Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) 1631
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 17 September 1631 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1631 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Thirty Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Holy Roman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 51.4000, 12.3333 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Breitenfeld, 17 September 1631, took place during the Thirty Years' War outside Breitenfeld, Leipzig, in modern Saxony. In one of the most significant battles of the war, a combined Swedish-Saxon force defeated an army made up of Imperial and Catholic League troops.
Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War began in June 1630 when nearly 18,000 soldiers under Gustavus Adolphus landed in Pomerania. He made an alliance with John George I, Elector of Saxony, prompting an invasion of Saxony in early 1631 by Imperial troops led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. The combined Swedish-Saxon force marched on Leipzig where Tilly was based.
At the start of the battle, the Saxon troops were routed by Tilly's cavalry, which then combined with his infantry in an attempt to envelop the Swedish army. The Swedes regrouped and launched a series of counterattacks, forcing Tilly to retreat with substantial losses. Victory allowed the Swedes to launch a campaign into southern Germany.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) (revision 1370108143), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) 1642 · 7 km
- Battle of Leipzig 1813 · 11 km
- Battle of Lützen (1632) 1632 · 19 km
- Battle of Lützen (1813) 1813 · 23 km
- Battle of Halle 1806 · 26 km
- Battle on the Elster 1080 · 29 km
Other battles of the Thirty Years' War
- Battle of Trzciana 1629
- Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch 1629
- Assault on Greifenhagen 1630
- Battle of Villabuona 1630
- Siege of Wolgast (1630) 1630
- Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder 1631
- Battle of Werben 1631
- Siege of Demmin 1631
- Battle of Lützen (1632) 1632
- Battle of Rain 1632
All 80 battles of the Thirty Years' War →
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