Relief of Thionville

Relief of Thionville
Part of the Thirty Years' War
The Battle at Deidenhofen (Thionville) 1639, by Pieter Snayers
Date June 6–7, 1639 Location Thionville, near Luxembourg, Spanish Netherlands (present-day France) Result Decisive Spanish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Marquis de Feuquieres†	Ottavio Piccolomini
Strength
9,000 infantry 2,600 cavalry	14,000 infantry 6,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses
6,000 dead or wounded 3,000 captured	1,500 dead or wounded

On June 7, 1639, a Spanish and Imperial relief column under Ottavio Piccolomini lifted the siege lines around Thionville and destroyed the besieging French army under the Marquis de Feuquieres.

Aftermath

Feuquières, wounded in the fighting, was captured by the Imperial forces and died in captivity. In recognition of his victory, Piccolomini was created Duke of Amalfi by the Spanish Crown June 28. In 1643 the Duc d'Enghien capitalised on his victory at Rocroi by pushing on to Thionville, which fell after a stubborn defence by the Spanish garrison.

References

• Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles And Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century. Greenwood Publishing Group Publishing. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. 
• Parrott, David (2001). Richelieu's army: war, government, and society in France, 1624-1642. Cambridge University Press. 
• Thion, Stéphane (2008). French Armies of the Thirty years War. LRT Editions. ISBN 978-2-917747-01-8.