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006 - Part 6 · History of the Thirty Years War

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Speaker 1: Part six of the History of the Thirty Years War,
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Speaker 1: Volume three by Friedrich Schiller, translated by Reverend A. J. W. Morrison.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. An imperial general, Hulk,
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Speaker 1: had previously been sent into the Voteland with six thousand
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Speaker 1: men to waste this defenseless province with fire and sword.
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Speaker 1: He was soon followed by Gallas, another of the Duke's
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Speaker 1: generals and an equally faithful instrument of his inhuman orders. Finally,
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Speaker 1: Poppenheim too was recalled from lower Saxony to reinforce the
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Speaker 1: diminished army of the Duke and to complete the miseries
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Speaker 1: of the devoted country. Ruined churches, villages and ashes, harvests,
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Speaker 1: wilfully destroyed families, plundered and murdered peasants marked the progress
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Speaker 1: of these barbarians, under whose scourge the whole of Thuringia,
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Speaker 1: Voteland and Maison lay defenseless. Yet this was but the
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Speaker 1: prelude to greater sufferings with which Wallenstein himself, at the
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Speaker 1: head of the main army, threatened Saxony, after having left
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Speaker 1: behind him fearful moments of his fury in his march
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Speaker 1: through Franconia and Thuringia. He arrived with his whole army
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Speaker 1: in the circle of Leipzig and compelled the city, after
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Speaker 1: a short resistance, to surrender. His design was to push
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Speaker 1: on to Dresden and, by the conquest of the whole country,
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Speaker 1: to prescribe laws to the elector. He had already approached
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Speaker 1: the Mulda, threatening to overpower the Saxon army, which had
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Speaker 1: advanced as far as Torgau to meet him, when the
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Speaker 1: King of Sweden's arrival at Erefurt gave an unexpected check
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Speaker 1: to his operations. Placed between the Saxon and Swedish armies,
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Speaker 1: which were likely to be further reinforced by the troops
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Speaker 1: of George, Duke of Lunburg from Lower Saxony. He hastily
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Speaker 1: retired upon Meersburg to form a junction there with Count
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Speaker 1: Poppenheim and to repel the further advances of the Suites.
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Speaker 1: Guse Davis Adolphus had witnessed with great uneasiness the arts
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Speaker 1: employed by Spain and Austria to detach his allies from him.
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Speaker 1: The more important his alliance with Saxony, the more anxiety
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Speaker 1: the inconstant temper of John George caused him between himself
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Speaker 1: and the Elector, a sincere friendship could never subsist. A prince,
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Speaker 1: proud of his political importance and accustomed to consider himself
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Speaker 1: at the head of his party, could not see without
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Speaker 1: annoyance the interference of a foreign power in the affairs
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Speaker 1: of the Empire, And nothing but the extreme danger of
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Speaker 1: his dominions could overcome the aversion with which he had
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Speaker 1: long witnessed the progress of this unwelcome intruder, the increasing
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Speaker 1: influence of the King in Germany, his authority with the
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Speaker 1: Protestant states, the unambiguous proofs which he gave of his
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Speaker 1: ambitious views, which were of a character calculated to excite
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Speaker 1: the jealous of all the states of the Empire, awakened
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Speaker 1: in the Elector's breast a thousand anxieties, which the imperial
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Speaker 1: emissaries did not fail skillfully to keep alive and cherish
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Speaker 1: every arbitrary step on the part of the King. Every demand,
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Speaker 1: however reasonable, which he addressed to the princes of the Empire,
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Speaker 1: was followed by bitter complaints from the Elector, which seemed
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Speaker 1: to announce an approaching rupture. Even the generals of the
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Speaker 1: two powers, whenever they were called upon to act in
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Speaker 1: common manifested the same jealousy as divided their leaders. John
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Speaker 1: George's natural aversion to war and a lingering attachment to
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Speaker 1: Austria favored the efforts of Ahnheim, who, maintaining a constant
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Speaker 1: correspondence with Wallenstein, labored incessantly to effect a private treaty
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Speaker 1: between his master and the Emperor, And if his representations
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Speaker 1: were long disregarded, still the event proved that they were
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Speaker 1: not altogether without effect. Gustavis Adolphus, naturally apprehensive of the
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Speaker 1: consequences which the defection of so powerful an ally would
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Speaker 1: produce on his future prospects in Germany, spared no pains
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Speaker 1: to avert so pernicious an event, and his remonstrances had
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Speaker 1: hitherto had some effect upon the elector. But the formidable
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Speaker 1: power with which the Emperor seconded his seductive proposals and
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Speaker 1: the miseries which, in the case of hesitation he threatened
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Speaker 1: to accumulate upon Saxony, might at length overcome the resolution
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Speaker 1: of the elector should he be left exposed to the
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Speaker 1: vengeance of his enemies. While an indifference to the fate
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Speaker 1: of so powerful a confederate would irreparably destroy the confidence
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Speaker 1: of the other allies and their protector. This consideration induced
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Speaker 1: the king a second time to yield to the pressing
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Speaker 1: entreaties of the Elector and to sacrifice his own brilliant
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Speaker 1: prospects to the safety of his ally. He had already
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Speaker 1: resolved upon a second attack on Ingolstadt, and the weakness
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Speaker 1: of the Elector of Bavaria gave him hopes of soon
