The Battle of Wevelinghoven (german: Schlacht bei Wevelinghoven) or Battle of Grevenbroich (''Schlacht bei Grevenbroich'') was one of the final battles of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. It took place on 14 June 1648 between troops of

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

and of the victorious

Hesse-Cassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

. Several sources cite the

Julian date The Julian day is the continuous count of days since the beginning of the Julian period, and is used primarily by astronomers, and in software for easily calculating elapsed days between two events (e.g. food production date and sell by date). ...

of 4 June.

Background

The Hessians under General Johann von Geyso were stationed in

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

as an occupying power. To the south, on the territory of the Electorate of Cologne, were Imperial Troops under Field Marshal

Guillaume de Lamboy Guillaume III de Lamboy de Dessener, 1590 to 1659, was a Field Marshal in the Imperial Army, who served in the 1618 to 1648 Thirty Years War, and the 1635 to 1659 Franco-Spanish War. Born in Kortessem, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now Li ...

. The Duchy of Jülich-Berg was neutral. As Hessian troops marched towards Grevenbroich, which belonged to Jülich, Duke Wolfgang William feared that an occupation of Grevenbroich by the Hessians would be seen by the Imperial side as an opportunity to declare the neutrality of Jülich-Berg as null and void. He therefore asked von Geyso for an undertaking that Grevenbroich would be spared. As a result, the Hessians did not occupy Grevenbroich and encamped near Wevelinghoven, in order to fall back to Neuss.

The battle

Lamboy advanced with 6,500 men and positioned himself on 13 June in front of the Hessian encampment. However, the Hessians did not engage in battle, but pulled back to a pre-prepared site between Grevenbroich and Wevelinghoven, in order to cross the River Erft there and make for Neuss. The Imperialists pursued them in order to cut off their withdrawal and isolate them from their supply lines. This plan was anticipated by von Geyso, however, and he waited for the Imperial troops in battle formation. Around 5 am on 14 June, the two armies clashed. In spite of outnumbering the Hessians almost two to one, the Imperial Army had to retreat after five hours of fighting during which 1,500 of their men were captured and 1,000 lost their lives. Hessian losses were given as 168. Eleven cannons were also captured.

Aftermath

The Imperials retreated to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

to refresh their troops while the Hessian encamped between

Uerdingen Uerdingen () is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 17,888 (2019). Originally a separate city in its own right, Uerdingen merged with the city of Krefeld in 1929. Today, Uerdingen is best known for a local distillery ...

and Linn remaining inactive until September. In September, von Geyso started besieging Düren with the Hessian army and captured it on 21 September despite relief efforts by Lamboy. Afterwards, the Hessians intended to besiege

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

, but Lamboy relieved it on 17 October. News of the Peace of Westphalia reached the combatants at the end of October, with the Imperials at

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...

and the Hessians at Brakel.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Wevelinghoven Wevelinghoven Conflicts in 1648 Rhein-Kreis Neuss History of the Rhineland Wevelinghoven