 2,000 Saxons, although their main army was absent.
Late in the afternoon of 5 November, the Swedes ran into an Imperial outpost at the Rippach stream, about 5–6 kilometres south of Lützen. Seeing the danger, Wallenstein ordered Pappenheim to return as quickly as possible; having received the note after midnight, he immediately set off with his cavalry, leaving the infantry to follow. The Swedes halted two kilometres outside the town and camped in battle order, while the Imperial troops worked through the night to build defensive positions along the main Lützen-Leipzig road, also known as the Via Regia. The ground they occupied was mostly flat except for their right flank, which Wallenstein anchored on a low hill next to three windmills, supported by his main artillery battery.
Battle
The Swedish advance was hampered first by morning mist, then having to cross the Flossgraben canal (see Map). As a result, their attack did not begin until 11:00 am, a delay which gave Pappenheim time to reach the battlefield and negated the initial Swedish numerical superiority. Although Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar made little progress against Wallenstein's right, Gustavus overran a line of musketeers holding the ditch along the Lützen-Leipzig road, crossed it, then swung round to outflank the Imperial left. This was the situation around 12:00 pm when Pappenheim arrived on the battlefield with 2,300 cavalry.
He immediately charged and drove the Swedish infantry back across the road, with several elite units effectively wiped out or losing up to 65% of their strength. The Imperial troops also suffered heavy casualties, particularly among their senior officers, including Pappenheim, who was fatally wounded and died while being evacuated in a coach. At the same time, Holk launched a counterattack on the Swedish centre; by 13:00, both armies were losing cohesion and the battle degenerated into a confused series of firefights between opposing units.