Imperial troops The imperial troops left from Bremen on 22 May, marching rapidly to attack the Protestant army. The units of the two military leaders Eric and Christoph von Wrisberg travelled along the Weser separately, one on each bank; they wanted to reunite at a river crossing. Wrisberg's troops lagged behind, however, because the sand paths caused problems. The young and ambitious duke did not wait for the latecomers and had his mercenaries march more quickly. After Eric was informed of the approach of the enemy near
Drakenburg, he ordered his soldiers to get into battle formation. He had about 6,000
Landsknechte, an unknown number of horsemen, and seventeen cannons at his disposal. He positioned them east of Drakenburg towards
Heemsen on an open field. He chose a corrugated terrain with
sand dunes of up to in height. He regarded this as an ideal secure position to meet the enemy from. His cannons would have an open field of fire as a result of their more elevated position. Additionally, his troops had the advantage of having both the sun and the wind behind them. His troops did not, however, have any avenue for evasion or retreat, since the battlefield was bordered by swamps, wetlands, and the Weser River.
Protestants Elector
John Frederick I of
Saxony had led the Protestant army shortly before his capture in the
Battle of Mühlberg. Originally, the army had only consisted of several
Fähnlein of
Landsknechte led by . It had marched from Saxony via
Nordhausen,
Northeim, and
Brunswick to aid the besieged city of Bremen. Troops from Brunswick,
Hildesheim,
Hamburg, and
Magdeburg had joined the army. Thus, the army consisted of a total of 26
Fähnlein, or approximately 6,500 men, giving them a slight numeric advantage. ==Battle==