He therefore
launched a fresh column of attack against the Alte Veste.
This was followed by another and yet another, until every regiment
in the army had in its turn attempted to storm the position, but
still without success.
The battle had now raged for ten hours, and nightfall put an end
to the struggle. Hepburn had all day ridden behind the king as a
simple cavalier, and had twice carried messages through the thick
of the fire when there were no others to bear them, so great had
been the slaughter round the person of the king.
It was the first time that Gustavus had been repulsed, and he could
hardly yet realize the fact; but as messenger after messenger came
in from the different divisions he discovered how terrible had
been his loss. Most of his generals and superior officers had been
killed or wounded, 2000 men lay dead on the field, and there were
nigh three times that number of wounded.
The Imperialists on their side lost 1000 killed and 1500 wounded;
but the accounts of the losses on both sides differ greatly, some
placing the Imperial loss higher than that of the Swedes, a palpably
absurd estimate, as the Imperialists, fighting behind shelter, could
not have suffered anything like so heavily as their assailants,
who were exposed to their fire in the open.
Hepburn bore the order from the king for Munro's troops and those
of Duke Bernhard to retire from the position they had won, as
they were entirely cut off from the rest of the army, and would
at daylight have had the whole of the Imperialists upon them.
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