Siege of Nuremberg
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Nuremberg or Siege of Nürnberg was a battle campaign that took place in 1632 about the Imperial City of Nuremberg
during the Thirty Years' War
.
In 1632, rather than face the numerically superior Imperial
army under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein
, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
ordered a tactical retreat into the city of Nuremberg
. Wallenstein's army immediately started to invest
Nuremberg and laid siege
to the city, waiting for hunger and epidemic
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. In Wallenstein's camp, there were 120,000 soldiers, 50,000 horses, 15,000 women, and 15,000 servants. Foraging to supply such a large static besieging force proved to be extremely difficult.
Four Saxon
regiments and troops from the Rhine numbering around 50,000 troops with 6,000 cannon reinforced the 70,000 regular troops and 30,000 Nuremberg militia already deployed by Gustavus Adolphus.
With poor sanitation and inadequate supplies, both sides suffered from hunger, typhus
and scurvy
. To try to break the deadlock, the forces under the command of Gustavus Adolphus attacked the entrenchments of the imperial army's circumvallation in the Battle of the Alte Veste
but failed to break through. Eventually, the siege ended after eleven weeks when the Swedes
and their allies withdrew. Through a combination of disease, hunger and battle fatalities, about 10,000 inhabitants of Nuremberg and 20,000 Swedish and allied forces died. The Imperial army suffered about 20,000 dead. Austria
was saved for the short term, but the engagement was not decisive.
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
In 1632, rather than face the numerically superior Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
army under the command of Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
ordered a tactical retreat into the city of Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
. Wallenstein's army immediately started to invest
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...
Nuremberg and laid siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
to the city, waiting for hunger and epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
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. In Wallenstein's camp, there were 120,000 soldiers, 50,000 horses, 15,000 women, and 15,000 servants. Foraging to supply such a large static besieging force proved to be extremely difficult.
Four Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
regiments and troops from the Rhine numbering around 50,000 troops with 6,000 cannon reinforced the 70,000 regular troops and 30,000 Nuremberg militia already deployed by Gustavus Adolphus.
With poor sanitation and inadequate supplies, both sides suffered from hunger, typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
and scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
. To try to break the deadlock, the forces under the command of Gustavus Adolphus attacked the entrenchments of the imperial army's circumvallation in the Battle of the Alte Veste
Battle of the Alte Veste
The Battle of the Alte Veste was a significant battle of the Thirty Years' War. In the late summer of 1632 the army of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus had been besieged by Albrecht von Wallenstein at Nürnberg. The successes of Gustavus Adolphus over General Tilly forced Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand...
but failed to break through. Eventually, the siege ended after eleven weeks when the Swedes
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
and their allies withdrew. Through a combination of disease, hunger and battle fatalities, about 10,000 inhabitants of Nuremberg and 20,000 Swedish and allied forces died. The Imperial army suffered about 20,000 dead. Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
was saved for the short term, but the engagement was not decisive.