This is a tough one, as the written history of this great subject is tainted with much 'coloring', so to speak

g attempt of his own, or was effectively distracted (Wilhelm was perhaps fooled into thinking he had an advantage, with only then kozacy in front of him, composed of lesser numbers than what he had with him). Whatever the details, Koniecpolski achieved a devastating flank attack on the Rheingraff's left, and Wilhelm was threatened with destruction, as his men fled. But Gustavus came back and tried to rally the fleeing rearguard, which he did somewhat. But he and his two companies were pushed back with the rallied rearguard. But many regrouped near Straszewo, and Hermann Wrangel's twenty-one companies arrived and furiously counter-charged, which temporarily turned the fortunes of those in the rearguard; they were showing success against their clash with the pursuing kozacy, but were stopped with the arrival of some husaria and their allied reiters (this was the point where Arnim first appeared into the action). Amid a sharp melee, Gustavus was receiving the worst of the fighting, but he retired in relatively good order north of Trzciana (Honigfelde). Here he regroups his units and heads to Pulkowitz (Pulkowice), with the Polish cavalry hot on his tail. At Pulkowitz five companies under Jan Streiff, and another of cuirassiers, are in a defensive position. Just about all of Gustavus' infantry have now reached Neudorf (Nowa Wies) a little to the NW of Pulkowitz. Streiff attacks Gustavus' pursuers while Gustavus rallies his withdrawing cavalry with fresh men, and led them in to engage the enemy. In a bloody cavalry clash, Gustavus was beaten back near Pulkowitz, narrowly escaping death or capture (his hat was lost and became a Catholic prize). Johann Wilhelm perished, and the Swedish king would later remark,

Swedish propaganda has possibly succeeded in downplaying this clear defeat of Gustavus. However, the defile around Sztum was held, and Gustavus and the rest of his army safely reached Malbork. He succeeded in protecting his infantry, of just twelve were lost in the battle. He lost, according to 'friendly' sources, 396 cavalrymen, and 1,052 wounded men made it out of there. Six leather guns were captured. Polish sources state 1,467 Swedes and their allies were killed (including thirty senior officers) in all, 200 taken prisoner, and ten leather guns, plus five other heavier guns. Polish losses, according to them, were 150 killed and 200 wounded, which is quite tenable. Unlike at Tczew (Dirschau), they were ready this time in force against the Swedes, and, from their view, not fighting these 'moles' when they were entrenched. Contrary to some claims, Gustavus was not 'ambushed'; the Rheingraff got himself into a very precarious situation, and the king went in blazing to salvage what he could. But he fought his way out of there relatively well, and reputedly repulsed several Polish/Imperial attacks upon him once he was entrenched, including a swift sally on the Polish rearguard off the Nogat River, an eastern distributary of the Vistula. But the Battle of Trzciana was doubtless a tactical victory for Koniecpolski and his allies over him, and they didn't outnumber him in the actual three-part clash itself, albeit Gustavus was not looking for a fiasco. Polish morale now heightened as a result.

But the sharp reverse for Gustavus, whose forts remained strongly held, was partly retrieved: the Poles and their allies advanced a little west to the Nogat River, a part of the Vistula delta. What soon ensued is where the high standards of discipline and morale effected upon his men by Gustavus beared fruit. The Swedes maintained the solid advantage of a united command, and ordered provisioning, which wasn't too difficult, being it was now the summer. Contrarily, dissent and problems with supply were seriously problematic among his Catholic enemies. A pestilence which broke out in the allied camp prevented the country people from bringing in supplies. Gustavus swiftly sallied upon the Polish rear-guard, scattering them and capturing many wagons, including most of their gunpowder supply.

The combination of this last ill-success, the 'barbarous' presence of Arnim's troops, the pestilence amid the army, and Gustavus' unrelenting entrenched holdings, made even Sigismund III more tractable. Negotiations were opened in August, 1629, with mediating envoys from France, England, and Brandenburg finding both Sweden and Poland in favor of negotiation (but they were not neutral, certainly favoring Gustavus). On September 26, 1629, the Treaty of Altmark ended this conflict. Sweden reaped considerable financial profits; save for Danzig, every river-mouth in Polish Prussia was in Gustavus' hands, a 3.5 % tax was to be collected from Polish shipping for Sweden, and from six ports (Pillau (Pilawa, now Baltiysk), Memel (Klaipeda), Elbing (Elbląg), Braniewo (Braunsberg), Fischhausen (now Primorsk) and Lochstadt) Sweden would collect all customs. This would strengthen Gustavus' finances for the great upcoming venture, as Sweden's income grew by 50% because of the tolls collected from the Prussian ports. Sweden also retained all of Livonia except the south easterly-part, and Courland was restored to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Danzig remained neutral, but was induced by a seperate treaty at Tiegenhoff (February 18, 1630) to pay two thirds of its customs to Sweden's treasury. Importantly for the Sejm, Poland retained the valuable grain trade along the Vistula, which greatly gratified the Polish nobility. But it must be noted the Swedes were being drained, too, much by pestilence and the fact the riches of Ducal Prussia (the Danziger Werder, specifically) were not paying for the war (bellum se ipse alet) as much as Gustavus had hoped. This was due in large part to Koniecpolski's strategy of avioding battle when the Swedes wanted it, coupled with cavalry harassment, restricting the Swedes' freedom of movement. The truce came at a good time for both sides, as the country was devastated from by three years of war. Militarily, it was pretty much a stalemate, but Gustavus came out of Ducal Prussia quite favorably.