Battle of Herbsthausen
1645 CE.
Shown on the map at 49.402°, 9.829°.
The Battle of Herbsthausen, 5 May 1645, took place during the Thirty Years' War, near Bad Mergentheim, in Baden-Württemberg. A French army led by Turenne was surprised and comprehensively defeated by a Bavarian force under Franz von Mercy. In February 1645, Mercy had detached 5,000 cavalry to support the Imperial army in Bohemia, most of whom were lost in the defeat at Jankau on 6 March. Thereafter, he avoided battle until he had assembled enough troops, then surprised Turenne at Herbsthausen on 5 May. The inexperienced French infantry quickly disintegrated and suffered over 4,400 casualties, compared to Bavarian losses of 600. Despite his victory, Mercy was unable to gain a clear strategic advantage and was killed at Second Nördlingen in August. Although fighting continued, both sides accepted their inability to impose a military solution and stepped up the negotiations that ultimately concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Herbsthausen, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.