Battle of the Alte Veste

Overview

The Battle of the Alte Veste or Battle of Fürth was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War in which Gustavus Adolphus' attacking forces were defeated by Wallenstein's entrenched troops. It was fought on 3 September 1632 between the Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and the Protestant forces of King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden during the period of Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years War.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of the Alte Veste, also known as the Battle of Fürth, was a notable engagement of the Swedish intervention phase of the Thirty Years' War. It resulted in the defeat of Gustavus Adolphus's Swedish forces by the Imperial army under Albrecht von Wallenstein. With Swedish casualties recorded at 2,500 against forces of comparable overall size — approximately 45,430 Swedish against 43,500 Imperial troops — the outcome demonstrated that the momentum Gustavus Adolphus had built during Sweden's intervention could be checked by determined defensive positioning. The defeat was significant within the broader arc of the conflict in that it represented one of the few successful Imperial checks against Gustavus Adolphus before his death later that year at Lützen, and it confirmed Wallenstein's capacity to blunt Swedish offensive operations when holding prepared ground.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (7)