Editing Battle of Nördlingen (1634) (section)

==Background==
[[Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War]] began in June 1630 when nearly 18,000 troops under [[Gustavus Adolphus]] landed in the [[Duchy of Pomerania]]. Provided with [[Treaty of Bärwalde|subsidies]] as part of a [[Kingdom of France|French]] policy of opposition to the [[French–Habsburg rivalry|Habsburgs]], and supported by [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] and [[Brandenburg-Prussia]], Gustavus won a series of victories over [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] forces, including [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|Breitenfeld]] in September 1631, then [[Battle of Rain|Rain]] in April 1632.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|pp=305–306}}

Despite the death of Gustavus at [[Battle of Lützen (1632)|Lützen]] in November 1632, Sweden and its German allies formed the [[Heilbronn League]] in April 1633, once again financed by France.{{sfn|Riches|2012|p=160}} In July, the coalition defeated an Imperial army at [[Battle of Oldendorf|Oldendorf]] in [[Lower Saxony]]; a few months later, [[Emperor Ferdinand II]] dismissed his leading general [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]], who was [[Assassination of Wallenstein|assassinated]] by Imperial agents in February 1634.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|p=358}}

{{Location map many|Bavaria|caption = 1634 campaign; key locations. "Blue lines" indicate rivers, vital for moving men and supplies and thus the focus of most campaigns; note [[Danube]], axis of advance for the Imperialists  
|border = black|width =300|float = left|relief = yes
|label2 =Regensburg |pos2  =top |lat2_deg =49.016667|lon2_deg =12.083333   	
|label3 =Nördlingen |pos3  =right |lat3_deg =48.851111|lon3_deg =10.488333
|label4 =Bopfingen |pos4  =left |lat4_deg =48.856944|lon4_deg =10.352222
|label5 =River Danube |pos5  =bottom |lat5_deg =48.833333|lon5_deg =12.966667
|label6 =Donauwörth |pos6  =bottom |lat6_deg =48.7|lon6_deg =10.8
|label10 =Heilbronn |pos10  =right |lat10_deg =49.15|lon10_deg =9.216667
|label17=Ulm |pos17 =left |lat17_deg=48.4|lon17_deg=9.983333
|label18=Kronach |pos18 =right |lat18_deg=50.241111|lon18_deg=11.328056
|label19=Überlingen |pos19 =right |lat19_deg=47.766667|lon19_deg=9.158333
|label7= Nuremberg |pos7 =top |lat7_deg=49.453889|lon7_deg=11.0775
|label8= Augsburg |pos8 =bottom |lat8_deg=48.366667|lon8_deg=10.9
|label9= Landshut |pos9 =bottom |lat9_deg=48.539722|lon9_deg=12.150833
}}

The removal of Wallenstein made Emperor Ferdinand more reliant on the Spanish, Since their primary objective was re-opening the [[Spanish Road]] to support their [[Eighty Years' War|campaign]] against the [[Dutch Republic]], the focus now shifted to the [[Rhineland]] and [[Bavaria]].{{Sfn|Kamen|2003|pp=385–386}} [[Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria|Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand]], newly appointed Governor of the [[Spanish Netherlands]], recruited an army of 11,700 in Italy, which in May crossed the [[Alps]] through the [[Stelvio Pass]]. At [[Rheinfelden (Aargau)|Rheinfelden]], he linked up with forces previously commanded by the [[Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, 3rd Duke of Feria|Duke of Feria]], who died in January 1634. This brought his numbers up to 18,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=544}}

The Swedes and their German allies largely operated as separate units, each with their own objectives. While [[Johan Banér]] and [[Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg|Hans von Arnim]] invaded [[Bohemia]], [[Gustav Horn, Count of Pori|Gustav Horn]] tried to block the Spanish by investing [[Überlingen]], and [[Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar]] sought to consolidate his position in [[Franconia]] by taking [[Kronach]].{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|p=369}} Neither was successful and left [[Regensburg]] isolated, which was besieged on 23 May by an Imperial army of 25,000 under [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand of Hungary]]. Horn and Bernhard met at [[Augsburg]] on 12 July and marched towards the Bohemian border, hoping the threat of them combining with Arnim would force Ferdinand to abandon the siege.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|p=369}}

Although they defeated an Imperial blocking force under [[Johann von Aldringen]] at [[Landshut]] on 22 July, the siege continued and Regensburg surrendered on 26 July.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=543}} With 15,000 men, Ferdinand marched down the [[Danube]] (''see Map'') and reached [[Donauwörth]] on 26 August, where he turned aside to besiege the Swedish-held town of [[Nördlingen]], which had to be taken before continuing his advance. Horn and Bernhard marched to [[Bopfingen]] but delayed their attack; with both sides short of supplies and suffering from plague, they were confident the outnumbered Imperials would have to withdraw.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|p=370}}

However, on 2 September the Imperial and Spanish armies linked up, and Nördlingen nearly fell to an assault two days later.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=545}} Horn and Bernhard were joined by 3,400 men under [[Johann Philipp Kratz von Scharffenstein|Scharffenstein]], giving them around 26,000 in total, although this included 8,000 poorly trained [[Duchy of Württemberg|Württemberg]] militia, many of whom had previously served in the Imperial army. Horn wanted to wait for additional troops, which were a week's march away, but Bernhard urged an immediate attack, claiming the Spanish reinforcements numbered less than 7,000. The true figure was over 18,000, which meant the combined Spanish-Imperial army totalled over 33,000 and outnumbered their opponents.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|2005|pp=371–372}}