The Battle of Lützen (1632) was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, causing the Protestant campaign to lose direction.
Two days before the battle, on November 14 (in the Gregorian calendar, 4th in the Julian calendar) the Roman Catholic general Wallenstein decided to split his forces a...
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The Battle of Lützen (1632) was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years' War. It was a Protestant victory, but cost the life of one of the most important leaders of the Protestant alliance, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, causing the Protestant campaign to lose direction.
Two days before the battle, on November 14 (in the Gregorian calendar, 4th in the Julian calendar) the Roman Catholic general Wallenstein decided to split his forces and withdraw his main headquarters back towards Leipzig. He expected no further move that year from the Protestant army, led by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, since unseasonably wintry weather was making it difficult to camp in the open countryside. Gustavus Adolphus, however, planned otherwise. On the early morning of November 15, his army marched out of camp towards Wallenstein's last-known position and attempted to catch him by surprise. But his trap was sprung prematurely on the afternoon of November 15, by a small force left by...
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