On This Day
1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
The Battle of Rain (also called the Battle of the River Lech or Battle of Lech) was fought on 15 April 1632 as part of the Thirty Years’ War.
The forces involved in this conflict were 40,000 Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus and 25,000 Catholic League troops under Johan Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. It was the second meeting between the two legendary generals (see First Breitenfeld when Tilly received the first setback of his long and storied career) and like at Breitenfeld, Tilly lost when Gustavus forced the river Lech under the cover of his superb artillery.
Battle
Gustavus had a bridge of boats constructed across the Lech near the city of Rain through the night prior to the battle, and in the morning sent three hundred Finnish Hackapelite troops across the river under fire. The Hackapelites dug earthworks for batteries which then protected the rest of Gustavus’ army as they crossed the river.
As soon as his army had crossed the river, Gustavus immediately and successfully stormed the hill. Tilly was shot in the leg early in the battle and was moved to the rear; his second in command, Johann von Aldringen, was knocked unconscious with a skull fracture minutes later. Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, ordered an immediate retreat to save the now leaderless army, leaving most of the Catholic League’s baggage and artillery in the field. The army itself may only have escaped destruction due to a storm and high winds blocking roads in the night that followed.[1]
Aftermath
The immediate result of the battle was that Bavaria lay open for occupation by the Swedish army, enabling Gustavus Adolphus to temporarily threaten the Austrian heartland.
The death of Tilly also led to the recall of Albrecht von Wallenstein into Imperial service. He would raise a new army and challenge the Swedes at Nürnberg in August.
Tactics
The battle is, however, more interesting from a tactical point of view rather than from its outcome, as the elaborate plan of Gustavus Adolphus to catch the entire Imperial army by complex maneuvering was prevented when Tilly was mortally wounded in the battle, resulting in the early retreat of the Imperial army. The Swedish battle plan consisted of two major elements:
1. A strong feint attack by a portion of the Swedish infantry with heavy artillery support against Tilly’s strongly fortified center behind the Lech. The intended effect was to attract the full attention of the Imperial army and its reserve. The Swedish force succeeded in establishing and fortifying its position on a small island or peninsula close to the Imperial side of the river. From this position, it was able to repel a series of fierce Imperial counterattacks despite being outnumbered.
2. As the Imperial army got tied up in desperate attempts to eliminate the Swedish bridgehead, the Swedish cavalry with no opposition or attention from the enemy was able to cross the river 10 km south of the Imperial left wing. From this position they intended to outflank the entire Imperial army and thus catch it in a position with the river and the Swedish infantry at its front and the Swedish cavalry in its rear and on its flanks.
With Tilly mortally wounded, the morale of the Imperial army quickly dissolved and the army withdrew before the arrival of the Swedish cavalry. Thus, Tilly’s death possibly saved his army from annihilation. Nonetheless, both armies suffered considerable losses (3,000 on the Imperial side, 2,000 on the Swedish), mostly due to frontal attacks and counterattacks against fortified positions with strong natural defenses.
The battle of Lech proves more than the Battle of Breitenfeld the innovation of Gustavus Adolphus’ tactical imagination. His daring frontal attack in combination with the deployment of a large part of his army for the flanking movement has similarities with the tactics of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough at the Blenheim battlefield, (situated in the very neighborhood of Rain) or of Frederick the Great at Leuthen. The disciple of Gustavus Adolphus, Johan Banér, also employed a similar battle plan four years later in the battle of Wittstock.
See also
Rain order of battle
Born On This Day
1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna “Corrie” ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a writer who worked with her father Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family members to help many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II by hiding them in her home. They were caught and she was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family’s efforts and how ten Boom found hope while imprisoned at the concentration camp.
FYI
By Variety Staff: Bibi Andersson, ‘Persona,’ ‘The Seventh Seal’ Actress, Dies at 83
Berit Elisabeth Andersson (11 November 1935 – 14 April 2019),[1] known professionally as Bibi Andersson (Swedish: [²bɪbːɪ ²anːdɛˌʂɔn]), was a Swedish actress who was best known for her frequent collaborations with the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.
Read more ->
Gizmodo Science: Utility Workers in England Stumble Upon Grisly Graves of 26 Iron Age Skeletons and more ->
By Brendan Hesse: How to Run Diagnostics Tests on Your Smartphone
By C. Brandon Ogbunu and Ben Odell: After Jackie Robinson Bent Baseball’s Color Barrier, Two Journeymen Broke It For Good
BBC News: China turtle death: One of last four known Yangtze giant softshells dies
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY: New Zealand mosque shootings: Six in court on charges they sent attack images
Rocky Parker Blog Profiles: Esports Blogs
Dan Harbeke Head of External Affairs, Google Iowa: How we’re supporting economic opportunity in Iowa
Aude Gandon Global Brand Director, Google Play: Want to Change the Game? Design your own with Google Play
By Rhitu Chatterjee: Teen Dating Violence Can Lead To Homicide — And Girls Are The Most Common Victims
And there are hotlines specifically for teens facing intimate partner violence, such as the National Teen Dating Abuse helpline, adds Bair-Merritt. Teenagers can call 1-866-331-9474 or text LOVEIS to 22522 and be connected with a professional trained to gauge whether they are in immediate danger, how scared they are feeling, whether they or their partner have access to firearms and to help individuals get out of unsafe situations. Teenagers can also chat with someone for help at loveisrespect.org.
Glacier Hub Newsletter 04-15-19: For nearly 10 years, Jón Stefánsson’s grade-seven students have used GPS devices to track the disappearance of their local glacier in Iceland. More ->
The Rural Blog: Asian-carp processing industry booms in Western Ky., which will get nation’s first industrial park for that purpose; Syphilis spreading in rural U.S. because of intravenous drug use, stigma, lack of funding, and other factors; Trump announces airwave auction to speed 5G network rollout and program to increase rural broadband access and more ->
Open Culture: Should Literature Be Political? A Glimpse into Sartre by The Partially Examined Life; Salvador Dalí’s Illustrations for The Bible (1963); The Charlie Chaplin Archive Opens, Putting Online 30,000 Photos & Documents from the Life of the Iconic Film Star; How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole: Watch the 2017 Ted Talk by Katie Bouman, the MIT Grad Student Who Helped Take the Groundbreaking Photo and more ->
By MessyNessy 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCXLVIII): Unearthing the 1929 Julian Price House; A Real-life Rapunzel Tower; A whole Subreddit forum Dedicated to Castle P0rn; The Lilliput Pocket Omnibus, 1937; The bacteria on the typical hand and more ->
Ideas
Alicia W Hometalker Middletown, PA: Four “Killer” Ideas to Get Rid of Weeds Forever
By Hometalk Hits: 12 Container Garden Ideas to Kick Off Spring Great way to start the Gardening Season
Laura Kennedy Hometalker Canada: Cement Pots for a Windowsill Herb Garden
Holly Lengner – Lost Mom Tutorial Team Longmont, CO: Flower Wall Hanging
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 4 October 4, 2024Picture of the day Crucifix and shadow on the wall, Abbey of Saint Peter (Assisi). Today is the feast of Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Ecologists.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for October 3 October 3, 2024Picture of the day Philippsruhe castle in Hanau-Kesselstadt, seen from the west from the park.
Recipes
Widget not in any sidebars
Widget not in any sidebars
Widget not in any sidebars