Battle of Wiesloch

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Battle of Wiesloch

Count Tilly on a painting by van Dyck

Date	April 22, 1622
Location	Wiesloch, 25 km (15 mi) south of Heidelberg
Result	Protestant victory

Combatants

German Protestants

Holy Roman Empire, Catholic League

Thirty Years' War
Plzeň – Záblati – Dolní Věstonice – White Mountain – Wiesloch – Wimpfen – Höchst – Fleurus – Stadtlohn – Dessau Bridge – Lutter am Barenberge – Stralsund – Wolgast – Frankfurt – Magdeburg – Werben – 1st Breitenfeld – Rain – Fürth – Alte Veste – Lützen – Oldendorf – Nördlingen – Wittstock – Rheinfelden – Breisach – Chemnitz – Honnecourt – 2nd Breitenfeld – Rocroi – Tuttlingen – Freiburg – Jüterbog – Jankov – Mergentheim – 2nd Nördlingen – Zusmarshausen – Lens – Prague

The Battle of Wiesloch was fought on April 27, 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch (exact in the village Mingolsheim), 15 miles south of Heidelberg, between a Protestant army under General von Mansfeld and the margrave of Baden against a Catholic army under Count Tilly.

Early in the spring of 1621, mercenary forces under the command of Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach crossed the Rhine River from Alsace to junction with forces under Ernst von Mansfeld. Combined, the armies aimed to prevent a link-up between Count of Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba , arriving 20,000 strong from the Spanish Netherlands under the orders of General Ambrosio Spinola. Tilly met the Protestant army at its rear guard and drove upon it. This attack was successful until he met the main Protestant body, and was then rebuffed. Tilly retreated and bypassed the stationary Protestant army to link up with de Córdoba later that month. After the battle, Mansfeld found himself at a distinct disadvantage until the armies of Christian of Brunswick could arrive from the north. The two armies would engage later in the month at the Battle of Wimpfen.