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Speaker 1: forcing this exhausted enemy to accede to a neutrality. An
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Speaker 1: insurrection of the peasantry in Upper Austria opened to him
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Speaker 1: a passage into that country, and the capital might be
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Speaker 1: in his possession before Wallenstein could have time to advance
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Speaker 1: to its defense. All these views he now gave up
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Speaker 1: for the sake of an ally who, neither by his
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Speaker 1: services nor his fidelity, was worthy of the sacrifice, who
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Speaker 1: on the pressing occasions of common good, had steadily adhered
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Speaker 1: to his own selfish projects, and who was important not
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Speaker 1: for the services he was expected to render, but merely
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Speaker 1: for the injuries he had it in his power to inflict.
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Speaker 1: Is it possible, then, to refrain from indignation whom we
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Speaker 1: know that, in this expedition undertaken for the benefit of
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Speaker 1: such an ally, the Great King was destined to terminate
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Speaker 1: his career. Rapidly assembling his troops in Franconia, he followed
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Speaker 1: the route of Wallenstein Throughphingia. Duke Bernard of Weimar, who
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Speaker 1: had been dispatched to act against Poppenheim, joined the King
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Speaker 1: at Armstadt, who now saw himself at the head of
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Speaker 1: twenty thousand veterans. At effort, he took leave of his queen,
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Speaker 1: who was not to behold him save in his coffin
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Speaker 1: at Weissenfeld's. Their anxious adieus seemed to forebode an eternal separation.
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Speaker 1: He reached Naumburg on the first November sixteen thirty two,
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Speaker 1: before the corps which the Duke of Friedland had dispatched
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Speaker 1: for that purpose, could make itself master of that place.
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Speaker 1: The inhabitants of the surrounding country flocked in crowds to
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Speaker 1: look upon the hero, the Avenger, the Great King, who
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Speaker 1: a year before had first appeared in that quarter like
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Speaker 1: a guardian angel. Shouts of joy everywhere attended his progress.
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Speaker 1: The people knelt before him and struggled for the honour
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Speaker 1: of touching the sheath of his sword or the hymn
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Speaker 1: of his garment. The modest hero disliked this innocent tribute
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Speaker 1: which a sincerely grateful and admiring multitude paid him. Is
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Speaker 1: it not said he as if this people would make
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Speaker 1: a god of me, our affairs prosper indeed, But I
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Speaker 1: fear the vengeance of Heaven will punish me for this presumption,
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Speaker 1: and soon enough reveal to this deluded multitude my human
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Speaker 1: weakness and mortality. How amiable does Gustavus appear before us
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Speaker 1: at this moment, when about to leave us forever, Even
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Speaker 1: in the plenitude of success, he honors an avenging Nemesis
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Speaker 1: declines that homage which is due only to the immortal,
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Speaker 1: and strengthens his title to our tears the nearer the
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Speaker 1: moment approaches, that is, to call them forth. In the meantime,
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Speaker 1: the Duke of Friedland had determined to advance to meet
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Speaker 1: the King, and even at the hazard of a battle
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Speaker 1: to secure his winter quarters in Saxony. His inactivity before
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Speaker 1: Nuremberg had occasioned a suspicion that he was unwilling to
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Speaker 1: measure his powers with those of the Hero of the North,
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Speaker 1: and his hard earned reputation would be at stake if
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Speaker 1: a second time he should decline a battle. His present
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Speaker 1: superiority in numbers, though much less than what it was
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Speaker 1: at the beginning of the Siege of Nuremberg, was still
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Speaker 1: enough to give him hopes of victory if he could
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Speaker 1: compel the king to give battle before his junction with
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Speaker 1: the Saxons. But his present alliance was not so much
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Speaker 1: in his numerical superiority as in the predictions of his
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Speaker 1: astrologer Seni, who had read in the stars that the
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Speaker 1: good fortune of the Swedish monarch would decline in the
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Speaker 1: month of November. Besides, between Naumburg and Weissenfels, there was
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Speaker 1: also a range of narrow defiles formed by a long
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Speaker 1: mountainous ridge and the river Saal, which ran at their foot,
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Speaker 1: along which the Swedes could not advance without difficulty, and
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Speaker 1: which might, with the assistance of a few troops, be
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Speaker 1: rendered almost impassable. If attacked there, the king would have
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Speaker 1: no choice but either to penetrate with great danger through
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Speaker 1: the files, or commenced a laborious retreat through Thuringia, and
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Speaker 1: to expose the greater part of his army to a
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Speaker 1: march through a desert country deficient in every necessary for
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Speaker 1: their support. But the rapidity with which Gustavus Adolphus had
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Speaker 1: taken possession of Noumburg disappointed this plan, and it was
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Speaker 1: now Wallenstein himself who awaited the attack. But in this
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Speaker 1: expectation he was disappointed, for the King, instead of advancing
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Speaker 1: to meet him at Vessenfels, made preparations for entrenching himself
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Speaker 1: near Naumburg, with the intention of awaiting there. The reinforcements
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Speaker 1: which the Duke of Lunenburg was bringing up. Undecided whether
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Speaker 1: to advance against the King through the narrow passes between
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Speaker 1: Wessenfels and Noumburg, or to remain inactive in his camp.
