Gustavus Adolphus, Sweden and the Thirty Years War, 1630–1632 by Lars Ericson Wolke

Author:Lars Ericson Wolke [Wolke, Lars Ericson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Military, History, Europe, Scandinavia, Modern, 17th Century
ISBN: 9781526749598
Google: _HWTzgEACAAJ
Amazon: 1526749599
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Published: 2022-02-14T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Operations between the Elbe and Weser, 1632

¹

After the conquest of Wismar, Tott and his senior officers discussed what their next step should be. Should cooperation with other Swedish forces or even the main army under Gustavus Adolphus be a priority or should they launch an operation towards Magdeburg that would aim to isolate Pappenheim and his army from other Catholic forces? If this option were chosen, they could assist Johan Banér who, together with forces under Vilhelm of Weimar, was operating south of Magdeburg.

Åke Tott was promoted to field marshal and the Scot Alexander Leslie was made a major general in this army. During the second half of January 1632 the army began operations and on the 25th it mustered at Lüneburg. At the same time Johan Fredrik of Mecklenburg was given the task of defending the bishopric of Bremen with his own men against the Danish and Catholic forces which posed a growing threat. In fact, the situation in the Bremen area was becoming so complicated and dangerous that Åke Tott decided to ignore his orders and intervene there instead. There was a risk that, if this region were to be reinforced by enemy troops, they might threaten recently conquered Mecklenburg. The offensive against Pappenheim and Magdeburg would have to wait.

At the end of January Tott advanced with 9 000 men into the princebishopric, where he conquered Winsen and encircled Buxtehude and Stade, while Johan Fredrik and his troops captured the city of Verden on 24 January. On 10 February a new letter of instructions reached Tott from Gustavus Adolphus. Tott was ordered to relinquish his command and go in person to meet the king, who also recommended that he take a cure in the spa town of Wiesbaden. In Tott’s absence the king ordered Leslie to take over command of the army. Gustavus Adolphus stressed that all forces in the northwestern theatre of operations should be put under the command of Landgrave Vilhelm in order to defeat Pappenheim. Tott was not keen to send his forces, under Vilhelm’s command, towards Pappenheim. Meanwhile the threat from Denmark was steadily growing in the Bremen area.

Gustavus Adolphus wanted to set up a Swedish military government for the bishoprics of Magdeburg and Halberstadt. Johan Banér was appointed as the commander of the forces in the region and was ordered to capture Magdeburg and pacify Halberstadt. This was no easy task since the garrison of Magdeburg consisted of 4 500 men while Banér only had 4 000 men in the field, although there were plans to raise this number to 10 000. In mid-October 1631 Johan Banér held a meeting at Küstrin with representatives of the Prince-Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony. Planning the move of his forces from the Oder towards the Elbe proved to be complicated. The situation became more and more confused, partly because Gustavus Adolphus himself didn’t have any accurate knowledge of the situation on the different fronts. It is also difficult to talk in terms of fronts

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