Thirty Years' War

The Battle of Herbsthausen, or the Battle of Mergentheim, was fought on May 2, 1645. The battle was between French forces led by Marshal Turenne and... the Bavarian army led by Franz von Mercy. The French had caught the Bavarians short of troops at the beginning of the campaigning season, and pursued the Bavarians deep into Württemberg, but the Bavarians caught the French unawares and heavily defeated them. At the beginning of the 1645 campaign season, 4,000 troops had been detached from Mercy's army in order to reinforce the army of the Holy Roman Empire against the Swedes. Upon learning this, Turenne moved to immediately bring Mercy to battle, pulling approximately 11,000 men and 15 guns from winter quarters and marching on Württemberg, in which vicinity Mercy was encamped. Turenne drove Mercy and his 6,000 men steadily deeper into Germany, from Stuttgart to Halle to Mariendal, where he finally encamped to await reinforcements from the Hessians and collect forage for his horses. His forces were dispersed into encampments in villages in the vicinity. At 2:00 am on May 2, Turenne was awoken to the news that Mercy was bearing down on the French encampments.
more

The Siege of Stralsund was a siege laid on Stralsund by Albrecht von Wallenstein's Imperial Army during the Thirty Years' War, from May to 4 August... 1628. Stralsund was aided by Denmark and Sweden, with considerable Scottish participation. The siege ended Wallenstein's series of victories, and contributed to his downfall. The Swedish garrison in Stralsund was the first on German soil in history. The battle marked the de facto entrance of Sweden into the war. Christian IV of Denmark had declared war on the Holy Roman Empire in 1625. He had then invaded the empire with an army commanded by Ernst von Mansfeld to oppose the Catholic League's army commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. In response, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, had Albrecht von Wallenstein raise an additional army to support Tilly. Wallenstein defeated Mansfeld in the Battle of Dessau Bridge in 1626. The remnants of Mansfeld's army left Central Germany, and turned to Silesia and Hungary to regroup with Gabriel Bethlen's forces.
more

The Battle of Honnecourt was a battle of the Thirty Years' War fought on May 26, 1642. The Spanish, led by Francisco de Melo, were victorious over... the French under Antoine III de Gramont, Comte de Guiche. In this battle the French Champagne army was all but annihilated. It lost three quarters of its men against a force double its size. 3200 men were killed and 3400 captured, including army commander Josias Rantzau, leaving Northern France wide open for the Spanish army. But the Spanish victory was not exploited because Francisco de Melo decided to be too careful. One year later De Melo lost the historic Battle of Rocroi, making this Battle of Honnecourt a footnote in history.
more

The Battle of Dessau Bridge was a battle of the Thirty Years' War near Dessau on April 25, 1626. The Imperial Roman Catholic forces of Albrecht von... Wallenstein defeated the Protestant forces of Ernst von Mansfeld in the battle. With the entrance of King Christian IV of Denmark into the Thirty Years' War in 1625, Protestant forces that had been dealt one defeat after another were suddenly infused with fresh hope as Denmark became the first major European nation to formally enter the war since the Austrian defeat in the early years. With the new alliance came ambitious plans involving Christian of Brunswick, despite Brunswicks's defeats at Fleurus and Höchst in 1622, and his decisive defeat at the Battle of Stadtlohn in 1623 that had left him without an army. The projected campaign assigned Christian to assault the forces of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the Rhineland, and for Mansfeld to challenge Wallenstein in the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Moving first, Mansfeld began his march towards Dessau in early spring, 1625.
more