OFFICER WITH BANNER LUTZEN 1632

The Thirty Years' War in 1618-1648 was one of the largest and bloodiest conflicts in 17th-century Europe. In essence, it was a competition between the Habsburg dynasty (in the Austrian and Spanish lines) and France and its allied Sweden (from 1630) and other countries. It was divided into several stages (including: Czech, Danish, Swedish or French), in which the Habsburgs won until a certain point. However, the war ended in their defeat, and France and Sweden turned out to be the biggest winners. In the course of this war, officers of individual armies and troops played a significant role, not only as field commanders, but also as organizers of supplies for their soldiers. Of course, very often this meant robbery and the plunder of the neighborhood. Undoubtedly, one of the most talented officers of this war was Albrecht von Wallenstein - a great field commander, a man with great ambitions, who was murdered on the orders of the Habsburgs. Another outstanding officer was Gottfried zu Pappenheim, who fought in the Habsburg Catholic army - a good cavalry commander who, like Gustav Adolf, died at Lützen in 1632. On the French side, there are two great officers and commanders. The first is Touraine (actually Henri de Turenne) - one of the most important French leaders of the declining period of the war. The second - the Great Condeus (actually Louis of Bourbon), who is considered one of the greatest leaders of the 17th century and who won the Battle of Rocroi (1643).The Battle of Lützen was fought on November 16, 1632 in today's Germany. In this battle, the Swedish army, led by King Gustav II Adolf, stood on one side, and the imperial army and the Catholic League under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein and Gottfried zu Pappenheim stood against them. It is assumed that the Swedes had approx. 18 thousand. people, and the Habsburg army - about 22 thousand. The Swedes quickly won the battle, starting it with their cavalry attack on the Habsburg left wing, relatively quickly achieving considerable success. At the same time, fierce fighting was taking place in the center and on the right imperial wing, in which the Swedish army was slowly taking over. However, entering the cavalry battle led by Pappenheim temporarily changed the fate of the battle in favor of the imperial troops. However, the imminent death of this good commander caused quite a stir in the Habsburg ranks. Ultimately, thanks to the attitude of Fr. Bernard Weimarski, the Swedish troops prevailed and captured Lützen, forcing the enemy troops to retreat. In the course of the battle, the King of Sweden, Gustav II Adolf, fell, and the battle itself ended - despite the retreat of the Imperials - in a de facto draw, with the indication of the Swedes.