Battle of White Mountain

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The Battle on a contemporary gravure

Date	November 8, 1620
Location	Bílá Hora near Prague
Result	Decisive Imperial victory

Belligerents

Commanders

Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg

Karel Buquoy

Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly

Strength

10,000 infantry
11,000 cavalry

18,500 infantry
6,500 cavalry

Casualties and losses

5,000 dead or wounded

700 dead or wounded

v • d • e

Thirty Years' War

Plzeň – Záblati – Dolní Věstonice – White Mountain – Bergen-op-Zoom – Wiesloch – Wimpfen – Höchst – Fleurus – Stadtlohn – Breda – Dessau Bridge – Lutter am Barenberge – Groenlo – Stralsund – Wolgast – Frankfurt – Magdeburg – Werben – 1st Breitenfeld – Rain – Fürth – Alte Veste – Lützen – Oldendorf – Nördlingen – Wittstock – Rheinfelden – Breisach – Chemnitz – The Downs – La Marfée – Honnecourt – 2nd Breitenfeld – Rocroi – Tuttlingen – Freiburg – Jüterbog – Jankov – Hulst – Mergentheim – 2nd Nördlingen – Zusmarshausen – Lens – Prague

The Battle of White Mountain, November 8, 1620 (Bílá hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech) was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 20,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 25,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Karel Bonaventura Buquoy (as he is known in Czech; Charles in his native French) and of the Catholic League under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly at Bílá Hora, near Prague (now part of the city). The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War.

1 Prelude
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 References

[edit] Prelude

Initially the revolt of the Protestants in Bohemia went well, and they broke out of their isolated political position by electing Frederick V, Elector Palatine as their king. But after Frederick accepted the crown of Bohemia in 1619, the Protestant Union signed the Treaty of Ulm (1620) with the Catholic League, declaring neutrality and refusing to support him. In the following months Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria regrouped the forces of the Catholic League, and in November sent Tilly to Prague.

[edit] Battle

The Bohemian commander, Christian of Anhalt, assembled his troops, and deployed them on the slopes of a hill (Bílá Hora in Czech, Weißer Berg in German, both meaning White Mountain) blocking the road to Prague. His troops occupied a solid position, with his right flank covered by a hunting castle, his left covered by a brook, and a small brook with some moors in front of them.

According to some reports, a monk brought along a picture of St. Mary, which had been defaced by the Protestants, which incited furor among the Catholic troops.

Tilly observed the enemy position and sent his well-trained men over a small bridge crossing the brook. In just two hours of heavy fighting, they smashed through the center of the enemy line. This decided the battle.

[edit] Aftermath

With the Bohemian army destroyed, Tilly entered Prague and the revolt broke down. King Frederick with his wife Elizabeth fled the country (hence his nickname the Winter King). Forty-seven noble leaders of the insurrection were tried, and twenty-seven were executed on what is called "the Day of Blood" at Prague's Old Town Square. Today, 27 crosses have been inlayed in the cobblestone as a tribute to those victims.

Freedom of religion in Bohemian lands came to an abrupt end and Protestants were forcibly converted or fled and/or expelled from the country. Spanish troops, seeking to encircle their rebellious Dutch provinces, seized the Palatinate. With Protestantism threatening to be overrun in Germany, Denmark entered the struggle.