This eBook was produced by David Widger, widger@cecomet.net
Translated from the German
Illustrated
Wallenstein's death rendered necessary the appointment of a newgeneralissimo; and the Emperor yielded at last to the advice of theSpaniards, to raise his son Ferdinand, King of Hungary, to that dignity.Under him, Count Gallas commanded, who performed the functions ofcommander-in-chief, while the prince brought to this post nothing buthis name and dignity. A considerable force was soon assembled underFerdinand; the Duke of Lorraine brought up a considerable body ofauxiliaries in person, and the Cardinal Infante joined him from Italywith 10,000 men. In order to drive the enemy from the Danube, the newgeneral undertook the enterprise in which his predecessor had failed,the siege of Ratisbon. In vain did Duke Bernard of Weimar penetrateinto the interior of Bavaria, with a view to draw the enemy from thetown; Ferdinand continued to press the siege with vigour, and the city,after a most obstinate resistance, was obliged to open its gates to him.Donauwerth soon shared the same fate, and Nordlingen in Swabia was nowinvested. The loss of so many of the imperial cities was severely feltby the Swedish party; as the friendship of these towns had so largelycontributed to the success of their arms, indifference to their fatewould have been inexcusable. It would have been an indelible disgrace,had they deserted their confederates in their need, and abandoned themto the revenge of an implacable conqueror. Moved by theseconsiderations, the Swedish army, under the command of Horn, and Bernardof Weimar, advanced upon Nordlingen, determined to relieve it even atthe expense of a battle.
The undertaking was a dangerous one, for in numbers the enemy wasgreatly superior to that of the Swedes. There was also a further reasonfor avoiding a battle at present; the enemy's force was likely soon todivide, the Italian troops being destined for the Netherlands. In themean time, such a position might be taken up, as to cover Nordlingen,and cut off their supplies. All these grounds were strongly urged byGustavus Horn, in the Swedish council of war; but his remonstrances weredisregarded by men who, intoxicated by a long career of success, mistookthe suggestions of prudence for the voice of timidity. Overborne by thesuperior influence of Duke Bernard, Gustavus Horn was compelled to riska contest, whose unfavourable issue, a dark foreboding seemed already toannounce. The fate of the battle depended upon the possession of aheight which commanded the imperial camp. An attempt to occupy itduring the night failed, as the tedious transport of the artillerythrough woods and hollow ways delayed the arrival of the troops. Whenthe Swedes arrived about midnight, they found the heights in possessionof the enemy, strongly entrenched. They waited, therefore, fordaybreak, to carry them by storm. Their impetuous courage surmountedevery obstacle; the entrenchments, which were in the form of a crescent,were successfully scaled by each of the two brigades appointed to theservice; but as they entered at the same moment from opposite sides,they met and threw each other into confusion. At this unfortunatemoment, a barrel of powder blew up, a