Battle of Mhlberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 of 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Mhlberg&printa...

Coordinates: 51.4331N 13.2167E

Battle of Mhlberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Mhlberg was a large battle at Mhlberg

in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the
Protestant Reformation. The Catholic princes of the
Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V decisively defeated[1][2] the Lutheran
Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes under the
command of Elector John Frederick I of Saxony and
Landgrave Philip I of Hesse.[1]

Battle of Mhlberg
Part of the Schmalkaldic War

Contents
1 Battle
2 Aftermath
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References

The Battle of Mhlberg by Luis de vila y Ziga (1550)

Date

24 April 1547

Location

Mhlberg, Saxony, Holy Roman

Empire
(present-day Germany)

Result

Decisive Spanish-Imperial

6 External links

Battle
The SpanishImperial forces
were
commanded by
the Emperor
Charles V and
his commanderin-chief in
Battle of Mhlberg 1547 and
Germany Don
imprisonment of elector Johann
Fernando
Friedrich of Saxony (painting from
lvarez de
1630, Deutsches Historisches
Toledo, Duke of
Museum)
Alba.[1][2] The
Schmalkaldic
League's commanders could not agree on any military
actions on the battlefield, thereby allowing Charles's
forces to run through the League's defences.
The Emperor was 47 years old at the time, and suffering
from gout. He was therefore carried to the battle in a
litter, rather than on the great warhorse in modern
armour depicted by his court painter Titian.

victory[1][2]

Belligerents
Schmalkaldic League:

Empire of Charles V:

Electorate of

Spain

Saxony
Hesse

Holy Roman
Empire

Electorate of the
Palatinate

Hungary[1]

Bremen
Lbeck
Brunswick-Lneburg
Other German territories

Commanders and leaders

John Frederick I

Charles V
Duke of Alba

(POW)

Philip I of Hesse

Ferdinand I

(POW)

Strength

24/04/2015 14:21

Battle of Mhlberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2 of 3

The Spanish-Imperial army under the Duke of Alba

arrived on the Elbe river on 23 of April and the battle
began early in the morning. Charles' Tercios, who were
mostly Spanish professional soldiers of high quality[1]
and mercenaries, took advantage of an early morning
mist to outflank the Schmalkaldic forces.[1] The
Protestant troops were taken completely by surprise
and, after a token resistance, fled in panic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Mhlberg&printa...

12,000 infantry and

25,000 infantry and

3,000 cavalry (15 guns)

4,500 cavalry (20 guns)

Casualties and losses

200 dead or wounded[1]

7,000 dead or
wounded[1]
1,000 prisoners[1]

The Protestant army was destroyed (over 7,000 dead or wounded and
1,000 prisoners) and various Protestant leaders (including Elector
John Frederick I of Saxony and Landgrave Philip I of Hesse) were
captured by the Hungarian cavalry.[1]

Aftermath
The victory of the Spanish-Imperial forces led to the dissolution of
the Schmalkaldic League.[2] John Frederick was captured (by the
Hungarian hussars during the battle) and arrested. In the course of
the Capitulation of Wittenberg[1] a few weeks later he had to resign
the electoral dignity and the major part of his lands in favour of his
cousin Maurice.[1][2]
This battle effectively won the war for Charles and the Schmalkaldic
War was over; only two cities continued to resist but the Protestant
problem remained. Many of the princes and key reformers, such as
Martin Bucer, fled to England, where they directly influenced the
English Reformation.

Titian's Equestrian Portrait of

Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy
Roman Empire (1548) celebrates
Charles' victory at Mhlberg

See also
League of Torgau
Electorate of Saxony
Landgraviate of Hesse
Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein

Notes
1. History of Hungary (1526-1686)
2. Blockmans. Emperor Charles V (15001558)

References
History of Hungary. Book-Series (10): History of Hungary (1526-1686), First Book. Editor in chief:
Pl Zsigmond Pach; Editor: gnes Vrkonyi R. Akadmia Kiad. Budapest (1985) ISBN
963-05-0929-6
Oman, Charles. A History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century. London: Methuen & Co. 1937.

24/04/2015 14:21

Battle of Mhlberg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3 of 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Mhlberg&printa...

Smith, Henry Preserved (1920). The Age of the Reformation

(http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18879). New York: Henry
Holt and Company.
Tracy, James D. (2002). Charles V: Impresario of War.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-81431-6.
Blockmans, Wim. Emperor Charles V (15001558).
Translated by Isola van den Hoven-Vardon. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-340-73110-9.

The Battle of Mhlberg by Eduard

Sommer

External links
Battle of Mhlberg (http://web.archive.org/web/20091027122851/http://www.geocities.com/aow1617
/MuehlbergUK.html) An analysis of the battle.
History of Hungary book-series (10 tome): History of Hungary 1526-1686, First book, Editor in chief:
Pl Zsigmond Pach; Editor: gnes Vrkonyi R. Akadmia Kiad, Budapest (1985) ISBN
963-05-0929-6

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Mhlberg&oldid=658969756"

Categories: 1547 in Germany Battles involving Spain Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire
Battles involving Hungary Conflicts in 1547 Mhlberg, Brandenburg

This page was last modified on 24 April 2015, at 10:25.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered
trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

24/04/2015 14:21