User:Gvssy/Baner's invasion of Bohemia
| Baner's invasion of Bohemia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Thirty Years' War | |||||||||
.svg) Map showing the territory of Bohemia (in red) in 1618 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Johan Banér |
 Georg Lorenz von Hofkirchen (POW) Raimondo Montecuccoli | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Placeholder | Placeholder | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| See strength | See strength | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| See casualties | See casualties | ||||||||
Baner's invasion of Bohemia (Swedish: Baner's invasion av Böhmen) also called Baner’s Blitzkrieg[1] refers to a campaign led by Swedish field marshal Johan Banér against Imperial forces in Bohemia during the Thirty Years' War spanning from 1639 to 1640. The campaign led to widespread destruction.
Background
Invasion
After his victory at Chemnitz, Banér continued into Bohemia. In late April, he reached Pirna, which he subsequently captured a week later. In May, Stålhandske marched towards Leitmeritz with a force of nine cavalry regiments and 500 musketeers, which he captured. In order to defend Bohemia, the Imperial commander, Georg Lorenz von Hofkirchen, attemped a defense of the Elbe line, assisted by Raimondo Montecuccoli. Hofkirchen, who had previously been in both Saxon and Swedish service, prepared his positions at Altbunzlau, where there was a pontoon bridge across to Brandeis.[2]
However, Banér crossed the river further downstream, close to Melnik. He employed tactics similar to the ones used by Gustavus Adolphus when he crossed the Lech in 1632, Banér only sent some artillery and infantry towards Brandeis, in order to create a diversion with artillery fire. The Swedish infantry was shipped across the river on around 30 boats and barges on the evening of 28 May, in addition, Banér had a redoubt built to protect his artillery while it bombarded the opposite shore.[2]
Aftermath
References
- ^ Sláma 2021, p. 11.
- ^ a b Essen 2020, p. 80.
Works cited
- Essen, Michael Fredholm von (2020). The Lion from the North: Volume 2, The Swedish Army during the Thirty Years War 1632-48. Helion & Company. pp. 80–82. ISBN 978-1913118839.
- Wolke, Lars Ericson (2018). Sveriges tio främsta fältherrar: stormaktstiden 1561-1718 [Sweden's top ten most prominent generals: the great power period 1561-1718] (in Swedish). Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. pp. 55–56. ISBN 9789188053787.
- Sundberg, Ulf (1998). Svenska krig 1521-1814 [Swedish wars 1521-1814] (in Swedish). Hjalmarson & Högberg. pp. 176–178. ISBN 9789189660106.
- Sláma, Lukáš (2021). Johann Banér in Bohemia: The military implications of “Baner’s Blitzkrieg” to Bohemia. Wydawnictwo Adam Marszalek. pp. 11–36.