From the Fury of the Norsemen Deliver Us 175than to eyewitnesses. The generally preferred version is that during the
early afternoon, seeing a force of his infantry cut off and under heavy
pressure on the Imperialist side of the road, Gustavus gathered together
a body of cavalry and charged to the rescue. In the resulting mêlée,
perhaps in the mist, he became detached from most of his escort, and
as because of an old wound he wore only light protection rather than
full armour a shot disabled him, following which he was surrounded
and killed. Who knew of his death and when they learned of it is also
uncertain, but a story that his chaplain quelled panic when the news
arrived by setting the Swedes to singing a psalm may well be taken with
a pinch of salt.^38 The king’s absence was noted and Bernhard of Weimar
took command, following standard procedure were Gustavus to be inca-
pacitated in any way, but although rumours began to circulate his death
was only confirmed when his body, stripped of his valuable clothes and
effects, was found later in the afternoon and taken to the small church
at the village of Meuchen, in the Swedish rear.
Battles usually ended when one side gave way under pressure and
men started to flee the field, while the victors gave pursuit and set
about plundering the enemy baggage train. This did not happen at
Lützen. Despite several changes of fortune and although Wallenstein’s
main artillery battery had been captured, as the last light faded at five
in the afternoon both sides were holding substantially their original
positions. The issue could still have gone either way, but by then the
exhausted armies had fought themselves to a standstill. At that point
Pappenheim’s infantry, around 3000 men, finally reached Lützen, still
capable of fighting even after their long march, but although their com-
mander was keen to launch a final attack it was too late. Some 2000
men from each army already lay dead, probably more on the Swedish
side, with perhaps twice as many seriously wounded, large numbers of
whom would die of their injuries. It was dark, units were scattered and
disorganised, ammunition was in short supply, and nothing more could
be attempted that night. The question was what to do next.
Once again the poor visibility and limited information about exactly
what had taken place influenced the outcome. Neither side had any
clear idea of the remaining strength and fighting capability of the
other, although they were better informed about their own deficien-
cies. Sydnam Poyntz, an English captain in Wallenstein’s army, gave a
graphic picture of the situation:
The night beeing farre in, both Armies retreated the space of one
half English mile and refreshed themselves beeing wonderfull weary