BATTLE OF

This article appears in Volume V17, Page 144 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BAR-BEC

BATTLE OF

LUTZEN

LUTZEN

November 16th., x632
Scale of [ Mile
)f )3
German Army I=Cn
Swedish Army 1:11
reoee u., .eel. 0 . E.Seer. Oaf Adel/..7 pre.teelee .1 Jnl.0 ea., 84. k D.nlel..on. L..l
battery of heavy guns, and the " Swedish " 1 and " Yellow" brigades engaged the left face of the Imperialist

lozenge

LOZENGE (from the Fr. losenge, or losange; the word also appears in Span. losanje, and Ital. losanga; perhaps derived from a word meaning a stone slab laid on a grave, which appears in forms such as Provencal lousa, Span. losa, the ultimate origin of whic

with success. But a gap opened between the right of the infantry and the left of the cavalry and Wallenstein's second line squadrons pressed into it. It was this which brought Gustavus from the extreme right, and he was killed here in leading a counter charge.
On the extreme left, meanwhile, the " Green " brigade had come to close quarters with Wallenstein's infantry and guns about

Lutzen

LUTZEN

, and the heavy artillery had gone forward to close range between the " Green " and the " Yellow " infantry. But the news of Gustavus's death spread and the fire of the assault died out. Wallenstein advanced in his turn, recaptured his guns and drove the Swedes over the road.
But the fiery Duke Bernhard of Saxe-

Weimar

WEIMAR

took up the command and ordered a fresh advance. He was too good a soldier to

waste

WASTE (O. Fr. wast, guast, gast, gaste; Lat. vastus, vast, desolate)

his reserves and only brought up a few units of the second line to help the disordered brigades of the first. Again the Imperialists were driven in and their guns recaptured, this time all along the line. About three in the afternoon the Swedes were slowly bearing back Wallenstein's stubborn infantry when Pappenheim appeared. The famous cavalry

leader

LEADER, BENJAMIN WILLIAMS (1831– )

had brought on his mounted men ahead of the infantry and asking, " Where is the king of Sweden ?" charged at once in the direction of the enemy's right. Wallenstein thus gained time to re-establish his order, and once more the now exhausted brigades of the Swedish first line were driven over the road. But Pappenheim fell in the moment of victory and his death disheartened the Imperialists almost as much as the fall of Gustavus had disheartened the Swedes. For the last time Bernhard, wounded as he was, forced the Swedish army to the attack. The three infantry brigades of his second line had not been engaged,2 and as usual the last closed reserve, resolutely handled, carried the day. Wallenstein's army gave way at all points and the Swedes slept on the battlefield. The infantry of Pappenheim's corps did not appear on the field until the battle was over. Of the losses on either side no accurate statement can be given, but the Swedish " Green " and " Yellow " brigades are said to have lost five-sixths of their numbers. Near the spot where Gustavus fell a granite boulder was placed in position on the day after the battle. A canopy of cast-iron was erected over this " Schwedenstein " in 1832, and close by, a chapel, built by Oskar Ekman, a citizen of Gothenburg (d. 1907), was dedicated on the 6th of November 1907.
Lutzen is famous also as the

scene

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

of a victory of

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

over the Russians and Prussians on the 2nd of May 1813 (see NAPOLEONIC CAMPAIGNS). This battle is often called

Gross

GROSS

Gorschen.
B I BLIOG RA PH v.The foregoing account of Gustavus's last victory is founded chiefly upon Lieut.-Colonel Hon. E. Noel's Gustaf Adolf (London, 1904) and a

paper

PAPER
PAPER (Fr. papier, from Lat. papyrus)

by the same officer in the

Journal

JOURNAL
JOURNAL (through Fr. from late Lat. diurnalis, daily)

of the United States Institution of India (Oct. 1908), which should be consulted for further details.

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