Battle of Rocroi

49°55′10″N 4°31′40″E / 49.91944°N 4.52778°E / 49.91944; 4.52778

Battle of Rocroi
Part of the Thirty Years' War
Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)

La Bataille de Rocroi by Sauveur Le Conte
Date19 May 1643
Location
Rocroi, France
Result French victory
Belligerents
 France Spain Spanish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Strength

23,000[2][3]


17,000 infantry
6,000 cavalry
14 guns

26,000[2][4]


19,000 infantry
8,000 cavalry
18 guns
Casualties and losses
4,000 dead or wounded[5][6] 15,000[5][7]
  • 8,000 dead or wounded[8]
  • 7,000 captured[8]
  • 18 guns

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 terrifying 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 during the 17th century.[9][10] After Rocroi, the Spanish progressively transformed the tercio system incorporating more of the line infantry doctrine used by the French over time.[11][9]

  1. ^ "Gran Enciclopedia de Navarra | MENCOS y MEDRANO, MELCHOR".
  2. ^ a b Tucker 2011, p. 200
  3. ^ Nolan, Cathal. "The Age Of Wars Of Religion, 1000 1650". goodreads.com. p. 743. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. ^ Nolan, Cathal. "The Age Of Wars Of Religion, 1000 1650". goodreads.com. p. 743. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Tucker 2011, p. 201
  6. ^ Nolan, Cathal. "The Age Of Wars Of Religion, 1000 1650". goodreads.com. p. 744. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. ^ Nolan, Cathal. "The Age Of Wars Of Religion, 1000 1650". goodreads.com. p. 744. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b Tucker 2010, p. 598-599.
  9. ^ a b Tucker 2011, p. 202
  10. ^ Nolan, Cathal. "The Age Of Wars Of Religion, 1000 1650". goodreads.com. p. 744. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  11. ^ Guthrie 2003, p. 180.

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