LUTZEN, a town in Prussian Saxony, in the circle of Merse burg (pop. in 1933, 4,977), chiefly famous as the scene of a great battle fought on Nov. 6-16, 1632, between the Swedes, under King Gustavus Adolphus, and the Imperialists, under Wallen stein. After being foiled in his prolonged effort to bring Wallen stein to battle at Nuremburg (see THIRTY YEARS' WAR), Gus tavus moved south to the Danube. But instead of being drawn by this threat to Bavaria, Wallenstein advanced into Saxony in pursuance of his aim of detaching the Elector from the Swedish, Alliance. The menace led Gustavus to march rapidly north, paus ing at Nuremburg, 6om. south of his rival at Leipzig, to await reinforcements. As Gustavus had thrown up entrenchments Wallenstein, assuming that no immediate attack was likely, al lowed Pappenheim to take a large detachment in order to lay siege to a small castle near Halle. When Gustavus heard of Pap penheim's departure he determined to strike while his enemy was thus weakened. His approach was, however, signalled to Wallen stein, who sent Pappenheim an urgent summons. Fortunately also for him, his posts at Weissenfels and Rippach prevented Gus tavus from fighting his main battle the same evening, and the Swedes went into camp near R ippach, a little more than an hour's march from Liitzen. In the mist of the early morning Wallen stein's army was formed in line of battle along the Leipzig road with its right on Liitzen. Its left was not carried out as far as Flossgraben in order to leave room on that flank for Pappenheim. His infantry was arranged in five huge oblongs, four of which (in lozenge formation) formed the centre and one the right wing at Lutzen. These "battalias" had their angles strengthened in the old-fashioned way that had pre vailed since Marignano (q.v.), with small outstanding bodies of musketeers, so that they re sembled rectangular forts with bastions. On either side of this centre was the cavalry in two long lines, while in front of the centre and close to the right at Liitzen were the two batteries of heavy artillery. Liitzen was set on fire as a precaution. Skir mishers lined the bank and the ditch of the Leipzig road. The total strength of the Imperial army was about 12,000 foot and 8,000 horse.
Gustavus's hopes of an early decision were frustrated by the fog, which delayed the approach and deployment of the Swedes, and it was 8 A.M. before all was ready. The royal army was in two
lines and a small reserve in rear. The infantry in the centre was arrayed in the small and handy battalions then peculiar to Gus tavus's army, the horse on either wing extended from opposite Liitzen to some distance beyond Wallenstein's left, which Pappen heim was to extend on his arrival. By the accident of the terrain, or perhaps, following the experience of Breitenfeld (q.v.), by design, the right of the Swedes was somewhat nearer to the enemy than the left. In front, near the centre, were the heavy guns and each infantry battalion had its own light artillery. The force of infantry and cavalry on either side was about equal, the Swedes had perhaps rather less cavalry and rather more infantry, but their artillery was superior to Wallenstein's. Not till II A.M. was it possible to open fire, for want of a visible target, but about noon, after a preliminary cannonade, Gustavus gave the signal to advance.
The king himself commanded the right wing, which had to wait till small bodies of infantry detached for the purpose had driven in the Imperialist skirmish line, and had then to cross a ditch lead ing the horses. They were not charged by the Imperialists at this moment, for Pappenheim had not yet arrived, and the usual cav alry tactics of the day were founded on the pistol and not on the sword and the charging horse. Gaining at last room to form, the Swedes charged and routed the first line of the Imperial cavalry but were stopped by the heavy squadrons of cuirassiers in second line, and at that moment Gustavus galloped away to the centre where events had taken a serious turn. The Swedish centre (infan try) had forced their way across the Leipzig road and engaged Wallenstein's living forts at close quarters. The "Blue" brigade Gustavus's infantry wore distinctive colours—overran the battery of heavy guns, and the "Swedish" (so called as being the only bri gade containing no foreign elements in the army) and "Yellow" brigades engaged the left face of the Imperialist "lozenge" with success. But a gap opened between the right of the infantry and the left of the cavalry and Wallenstein's second-line squadrons pressed into it. It was this which brought Gustavus from the ex treme right, and he was killed here in leading a counter-charge.