Battle of Rocroi 1643
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 May 1643 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1643 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Franco-Spanish War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Hispanic Monarchy, Kingdom of France | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.9194, 4.5278 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Rocroi, fought on 19 May 1643, was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between a French army, led by the 21-year-old Duke of Enghien (later known as the Great Condé) and Spanish forces under General Francisco de Melo only five days after the accession of Louis XIV to the throne of France after his father's death. Rocroi shattered the myth of invincibility of the Spanish tercios, the pike and shot infantry units that had dominated European battlefields for the previous 120 years. The battle is therefore often considered to mark the end of Spanish military greatness and the beginning of French hegemony in Europe in the second half-17th century during the reign of Louis XIV. After Rocroi, the Spanish progressively transformed the tercio system incorporating more of the line infantry doctrine used by the French over time.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Rocroi (revision 1370587621), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Mézières 1521 · 22 km
- Battle of Vrigne-Meuse · 32 km
- Battle of La Horgne 1940 · 34 km
- Battle of Walcourt 1689 · 38 km
- Battle of La Marfée 1641 · 38 km
- Battle of Sedan (1940) 1940 · 38 km
Other battles of the Franco-Spanish War
- Battle of Cádiz (1640) 1640
- Battle of La Marfée 1641
- Battle of Barcelona 1642
- Battle of Honnecourt 1642
- Battle of Montmeló 1642
- Battle of Cartagena (1643) 1643
- Siege of Thionville (1643) 1643
- Battle of Orbetello 1646
- Action of 23 November 1650 1650
- Capture of the galleon Lion Couronné 1651
All 23 battles of the Franco-Spanish War →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Early modern battles