Battle of Höchst
Battle of Höchst, contemporary depiction
| date | June 20, 1622 |
|---|---|
| place | near Frankfurt-Höchst |
| output | Catholic victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
protestant army |
|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 26,000 | 17,000 |
| losses | |
|
100 |
2000 |
In the Battle of Höchst during the Thirty Years' War on June 20, 1622 troops of the former Protestant Union (at that time already dissolved) and the Catholic League met . The Protestant army under Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel suffered a heavy defeat against the League army led by Tilly and Córdoba .
prehistory
Tilly had lost the battle of Mingolsheim against Mansfeld and Georg Friedrich von Baden-Durlach in April 1622 . He withdrew with his weakened army in the direction of Würzburg , so the Palatinate remained without sufficient protection by the troops of the Catholic League.
Christian von Braunschweig wanted to use this situation for a decisive blow against the league. He advanced with 12,000 foot troops, almost 5,000 horsemen and three guns from the Westphalian dioceses through the Wesertal and Hesse towards the Main , in order to unite them with the troops of Mansfeld and Baden-Durlach near Darmstadt .
The battle
On June 15, the "great Christian" reached the Kurmainzisches area with his army near Oberursel . He sent an advance detachment of 1,500 men under Colonel von Knyphausen to the direction of Höchst to attack the city and take it by surprise. This was supposed to secure the unhindered building of bridges over the Main. But the Kurmainz garrison and the highest vigilante defense successfully defended the city. Knyphausen then had the city besieged and called for surrender on June 16. The Hoechst refused, and after Knyphausen had received reinforcements, he started to storm Hoechst. The defenders and many citizens fled from the overwhelming power and the Braunschweiger took the city; the remaining inhabitants were exposed to looting and acts of violence .
The Braunschweiger began building a ship bridge over the Main on June 18, and they bought some of the wood for this in the neutral city of Frankfurt am Main . Meanwhile Christian moved with his main force in the direction of Höchst and destroyed the villages of Eschborn and Sulzbach as well as the city of Oberursel . At the same time, Tilly's troops approached in forced marches from the direction of Würzburg.
On June 20th the bridge was ready. The Brunswick troops formed at Sossenheim for battle with the army that had meanwhile arrived under the leadership of Tilly and Cordoba, which comprised 20,000 foot troops and 6,000 horsemen. The imperial troops, with 18 cannons, were far superior in artillery and were reinforced in the course of the battle by an army under Franz von Hövelberg , who pushed the Brunswick towards the Main. Christian thereupon gave the order to his troops to retreat over the ship bridge to the south side of the Main; the retreat turned into a panic escape under the fire of the imperial . A chronicle reports that Christian lost more soldiers by drowning in the Main than in the battle itself.
- The fugitives have taken their retirade on the bridges and drowned several hundred of them, including noble commanders. Irrer vil have set through the Meyn and arrived on the same evening in great flight and disorder beyond Frankfurt. (after lit. Schäfer, Höchst am Main, p. 76)
As reported in another contemporary leaflet, there is no historical evidence of the murder of Höchst retreating Braunschweig soldiers, although they were assured safe conduct ( Quartir promised ):
- One assumes that on the Braunschweigische Seiten in all in 2000, the Keys. but over 100 remained dead. And although quarters were promised to the 400 soldiers in the castle at Höchst / and accorded with white staff / they were denied because they had previously exercised great courage. (after Lit. Schäfer, Höchst am Main, p. 77)
The entire entourage and all the artillery of Christian's army fell to Tilly and Bronckhorst. Christian himself was able to escape with 3,000 riders , 8,000 foot troops and his war chest and fight his way to Mansfeld.
Depictions of the battle
In addition to some contemporary leaflets and chronicles that report on the battle of Höchst, Merian recorded the battle and the passage of the Brunswick over the Main in an engraving . Another contemporary copper engraving by an unknown artist shows the battle in a large panorama of the terrain. However, none of the named artists were eyewitnesses of the event.
literature
- Heinrich von Xylander : Duke Christian the Younger of Braunschweig and Lüneburg (1599-1626). The life of a Protestant leader from the beginning of the Thirty Years War. Complete edition. Edited by Thomas Thalmaier, Willebadessen 2014. ISBN 978-3-7386-0359-0 , pp. 110-115.
- Rudolf Schäfer: Höchst am Main. Frankfurt am Main 1981: Frankfurter Sparkasse from 1822.
- Rudolf Schäfer: Chronicle of Höchst am Main. Frankfurt am Main 1986: Waldemar Kramer.
- Adalbert Vollert: Sossenheim. History of a Frankfurt district. Frankfurt am Main 1980: Frankfurter Sparkasse from 1822.
- Johann Philipp Abelin : Theatrum Europaeum . Volume 1, Frankfurt am Main 1662, panels 1622, pp. 630-633.
Web links
- Johann Philipp Abelin: Theatrum Europaeum, Volume 1, Frankfurt am Main 1662, panels 1622, pages 630–633
- Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1622: Actual illustration of the meeting which took place between the Imperial Armada and that of Halberstadt ... at Hochst ... ( digitized version )