Wallenstein. The Enigma of the Thirty Years War

From the Fury of the Norsemen Deliver Us 169

It was a logical target and intermediate refuge for the Swedes, if they
could secure it. Wallenstein made his plans accordingly.
On 14 November he drew back to Lützen, a little town with a small
castle, sixteen miles from Naumburg, eleven from Leipzig, and on a
direct line between the two. There orders were given for what was to
follow, and Holk, acting as Wallenstein’s chief of staff, drew up a long
list of troop dispositions and a memorandum of the instructions the
general had given him.^26 These plans included both immediate actions
and arrangements for the winter, and they covered not only the regi-
ments at Lützen but also those with Gallas, which were to be stationed
at towns and castles stretching across southern Saxony from Zwickau to
the Bohemian border, hence securing Wallenstein’s communications,
supplies and line of retreat in case of need.
In his account of the battle of Lützen Holk recorded that Wallenstein
had waited several days at Weissenfels to see if Gustavus would take the
field.

As that did not happen, he ordered Pappenheim to march to Halle

with nine regiments, and he wanted to follow himself in order to do

battle with the king should he attempt to relieve the city, but because

the duke was plagued by gout he halted, contrary to some advice,

beyond a crossing over a small river, Rippach by name, at Lützen. He

sent four regiments under Hatzfeld to Eilenburg, in the direction of

Torgau, and two to Altenburg to guard against the possibility that the

enemy might threaten the route to Zwickau and Chemnitz, the link

to Bohemia. Consequently we were reduced by fifteen regiments,

among them some of the strongest in the army.^27

Wallenstein’s plan, as outlined here by Holk, was to send a strong force
to occupy Halle before Gustavus could do so, while despatching other
units to prevent Lüneburg from advancing and to protect his own
line of communication. Anticipating that Pappenheim would have
to besiege Halle, and that Gustavus might therefore try to relieve the
Protestant city, Wallenstein was preparing to march there himself in
order to confront him. His further orders specified that were that not
to happen Pappenheim was to send some of his regiments on to the
bishopric towns, which were to be made to pay contributions, and their
walls were to be destroyed to prevent future resistance. These troops
were then to winter in that area, but the short-term objective was to
deny it to Gustavus. For the same reason garrisons were also allocated
to a number of towns between Naumburg, Halle and Leipzig, including