Following his victory at First Breitenfeld (September 17, 1631), Gustavus Adolphus took his army of 25,000 out of winter quarters and invaded Bavaria. He crossed the Danube on April 7 and next looked to ford the River Lech, where Johann Tilly was positioned to stop him with 20,000 Imperial and Bavarian troops. Gustavus employed a novel tactic: at a carefully chosen bend of the Lech his main army forded while hidden by a smokescreen made from burning straw and covered as they crossed the river by Swedish artillery fire. This secured a beachhead into which he next crossed over the artillery and from where it hammered the Imperial lines. The Catholic position, which once seemed unbreachable, broke down in confusion as men fell back through their camp that was now part of a battlefield. During this action 4,000 Imperial troops were killed and Tilly was mortally wounded (he died five days later). The victory at Rain allowed Gustavus to take Augsburg and Munich and his troops to eat out unprotected Bavaria.

Order of Battle

Swedish Army

King Gustav II of Sweden

 

Infantry

Hand Infantry Regiment (Swedish)

Hand Infantry Regiment (Swedish)

Hastger Infantry Regiment (Finnish)

Royal Guard Coy (Mixed)

N. Brahe Infantry Regiment (German)

Winckel Infantry Regiment (German)

Thurn Infantry Regiment (German)

Baner Infantry Regiment (German)

Bernard Saxe-Weimar Infantry Regiment (German)

Burt Infantry Regiment (German)

Chemnitz Infantry Regiment (German)

Forbes Infantry Regiment (German)

Horn Infantry Regiment (German)

Kagge Infantry Regiment (German)

Kanoffsky Infantry Regiment (German)

Liebenstein Infantry Regiment (German)

Mitschefall Infantry Regiment (German)

Mitzlaff Infantry Regiment (German)

Monro of Fowles Infantry Regiment (German)

Riese Infantry Regiment (German)

Schaffalitsky Infantry Regiment (German)

B. Schlammersdorf Infantry Regiment (German)

T. Schlammersdorf Infantry Regiment (German)

Schneidwinds Infantry Regiment (German)

Truchsess Infantry Regiment (German)

Wildenstein Infantry Regiment (German)

Hepburn Infantry Regiment (Scottish)

Mackay Infantry Regiment (German)

Spens (German)

 

Cavalry

Stenbock Cuirassier (Swedish)

Soop Cuirassier (Swedish)

Silversparre Squadron (Swedish)

Sack Squadron (Swedish)

Sperreuter Squadron (Swedish)

Stahlhansk Cuirassier (Finnish)

Tesenhaussen (Livonian)

Domhoff Squadron (Kurland)

Baudissin Cuirassier (German)

B. Saxe-Weiver Cuirassier (German)

Horn Cuirassier (German)

Kotchtitzky Cuirassier (German)

Baden Cuirassier (German)

Monro of Fowles Cuirassier (German)

Schonberg Cuirassier (German)

Soms Squadron (German)

Sperreuter Cuirassier (German)

Streiff Squadron (German)

Tott Cuirassier (German)

Truchsess Cuirassier (German)

Uslar Cuirassier (German)

Wedel Cuirassier (German)

W. Saxe Weimer Cuirassier (German)

Ohm Cuirassier (German)

Horn Leib Coy (German)

Du Menys Dragoon (German)

Taupadel Dragoon (German)

 

Holy Roman Empire – Catholic League Army

John Tserclaes, Count of Tilly

 

Infantry

Alt-Till Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-Wurzburg)

Reinach Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Comargo Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Pappenheim Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Wahl Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Jung-Furstenberg Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Free Companies Infantry Regiment (Catholic League-High German)

Beck Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-Walloon)

Conteras Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-German)

Savelli Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-Low German)

Witzleban Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-German)

Baldiron Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-Spanish)

Fahrenbach Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-High German)

Rittberg Infantry Regiment (Imperialist-German)

 

Cavalry

Cronberg Heavy Cavalry (Catholic League-High German)

Billehe Heavy Cavalry (Catholic League-High German)

J. Fugger Cuirassier (Catholic League-Low German)

Blankhart Cuirassier (Catholic League-Low German)

D’Espagne Cuirassier (Catholic League-Low German)

Cratz Cuirassier (Catholic League-High German)

Hasslang Cuirassier (Catholic League-High German)

Merode Cuirassier (Catholic League-High German)

Free Coy (Catholic League-High German)

Dragoons (Catholic League-High German)

O.H. Fugger Croats (Catholic League-High German)

Merode Arquebussier (Imperialist-Walloon)

Bucquoy Heavy Cavalry (Imperialist-Walloon)

Free Coy (Imperialist-High German)

Croats Light Cavalry (Imperialist-Croatian)

Sources

Welsh, William E. “The Lion Conquers Bavaria: The Battle of the Lech, April 1632.” Strategy & Tactics, Number 229 (July/August 2005) ISSN 1040-886X