The Relief of Thionville took place on 7 June 1639, during 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 ...
.
Prelude
Coordinated French and Dutch attacks on the
Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
in May 1638 forced Spain to abandon a planned offensive in
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
. Despite fighting on two fronts simultaneously, the Spanish
Army of Flanders
The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...
managed to defeat the Dutch at
Kallo
Kallo is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of Beveren in East Flanders, Belgium. Kallo was an independent municipality until 1 January 1977, when it merged with Beveren as part of the fusion of municipalities in Belgium. Most of ...
in June while
Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano
Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 ...
and the Imperial auxiliary corps under
Ottavio Piccolomini
Ottavio Piccolomini, 1st Duke of Amalfi (11 November 1599 – 11 August 1656) was an Italian nobleman whose military career included service as a Spanish general and then as a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.
Early life
Ottavio was born ...
lifted the French
Siege of Saint-Omer
The siege of Saint-Omer (24 May – 16 July 1638) was a siege in the Thirty Years' War in which a French army under Gaspard III de Coligny, Maréchal de Châtillon, laid siege to the Flemish city of Saint-Omer, defended by a small garrison in c ...
in July. France renewed his attacks in 1639 by besieging
Hesdin
Hesdin (; vls, Heusdin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
Geography
The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flo ...
with 14,000 men under
La Meilleraye
La Meilleraye-de-Bretagne (; br, Melereg-Breizh) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire ...
supported by additional troops under
Châtillon. The
Marquis de Feuquieres was ordered to capture the principal fortress of
Thionville
Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.
History
Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...
in the
Duchy of Luxemburg
The Duchy of Luxemburg ( nl, Luxemburg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg; lb, Lëtzebuerg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, becam ...
. Control of Thionville secured access to the southern Spanish Netherlands and the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
Valley, it also enabled the Imperials to support their Spanish allies by threatening the French flank.
The Battle
Feuquieres had laid siege to
Thionville
Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.
History
Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...
with 12,000 French troops. An Imperial-Spanish relief force commanded by Piccolomini with 5,000 cavalry and 9,000 infantrymen arrived in early morning of 7 June to lift the siege. This force included a Spanish contingent led by the Luxembourgish baron
Jean de Beck, with the
tercio
A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the el ...
of Naples and the artillery directed by Ernest de Suys.
In the morning, the Imperials attacked the opposing positions, then the battle stopped for a while which allowed the French to line up (11:00), while Piccolomini sent reinforcements inside the fortress. The Imperials returned to the attack (16.00) and conquered the hill on the left side to the French, where Piccolomini placed the artillery. Under Imperial artillery fire, the French cavalry was charged by the Imperial cavalry under the Marquis Camillo Gonzaga. The French cavalry was defeated and persecuted. The garrison sallied out against the French right flank.
The Imperials enveloped and defeated the French infantry, capturing all the artillery and numerous materials. The French army lost 6,000 dead and wounded as well as 3,000 prisoners including Feuquieres, who died from his injuries, and Count Pas, commander of the infantry. The victorious Imperial-Spanish army only lost 1,500 men.
Aftermath
Feuquières, wounded in the fighting, was captured by the Imperial forces and died in captivity. In recognition of his victory, Piccolomini was created
Duke of Amalfi
Medieval Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes ( la, duces), sometimes called ''dogi'' (singular: ''doge''), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle Ages. Before the t ...
by the
Spanish Crown
, coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg
, coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain
, image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg
, incumbent = Felipe VI
, incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
on 28 June.
[ Jacques (2006), p. 1013]
In 1643 the
Duc d'Enghien
Duke of Enghien (french: Duc d'Enghien, pronounced with a silent ''i'') was a noble title pertaining to the House of Condé. It was only associated with the town of Enghien for a short time.
Dukes of Enghien – first creation (1566–1569)
The ...
capitalised on his victory at
Rocroi
Rocroi () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort.
Population
History
Rocroi was fortified by Francis I of France and expanded by Henry II of France. Becau ...
by pushing on to Thionville, which fell after a stubborn defence by the Spanish garrison.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
* https://web.infinito.it/utenti/f/francots/rin30/thionvil.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thionville
Battles of the Thirty Years' War
Battles involving Spain
Battles involving France
Conflicts in 1639
1639 in France
1639 in the Habsburg Netherlands