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Speaker 1: He called a Council of war in order to have
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Speaker 1: the opinion of his most experienced generals. None of these
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Speaker 1: thought it prudent to attack the King in his advantageous position.
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Speaker 1: On the other hand, the preparations which the latter made
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Speaker 1: to fortify his camp plainly showed that it was not
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Speaker 1: his intention soon to abandon it. But the approach of
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Speaker 1: winter rendered it impossible to prolong the campaign, and by
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Speaker 1: a continued encampment to exhaust the strength of the enemy.
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Speaker 1: Already in so much need of repose. All voices were
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Speaker 1: in favor of immediately terminating the campaign, and the more
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Speaker 1: so as the important city of Cologne upon the Rhine
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Speaker 1: was threatened by the Dutch, while the progress of the
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Speaker 1: enemy in Westphalia and the Lower Rhine called for effective
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Speaker 1: reinforcements in that quarter. Wallenstein yielded to the weight of
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Speaker 1: these arguments and almost convinced that at this season he
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Speaker 1: had no reason to apprehend an attack from the king.
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Speaker 1: He put his troops into winter quarters, but so that
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Speaker 1: if necessary, they might be rapidly assembled. Count Poppenheim was
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Speaker 1: dispatched with a great part of the army to the
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Speaker 1: assistance of Cologne, with orders to take possession on his
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Speaker 1: march of the fortress of Mouritzburg in the territory of
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Speaker 1: how different corps took up their winter quarters in the
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Speaker 1: neighboring towns to watch on all sides the motions of
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Speaker 1: the enemy. Count Coloredo guarded the castle of Wessenfels, and
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Speaker 1: Wallenstein himself encamped with the remainder not far from Meyrsburg,
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Speaker 1: between Flotzgaben and the Ssal, from whence he purposed to
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Speaker 1: march to Leipzig and to cut off the communication between
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Speaker 1: the Saxons and the Swedish Army. Scarcely had Gus Davis
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Speaker 1: the Dolphins been informed of Pappenheim's departure, when, suddenly breaking
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Speaker 1: up his camp at Naumburg, he hastened with his whole
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Speaker 1: force to attack the enemy. Now weakened to one half,
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Speaker 1: he advanced by rapid marches towards Wessenfels, from whence the
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Speaker 1: news of his arrival quickly reached the enemy and greatly
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Speaker 1: astonished the Duke of Friedland. But a speedy resolution was
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Speaker 1: now necessary, and the measures of Wallenstein were soon taken.
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Speaker 1: Though he had little more than twelve thousand men to
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Speaker 1: oppose the twenty thousand of the enemy, he might hope
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Speaker 1: to maintain his ground until the return of Poppenheim, who
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Speaker 1: could not have advanced farther than Hall five miles distant.
