V&F – Battle of Luetzen, November 1632.

Background

The Battle of Lützen, fought on 16 November 1632, was one of the most important of the Thirty Years’ War. Led by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, an Allied army primarily composed of troops from Sweden, Saxony, and Hesse-Kassel, narrowly defeated an Imperial force under Albrecht von Wallenstein. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, with Gustavus himself among the dead.

Wallenstein deployed his men in defensive positions, and the battle began with a series of frontal attacks by the Allied infantry. These nearly succeeded in breaking through before being repulsed with severe losses by Imperial cavalry under Pappenheim. Gustavus was killed as they fell back, but re-formed by his subordinates, his infantry overran the Imperial centre just before nightfall, supported by close range artillery fire. Wallenstein withdrew his remaining troops in good order, but was forced to abandon 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. Backed by French subsidies, in April 1633 Sweden formed the Heilbronn League with their German allies, and shortly afterwards defeated an Imperial army at Oldendorf. In February 1634, rumours that Wallenstein was about to change sides resulted in his assassination by Imperial agents.

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. On 3 September, 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 and 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.

On the evening of the 15th of November, the Swedish/German army camped in battle formation two kilometres outside Lützen, ready to attack next day. Advised of their movements by his scouts, Wallenstein ordered Pappenheim to return as quickly as possible. The latter set off with his cavalry just after midnight on 6 November, leaving the infantry to follow, while Wallenstein’s troops worked through the night building defensive positions along the main Lützen-Leipzig road, also known as the Via Regia. The ground was mostly flat, except on the Imperial right, which Wallenstein anchored on a low hill next to three windmills, supported by his main artillery battery.

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.

By now, officers on both sides were trying to reorganise their troops, the smoke from the burning houses in Lützen blowing across the battlefield and making it almost impossible to see. While trying to rally his shattered infantry, Gustavus and his entourage got lost and ran into an Imperial cavalry unit; he was shot three times and fell dead from his horse, his body not recovered until after the fighting ended that evening. The Swedish reserve under Knyphausen managed to hold the line, providing time for their colleagues to reform and the fighting paused around 15:00.

Although news of Gustavus’ death soon spread, Wallenstein himself refused to believe it, while many of his own troops were in equally bad shape. Much of Pappenheim’s cavalry fled and told the infantry coming from Halle the battle was lost, although the latter continued marching towards Lützen. Several units looted their own baggage train, accompanied by camp followers who escaped on the horses needed to transport guns and supply wagons.

There are few reliable eyewitness accounts for the second phase of the battle and events are thus harder to reconstruct. One suggestion is Knyphausen advised retreat but when Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar continued his attack on the Imperial left, he moved his troops forward and crossed the Via Regia once again. As they did so, they captured the small battery in the centre and used it to fire on the Imperial left, which slowly withdrew out of range. Around 16:00, Bernard of Saxe-Weimar finally over-ran Lützen, then seized the main Imperial battery next to the windmills which were turned on his retreating opponents.

By 17:00 and with dusk falling, fighting subsided as Wallenstein ordered his troops to retire, abandoning his guns and baggage. After marching all day, Pappenheim’s infantry, about 2,900 strong, arrived on the battlefield after nightfall; they wished to counterattack but instead Wallenstein ordered them to cover his retreat into Leipzig. The Swedes were finally able to recover the body of their king from under a heap of corpses on the Imperial side of the ditch which had been the scene of bitter fighting throughout the day.

While Imperial casualties of 5,160 killed or wounded were lower than Swedish losses of around 6,000, Wallenstein decided he could not hold Leipzig and withdrew into Bohemia, leaving behind over 1,200 wounded, who were taken prisoner. During this retreat, the Imperialists were harassed by Saxon peasantry angry at the destruction of their crops, and suffered significant additional casualties. His retreat allowed the Swedes to claim Lützen as a victory, a view with which most historians agree, although it can also be seen as a marginal Imperial victory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lützen_(1632)#Notes

The Game

My buddy DF set up this game, like most of the other 17th century games we have played. All the terrain and miniatures were his. So, I just needed to show up and play!

The forces were arrayed on the tabletop facing one another. The Imperials had to artillery redoubts that would give victory point to the side controlling them at the end of the game. The Germans also had a cavalry reserve that would arrive later in the game.

The terrain on the table was all open, except the stream on the flank that was only crossable at the bridges. The town of Luetzen was during, so could only be occupied at the outer city walls. Windmill hill was slightly raised and open terrain.

The game started with the Swedes moving forward slowly in the attack with their infantry and more aggressively with the flanking cavalry. The Imperials held their ground against these moves and hoped to hold on until the reserves arrived.

On the Swedish left, the cavalry had a bit of bad luck and were slowed down by the Imperial cavalry. It was a bit of a back and forth, but the Imperials held long enough and wrestled control of the fight. In the end, the Imperials were able to rout the Swedes off the field.

The right wing Swedish cavalry had more success early and were able to push back the Imperials. In time, with support of their infantry, they were able to overcome the first redoubt. The attack was very deliberate and the Swedes made sure they continually regrouped their cavalry to keep the advance going.

It was at this point that the Imperial reserve cavalry arrived. This caused the Swedes to call off their attack and redirect against the newly arriving cavalry. This turned out to be a see saw fight that resulted in a bit of a stand still, allowing the Imperials to hold the infantry positions in the middle to await the main Swedish assault.

With the cavalry not being able to carry the day, the Swedish infantry went in. It was a bit of a slog at first, but the Imperials held their ground and inflicted heavy casualties on the attackers. The game ended with each side having a redoubt, but with the Swedes giving up too many waver points. We ended up with an Imperial victory and Gustavus surviving the battle!

• Manteuffel