The Battle of Rocroi was a military confrontation of the Thirty Years' War. It was fought between the Spanish Tercios, which was led by General Francisco de Melo, and the French forces, under the command of Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. It took place on May 19, 1643, in Rocroi, Ardennes Department, France. The result of the battle was a French victory. At the time of this military encounter, the French King Louis XIV had just been crowned, five days earlier, on May 14, but since he was still a child, Cardinal Mazarin took over the affairs of State. He had succeeded his father Louis XIII, whose main adviser had been Cardinal Richelieu.
To face the Spanish forces, Louis de Bourbon had gathered 24,000 men, while the Spanish Tercios were composed of 18,000 infantry troops. The Spaniards had also a small cavalry force. Both armies were armed with cannons, harquebuses, muskets, long spears, and rapiers. The French army was deployed in two lines of infantry in the center, plus squadrons of cavalry on the flanks, while the artillery pieces were set in a line. The Spanish forces were similarly positioned, but with the infantry in the center deployed in their traditional "tercio" squares; its first ranks consisted of some 8,000 highly-trained Spanish infantry soldiers.
The Battle of Rocroi started early in the morning of May 19, 1643. Although the Spanish Tercios had more cannons and made effective use of them on May 18, the following day, the French Army was able to isolate and split up the Spanish infantry forces, inflicting enormous damage on them: 7,000 Spaniards were killed and nearly 7,000 were taken prisoner. The French lost 3,500 men. Louis de Bourbon had surprised the Spanish commander, Francisco de Melo, who did not expect to fight the French that day in pitched battle.
The French victory at the Battle of Rocroi was the triumph of the French Bourbon Dynasty over the Austrian Habsburg House, which had exerted the political and military supremacy over Europe for 150 years. The Habsburg also ruled in Spain through Philip IV. Meanwhile, Rocroi marked the first defeat of the Spanish Tercios in 130 years of European history. The Tercios were regimental elite military units of the Spanish Army. They became famous when they defeated the French at the Battle of Pavia in 1525.
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| Above, the French commander, Louis de Bourbon, during the Battle of Rocroi. |