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Speaker 1: Messengers were hastily dispatched to recall him, while Wallenstein moved
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Speaker 1: forward into the wide plain between the canal and Lutzen,
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Speaker 1: where he awaited the king in full order of battle,
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Speaker 1: and by this position cut off his communication with Leipzig
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Speaker 1: and the Saxon auxiliaries. Three cannon shots fired by Count
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Speaker 1: Colorado from the castle of Wessenfels announced the king's approach,
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Speaker 1: and at this concerted signal the light troops of the
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Speaker 1: Duke of Friedland, under the command of the Croatian general Usolani,
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Speaker 1: moved forward to possess themselves of the villages lying upon
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Speaker 1: the Repok. Their weak resistance did not impede the advance
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Speaker 1: of the enemy, who crossed the Repok near the village
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Speaker 1: of that name and formed in line below Lutzen opposite
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Speaker 1: the Imperialists. The high road, which goes from Westenfells to Leipzig,
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Speaker 1: is intersected between Lutzen and Markrenstadt by the canal, which
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Speaker 1: extends from Zetes to Meersburg and unites the Elster with
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Speaker 1: the sal On. This canal rested the left wing of
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Speaker 1: the Imperialists and the right of the King of Sweden,
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Speaker 1: but so that the cavalry of both extended themselves along
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Speaker 1: the opposite side. To the northward behind Lutzen was Wallenstein's
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Speaker 1: right wing, and to the south of that town was
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Speaker 1: posted the left wing of the Swedes. Both armies front
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Speaker 1: of the high road, which ran between them and divided
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Speaker 1: their order of battle. But the evening before the battle, Wallenstein,
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Speaker 1: to the great disadvantage of his opponent, had possessed himself
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Speaker 1: of this highway, deepened the trenches which ran along its sides,
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Speaker 1: and planted them with musketeers, so as to make the
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Speaker 1: crossing of it both difficult and dangerous. Behind these again
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Speaker 1: was erected a battery of seven large pieces of cannon
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Speaker 1: to support the fire from the trenches, and at the
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Speaker 1: windmills close behind Lutzen, fourteen smaller field pieces were ranged
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Speaker 1: on an imminence, from which they could sweep the greater
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Speaker 1: part of the plain. The infantry, divided into no more
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Speaker 1: than five unwieldy brigades, was drawn up at a distance
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Speaker 1: of three hundred paces from the road, and the cavalry
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Speaker 1: covered the flanks. All the baggage was sent to Leipzig
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Speaker 1: that it might not impede the movements of the army,
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Speaker 1: and the ammunition wagons alone remained, which were placed in
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Speaker 1: the rear of the line to conceal the weakness of
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Speaker 1: the imperialists. All the camp followers and settlers were mounted
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Speaker 1: and posted on the left wing, but only until Poppenheim's
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Speaker 1: troops arrived. These arrangements were made during the darkness of
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Speaker 1: the night, and when the morning dawned all was ready
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Speaker 1: for the reception of the enemy. On the evening of
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Speaker 1: the same day, Gustavus Adolphus appeared on the opposite plane
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Speaker 1: and formed his troops in the order of attack. His
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Speaker 1: disposition was the same as that which had been so
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Speaker 1: successful the year before at Leipzig. Small squadrons of horse
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Speaker 1: were interspersed among the divisions of the infantry, and troops
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Speaker 1: of musketeers placed here and there among the cavalry. The
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Speaker 1: army was arranged in two lines, the canal on the
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Speaker 1: right and in its rear, the high road in front
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Speaker 1: and the town on the left. In the center, the
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Speaker 1: infantry was formed under the command of Count Bray, the
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Speaker 1: cavalry on the wings. The artillery in front to the
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Speaker 1: German hero. Bernard, Duke of Weimar, was entrusted the command
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Speaker 1: of the German cavalry on the left wing, while on
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Speaker 1: the right the King led on the Swedes in person.
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Speaker 1: In order to excite the emulation of the two nations
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Speaker 1: to a noble competition. The second line was formed in
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Speaker 1: the same manner, and behind these was placed the reserve,
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Speaker 1: commanded by Henderson, a Scotchman. In this position they awaited
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Speaker 1: the eventful dawning of morning to begin a contest, which
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Speaker 1: long delay rather than the probability of decisive consequences, and
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Speaker 1: the pick body rather than the number of the combatants,
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Speaker 1: was to render so terrible and remarkable. The strained expectation
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Speaker 1: of Europe, so disappointed before Nuremberg, was now to be gratified.
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Speaker 1: On the plains of Lutzen. During the whole course of
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Speaker 1: the war, two such generals so equally matched in renown
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Speaker 1: and ability had not before been pitted against each other.
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Speaker 1: Never as yet had daring been cooled by so awful
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Speaker 1: a hazard, or hope animated by so glorious surprise. Europe
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Speaker 1: was the next day to learn who was her greatest general. Tomorrow,
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Speaker 1: the leader who had hitherto been invincible must acknowledge a victor.
