The Battle of Breitenfeld was a turning point in the Thirty Years War, but equally important was what Gustavus Adolphus chose to do after. In his race to conquer, Gustavus tore down the Rhine, seizing a wide range of cities, from Wurzburg, to Mainz, to Frankfurt. In the process, he upset the contract between the Emperor and his subjects like never before, demanding an answer which would come from Wallenstein in 1632.

More depressingly for the average German, Gustavus swollen army of 80,000 was just as big a problem as Wallenstein's had once been. The coinage Gustavus demanded sent cities spiraling into debt, but at least on the broadsheets, the Swedish King was finally acquiring recognition as the saviour of the anti-Habsburg cause.

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