Battle of the Alte Veste

Battle of Alte Veste
	Part of the Nürnberg, Franconian Circle, Holy Roman Empire; (present-day Bavaria, Germany)
Result	Imperial victory

Belligerents

Holy Roman Empire

Catholic League

SwedenCommanders and leaders

Albrecht von Wallenstein

Johann von Aldringen

Gustavus Adolphus

Wilhelm of Weimar

Bernard of Saxe-Weimar

Lennart Torstensson (POW)Strength 43,500 men^[1] 44,600 men
30,011 infantry in 37 regiments and 306 companies
15,419 cavalry in 39 regiments and 263+ companies^[2]Casualties and losses 900^[3] 2,500^[3]

Alte Veste, Zirndorf

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Location within Bavaria

Alte Veste, Zirndorf

Alte Veste, Zirndorf (Germany)

The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War in which Gustavus Adolphus' attacking forces were defeated by Wallenstein's entrenched troops.^[4]

Background

In the late summer of 1632 the army of Swedish King

General Tilly, particularly at Breitenfeld, followed by Tilly's death during the Battle of Rain, forced Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II to recall Albrecht von Wallenstein

into military service from retirement. Wallenstein was unmatched in his ability to raise troops, and within a few weeks he took to the field with a fresh army.

The Imperial Army's ranks swelled as Wallenstein moved to stop the Swedes' advance at Nuremberg. Repeatedly, Gustavus formed for battle and challenged Wallenstein to come out of his fortified camp, but was refused. As the supply situation continued to worsen, the impetuous King grew desperate.

Battle

Gustavus Adolphus attacked the Imperial camp at the Alte Veste (or "Old Fortress")—a derelict castle situated atop a wooded hill. Its ownership would then allow the Swedish guns to dominate the Imperial camp. The Imperials were prepared with trenches and an

Swedish cavalry

reserve averted a complete disaster.

Result

The Swedes had been defeated. The Commander of the Swedish artillery,

Lennart Torstenson, was taken prisoner and locked up for nearly a year at Ingolstadt. Several weeks later, lack of supplies led Wallenstein to break camp and move north, allowing the Swedes out of Nuremberg. The two armies met again two months later at the Battle of Lützen

, where Gustavus was killed.

Citations

^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 40.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2016-03-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ ^a ^b Wilson 2018, p. 34.
^ Clodfelter 2017, p. 37.