During the Thirty Years' War the city of Magdeburg was besieged by the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Army from November 1630 to 20 May 1631 in the Sack of Magdeburg. During the Thirty Years War the city of Magdeburg was besieged by the Holy Roman Empires Imperial Army from November 1630 to 20 May 1631 in the Sack of Magdeburg. ... Combatants Saxony Saxony Holy Roman Empire Catholic Leauge Commanders Gustavus Adolphus John George I Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly Strength 23,000 swedes, 17,000 saxons 33,000 Casualties 3500 Swedes and 2000 Saxons dead 7600 dead, 6000 captured and many recruited into the swedish army {{{notes}}} The Battle of... On April 5, 1632, Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus crossed the Lech river near the city Rain, Bavaria after a short battle against Tillys army during the Thirty Years War. ... The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years War. ... Combatants Sweden Saxony Holy Roman Empire Spain Commanders Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Gustav Horn Cardinal-Infante of Spain Ferdinand of Hungary Matthias Gallas Strength 16,300 infantry 9,300 cavalry 54 guns 20,000 infantry 13,000 cavalry 32 guns Casualties 13,000–15,000 dead or wounded 3,500... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631). ... View of Magdeburg with the cathedral, from the tower of the Johanniskirche. ... A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ... The Holy Roman Empire and from the 16th century on also The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ... There are a number of possibilities here. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... // Events February 5 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston. ...

On the latter date Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, together with Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, attacked again and the city fell. Subsequently the Imperial soldiers rapidly went out of control and started to massacre the inhabitants and set fire to the city. Of the 30,000 population, only 5,000 survived. Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim Pappenheim Letter of Wallenstein, asking for help Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (May 29, 1594 – November 17, 1632), imperial field marshal in the Thirty Years War, was born at the little town of Pappenheim on the Altmühl, in Bavaria, the seat of a free... 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, upon whom Ferdinand II depended (since Wallenstein was a threat). ... The word massacre has a number of meanings, but most commonly refers to individual events of deliberate and direct mass killing, especially of noncombatant civilians or other innocents, that would often qualify as war crimes or atrocities. ...

The devastation was so heavy that the expression of "magdeburgization" remained as a term signifying total destruction, rape and pillaging for decades. The terms "Magdeburg justice" and "Magdeburg mercy" also arose as a result of the Sack, used originally by Protestant forces when executing Catholics.

See also

• Cathedral of Magdeburg

View of Magdeburg with the cathedral on the right The Cathedral of Magdeburg, officially called the Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice (known as Magdeburger Dom in German) was the first Gothic cathedral in Germany and with a height of 104 m, it is the tallest cathedral in the former...

External links

• Account of the sack of Magdeburg

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