The Lion of the North: A Tale of the Times of Gustavus AdolphusHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
History
The Lion of the North: A Tale of the Times of Gustavus Adolphus
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, 1594-1632 -- Fiction; Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 -- Fiction
Pappenheim on his return to the camp ordered up the whole of his
cavalry, and charged down with fury upon the Swedes, while at the same
moment Furstenberg dashed with seven regiments of cavalry on the Saxons.
Between these and the Swedes there was a slight interval, for Gustavus
had doubts of the steadiness of his allies, and was anxious that in case
of their defeat his own troops should not be thrown into confusion. The
result justified his anticipations.
Attacked with fury on their flank by Furstenberg's horse, while his
infantry and artillery poured a direct fire into their front, the Saxons
at once gave way. Their elector was the first to set the example of
flight, and, turning his horse, galloped without drawing rein to Torgau,
and in twenty minutes after the commencement of the fight the whole of
the Saxons were in utter rout, hotly pursued by Furstenberg's cavalry.
Tilly now deemed the victory certain, for nearly half of his opponents
were disposed of, and he outnumbered the remainder by two to one; but
while Furstenberg had gained so complete a victory over the Saxons,
Pappenheim, who had charged the Swedish centre, had met with a very
different reception.
In vain he tried to break through the Swedish spears. The wind was
blowing full in the faces of the pikemen, and the clouds of smoke and
dust which rolled down upon them rendered it impossible for them to see
the heavy columns of horse until they fell upon them like an avalanche,
yet with perfect steadiness they withstood the attacks.
Seven times Pappenheim renewed his charge; seven times he fell back
broken and disordered.
As he drew off for the last time Gustavus, seeing the rout of the
Saxons, and knowing that he would have the whole of Tilly's force
upon him in a few minutes, determined to rid himself altogether of
Pappenheim, and launched the whole of his cavalry upon the retreating
squadrons with overwhelming effect. Thus at the end of half an hour's
fighting Tilly had disposed of the Saxons, and Gustavus had driven
Pappenheim's horse from the field.
Three of the Scottish regiments were sent from the centre to strengthen
Horn on the left flank, which was now exposed by the flight of the
Saxons. Scarcely had the Scottish musketeers taken their position
when Furstenberg's horse returned triumphant from their pursuit of the
Saxons, and at once fell upon Horn's pikemen. These, however, stood
as firmly as their comrades in the centre had done; and the Scottish
musketeers, six deep, the three front ranks kneeling, the three in rear
standing, poured such heavy volleys into the horsemen that these fell
back in disorder; the more confused perhaps, since volley firing was at
that time peculiar to the Swedish army, and the crashes of musketry were
new to the Imperialists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account