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Written Narration in the video is from The King's Ring
by Zacharias Topelius
Since the sack of Rome in 1527, the Church was forced to subservience to the House of Hapsburg. The Hapsburg line in Spain was at war with the Protestants in the Netherlands, and the Austrian Hapsburgs under Ferdinand II had just ascended to Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand soon ordered laws to revert any religious differences in Germany. When the Protestants in Germany were at their weakest, the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, intervened.
The Swedes beat the defending Imperialists up the Oder river, then went west to protect the city of Magdeburg which declared loyalty to Gustavus. However Imperialist General, the Count of Tilly, was besieging the Protestant city. The ruler of Saxony, John George sought neutrality and would not give loyalty to a foreign army and betray the Empire. Therefore Saxony would not give Sweden free passage through their territory. Magdeburg was sacked, pillaged, and burned. Twenty thousand citizens of Magdeburg were murdered by Tilly and the Imperialists on May 20th, 1631.
Tilly then moved deeper in Saxony, and threatened that if John George and his army would not join him, more Saxon cities would meet the same fate as Magdeburg. The ultimatum backfired, John George joined with Gustav and the Swedish army, then marched to battle the Imperialists near Leipzig, in the battle of Breitenfeld.
The battle opened at about noon with artillery by the Imperialists. The lighter but more numerous Swedish guns replied three shots to one. The cannonade continued for two and half hours.
The fiery Pappenheim made the first move, charging with his 5,000 Imperialist horse into the Swedish right. Pappenheim’s charge was unauthorized though. Pappenheim wheeled around 7 times with the same ineffectual results.
Commander Furstenberg on the Imperial right charged in against the Saxons, sending the inexperienced men to flight. The Saxon retreat uncovered Gustav’s flank which Tilly was hoping to expose. Furstenberg rode further north to come from the Swedish rear while Tilly wheeled the infantry to attack Gustav’s left.
General Horn for the Swedes responded to Tilly’s advance by moving to protect the Swedish left. Gustav ordered his second line to reinforce Horn. Because of the Swede’s innovative mobility, the fighting on the battlefield rotated 45 degrees.
The shift enabled Baner’s cavalry, who had just sent Pappenheim to flight, to ride down the late line of battle and capture Tilly’s heavy artillery. The Swedes began to use the captured artillery on the Imperialists, causing panic and blocking Tilly’s access back to Leipzig. The right side of the Swedish infantry were able to take Tilly in flank. The Imperial infantry held firmly through the onslaught: The Swedish cannon was shredding the Imperial formation in the front, while their own captured artillery were decimating the Imperialists from the rear. Tilly’s proud soldiers could do little but preserve their reputation. Nightfall could not come fast enough for the Imperialists.
Since the Battle of Breitenfeld fought on September 17th, 1631 the Protestants could no more be seen as merely rebels. With Gustavus Adolphus as their hero, the Protestants had faced and beaten the might of the counter-Reformation.
