Battle of Herbsthausen 1645
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 2 May 1645 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1645 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Thirty Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Holy Roman Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.4020, 9.8290 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Herbsthausen, 5 May 1645, took place during the Thirty Years' War, near Bad Mergentheim, in Baden-Württemberg. A French army led by Turenne was surprised and comprehensively defeated by a Bavarian force under Franz von Mercy.
In February 1645, Mercy had detached 5,000 cavalry to support the Imperial army in Bohemia, most of whom were lost in the defeat at Jankau on 6 March. Thereafter, he avoided battle until he had assembled enough troops, then surprised Turenne at Herbsthausen on 5 May. The inexperienced French infantry quickly disintegrated and suffered over 4,400 casualties, compared to Bavarian losses of 600.
Despite his victory, Mercy was unable to gain a clear strategic advantage and was killed at Second Nördlingen in August. Although fighting continued, both sides accepted their inability to impose a military solution and stepped up the negotiations that ultimately concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Herbsthausen (revision 1370442917), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Thirty Years' War
- Battle of Tuttlingen 1643
- Battle of Freiburg 1644
- Battle of Jüterbog 1644
- Battle of Listerdyb 1644
- Siege of Philippsburg (1644) 1644
- Battle of Jankau 1645
- Battle of Nördlingen (1645) 1645
- Siege of Brno 1645
- Siege of Dunkirk (1646) 1646
- Battle of Puerto de Cavite 1647
All 80 battles of the Thirty Years' War →
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