In July 1632, rather than face the numerically superior combined Imperial and Catholic League army under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein and Bavarian Elector Maximilian I, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden ordered a tactical retreat into the city of Nuremberg.

Wallenstein's army immediately started to invest Nuremberg and laid siege to the city, waiting for hunger and epidemics to cripple the Swedish force.

[2] Foraging to supply such a large static besieging force proved to be extremely difficult.

[4] With poor sanitation and inadequate supplies, both sides suffered from hunger, typhus and scurvy.

[3] Eventually, the siege ended after eleven weeks when the Swedes and their allies withdrew.