Battle of Breitenfeld (1642)

Second Battle of Breitenfeld
Part of the Thirty Years' War
Contemporary engraving depicting the battle
Date 2 November 1642 (N.S.)[1] Location Breitenfeld, Saxony (present-day Germany) Result Swedish victory
Belligerents
Sweden	Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Lennart Torstensson Arvid Wittenberg Erik Slang  † Johan Lilliehöök  †	Archduke Leopold Wilhelm Ottavio Piccolomini Annibale Gonzaga Hans Christoph von Puchheim Ernst Roland von Suys  (POW)
Strength
20,000 10,000 infantry[2] 10,000 cavalry[2] 70 guns	26,000 10,000 infantry[3] 16,000 cavalry[3] 46 guns
Casualties and losses
4,000 2,000 killed[4] 2,000 wounded[4]	8,000–9,500 3,000–5,000 dead or wounded[4][5] 4,500–5,000 captured[4][5] 46 guns

The Second Battle of Breitenfeld, also known as the First Battle of Leipzig, took place during the Thirty Years' War on 2 November 1642 at Breitenfeld, north-east of Leipzig in Germany. A Swedish Army commanded by Lennart Torstensson decisively defeated an Imperial Army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria and his deputy Ottavio Piccolomini.^[6]

Victory allowed the Swedes to occupy and establish a secure base in Leipzig, the second most important town in the Electorate of Saxony. However, although significantly weakened by the defeat and forced onto the defensive, the Imperial Army prevented them from fully exploiting their victory and kept John George I, Elector of Saxony from making peace with Sweden.