The Second Battle of Breitenfeld was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and Ottavio Piccolomini, supported by Saxon troops, and the Swedish Army under Lennart Torstensson. It was the last battle of the war featuring more than 20.000 soldiers on each side and one of the rare occasions where both combatants were attacking. [1]
The Swedish Army had been besieging the nearby Saxon fortress Leipzig but relieved it in face of the Imperial advance. The imperials interpreted the Swedish movements as an unorganized retreat because the Swedes had trickled out their troops to obtain a more favourable terrain. The imperial war council under the Archduke overruled Piccolomini's objections against battling an almost even-matched opponent in open field and ordered an attack. The Swedes awaited them in battle formation at Breitenfeld, the place of Gustavus Adolphus' famous victory in 1631. [2]
Both armies used a linear formation with two wings of cavalry around the infantry in the center. The infantry was divided in two subgroups by both armies because of the woods that intersected the imperial lines. [3] An early rout of the Madlo Arquebusier and most of the Saxon regiments at the imperial left wing allowed the Swedes to gain the upper hand on this side of the battle. The imperial right wing achieved similar success against the Swedish left until Torstensson sent large parts of his victorious right around the woods and behind the imperial center to attack the imperial right from the rear. They ultimately drove the imperials from the field, only the Leibregiments supported by Alt- and Neu-Piccolomini, Mislik, Borneval and Luttke resisted long enough to cover the retreat of the right group of the imperial center. The left group however was encircled and forced to surrender by the victorious Swedes. [4]
There are essentially two different orders of battle for the Imperial-Saxon army. The one cited by William Guthrie mostly uses the information from the Theatrum Europaeum. [5] According to Otto Rudert, this order of battle was the intended one but was changed shortly prior to the battle. Rudert and Arndt Preil instead use the Callenbergische Battaglia from the battle report of Colonel Kurt Reinecke von Callenberg. The Battaglia is meant to indicate the actual order of troops in battle and is used in this list. [6] [7]
Overall commanders were Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and Field-Marshal Ottavio Piccolomini. Unless otherwise noted, all units are German. [8]
Generalfeldwachtmeister Hans Christoph von Puchheim, 31 squadrons [9]
First Echelon (Colonel Nicola Montard de Noyrel) [9]
Second Echelon (Colonel Schleinitz) [9]
Flankers
Feldzeugmeister Ernst Roland von Suys, 11 brigades, 8 squadrons, 46 guns [9]
Left Group (Feldzeugmeister Johann Barwitz von Fernemont and Generalfeldwachtmeister Anton von Weveld) [9] [36]
Right Group (Generalfeldwachtmeister Camillo Gonzaga) [9]
Reserve (Feldzeugmeister Suys) [9]
Feldzeugmeister Annibale Gonzaga, 32 squadrons [51]
First Echelon (Lieutenant Field Marshall Albert Gaston Spinola von Bruay) [51]
Second Echelon (Generalfeldwachtmeister Jacob Borneval d’Arlin) [51]
Flankers
Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson [26]
Major general Arvid Wittenberg, major general Torsten Stålhandske, 24 squadrons, 13 detachments, 13 guns [26]
First Echelon (Major general Wittenberg) [26]
Second Echelon (Major general Stålhandske) [26]
Riksfälttygmästare Johan Lilliehöök, 11 brigades, 3 squadrons, 18 heavy and 23 light guns [26]
Left Group (Major general
Carl Gustaf Wrangel)
[26]
First Echelon
Second Echelon
Right Group (Major general
Kaspar Kornelius Mortaigne de Potelles)
[26]
First Echelon
Second Echelon
Third Echelon Reserve
Major general Erik Slang, major general Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, 24 squadrons, 16 detachments, 16 guns [85]
First Echelon (Major general Slang) [85]
Second Echelon (Major general Königsmarck) [85]
The Second Battle of Breitenfeld was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and Ottavio Piccolomini, supported by Saxon troops, and the Swedish Army under Lennart Torstensson. It was the last battle of the war featuring more than 20.000 soldiers on each side and one of the rare occasions where both combatants were attacking. [1]
The Swedish Army had been besieging the nearby Saxon fortress Leipzig but relieved it in face of the Imperial advance. The imperials interpreted the Swedish movements as an unorganized retreat because the Swedes had trickled out their troops to obtain a more favourable terrain. The imperial war council under the Archduke overruled Piccolomini's objections against battling an almost even-matched opponent in open field and ordered an attack. The Swedes awaited them in battle formation at Breitenfeld, the place of Gustavus Adolphus' famous victory in 1631. [2]
Both armies used a linear formation with two wings of cavalry around the infantry in the center. The infantry was divided in two subgroups by both armies because of the woods that intersected the imperial lines. [3] An early rout of the Madlo Arquebusier and most of the Saxon regiments at the imperial left wing allowed the Swedes to gain the upper hand on this side of the battle. The imperial right wing achieved similar success against the Swedish left until Torstensson sent large parts of his victorious right around the woods and behind the imperial center to attack the imperial right from the rear. They ultimately drove the imperials from the field, only the Leibregiments supported by Alt- and Neu-Piccolomini, Mislik, Borneval and Luttke resisted long enough to cover the retreat of the right group of the imperial center. The left group however was encircled and forced to surrender by the victorious Swedes. [4]
There are essentially two different orders of battle for the Imperial-Saxon army. The one cited by William Guthrie mostly uses the information from the Theatrum Europaeum. [5] According to Otto Rudert, this order of battle was the intended one but was changed shortly prior to the battle. Rudert and Arndt Preil instead use the Callenbergische Battaglia from the battle report of Colonel Kurt Reinecke von Callenberg. The Battaglia is meant to indicate the actual order of troops in battle and is used in this list. [6] [7]
Overall commanders were Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and Field-Marshal Ottavio Piccolomini. Unless otherwise noted, all units are German. [8]
Generalfeldwachtmeister Hans Christoph von Puchheim, 31 squadrons [9]
First Echelon (Colonel Nicola Montard de Noyrel) [9]
Second Echelon (Colonel Schleinitz) [9]
Flankers
Feldzeugmeister Ernst Roland von Suys, 11 brigades, 8 squadrons, 46 guns [9]
Left Group (Feldzeugmeister Johann Barwitz von Fernemont and Generalfeldwachtmeister Anton von Weveld) [9] [36]
Right Group (Generalfeldwachtmeister Camillo Gonzaga) [9]
Reserve (Feldzeugmeister Suys) [9]
Feldzeugmeister Annibale Gonzaga, 32 squadrons [51]
First Echelon (Lieutenant Field Marshall Albert Gaston Spinola von Bruay) [51]
Second Echelon (Generalfeldwachtmeister Jacob Borneval d’Arlin) [51]
Flankers
Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson [26]
Major general Arvid Wittenberg, major general Torsten Stålhandske, 24 squadrons, 13 detachments, 13 guns [26]
First Echelon (Major general Wittenberg) [26]
Second Echelon (Major general Stålhandske) [26]
Riksfälttygmästare Johan Lilliehöök, 11 brigades, 3 squadrons, 18 heavy and 23 light guns [26]
Left Group (Major general
Carl Gustaf Wrangel)
[26]
First Echelon
Second Echelon
Right Group (Major general
Kaspar Kornelius Mortaigne de Potelles)
[26]
First Echelon
Second Echelon
Third Echelon Reserve
Major general Erik Slang, major general Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, 24 squadrons, 16 detachments, 16 guns [85]
First Echelon (Major general Slang) [85]
Second Echelon (Major general Königsmarck) [85]