Battle of Schwarzach
| date | June 13, 1554 |
|---|---|
| place | Eulenberg northeast of Stadtschwarzach 
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| output | Victory of the "unification relatives" |
| consequences | The margrave escapes to Uffenheim |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
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| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 7 squadron Reiter, 19 Fähnlein infantry, 1.200 Freischiitz | 600 horsemen, 5 Fähnlein infantry or 3 squadron horsemen, 4 Fähnlein infantry |
| losses | |
| A total of around 800 dead and around 3,500 prisoners | |
The Battle of Schwarzach (also Battle of Stadtschwarzach , Battle of Stadtschwarzach ) was a military conflict between the federal troops of the Holy Roman Empire under the leadership of Prince Heinrich II of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and the soldiers of Margrave Albrecht II. Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach in Second Margrave War on June 13, 1554. The battle was a retreat by the margrave on the run to his home country and ended with a victory for the federal troops.
prehistory
The so-called Second Margrave War was triggered by Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades in May 1552 through the siege of the episcopal city of Bamberg . Albrecht tried by several feuds against the other Frankish imperial estates, in particular the duchies of Bamberg and Würzburg as well as the imperial cities of Nuremberg and Schweinfurt to increase his influence in the Frankish imperial circle. The city of Schweinfurt was conquered by him in 1553 and developed into a military base.
During the summer of 1553, Albrecht and his troops traveled through what is now Thuringia and Lower Saxony . In the meantime his opponents had organized themselves in several leagues against him and were able to inflict a decisive defeat on the margrave in the battle of Sievershausen . Subsequently, the federal troops began to conquer the home of the margrave around Kulmbach and Hof . On Dec. 1, 1553 Albrecht was the emperor in the imperial ban taken.
Duke Heinrich II. Of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel had been declared by the emperor to be the military leader of the “unification relatives”, all opponents of the margrave. He tried to take Schweinfurt with his troops . However, Margrave Albrecht got ahead of him and came from Ilmenau on June 10, 1554. However, Schweinfurt's city wall was badly damaged by the previous clashes and the city could not feed the margrave's soldiers.
On June 11th, the margravial troops received reinforcements from several cavalry troops from the Plassenburg near Kulmbach. On the night of June 12th to 13th, starting at 10 p.m., the margrave's soldiers began to withdraw towards the south through an emergency bridge over the Main. The federal troops noticed the escape the next morning. They conquered Schweinfurt and largely destroyed the city ( second city ruin ). Colonel Bohuslav Felix von Lobkowitz and Hassenstein was assigned to pursue the fleeing margrave.
Course of the battle
Hassenstein's army was far superior to that of Albrecht. While on the margrave's side only 600 horsemen and five Fähnlein infantry fought, other sources also speak of only three cavalry squadrons and four Fähnlein infantry, Hassenstein had a total of seven squadrons of horsemen and 19 ensigns infantry available. In addition, the federal troops could fall back on 1,200 so-called free shooters who were recruited from the shooting clubs in the area.
Albrecht Alcibiades moved with his soldiers via Röthlein and Kolitzheim towards Volkach . He wanted to reach his own territory around Uffenheim after Kitzingen . At noon on June 13, 1554, Hassenstein's cavalry riding ahead reached the Margrave's troops on the Gaibacher Heights in front of Volkach. Albrecht's soldiers lined up in battle order. However, there were only individual skirmishes here because most of the federal troops had not yet arrived.
The margrave fled with his troops down the Gaibacher Berg in the direction of Volkach, while Hassenstein's infantry had also reached the heights around Gaibach . However, the Volkach Council refused to allow the margravial troops to enter. The lord of the city, the Würzburg prince-bishop Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt , had stationed a rider ensign there to defend the city in the event of a possible attack by the margrave.
During the afternoon of June 13th, the margravial troops moved on between Sommerach and Düllstadt . There they were overtaken for the first time by Hassenstein's cavalry. In particular, the Margrave's guns made slow progress on the sandy subsoil in the Main Valley. The two armies met at the so-called Eulenberg east of Münsterschwarzach and northeast of Stadtschwarzach .
The margrave managed to set up his troops in battle order . Above all stood the heavy cavalry, behind it the infantry was positioned. The guns were positioned on Stephansberg, near the Meierhof of the same name . Hassenstein first began to pull together his hookers . Hassenstein's cavalry units took over the first attack by the federal troops. They managed to throw the margrave soldiers out of their positions.
The margrave and his soldiers withdrew to the so-called Schwarzacher Klosterforst . There they awaited the renewed attack by Hassenstein. A total of 600 horsemen and a group of hookers decided the battle and forced the margrave soldiers to flee. Hassenstein's troops pursued the fleeing to Kitzingen. A total of around 800 soldiers died in the battle. Around 3500 margrave soldiers were captured.
consequences
The actual goal, the capture of the margrave, had not been achieved. However, the federal troops succeeded in taking all of the margravial artillery , the entire entourage, the dishes and the luggage. Some ammunition and 17 flags were also captured. In addition, the margravial correspondence, the clothing boxes and the vital war chest fell into the hands of the federal troops .
Margrave Albrecht II. Alcibiades managed to escape to the allied Uffenheim with a few faithful . The ancestral castle of the margrave in Kulmbach has since been besieged and fell to the federal troops in July 1554. The margrave then settled in the margraviate of Baden , where he was accepted by his brother-in-law Karl II of Baden-Durlach . He died on January 8, 1557 in the residential city of Pforzheim .
reception
The battle of Schwarzach was picked up in particular in contemporary cutting art. The Nuremberg woodcutter Hans Glaser , who was also known as the letter painter of the Second Margrave War, made a woodcut depicting the events shortly after the battle . The woodcut was distributed to the population as a leaflet with the help of Hans Wandereisen .
The woodcut measuring 66.3 cm by 22 cm is now in the Bamberg State Library . It was glued together from two sides and hand-colored. In the background, the Steigerwald chain with Schwanberg , Stephansberg and Castell can be seen, in front of which the wide battlefield is shown. An inscription reads "A battle in which Marggraff Albrecht the Real was killed and defeated once in the town of Schwarzach (...)".
literature
- Wilhelm Engel: The battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . In: Wilhelm Engel (ed.): Old Franconian Pictures 55th Jhg./1956 . Würzburg 1956. pp. 8-11.
- Fritz Mägerlein: The battle near Stadtschwarzach (1554) . In: In the spell of the Schwanberg 1967. Heimat-Jahrbuch for the district of Kitzingen . Kitzingen 1967. pp. 123-124.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Engel, Wilhelm: The battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 8.
- ↑ Engel, Wilhelm: The battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 8.
- ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: The Battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 123.
- ↑ Engel, Wilhelm: The battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 9.
- ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: The Battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 124.
- ↑ Mägerlein, Fritz: The Battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 124.
- ↑ Engel, Wilhelm: The battle of Stadtschwarzach (1554) . P. 10.