Image:Battle on a contemporary gravure
Battle of White Mountain
Conflict	Thirty Years' War
Date	November 8, 1620
Place	Bílá Hora near Prague
Result	Decisive Imperial victory
Combatants Bohemia Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Spain Commanders Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg Karel Buquoy, Count of Tilly Strength 10,000 infantry 11,000 cavalry 18,500 infantry 6,500 cavalry Casualties 5,000 dead or wounded 700 dead or wounded
Bohemian Revolt Plzeň • Záblati • Dolní Věstonice • White Mountain • Wiesloch • Wimpfen • Höchst • Fleurus • Stadtlohn

The Battle of White Mountain, November 8, 1620 (Bílá hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech) was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of 20,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt were routed by 25,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Karel Bonaventura Buquoy and of the Catholic League under Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly at Czech Bílá Hora, near Prague. The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x644, 109 KB) Battle of White Mountain on a lithography from the epoch Scanned and uploaded by MatthiasKabel from the German wiki File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of White Mountain ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the Central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ÄŒechy; German: Böhmen) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... This page is about the Germanic empire. ... This article is about the 17th century German union. ... Karel Bonaventura Buquoy or in French Charles Bonaventure de Longueval comte de Bucquoy or in German Karl Bonaventura Graf von Buquoy ( 9 Jan 1571 in Arras- 10 Jul1621) was a military commander of French-Belgium ancestry who fought for the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War. ... Count Tilly on a portrait by van Dyck Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly (February, 1559 - April 30, 1632) was a general in Bavarian and later imperial service during the Thirty Years War, who Ferdinand II depended upon (since Wallenstein was a threat). ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... The Battle of Záblatí, in some sources also battle of Sablat, occurred on 10 June 1619 during the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years War. ... The Battle of Věstonice, or Battle of Wisternitz, was fought on August 5, 1619 between a Bohemian force and an Austrian army under Dampierre. ... Battle of Wiesloch Conflict Thirty Years War Date April 25, 1622 Place Wiesloch near Heidelberg Result Protestant victory The Battle of Wiesloch was fought on April 25, 1622, near the German village of Wiesloch, south of Heidelberg, between a Protestant army under Count von Mansfeld and the margrave of Baden... Battle of Wimpfen Conflict Thirty Years War Date May 6, 1622 Place Wimpfen near Heidelberg Result Catholic victory In the Battle of Wimpfen, a battle in the Bohemian Revolt period of the Thirty Years War, took place on May 6, 1622, where the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and... Battle of Fleurus Conflict Thirty Years War Date August 29, 1622 Place Fleurus, Belgium Result Protestant victory The Battle of Fleurus in 1622 was a battle in the Thirty Years War. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the Central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (July 9, 1578 – February 15, 1637), of the house of Habsburg, ruled 1620-1637. ... Karel Bonaventura Buquoy or in French Charles Bonaventure de Longueval comte de Bucquoy or in German Karl Bonaventura Graf von Buquoy ( 9 Jan 1571 in Arras- 10 Jul1621) was a military commander of French-Belgium ancestry who fought for the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War. ... This article is about the 17th century German union. ... Count Tilly on a portrait by van Dyck Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly (February, 1559 - April 30, 1632) was a general in Bavarian and later imperial service during the Thirty Years War, who Ferdinand II depended upon (since Wallenstein was a threat). ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ...

Prelude

Initially the revolt of the protestants in Bohemia went well, and they broke out of their isolated political position by electing Frederick V, Elector Palatine as their king. But things changed when Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria regrouped the forces of the Catholic League. He sent Tilly straight to Prague. Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: Čechy; German: Böhmen) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick V, Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia (August 16, 1596 – November 29, 1632) was son and heir of Frederick IV, Elector Palatine and of Louise Juliana von Orange-Nassau. ... Not to be confused with King Maximilian I of Bavaria (1756-1825), prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph). ... This article is about the 17th century German union. ...

Battle

The Czech commander, Christian Anhalt, assembled his troops, and deployed them on the slopes of a hill (Bílá Hora in Czech, Weissenberg in German, both meaning White Mountain) blocking the road to Prague. His troops occupied a solid position, with his right flank covered by a hunting castle, his left covered by a brook, and a small brook with some moors in front of them.

Tilly observed the enemy position and sent his well-trained men over a small bridge crossing the brook. In just two hours of heavy fighting, they smashed through the center of the enemy line. This decided the battle.

Aftermath

With the Czech army destroyed, Tilly entered Prague. Freedom of religion came to an end, 27 leaders of the insurrection were executed, and Protestants fled the country. King Frederick fled the country too (hence his nickname the winter king). The battle ended the independence of Bohemia for 300 years.

Spanish troops, seeking to encircle their rebellious Dutch provinces, seized the Palatinate. With Protestantism threatening to be overrun in Germany, Denmark entered the struggle.