The Battle of Herbsthausen, or the Battle of Mergentheim, was fought on May 2, 1645. The battle was between French forces led by Marshal Turenne and the Bavarian army led by Franz von Mercy. The French had caught the Bavarians short of troops at the beginning of the campaigning season, and pursued the Bavarians deep into Wurtemberg, but the Bavarians caught the French unawares and heavily defeated them.
At the beginning of the 1645 campaign seaso...
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The Battle of Herbsthausen, or the Battle of Mergentheim, was fought on May 2, 1645. The battle was between French forces led by Marshal Turenne and the Bavarian army led by Franz von Mercy. The French had caught the Bavarians short of troops at the beginning of the campaigning season, and pursued the Bavarians deep into Wurtemberg, but the Bavarians caught the French unawares and heavily defeated them.
At the beginning of the 1645 campaign season, 4,000 troops had been detached from Mercy's army in order to reinforce the army of the Holy Roman Empire against the Swedes. Upon learning this, Turenne moved to immediately bring Mercy to battle, pulling approximately 11,000 men and 15 guns from winter quarters and marching on Wurtemberg, in which vicinity Mercy was encamped. Turenne drove Mercy and his 6,000 men steadily deeper into Germany, from Stuttgart to Halle to Mariendal, where he finally encamped to await reinforcements from the Hessians and collect forage for his horses. His...
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