Relief of Thionville

The Relief of Thionville took place from 6 to 7 June 1639, during the Thirty Years' War.

Battle of Thionville
Part of the Thirty Years' War and the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59)
The Battle at Deidenhofen (Thionville) 1639, by Peter Snayers
Date 6–7 June 1639 Location Thionville, near Luxembourg, Spanish Netherlands (present-day France) Result Spanish victory[1]
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Marquis de Feuquieres †	Ottavio Piccolomini
Strength
9,000 infantry 2,600 cavalry[2]	14,000 infantry 6,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
6,000 dead or wounded 3,000 captured	1,500 dead or wounded

The Battle

The Marshal of Feuquières with 13,000 Frenchmen invests the Thionville plaza in Lorraine, rescued by Cardinal Infante and Ottavio Piccolomini with 6,000 knights and 10-14,000 infantrymen, a Spanish contingent led by the Luxembourgish baron Jean de Beck, with the third of Naples and the artillery directed by Ernest de Suys. In the morning, the Imperials attack the opposing positions, then the battle to stop that allows the French to line up (11:00), while Piccolomini sends reinforcements inside the fortress. The Imperials return to the attack (16.00) and conquer the hill on the left side to the French, where Piccolomini places the artillery. The French cavalry, beaten by the imperial artillery, is charged by the imperial cavalry by the Marquis Camillo Gonzaga, is defeated and persecuted, even if the Gonzaga remain among the fallen. The besieged make an exit against the French right flank. The imperialists envelop and defeat the French infantry, capturing all the artillery and numerous materials. The losers leave 5-6,000 of the dead and wounded, 3,000 prisoners including Feuquieres, who dies from his injuries, and Count Pas, commander of the infantry. The winners have 1,500 fallen.

Aftermath

Feuquières, wounded in the fighting, was captured by the Imperial forces and died in captivity. In recognition of his victory, Piccolomini was created Duke of Amalfi by the Spanish Crown on 28 June.[3]

In 1643 the Duc d'Enghien capitalised on his victory at Rocroi by pushing on to Thionville, which fell after a stubborn defence by the Spanish garrison.

Notes

1. Parrott (2001), p. 137
2. Thion (2008), p. 129
3. Jacques (2006), p. 1013

References

• Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles And Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century. Greenwood Publishing Group Publishing. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
• Parrott, David (2001). Richelieu's army: war, government, and society in France, 1624-1642. Cambridge University Press.
• Thion, Stéphane (2008). French Armies of the Thirty years War. LRT Editions. ISBN 978-2-917747-01-8.
• https://web.infinito.it/utenti/f/francots/rin30/thionvil.htm