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Speaker 1: This morning was to place it beyond a doubt whether
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Speaker 1: the victories of Gustavus at Leipzig and on the Lech
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Speaker 1: were owing to his military genius or to the incompetency
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Speaker 1: of his opponent. Whether the services of Wallenstein were to
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Speaker 1: vindicate the Emperor's choice and justify the high price at
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Speaker 1: which they had been purchased. The victory was it yet doubtful,
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Speaker 1: But certain were the labor and the bloodshed by which
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Speaker 1: it must be earned. Every private in both armies felt
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Speaker 1: a jealous share in their leader's reputation, and under every
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Speaker 1: corseult beat the same emotion that inflamed the bosoms of
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Speaker 1: the generals. Each army knew the enemy to which it
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Speaker 1: was to be opposed, and the anxiety, which each in
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Speaker 1: vain attempted to repress, was a convincing proof of their
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Speaker 1: opponent's strength. At last, the fateful morning dawned, but an
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Speaker 1: impenetrable fog which spread over the plain delayed the attack
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Speaker 1: until noon. Kneeling in front of his lines, the king
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Speaker 1: offered up his devotions, and the whole army, at that
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Speaker 1: same moment, dropping on their knees, burst into a moving hymn,
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Speaker 1: accompanied by the military music. The king then mounted his horse,
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Speaker 1: and clad only in a leathern doublet and surtout for
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Speaker 1: a wound which he had formerly received prevented his wearing armor,
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Speaker 1: rode along the ranks to animate the courage of his
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Speaker 1: troops with a joyful confidence, which, however, the foreboding presentiment
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Speaker 1: of his own bosom contradicted. God with us was the
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Speaker 1: war cry of the Swedes, Jesus Maria that of the imperialists.
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Speaker 1: About eleven, the fog began to disperse and the enemy
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Speaker 1: became visible. At the same moment, Luten was seen in flames,
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Speaker 1: having been set on fire by command of the Duke
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Speaker 1: to prevent his being outflanked on that side. The charge
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Speaker 1: was now sounded. The cavalry rushed upon the enemy, and
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Speaker 1: the infantry advanced against the trenches. Received by a tremendous
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Speaker 1: fire of musketry and heavy artillery, these intrepid battalions maintained
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Speaker 1: the attack with undaunted courage till the enemy's musketeers abandoned
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Speaker 1: their posts. The trenches were passed, the battery carried and
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Speaker 1: turned against the enemy. They pressed forward with irresistible impetuosity.
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Speaker 1: The first of the five imperial brigades was immediately routed,
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Speaker 1: the second soon after, and the third put to flight.
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Speaker 1: But here the genius of Wallenstein opposed itself to their
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Speaker 1: progress with the rapidity of lightning. He was on the
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Speaker 1: spot to rally his discomfited troops, and his powerful word
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Speaker 1: was itself sufficient to stop the flight of the fugitives.
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Speaker 1: Supported by three regiments of caver the vanquished brigades, forming
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Speaker 1: anew faced to the enemy and pressed vigorously into the
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Speaker 1: broken ranks of the Swedes. A murderous conflict ensued. The
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Speaker 1: nearness of the enemy left no room for firearms, the
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Speaker 1: fury of the attack no time for loading. Man was
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Speaker 1: matched to man. The useless musket exchanged for the sword
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Speaker 1: and pike, and science gave way to desperation. Overpowered by numbers,
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Speaker 1: the wearied Swedes that last retire beyond the trenches, and
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Speaker 1: the captured battery is again lost. By the retreat. A
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Speaker 1: thousand mangled bodies already strewed the plane, and as yet
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Speaker 1: not a single step of ground had been won. In
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Speaker 1: the meantime, the King's right wing, led by himself, had
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Speaker 1: fallen upon the enemy's left. The first impetuous shock of
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Speaker 1: the heavy Finland cuirassier dispersed the lightly mounted poles and
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Speaker 1: croats who were posted there, and their disorderly flight spread
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Speaker 1: terror and confusion among the rest of the cavalry. At
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Speaker 1: this moment, notice was brought to the King, ing that
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Speaker 1: his infantry were retreating over the trenches, and also that
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Speaker 1: his left wing, exposed to a severe fire from the
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Speaker 1: enemy's cannon, posted at the windmills, was beginning to give
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Speaker 1: way with rapid decision, he committed to General Horn the
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Speaker 1: pursuit of the enemy's left while he flew with the
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Speaker 1: head of the Regiment of Steinbach to repair the disorder
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Speaker 1: of his right wing. His noble charger bore him with
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Speaker 1: the velocity of lightning across the trenches, but the squadrons
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Speaker 1: that followed could not come on with the same speed,
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Speaker 1: and only a few horsemen, among whom was Francis Albert,
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Speaker 1: Duke of Saxe Lauenberg, were able to keep up with
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Speaker 1: the king. He rode directly to the place where his
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Speaker 1: infantry were most closely pressed, and while he was reconnoitering
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Speaker 1: the enemy's line for an exposed point of attack, the
20:46
Speaker 1: shortness of his sight unfortunately led him too close to
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Speaker 1: their ranks. An Imperial gaif writer footnote a person exempt
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Speaker 1: from watching duty, nearly corresponding to the corporal in footnote,
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Speaker 1: remark that every one respectfully made way for him as
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Speaker 1: he rode along, immediately ordered a musketeer to take aim
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Speaker 1: on him. Fire at him. Yonder said he that must
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Speaker 1: be a man of consequence. The soldier fired, and the
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Speaker 1: King's left arm was shattered. At that moment, his squadron
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Speaker 1: came hurrying up and a confused cry of the king bleeds.
