Battle of Rocroi

Battle of Rocroi
Part of the Thirty Years' War Franco-Spanish War (1635-59)
Rocroi, el último tercio, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau (2011)
Date 19 May 1643 Location Rocroi, France Result Decisive French victory
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Duc d'Enghien	Francisco de Melo
Strength
17,000 infantry 6,000 cavalry 14 guns	19,000 infantry (includes 8,000 Spanish) 8,000 cavalry 18 guns
Casualties and losses
4,000 dead, wounded or captured	7,000 dead, wounded or captured

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

The Battle of Rocroi of 19 May 1643 resulted in the victory of a French army under the Duc d'Enghien against the Spanish Army under General Francisco de Melo only five days after the accession of Louis XIV of France to the throne of France, late in the Thirty Years' War. The battle is considered by many to be the turning point of the perceived invincibility of the Spanish tercio.

The Habsburg Spanish army of about 27,000 men advanced from Flanders, through the Ardennes, and into northern France to relieve French pressure on the Franche-Comté and Catalonia. The Spanish troops set siege to Rocroi, which lay athwart the route to the valley of the Oise. The French, under the command of 21-year-old Louis, duc d'Enghien, reacted quickly and forced a battle before the arrival of 6,000 Spanish reinforcements. The Spanish failed to block the route to Rocroi, which passed through a defile bordered by woods and marsh. Enghien advanced through the defile and assembled his force along a ridge looking down on the besieged town of Rocroi. The Spanish quickly formed up between the town and the ridge. The French army, some 23,000 strong, was arranged with two lines of infantry in the center, squadrons of cavalry on each wing and with a thin line of artillery at the front. The Spanish army was similarly arranged, but with its infantry in their traditional tercios, or squares. The two armies bivouacked in their positions for the night.

...
Wikipedia