Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of "Battle of Lutter"

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⭐ Core Definition: Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly

Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly (Dutch: Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; German: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; French: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's forces in the Thirty Years' War. From 1620 to 1631, he won an unmatched and demoralizing string of important victories against the Protestants, including White Mountain, Wimpfen, Höchst, Stadtlohn and the Conquest of the Palatinate. He destroyed a Danish army at Lutter and sacked the Protestant city of Magdeburg, which caused the deaths of some 20,000 of the city's inhabitants, both defenders and non-combatants, out of a total population of 25,000.

However, Tilly's army was eventually crushed at Breitenfeld in 1631 by the Swedish army of King Gustavus Adolphus. A bullet from a Swedish arquebus mortally wounded him at the Battle of Rain on 15 April 1632, and he died two weeks later in Ingolstadt on 30 April 1632, at the age of 73. Along with Duke Albrecht von Wallenstein of Friedland and Mecklenburg, he was one of two chief commanders of the Holy Roman Empire's forces during the first half of the Thirty Years' War. Military historian Gaston Bodart (1908) refers to Tilly as one of the most notable military leaders from modern and contemporary times.

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👉 Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of Lutter

The Battle of Lutter (German: Lutter am Barenberge) took place on 27 August 1626 during the Thirty Years' War, south of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony. A combined Danish-German force led by Christian IV of Denmark was defeated by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, commanding an army of the Catholic League loyal to Emperor Ferdinand II.

Christian's campaign plan for 1626 consisted of three parts; while he led the main army against Tilly, Ernst von Mansfeld would attack Wallenstein, supported by Christian of Brunswick. In the event, Mansfeld was defeated at the Battle of Dessau Bridge in April, while Christian of Brunswick's attack failed completely and he died of disease in June.

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Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of White Mountain

The Battle of White Mountain (Czech: Bitva na Bílé hoře; German: Schlacht am Weißen Berg) was fought on 8 November 1620 in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. An army of 21,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt was defeated by 23,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, led by Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, and the German Catholic League led by Johann Tserclaes, later Count of Tilly, at Bílá Hora ("White Mountain") near Prague. Imperial forces entered Prague on 9 November and King Frederick I of Bohemia fled into Silesia.

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Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of Wimpfen

The Battle of Wimpfen took place during the Palatinate campaign period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen.

The combined forces of the Catholic League and the Spanish Empire under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated the Protestant forces of Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden.

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Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of Stadtlohn

The Battle of Stadtlohn was fought on 6 August 1623 between the armies of the Electoral Palatinate and of the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War. The League's forces were led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, the Protestants by Christian of Brunswick. The battle resulted in a resounding Catholic victory that largely ended the military resistance of the Palatinate forces and thus marked the end of the first phase of the Thirty Years' War.

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Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)

The Battle of Breitenfeld took place during the Thirty Years' War on 17 September 1631 near Breitenfeld, Leipzig, in modern Saxony. A combined Swedish-Saxon army led by Gustavus Adolphus and John George I, Elector of Saxony defeated an Imperial-Catholic League Army under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly.

Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War began in June 1630 when nearly 18,000 troops under Gustavus Adolphus landed in Pomerania, financed by French subsidies. In early 1631, Tilly invaded Saxony after John George I made an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus. The combined Swedish-Saxon force of around 40,150 marched on Leipzig where Tilly's army of 31,400 was based.

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Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in the context of Battle of Rain

The Battle of Rain took place on 15 April 1632 near Rain in Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War. A Swedish army under Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden defeated a Catholic League force led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, who later died of wounds received in the battle.

Outnumbered and with many inexperienced troops, Tilly built defensive works along the River Lech, centred on the town of Rain, hoping to delay Gustavus long enough for Imperial reinforcements under Albrecht von Wallenstein to reach him. The Swedes spent 14 April bombarding the defences, then crossed the river the next day, inflicting nearly 3,000 casualties, including Tilly. On 16 April, Maximilian of Bavaria ordered a retreat, abandoning his supplies and guns.

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