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Speaker 1: The king is shot, spread terror and consternation throughout the ranks.
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Speaker 1: It is nothing follow me, cried the King, collecting his
21:30
Speaker 1: whole strength, but overcome by pain and nearly fainting, he
21:34
Speaker 1: requested the Duke of Lauenbourg in French to lead him, unobserved,
21:38
Speaker 1: out of the tumult. While the Duke proceeded toward the
21:41
Speaker 1: right wing, with the King making a long circuit to
21:45
Speaker 1: keep this discouraging sight from the disordered infantry, his majesty
21:49
Speaker 1: received a second shot through the back, which deprived him
21:52
Speaker 1: of his remaining strength. Brother said he with a dying voice,
21:57
Speaker 1: I have enough. Look only to your own life. At
22:01
Speaker 1: the same moment, he felt from his horse, pierced by
22:03
Speaker 1: several more shots, and abandoned by all his attendants, He
22:07
Speaker 1: breathed as last amidst the plundering hands of the croats.
22:11
Speaker 1: His charger, flying without its rider and covered with blood,
22:15
Speaker 1: soon made known to the Swedish cavalry the fall of
22:17
Speaker 1: their king. They rushed madly forward to rescue his sacred
22:21
Speaker 1: remains from the hands of the enemy. A murderous conflict
22:24
Speaker 1: ensued over the body till his mangled remains were buried
22:28
Speaker 1: beneath a heap of slain The mournful tidings soon ran
22:32
Speaker 1: through the Swedish army, but instead of destroying the courage
22:36
Speaker 1: of these brave troops, it but excited it into a new,
22:39
Speaker 1: a wild and consuming flame. Life had lessened in value
22:44
Speaker 1: now that the most sacred life of all was gone.
22:47
Speaker 1: Death had no terrors for the lowly, since the anointed
22:49
Speaker 1: head was not spared with the fury of lions. The
22:53
Speaker 1: Uplands Smyland, Finland, East and West Gothland regiments rushed a
22:58
Speaker 1: second time upon the left wing of the enemy, which,
23:01
Speaker 1: already making but feeble resistance to General Horn, was now
23:05
Speaker 1: entirely beaten from the field. Bernard, Duke of saxe Weimar,
23:10
Speaker 1: gave to the bereave Swedes a noble leader in his
23:12
Speaker 1: own person, and the spirit of Gustavus led his victorious
23:16
Speaker 1: squadrons anew. The left wing quickly formed again and vigorously
23:21
Speaker 1: pressed the right of the imperialists. The artillery at the Windmills,
23:25
Speaker 1: which had maintained so murderous a fire upon the Swedes,
23:28
Speaker 1: was captured and turned against the enemy. The center also
23:32
Speaker 1: of the Swedish infantry, commanded by the Duke and Knifehausen,
23:37
Speaker 1: advanced a second time against the trenches, which they successfully
23:40
Speaker 1: passed and retook the battery of seven cannons. The attack
23:44
Speaker 1: was now renewed with redoubled fury upon the heavy battalions
23:47
Speaker 1: of the enemy's center. Their resistance became gradually less, and
23:52
Speaker 1: chance conspired with Swedish valor to complete the defeat. The
23:56
Speaker 1: imperial powder wagons took fire with a tremendous ex explosion,
24:00
Speaker 1: grenades and bombs filled the air. The enemy, now in confusion,
24:05
Speaker 1: thought they were attacked in the rear, while the Swedish
24:07
Speaker 1: brigades pressed them in front. Their courage began to fail them.
