Battle of Breitenfeld (1642)

Battle of Breitenfeld
Part of the Thirty Years' War
Contemporary engraving depicting the battle
Date 23 October 1642 Location Breitenfeld, Saxony (present-day Germany) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire	Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Lennart Torstenson Torsten Stålhandske Kaspar Kornelius Mortaigne de Potelles	Leopold Wilhelm Ottavio Piccolomini
Strength
15,000	25,000 46 guns
Casualties and losses
4,000 dead or wounded	10,000 dead or wounded 5,000 prisoners

The Second Battle of Breitenfeld, also known as the First Battle of Leipzig, took place on 23 October 1642 at Breitenfeld, some 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) north-east of Leipzig, Germany, during the Thirty Years' War. The battle was a decisive victory for the Swedish army under the command of Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson over an Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire under the command of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and his deputy, Prince-General Ottavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi.

In this second clash between ideologies for the prized Saxon city of Leipzig, the Protestant allied forces, led by Torstenson, defeated an army of the Holy Roman Empire, led by Leopold and his deputy, Prince-General Piccolomini.

Like the first battle, the second was a decisive victory for Swedish-led forces who had intervened in the Thirty Years' War on behalf of various Protestant princes of the generally small German states against the German Catholic League formed to resist Protestant expansion in Central Europe.

The Imperial army suffered 15,000 casualties, including 5,000 taken prisoner. The victors captured 46 guns. Killed or wounded were 4,000 Swedes; among them, General Torsten Stålhandske, who led the Finnish Hakkapeliitta Cavalry, received a serious wound.

The battle, following a brief mop-up campaign ending with the Battle of Klingenthal, enabled Sweden to occupy Saxony. His defeat made Emperor Ferdinand III more willing to negotiate peace, and renounce the Preliminary of Hamburg.

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