by Paul LaFontaine, 11 January 2026
This scenario is the battle where Gustavus Adolphus defeated a larger army to cement his reputation as “The Lion of the North.” As it was the holidays, one player joined to step into the campaign boots of the Swedish King. The Imperial force actions were driven by a card system that we had developed for playtesting the system.
Player Anthrillien used Tabletop Simulator to keep a map of the situation. The umpire resolved on a physical map with a standard Kriegsspiel set. After a short orientation the play started 20 minutes after completion of the setup. The game play took 52 minutes, and the after action review discussion was 15 minutes long.
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
Anthrillien commanded the Swedish and Saxon forces. Unlike the historical battle, the Imperial force was more conservative and made little initial effort to break the Swedes. As a result, Anthrillien was able to keep moving forces to apply pressure. In a final push at the conclusion of the action, the Swedes were able to drive the Imperial forces from the field. It was not as dramatic a maneuver as it was in history, but successful nonetheless.
The Problem
The problem in this battle is purely tactical. The infantry tercios are tough but slow. The cavalry is heavy and can move flexibly. The Swedes/Saxons have more cavalry and artillery. The Imperial League has better ground if it can take advantage of it. One side must collapse the a portion of the enemy line.
Imperial League (Red) Briefing
Your army of 25,000 pike and shot infantry and 10,000 cavalry is facing an invading army who seeks revenge for your recent victory and sacking of a major enemy city. The invading force has 30,000 infantry and 13,000 cavalry. They have taken to your north, having last night crossed the river.
click images to enlarge
Your OOB:
You must defeat the enemy by collapsing his line and driving him from the field.
Swedish/Saxon (Blue) Briefing
Your force of 29,000 pike and shot infantry and 13,000 cavalry has gathered south of the river facing the assembled enemy army. The enemy recently sacked and burned a major city of an ally, and you are here to settle accounts. They have 25,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. The numbers are on your side.
Your OOB:
You must defeat the enemy by collapsing his line and driving him from the field.
Opening
The game opens with Anthrillien and his Swedish force entering from the north along the northeastern roads out of the town of Grunthal (1), while his Saxon contingent advances from the west (2) to join him. He is required to form a defensive line south of the river in order to face the advancing Imperial forces. The Imperials are divided into two evenly matched columns positioned to the south (3), both moving northward. Card-driven orders direct each Imperial column to advance and form a line between Eichenrode and Steinhafen.
Turn 3
In the north, Anthrillien has established a line composed of Saxon and Swedish infantry, with his cavalry positioned to the west (1) and a reserve of six tercios, represented by three blocks, held back to the north (2). In the south, the Imperial force has deployed in its historical manner (3), forming a line with two infantry wings and cavalry placed on both flanks, creating a balanced and symmetrical frontage as it advances.
Turn 4
It is 10 o’clock game time on the fourth turn, and the Swedish force in the north has completed its alignment, with Anthrillien holding his cavalry forward as a screening force (1). The Imperial force in the south hesitates. Historically, the Imperials would have launched an attack against what would here be the western side of the line, pressing aggressively into contact (2). In this case, however, the card draws indicate a more cautious approach, with the Imperial command choosing to exploit the high ground and attempt to draw the Swedes forward instead of committing to an immediate assault.
Turn 5
At 11 a.m. the battle begins as the Swedes and Saxons advance south into the Imperial line (1), with cavalry engagement opening on the western flank (2). Heavy casualties are suffered along the front as opposing tercios of pikemen and musketeers close and fight, producing a grinding, attritional struggle. Neither side secures a decisive breakthrough in this phase, but both formations are clearly being worn down by the intensity of the fighting. Anthrillien makes a sound decision by creating two distinct reserves, one refusing his eastern flank (3) and another held close to his own position in the rear (4), preserving flexibility and options as the battle continues to unfold.
Turn 6
The grinding nature of the combat continues, as the cavalry fight in the west remains inconclusive (1) while both sides grow increasingly exhausted. In the center, the Saxons hold against the Imperial left wing and in places gain the advantage, preventing any decisive Imperial progress there (2). On the Imperial right, pressure forces the Swedish line back (3) until it meets the echeloned force Anthrillien had positioned earlier. The Imperial command’s failure to commit its eastern cavalry and allows the Swedes to stabilize the eastern flank. With his objective centered on success in the west, Anthrillien commits his reserve to support the Saxon formations, reinforcing their effort and preparing to press that sector of the line.
Turn 7
The cavalry fighting in the west exhausts itself (1), leading both the Swedish and Saxon horsemen to withdraw, while the Imperial western cavalry is likewise spent and unable to pursue or meaningfully exploit any advantage. Though still marginally combat capable, the Imperial cavalry also prepares to withdraw. In the center, the Saxon formations fail to hold (2) and are pushed back, causing a general recoil of the combined Swedish and Saxon line. On the eastern side, the Imperial cavalry chooses to refuse the fight (3) and adopt a defensive posture rather than pressing forward as it did historically. This decision grants Anthrillien’s eastern sector the opportunity to reconsolidate, reform its pikemen and musketeers, and remain engaged in the battle.
