The Swedes had lost twenty thousand men, and Nuremberg ten
thousand of her inhabitants, during this period of hunger and slaughter.
This was in September, 1632. In November of the same year the two armies
met again, on the plain of Luetzen, in Saxony, not far from the scene of
Tilly's defeat, a year before. Wallenstein, on the retreat of Gustavus,
had set fire to his own encampment and marched away, burning the
villages around Nuremberg and wasting the country as he advanced, with
Saxony as his goal. Gustavus, who had at first marched southward into
the Catholic states, hastened to the relief of his allies. On the 15th
of November the two great opponents came once more face to face,
prepared to stake the cause of religious freedom in Germany on the issue
of battle.
Early in the morning of the 16th Gustavus marshalled his forces,
determined that that day should settle the question of victory or
defeat. Wallenstein had weakened his ranks by sending Count Pappenheim
south on siege duty, and the Swedish king, without waiting for
reinforcements, decided on an instant attack.
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