153The Alte Veste
Wallenstein had already won round one of the contest by the time his
army came face to face with the Swedes outside Nuremberg. His move
against the Saxons had not only covered his own rear by driving them
out of Bohemia, but had also brought Gustavus hurrying northwards to
counter the threat to his ally. Wallenstein had not fallen into the trap
of making a hasty and ill-prepared foray with an insufficient number
of men in an attempt to relieve Bavaria, but Gustavus had walked
right into its counterpart. He had neither moved fast enough to evade
Wallenstein, nor brought sufficient forces to fight him. Unable to reach
Saxony and join up with Arnim’s army, nor to prevent the Bavarians
joining up with the Imperialists, he found himself isolated and outnum-
bered by more than two to one. According to Guthrie, Gustavus had
18,500 men to Wallenstein’s 41,000, although others have said 48,000,
while Wallenstein himself referred to 40,000 men before the Bavarians
reached him and 50,000 thereafter.^1 Whatever the precise numbers, the
disparity was far too great for Gustavus to contemplate a battle, and
instead he was forced to run for cover.
Nevertheless it was only round one, and there was a long way to
go before the final bell. Gustavus had at least found himself a strong
defensive position. Nuremberg was sympathetic, well provisioned and
already fortified, and he had arrived in time to extend and strengthen
the protective earthworks around the city and his army. Wallenstein
would have preferred to catch him in the open where he could be
forced to battle, but he was probably not surprised by the situation
he found. Despite his superior numbers he also knew that there was
little chance of quick success by a direct attack on the Swedish camp.
11. From the Fury of the Norsemen Deliver Us
(Medieval Prayer)