Siege of Bautzen (1620)

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Capture of Bautzen
Bautzen-nach1620-Merian.jpg
The capture of Bautzen by Johann Georg and the Saxons
DateSeptember 1620
Location
Bautzen
Result Saxon victory
Territorial
changes
Bautzen is captured by the Saxons
Belligerents
Flag of Electoral Saxony.svg Saxony Flag of Bohemia.svg Bohemia
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Electoral Saxony.svg Johann Georg Flag of Bohemia.svg Johann Georg von Jägerndorf
Strength
8,300 men
3,000 militia
2,000 militia
Casualties and losses
“A few” Heavy

The Capture of Bautzen occurred in September 1620 during the middle stages of the Bohemian Revolt when the Saxons bombarded the fortress city of Bautzen. The resulted action was a major victory for the Saxons and the Bohemians withdrew to their last fortress in Lusatia

Contents

Background

After the Bohemians were defeated at the Battle of Sablat, Saxony, which had already desired the Austrian provence of Lusatia, now saw their chance to take over the provence. The Saxons made an alliance with the Habsburgs where they would invade Bohemia in return for Lusatia. In August of 1620 Johann Georg invaded Lusatia, soon most of Lusatia was overran except for Bautzen and Gorlitz. [1] The Bohemian commander in the region was the Duke of Jägerndorf [2] who only had 2,000 poorly trained militia, he soon went to Bautzen and began preparing defenses. The city of Bautzen was on the river Spree but had very thin, tall, and old walls which were venerable to artillery and therefor outdated.

Bombardment

When the Saxons approached the city the Bohemians retreated into the city with no choice but to the Saxons began bombarding the city. [3] The old walls crumbled under the ground pressure and then a fire began to rage that burnt down large parts of the city. [4] After a few more days the Bohemians abandoned the city which fell a day later too the Saxons

Aftermath

After the capture, Jägerndorf retreated too Gorlitz were he held out intel he heard of the defeat at White Mountain, where after he fled to Silesia where he held out intel he retreated south into Hungary where he died.

The siege proved how artillery could destroy old and outdated defenses where to artillery.

See also

References

  1. Wilsom 2009.
  2. Wilson 2009.
  3. "Geschichte der Stadt Bautzen S.307ff."Geschichte der Stadt Bautzen".
  4. Oregon State University:Military Revolution.

work cited