The siege of Rheinfelden of 1633 or the Spanish recapture of Rheinfelden ''(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: La Expugnación de Rheinfelden)'' took place in late October 1633, 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 ...

. The ''Spanish Army of Alsace'' (20,000 troops) led by the Duke of Feria, Governor of the Duchy of Milan, recaptured the Habsburgian city of Rheinfelden after relieving

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

Breisach Breisach (formerly Altbreisach; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach'') is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about halfway ...

and

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

. His plan, designed by the favourite and chief minister of

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered ...

, Don

Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, 1st Duke of Sanlúcar, 3rd Count of Olivares, GE, known as the Count-Duke of Olivares (taken by joining both his countship and subsequent dukedom) (6 January 1587 – 22 July 1645), was a Spanish royal favourit ...

, was to release the

Spanish road The Spanish Road ( Spanish: ''Camino Español'', German: ''Spanische Straße'') was a military road and trade route in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, linking the Duchy of Milan, the Franche-Comté and the Spanish Netherlands, ...

along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

of the harassment by Swedish and Protestant-German troops (

Heilbronn League The Heilbronn League was formed in the Free Imperial City of Heilbronn, on 23 April 1633, during the Thirty Years' War. Led by Sweden, it brought together various Protestant states in western and northern Germany. It was supported by Saxony a ...

), defend the Franche-Comté, safeguard the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, support the troops of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, and open a strategic corridor for the Spanish troops from the Spanish Lombardy to the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

Notes

External links

Biografía de Don Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, III Duque de Feria

References

* Black, Jeremy. ''European Warfare 1494–1660.'' Routledge Publishing (2002) * Parker, Geoffrey (1984). ''The Thirty Years' War.'' London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. * {{cite book, last1=Fajardo, first1=Diego de Saavedra, title=España y Europa en el siglo XVII: correspondencia de Saavedra Fajardo, date=1986 1633 in Europe Rheinfelden Rheinfelden Rheinfelden Rheinfelden Conflicts in 1633 Military history of Switzerland

See also

Notes

External links

References