Battle of White Mountain (1620)

Battle of White Mountain is a decisive battle near Prague at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War. The Battle of White Mountain was the first major battle of the Thirty Year’s War.

In 1526, Ferdinand I, the rule of Austria, had conquered Bohemia and imposed the rule of the Roman Catholic Habsburg dynasty over the kingdom. In 1618, in what is known as the Bohemian Revolt, Protestant Bohemians attempted to rid their kingdom of Catholic rule by the Habsburg.

The Catholic forces of Maximilian I, duke of Bavaria, commanded by count von Tilly, defeated the Protestant forces of Frederick V, king of Bohemia. The combined imperial and league forces, numbering 28,000 met the Bohemian army of about 21,000 men about one-half mile west of Prague on 8 November 1620.

Christian, Prince of Anhalt, commander of the Bohemian n forces had posted his troops on the White Mountain in a strong defensive position.

The force blocked the road to Prague and waited for Tilly to arrive. He failed to attack Tilly’s forces while they were passing a little brook on the battlefield.

By the defeat, Bohemia lost its independence, and Protestantism was exterminated until 1648. The battle did not destroy the entire Bohemian military forced but the psychological impact of the defeat was so strong that Frederick V of the Palatine, the elected Bohemian king, fled immediately.
Battle of White Mountain (1620)