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Battle of Besançon 1575

Battle of Besançon: Vue Besançon Pierre d'Argent
Image: Pierre D'argent, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Year1575Wikidata P585 (point in time)
EraEarly modern (1500–1799)derived from year
LocationFranceNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentEuropeNatural Earth
War / conflictFrench Wars of ReligionWikidata P361
Coordinates47.2431, 6.0219Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Besançon (21 June 1575) was a sectarian conflict between the Protestants and Catholics in the French city of Besançon in the region of Franche-Comté. Prior to the battle, the Huguenots, accused of heresy, had been expelled from the city and fled to the County of Montbéliard and Switzerland; the outcasts formed an army and planned an attempt to retake Besançon and turn the city into a stronghold of the Protestant Reformation. By the time the armed Protestants had reached the city of Besançon however, their army had dwindled because of several mishaps. Nonetheless, the battle began and raged for several hours; the outcome was an overwhelming Catholic victory. The majority of the Protestant army managed to escape, but those who were captured were hanged as traitors. For over two centuries after the battle, Protestantism in Besançon was repressed.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Besançon (revision 1370434151), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

47.2431, 6.0219 · France

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Nearby battles

Other battles of the French Wars of Religion

All 24 battles of the French Wars of Religion →

Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Early modern battles

Further reading