24:12
Speaker 1: Their left wing was already beaten, their right wavering, and
24:15
Speaker 1: their artillery in the enemy's hands. The battle seemed to
24:18
Speaker 1: be almost decided. Another moment would decide the fate of
24:21
Speaker 1: the day. When Pappenheim appeared on the field with his
24:24
Speaker 1: Crossier dragoons. All the advantages already gained were lost and
24:29
Speaker 1: the battle was to be fought anew. The order which
24:32
Speaker 1: recalled that general to Lutzen had reached him in Hall
24:35
Speaker 1: while his troops were still plundering the town. It was
24:39
Speaker 1: impossible to collect the scattered infantry with that rapidity which
24:42
Speaker 1: the urgency of the order and Pappenheim's impatience required without
24:46
Speaker 1: waiting for it. Therefore, he ordered eight regiments of cavalry
24:50
Speaker 1: to mount, and at their head he galloped at full
24:52
Speaker 1: speed for Lutzen to share in the battle. He arrived
24:56
Speaker 1: in time to witness the flight of the imperial right wing,
24:59
Speaker 1: which Gustavus Horn was driving from the field, and to
25:02
Speaker 1: be at first involved in their route. But with rapid
25:05
Speaker 1: presence of mind he rallied the flying troops and led
25:08
Speaker 1: them once more against the enemy. Carried away by his
25:11
Speaker 1: wild bravery and impatient to encounter the king, who he
25:15
Speaker 1: supposed was at the head of this wing, he burst
25:18
Speaker 1: furiously upon the Swedish ranks, which, exhausted by victory and
25:22
Speaker 1: inferior in numbers, were after a noble resistance. Overpowered by
25:26
Speaker 1: this fresh body of enemies. Poppenheim's unexpected appearance revived the
25:31
Speaker 1: drooping courage of the imperialists, and the Duke of Friedland
25:34
Speaker 1: quickly availed himself of the favorable moment to reform his line.
25:39
Speaker 1: The closely serried battalions of the Swedes were after a
25:42
Speaker 1: tremendous conflict, again driven across the trenches, and the battery,
25:46
Speaker 1: which had been lost twice again rescued from their hands.
25:50
Speaker 1: The whole Yellow regiment, the finest of all that distinguished
25:53
Speaker 1: themselves on this dreadful day, lay dead on the field,
25:57
Speaker 1: covering the ground almost in the same excellent oora which
26:00
Speaker 1: when alive they maintained with such unyielding courage. The same
26:05
Speaker 1: fate befell another regiment of Blues, which Count Piccolomini, attacked
26:09
Speaker 1: with the Imperial cavalry and cut down after a desperate contest.
26:14
Speaker 1: Seven times did this utrepid general renewed the attack. Seven
26:17
Speaker 1: horses were shot under him, and he himself was pierced
26:20
Speaker 1: with six musket balls. Yet he would not leave the
26:23
Speaker 1: field until he was carried along in the general route
26:26
Speaker 1: of the whole army. Wallenstein himself was seen riding through
26:30
Speaker 1: his ranks with cool intrepidity, amidst a shower of balls,
26:34
Speaker 1: assisting the distressed, encouraging the valiant with praise, and the
26:38
Speaker 1: wavering by his fearful glance around and close by him.
26:42
Speaker 1: His men were falling thick, and his own mantle was
26:45
Speaker 1: perforated by several shots, but avenging destiny this day protected
26:50
Speaker 1: that breast, for which another weapon was reserved. On the
26:53
Speaker 1: same field where the noble Gustavus expired, Wallenstein was not
26:57
Speaker 1: allowed to terminate his guilty career. Less fortunate was Poppenheim.
27:02
Speaker 1: The telemon of the army, the bravest soldier of Austria
27:05
Speaker 1: and the Church. An ardent desire to encounter the King
27:08
Speaker 1: in person carried this daring leader into the thickest of
27:12
Speaker 1: the fight, where he thought his noble opponent was most
27:15
Speaker 1: surely to be met. Gustavus had also expressed a wish
27:18
Speaker 1: to meet this brave antagonist, but these hostile wishes remained ungratified.
27:24
Speaker 1: Death first brought together these two great heroes. Two muskeballs
27:28
Speaker 1: pierced the breast of Poppenheim, and his men forcibly carried
27:31
Speaker 1: him from the field. While they were conveying him to
27:34
Speaker 1: the rear, a murmur reached him that he whom he
27:38
Speaker 1: had sought, lay dead upon the plain. When the truth
27:41
Speaker 1: of the report was confirmed to him, his look became brighter,
27:45
Speaker 1: his dying eye sparkled with a last gleam of joy.
27:48
Speaker 1: Tell the Duke of Friedland said he that I lie
27:51
Speaker 1: without hope of life, but that I die happy, since
27:55
Speaker 1: I know that the implacable enemy of my religion has fallen.
