Siege of Frankenthal

The Siege of Frankenthal was a siege of the Palatinate campaign during the Thirty Years' War. A Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba besieged the city and its mostly English garrison commanded by Horace Vere. The siege lasted from 1621 to March 20, 1623, when King James I ordered the city to surrender.[1]

Background

In the early seventeenth century, the city's fortifications were upgraded by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine in preparation for war. Frederick also refortified Heidelberg and created the fortress-city of Mannheim.[2] Frankenthal had an important strategic role within the Electorate of the Palatinate.

On May 23, 1618, the Kingdom of Bohemia rose in revolt against Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and offered the crown to Frederick V, Elector Palatine, who, by accepting the Bohemian offer, brought the Electorate of the Palatinate into the war, thus broadening the conflict.

References

  1. ↑ Wilson, Peter H. "The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy". Harvard University Press, 2011, p. 340.
  2. ↑ Childs, John. Warfare in the Seventeenth Century, eds. John Keegan. London: Cassell & Co., 2001 p. 17.

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