Turn 8
The Imperial forces hesitate as they finally commit their cavalry on the eastern flank (1). Anthrillien has already shifted two tercios west in an effort to secure that end of the line (2), leaving the two remaining tercios in the east (3) to confront the advancing Imperial cavalry. Those units manage the engagement successfully by fighting defensively, though they are pushed back under the pressure. Four Swedish tercios break and flee the field (4), while the Imperial formations maintain their cohesion. The situation remains unresolved, and the outcome of the battle is still undecided.
Turn 9
Generally, the Imperial forces begin to pull back as the situation deteriorates. In the west, the Saxon formations attack aggressively (1) and succeed in collapsing much of the Imperial western line. Observing this failure, the Imperial units in the center withdraw in an attempt to restore cohesion and re-form a defensible line. On the far eastern flank, the Imperial cavalry, recognizing that it is now isolated, retreats into the town of Steinhafen (2) to seek protection. At this stage the Swedes have seized the momentum, and Anthrillien has the Imperial forces in full retreat.
END OF SCENARIO
The Imperial forces collapse under the weight of mounting casualties, while a sufficient number of Swedish formations remain combat capable to press the advantage. Gustavus Adolphus, embodied here by Anthrillien, has once again prevailed through disciplined maneuver and effective use of reserves. The engagement concludes with the Imperials broken and in retreat, and the Lion of the North adding another success to his record.
Historical Campaign
The Battle of Breitenfeld began at noon with a two-hour artillery exchange. Both armies initially remained stationary, with Tilly reluctant to abandon the advantageous high ground of the Galgenberg while Gustavus Adolphus hesitated to attack it. The Swedish King orders his right wing to pivot left, a movement that triggered the battle’s first major action when the impetuous Pappenheim launched an unauthorized cavalry assault at two o’clock.
Pappenheim’s cuirassiers attacked the Swedish right wing seven times over several hours, but each assault was repulsed by the devastating coordination between Swedish musketeers and cavalry. Tilly launched his main assault against the Saxon army with both cavalry and infantry. Under this pressure, the Saxon forces panicked and routed from the battlefield by four o’clock, with nearly the entire army fleeing toward Eilenburg.
With the Saxons eliminated, Tilly attempted a pincer movement to outflank Horn’s Swedish left wing, pivoting his massive tercios to attack the exposed flank while his cavalry struck from the rear. Horn responded brilliantly by quickly redeploying his troops at a ninety-degree angle along the Düben-Leipzig road, using the surrounding ditches as defensive obstacles. As Tilly’s 20,000-strong infantry force advanced, Gustavus Adolphus rushed reinforcements including Hepburn’s three brigades and their eighteen regimental guns to Horn’s position. The fierce fighting that followed saw Swedish platoon volleys and mobile artillery inflict mounting casualties on the tightly packed Imperial tercios, gradually stalling their momentum despite Tilly’s refusal to withdraw.
At five o’clock, after Banér’s cavalry had routed Pappenheim’s forces, Gustavus Adolphus recognized an opportunity for a decisive counteroffensive. He led his cavalry in a flanking charge that captured the Imperial artillery on the Galgenberg, then turned these guns against Tilly’s infantry while simultaneously ordering his center brigades to pivot and attack.
Caught in a devastating crossfire from multiple directions with their retreat cut off, the Imperial-League tercios collapsed into a disorderly rout. Tilly himself was severely wounded and had to be escorted from the field, while his army fled toward Leipzig, Merseburg, and Halle. Pappenheim managed to form a final defensive position with about 600 survivors at the Linkelwald forest, allowing some troops to escape before retreating under cover of darkness, ending the battle around nine o’clock with a decisive Swedish victory.
Conclusion
The Swedish command challenge in this scenario is overcoming numerical inferiority and finding a weak point in the Imperial formation. To do so the commander has to keep enough combat power available to ensure its available when the weak point emerges. The Imperial force has to keep its line consistent and use its greater strength to wear the Swedes down. Anthrillien did a nice job using reserves to keep his smaller force able to keep force in the right spot to hold the line.
The scenario had the historical outcome but did not arrive there in the same way. Tully of the Imperial command launched a flank attack early which drove off the Saxon force, At 10am the equivalent attack did not happen. The card system took the decision making in a more conservative direction, with the Imperial line taking a defensive posture. Antheilian did a nice job balancing the challenge of his strength and reserves.
Unimaginative command by the Imperial opponent helped reduce surprises. The cavalry launched too late. We were able to play nine turns in fifty-four minutes, which made for 6 minutes per turn. Having a single player to update naturally shortens the turn cycle.
The question you may have is whether it can be a Kriegsspiel if there is only one player, and the answer is that it can. In this scenario the single player was required to answer meaningful questions under conditions of limited information, which is the core of the method. While Kriegsspiele are often at their most complex with many participants, a single player working with an umpire can still explore multiple dimensions of decision-making, as Anthrillion did here. The game proved instructive by revealing a use of reserves that is not often emphasized in pike-and-shot literature, and this insight emerged precisely because the situation was placed on the board and adjudicated. With one umpire, one player, and simple aids such as cards to introduce uncertainty into the opposing command, the exercise remained dynamic and educational. This experiment demonstrates that two people are sufficient to conduct a Kriegsspiel and highlights the flexibility of the format.
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