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1045.]
Reinforcements arrive
from Sweden. CHRISTINA. THE REGENCY. Second battle of
Leipsic.
313
an Imperialist army of superior force came to its
relief. Torstensoii was obliged to raise the siege.
He sti’engtliened the garrisons of Oppeln and
Schvveidnitz, aud sent Konigsmark to Saxony, to
make head against the movements which showed
themselves tliere. He himself fell back across the
Oder towards Glogau, again passed the river fur-
ther up at Crosseii, and sat down in a camp at the
confluence of the Neisse and the Oder, in order to
wait for the reinforcement conducted by Charles
Gustave Wrangel, from Sweden, which was already
approaching. The junction with the van-guard of
Wrangel’s corps, 4000 foot, took place on the 26th
August ^, after which Torstenson compelled the Im-
perialists to raise the siege of Glogau. He attempted
again, although vainly, to cut off the Imperiahst
army from Bohemia, took Zittau under their eyes on
Wolgast.") Correspondence of C. G. Wrangel in the Library
ofSko Cloister.
’ Torstenson to Wrangel :
"
Things have now gone so far
with Glogau, that they are already hand to hand under the
walls, and throwing stones (out of mortars, to wit) against each
other, so that our men can make no sally. I can no longer
subsist, yet will I so order my march that the major-general
may be able to follow me. March on this side of the Oder
to Crossen, and with the utmost practicable haste." Field-
camp at Neisse, August 21, 1611. Postscript in Torstenson’s
own hand :
" If the succour do not come up shortly, Glogau
is lost." Correspondence.
1
The following extract from a letter of C. G. Wrangel to
his father, dated Leipsic, Oct. 23, 1642, consequently on the
day of the battle itself, gives a view of the movements of the
armies from the 7th September. On this day Glogau was
relieved, and the Imperialists raised the siege. "The 10th
September the Swedish army moved from Glogau, there
passed the Oder, and came on the 1 3th to Bunzlau, which
was taken by storm; the 15th to Lemberg, whicli was like-
wise taken by storm; the 16th to Lauben, a Saxon town;
the 18th to Gbrlitz. Meanwhile intelligence arrived that
the enemy was on his march across the mountains to
Friedland in Bohemia, whereupon the field-marshal re-
solved to take him in flank. But as we on arriving there
did not find the enemy, we occupied the most convenient of
the heights about us to keep Bohemia in the rear, upon
which tlie enemy followed, and next day sat himself down
only half a mile from us, we expecting a general action ; but
as he intrenched himself, and we in the hilly tracts began to
suffer want, we marched in good order the 28th September
to Zittau. And although we saw the enemy draiwing nigh
to relieve it, and the commandant in his conlidence of suc-
cour made a stubborn resistance, we fell upon the town by
storm in their presence about noon, whereat I immediately
occupied an outwork, the commandant of which surrendered
with his 150 men, who entered the Swedish service. In
Zittau we rested until the 6th October (during this time
a cartel was arranged for the exchange of prisoners). The
Imperialists had encamped and retrenched themselves one
mile Irom us upon the Bohemian frontier. Of the Swedish
troops whom I brought as a reinforcement, hardly a third
remains in serviceable condition. The remainder, unused
to the severe marches and the want of provision, as they do
not understand how to support themselves like the Germans,
are fallen ill, and partly left in garrison, partly cut down
here and there. On the other hand the Imperialists have
the country every where friendly to them. The 7th October
we marched to Liska on the side of Bautzen, then to Capitz
and Grossenhajn, but left these places, since the enemy
followed us. The field-marshal then embraced another plan,
when we saw that the enemy had no real wish to fight, but
only to harass us. We marched direct upon Torgau with
the infantry and artillery, and with the cavalry and baggage
hither to Leipsic, in order to force the enemy to an engage-
ment for its relief, since there were no other means for us
to accommodate the army. In order to be stronger, the
the 2Dth September, and lastly invested Leipsic, in
order to compel them to a battle. Here, on the
field where Gustavus Adolphus had fought, Torsten-
son obtained on the 23d October a complete vic-
tory over the archduke Leopold and Piccolomini,
and closed the glorious camx^aign of 1642 with the
capture of Leipsic *.
By the chamberlain Gabriel Oxenstierna, who
was despatched to Torstenson, the liigh chancellor
wrote ^, "Meseemeth that the field-marshal has
now obtained a fair tide, by which to set the work in
good forwardness; the victory must be employed to
sweep Upper and Nether Saxony, and to hold the
Elbe ;
in Westphalia we have the Weser and the
principal places in our hands,yet is thex’econfusioniii
the administration, and a governor, with a good secre-
tary and commissary, is needful^; m respect to Bran-
field-marshal called hither major-general Konigsmark. Last
Thursday we began to fire upon the town; meanwhile par-
ties of prisoners were brought in, from whom we learned
that the enemy was not only marching straight upon us to
relieve the town, but had even resolved upon a battle.
Therefore we yesterday quitted our position, moving to the
same place where formerly his majesty of most happy me-
mory had a light with Tilly, and setting our force in battle-
array. The enemy followed, and came on at evening with
his whole army. As between us and him was a pass and a
deep ditch, we fell back further, in order to give him room
and see what he would attempt, when to-day at the dawning
we found that he had passed it in the night, and that in the
obscurity we were come nearer one another than we supposed.
And as he did not move from the spot, we in God’s name
advanced in full battle-array, albeit we suffered great loss
from the grape and cartridge-shot of the enemy (since he
could aim better, though we had more pieces), until we
came face to face with each other. So began the battle, and
lasted about four hours. Our right wing overthrew the Im-
perialist left without much resistance. Thereupon our left
and the brigades (centre) came also into the thick of the
struggle, and both sides fought with valour. And although
the enemy’s right wing gained so much ground that some of
our biiuades and especially our left fell into confusion, and
the constables in part ran from their pieces, we nevertheless
rallied, and bringing up our right wing, strenuously seconded
the left, so that we by God’s help beat the enemy out of the
field, and utterly routed his infantry, which was eleven bri-
gades, and far stronger than ours. They had taken post in
a little wood, where also in the time of his majesty and Tilly
some infantry is said to have been planted. But I took
them in flank and drove them thence, and when they came
on open ground, our cavalry so played with them that hardly
one escaped. We have taken the whole of th« enemy’s ar-
tillery (forty-six pieces, great and small), fifty ammunition
and more than one hundred baggage-waggons, many stand-
ards, and much else. The enemy’s cavalry left the archduke
and Piccolomini in the lurch, who escaped with diflSculty.
The archduke’s baggage and plate are among the booty. I
have obtained his carriage and gold service. It was a very
hard action, and we fought long pike to pike. The wind at
first was against us, but changed. The field-marshal hath
had great luck, since a part of his skin was torn from the
body by a ball, his horse shot, and the head of the palsgrave’s
horse beside him carried away. (The same chain-shot tilled
the secretary of state Grubbe.)" Correspondence in the
Library of Sko Cloister. Lilyehoek, who with C. G. Wrangel
and Mortai^ne commanded the infantry, was mortally
wounded, commended his wife and children to the young
Charles Gustavus (the palsgrave), and died in the evening,
consoling himself with the victory of his comrades. Puffen-
dorf, xiv. 26.
2
January 21, 1643. Reg.
3 In the registers generally, frequent complaints appear
respecting the administration at both wings of the theatre of
war, in Westphalia and Silesia. The limits of our narrative
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