The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the
Palatinate campaign
The Palatinate campaign (30 August 1620 – 27 August 1623), also known as the Spanish conquest of the Palatinate or the Palatinate phase of the Thirty Years' War was a campaign conducted by the Imperial army against the Protestant Union i ...
period of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
on 6 May 1622 near
Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
Geography
Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the Riv ...
.
The combined forces of the
Catholic League and the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
under Marshal
Tilly Tilly may refer to:
Places France
* Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département''
* Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département''
* Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département''
Elsewhere
* Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...
and
Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
forces of
Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden.
Background
Bohemian revolt
In the ''Bohemian revolt'' phase of the Thirty Years' War, the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Bohemian nobility refused to confirm Catholic
Ferdinand II as their king and had offered Count
Frederick V of the Palatinate
Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...
the crown of Bohemia. Frederick was crowned in 1619 but lost the kingdom to
Catholic League troops under General
Tilly Tilly may refer to:
Places France
* Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département''
* Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département''
* Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département''
Elsewhere
* Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...
at the
Battle of the White Mountain
), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic)
, coordinates =
, territory =
, result = Imperial-Spanish victory
, status =
, combatants_header =
, combatant1 = Catholic L ...
in 1620.
Due to disunity among Protestant princes the
Protestant Union
The Protestant Union (german: Protestantische Union), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick I ...
was forced to declare its neutrality in the conflict in the
Treaty of Ulm in 1620 and dissolved the following year.
Palatinate campaign
Count
Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden had been one of the Protestant Union's generals and maintained the mercenary army he had raised.
When General Tilly moved the Catholic League army from Bavaria towards the
Palatinate in April 1622 to continue the war against Frederick V, Georg Friedrich declared for Frederick's cause.
He marched his army to join General
Mansfeld
Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...
's troops and met with them a few days after their victory against Tilly at the
Battle of Mingolsheim
The Battle of Mingolsheim (german: Schlacht bei Mingolsheim) was fought on 27 April 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch, south of Heidelberg (and south of Wiesloch), between a Protestant army under General von Mansfeld and the M ...
on April 27.
By early May, the forces of
Christian of Brunswick
Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (20 September 1599 – 16 June 1626), a member of the House of Welf, titular Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt, was a German Protestant military l ...
had arrived to the north of the
Neckar
The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...
River and were prepared to assist their fellow Protestants. While Mansfeld crossed the Neckar at Heidelberg to join with Brunswick and besiege the Spanish garrison at
Ladenburg
Ladenburg is a town in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies on the right bank of the river Neckar, northwest of Heidelberg and east of Mannheim.
The town's history goes back to the Celtic and Roman Ages, when it was called Lopo ...
,
[von Reitzenstein, K. Frhr. (1906). ''Der Feldzug des Jahres 1622 am Oberrhein''. ZGO. pp. 271–95.] Georg Friedrich pursued Tilly's army who were retreating east towards the Neckar crossing at Wimpfen. Unknown to the Protestants, a Spanish army under General
Córdoba had reinforced Tilly with several thousand men in the meantime.
Late on May 5, the Protestant troops, coming from the southwest, crossed a small creek (called ''Böllinger Bach'') near the village of and formed up in battle lines.
Battle
On May 6, both sides launched unsuccessful attacks on each other from early morning to about 11 o' clock.
Both sides had erected a
wagenburg
A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised militar ...
defense, fielded a strong artillery, and were cautious on the attack. Tilly held Córdobas troops in reserve at first, fearing an attack by one of the other Protestant armies in the area that wouldn't come. As the Catholic armies began to break, Tilly's elite regiments held their ground, forming into a tight pike formation and scaring away Georg Friedrich's cavalry regiments.
There was a lull in fighting until early afternoon when a Catholic assault on Georg-Friedrich's right flank sent his cavalry into flight. At about six o'clock an enemy cannon shot caused an explosion in the Protestant powder magazine, spreading panic in their ranks. Shortly afterwards, their wagenburg fell to Catholic attacks. Many died trying to escape across the ''Böllinger Bach'' creek.
Aftermath
Count Georg Friedrich was injured in the face and narrowly escaped to Stuttgart, where he abdicated in favour of
his eldest son. However, this did not save his family from punishment. His lands were thoroughly devastated by Catholic troops, and in August a substantial part of his domains was awarded to
William, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Margrave William of Baden-Baden (30 July 1593 – 22 May 1677) was the ruler of Baden-Baden between 1621 and 1677.
Life
Born in Baden-Baden, he was the eldest son of Margrave Edward Fortunatus of Baden and Maria of Eicken. He was Geheimrat, Gene ...
of a rival, Catholic branch of House Baden. Until 1771 the margraviate was split into Protestant ''Baden-Durlach'' and Catholic ''Baden-Baden''.
General Tilly continued his campaign and prevailed again at the
Battle of Höchst
The Battle of Höchst (20 June 1622) was fought between a Catholic League army led by Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly and a Protestant army commanded by Christian the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, close to the town of Höchst, today ...
in June, then proceeded to subdue the fortified towns of the
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
one by one.
In 1623 the
Diet of Regensburg Diet of Regensburg may refer any of the sessions of the Imperial Diet, Imperial States, or the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire which took place in the Imperial City of Regensburg (Ratisbon), now in Germany.
An incomplete lists of Diets o ...
awarded Frederick V's lands and seat in the
Electoral College to Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, an eminent leader of the
Catholic League. From 1623 he styled himself
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian I (17 April 157327 September 1651), occasionally called the Great, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, ruled as Duke of Bavaria from 1597. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War during which he obtained the title of a Prince- ...
and his duchy
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria.
The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Ba ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimpfen 1622
1622 in Europe
Conflicts in 1622
Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire
Battles involving Spain
Battles of the Thirty Years' War
Margraviate of Baden
1622 in the Holy Roman Empire
Battles in Baden-Württemberg