The siege of Nuremberg was a campaign that took place in 1632 about the Imperial City of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. In July 1632, rather than face the numerically superior combined Imperial and Catholic League army under the command of

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

and Bavarian Elector Maximilian I, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden ordered a tactical retreat into the city of

. Wallenstein's army immediately started to

invest Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

Nuremberg and laid

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

to the city, waiting for hunger and

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

s to cripple the Swedish force. It proved difficult for the besiegers to maintain the siege because the city was large and needed a large force to man the

circumvallation Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort (or town) with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the outside world and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced ...

. In Wallenstein's camp, there were 50,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses and 25,000 camp followers. Foraging to supply such a large static besieging force proved to be extremely difficult. Gustavus' army grew through reinforcements from 18,500 to 45,000 men with 175 field guns, the largest army he ever led in person. With poor sanitation and inadequate supplies, both sides suffered from hunger,

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

and

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. To try to break the deadlock, 25,000 men under Gustavus attacked the Imperial entrenchments in the

Battle of the Alte Veste The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War. Background In the late summer of 1632 the army of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus met Albrecht von Wallenstein near Nürnberg. The successes of Gustavus Adolphu ...

on 3 September but failed to break through, having lost 2,500 men compared to 900 Imperials. Eventually, the siege ended after eleven weeks when the Swedes and their allies withdrew. Disease killed 10,000 Swedish and allied troops, with an additional 11,000 deserters. Gustavus was so weakened by the struggle that he sent peace proposals to Wallenstein, who dismissed them.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuremberg, 1632 Siege History of Nuremberg Battles of the Thirty Years' War

1632 in the Holy Roman Empire Battles in Bavaria Albrecht von Wallenstein