Led by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, an Allied army primarily composed of troops from Sweden, Saxony, and Hesse-Kassel, narrowly defeated an Imperial force under Albrecht von Wallenstein.

Gustavus was killed as they fell back, but re-formed by his subordinates, his infantry overran the Imperial centre just before nightfall, supported by close range artillery fire.

[12] However, this drew him deep into Southern Germany and Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein established himself at Fürth, threatening to cut his lines of communication to the north.

The latter set off with his cavalry just after midnight on 6 November, leaving the infantry to follow, while Wallenstein's troops worked through the night building defensive positions along the main Lützen-Leipzig road, also known as the Via Regia.

[20] Although Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar made little progress against Wallenstein's right, Gustavus overran a line of musketeers holding the ditch along the Lützen-Leipzig road, crossed it, then swung round to outflank the Imperial left.

While trying to rally his shattered infantry, Gustavus and his entourage got lost and ran into an Imperial cavalry unit; he was shot three times and fell dead from his horse, his body not recovered until after the fighting ended that evening.

[24] By 17:00 and with dusk falling, fighting subsided as Wallenstein ordered his troops to retire, leaving the field to the Swedes; he was also forced to abandon his remaining guns and supply wagons due to the loss of his baggage horses.

[25] Wallenstein's withdrawal and the capture of his artillery allowed the Swedes to claim Lützen as a victory, while they also achieved their tactical objective of forcing him out of Saxony, but the battle is chiefly significant for the death of Gustavus.

French chief minister Cardinal Richelieu, who provided the financial subsidies that supported the Swedish army, had increasingly clashed with Gustavus over strategic objectives.

[26] After ensuring control of the army, his next step was to replace the previous loose alliance with a more formal structure; this was driven by a perceived need to stabilise the Swedish state and doubts over the reliability of his allies.

Its members agreed to support an army of 78,000 men, although they provided less than a third of the money needed; the balance was paid by France to Sweden directly, ensuring control over the League.

[32] The day after the battle, a granite boulder was placed near the spot where Gustavus Adolphus fell, known as the Schwedenstein [sv]; in 1832, an iron canopy was erected over the stone, with a chapel built nearby in 1907.