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Siege of Pilsen - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 49°44′51″N 13°22′39″E / 49.7475°N 13.3776°E

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Siege of Pilsen

Part of the Bohemian Revolt (Thirty Years' War)

The siege of Pilsen by Matthäus Merian

Date	19 September - 21 November 1618 (2 months and 2 days)
Location	Pilsen, Bohemia
Result	Protestant victory

Belligerents

Protestant Bohemia
Electoral Palatinate

Bohemian Catholics

Commanders and leaders

Ernst von Mansfeld

Felix Dornheim

Strength

20,000

4,000 Burghers
158 cavalry

Casualties and losses

1,100

2,500

v t e Bohemian Revolt
Pilsen Lomnice Sablat Wisternitz White Mountain

The siege of Pilsen (or Plzeň) or Battle of Pilsen was a siege of the fortified city of Pilsen (Czech: Plzeň) in Bohemia carried out by the forces of the Bohemian Protestants led by Ernst von Mansfeld. It was the first major battle of the Thirty Years' War. The Protestant victory and subsequent capture of the city enlarged the Bohemian Revolt.^[1]

Eve of the battle

Thirty Years' War

Bohemian Revolt (1618–1620)
Pilsen Lomnice Sablat Wisternitz Bautzen White Mountain Neu Titschein
Palatinate campaign (1620–1623)
Bad Kreuznach Oppenheim Bacharach Jülich Mingolsheim Wimpfen Höchst Bergen op Zoom Heidelberg Fleurus Mannheim Frankenthal Stadtlohn
Transylvanian invasions of Hungary (1619–1621, 1623–1624, 1626)
Humenné Érsekújvár Tyrnau [de] Hodonín Vlach uprisings
Danish intervention (1625–1629)
Breda Dessau Bridge Oldenzaal Lutter am Barenberge Groenlo Stralsund Wolgast 's-Hertogenbosch
Swedish intervention (1630–1635)
Swedish landing Frankfurt Magdeburg Werben 1st Breitenfeld Bamberg Rain Maastricht Nuremberg Wiesloch Alte Veste Fürth Lützen Oldendorf Pfaffenhofen Steinau Konstanz 1st Breisach 1st Rheinfelden Liegnitz [de] 1st Nördlingen Strasbourg Bridge
Swedish-French Period (1635–1648)
Les Avins Leuven Schenkenschans Ray-sur-Saône Dömitz [de] Haselünne [de] Raon Tornavento 2nd Magdeburg Somme Wittstock 2nd Breda Venlo Leipzig Hanau 2nd Rheinfelden Saint Omer Fuenterrabía Kallo Wittenweiher Thann [de] Vlotho 2nd Breisach 1st Freiberg Chemnitz Melnik Thionville Salses Cambrils Montjuïc Preßnitz Plauen La Marfée Dorsten Wolfenbüttel Kempen Honnecourt Schweidnitz 2nd Breitenfeld 2nd Freiberg Rocroi 1st Brno Tuttlingen Kolding Freiburg Philippsburg Jüterbog Bysjön Jankau 2nd Brno Mergentheim 2nd Nördlingen 3rd Hulst Korneuburg [de] Totenhöhe [de] Hohentübingen [de] Triebl Naples Zusmarshausen Wevelinghoven Lens Dachau [de] Prague
Naval battles
Gibraltar Genoa The Slaak 1st Saint Martin Lizard Point Dunkirk Channel The Downs Cape St. Vincent 2nd Saint Martin Lister Dyb Colberger Heide Fehmarn

_Treaties

On 23 May 1618 the Protestant nobles overthrew the rule of King Ferdinand II and threw the Roman Catholic governors of Bohemia from their office at Prague Castle in the Defenestration of Prague. The new government formed of Protestant nobility and gentry gave Ernst von Mansfeld the command over all of its forces.^[2] Meanwhile, Catholic nobles and priests started fleeing the country. Some of the monasteries as well as unfortified manors were evacuated and the Catholic refugees headed for the city of Pilsen, where they thought that a successful defence could be organised. The city was well-prepared for a lengthy siege, but the defences were undermanned and the defenders lacked enough gunpowder for their artillery. Mansfeld decided to capture the city before the Catholics were able to gain support from the outside.

Siege

On 19 September 1618 Mansfeld's army reached the outskirts of the city. The defenders blocked two city gates and the third one was reinforced with additional guards. The Protestant army was too weak to start an all-out assault on the castle, so Mansfeld decided to take the city by hunger. On 2 October the Protestant artillery arrived, but the calibre and number of the cannons was small and the bombardment of the city walls brought little effect. The siege continued, with the Protestants receiving new supplies and recruits on a daily basis, while the defenders lacked food and munitions. Also, the main city well was destroyed and the stores of potable water soon depleted.

Finally, on 21 November, cracks were made in the walls and the Protestant soldiers poured into the city. After several hours of close hand-to-hand combat, all of the town was in Mansfeld's hands.

Aftermath

After capturing the city, Mansfeld demanded 120,000 golden guldens as war reparations and an additional 47,000 florins for sparing the city and not burning it to the ground. [Between the previous and next sentence, two years passed.] However, soon the Holy Roman Empire, led by Bavaria, gathered enough forces and crossed the border with Bohemia, heading towards Pilsen and Prague.

The newly elected Bohemian king, Frederick V of the Palatinate was aware of the huge superiority of his enemies' forces and ordered his own army to regroup and attack each of the advancing armies separately. However, he was abandoned by most of his allies and his armies dispersed in the dense forests between Pilsen and Prague, which resulted in a decisive defeat in the Battle of White Mountain.

References

^ Grant, R. G. (2017). 1001 battles that changed the course of history. Book Sales. p. 317. ISBN 978-0785835530.
^ Gardiner, Samuel Rawson (1874). The Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648. Scribner, Armstrong. p. 33.

External links

The Siege Of Pilsen: The Thirty Years' War, worldatlas

49°44′51″N 13°22′39″E / 49.7475°N 13.3776°E / 49.7475; 13.3776

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