27:58
Speaker 1: On the same day with Pappenheim, the good fortune of
28:02
Speaker 1: the imperialists departed. The cavalry of the left wing, already
28:06
Speaker 1: beaten and only rallied by his exertions, no sooner missed
28:10
Speaker 1: their victorious leader than they gave up everything for lost
28:13
Speaker 1: and abandoned the field of battle in spiritless despair. The
28:17
Speaker 1: right wing fell into the same confusion, with the exception
28:20
Speaker 1: of a few regiments. With the bravery of their colonels
28:23
Speaker 1: goetz Tertsky, Colorado and Piccolomini. Compelled to keep their ground,
28:29
Speaker 1: the Swedish infantry, with prompt determination, profited by the enemy's confusion,
28:35
Speaker 1: to fill up the gaps which death had made in
28:37
Speaker 1: the front line. They formed both lines into one, and
28:41
Speaker 1: with it made the final and decisive charge. A third
28:44
Speaker 1: time they crossed the trenches, and a third time they
28:46
Speaker 1: captured the battery. The sun was setting when the two
28:49
Speaker 1: lines closed. The strife grew hotter as it drew to
28:52
Speaker 1: an end. The last efforts of strength were mutually exerted,
28:57
Speaker 1: and skill and courage did their utmost to repair in
28:59
Speaker 1: these precious moments. The fortune of the day, it was
29:03
Speaker 1: in vain despair, endows everyone with superhuman strength. No one
29:07
Speaker 1: can conquer, no one will give way. The art of
29:11
Speaker 1: war seemed to exhaust its powers on one side, only
29:14
Speaker 1: to unfold some new and untried masterpiece of skill on
29:17
Speaker 1: the other. Night and darkness at last put an end
29:20
Speaker 1: to the fight before the fury of the combatants was exhausted,
29:24
Speaker 1: and the contest only ceased when no one could any
29:27
Speaker 1: longer find an antagonist. Both armies separated, as if by
29:32
Speaker 1: tacit agreement. The trumpets sounded, and each party, claiming the victory,
29:36
Speaker 1: quitted the field. The artillery on both sides, as the
29:40
Speaker 1: horses could not be found, remained all night upon the
29:43
Speaker 1: field at once. The reward and the evidence of victory
29:46
Speaker 1: to him who should hold it. Wallenstein, in his haste
29:50
Speaker 1: to leave Leipzig, and Saxony forgot to remove his part.
29:54
Speaker 1: Not long after the battle was ended, Poppenheim's infantry, who
29:58
Speaker 1: had been unable to follow the rapid movements of their
30:00
Speaker 1: general and who amounted to six regiments, marched on the field.
30:04
Speaker 1: But the work was done a few hours earlier, so
30:08
Speaker 1: considerable a reinforcement would perhaps have decided the day in
30:11
Speaker 1: favor of the imperialists, and even now, by remaining on
30:15
Speaker 1: the field they might have saved the Duke's artillery and
30:18
Speaker 1: made a prize of that of the Swedes. But they
30:20
Speaker 1: had received no orders to act, and uncertain as to
30:24
Speaker 1: the issue of the battle, they retired to Leipzig, where
30:26
Speaker 1: they hoped to join the main body. The Duke of
30:29
Speaker 1: Friedland had retreated thither and was followed on the morrow
30:33
Speaker 1: by the scattered remains of his army, without artillery, without colors,
30:37
Speaker 1: and almost without arms, the Duke of Weimar. It appears,
30:40
Speaker 1: after the toils of this bloody day, allowed the Swedish
30:43
Speaker 1: army some repose between Lutzen and Vessenfels, near enough to
30:48
Speaker 1: the field of battle to oppose any attempt the enemy
30:50
Speaker 1: might make to recover it. Of the two armies, where
30:54
Speaker 1: the nine thousand men lay dead, a still greater number
30:57
Speaker 1: were wounded, and among the imperialists scarcely a man escaped
31:01
Speaker 1: from the field uninjured. The entire plane from Lutzen to
31:05
Speaker 1: the canal was strewed with the wounded, the dying, and
31:08
Speaker 1: the dead. Many of the principal nobility had fallen on
31:12
Speaker 1: both sides. Even the Abbot of Fulda, who had mingled
31:15
Speaker 1: in the combat as a spectator, paid for his curiosity
31:19
Speaker 1: and his ill timed zeal with his life history says
31:22
Speaker 1: nothing of prisoners, a further proof of the animosity of
31:26
Speaker 1: the combatants who neither gave nor took quarter end of
31:31
Speaker 1: Part six.