Siege of Brno

Siege of Brno
Part of the Thirty Years' War

Plan of the siege of Brno in 1645 (Theatrum Europaeum)
Date3 May – 23 August 1645
Location
Brno, Margraviate of Moravia, Habsburg monarchy
(now the Czech Republic)
49°11′33″N 16°36′30″E / 49.19250°N 16.60833°E / 49.19250; 16.60833
Result Imperial victory
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Swedish Empire Holy Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Swedish Empire Lennart Torstensson
Swedish Empire Arvid Wittenberg		 Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches
Georg Jacob Ogilvy
Martin Středa
Strength
c. 28,000 soldiers in total (including reinforcements led by Sigismund II Rákóczi) c. 426 soldiers, plus c. 1000 armed men from local militia
Casualties and losses
c. 8,000 dead and wounded[1] c. 250 dead

The siege of Brno, which occurred from 3 May 3 to 23 August 1645, was the second Swedish siege of the city of Brno in the last years of the Thirty Years' War.[2] The Brno garrison, consisting of 500 soldiers and about 1,000 Brno residents, successfully defended the city against about 28,000 soldiers of General Lennart Torstensson. The success of the defenders was the starting point of a brilliant career for their commander, Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches,[3] in the service of the Habsburgs; the siege kept the Swedish army occupied for several months. This Austrian victory ultimately contributed to Brno becoming the metropolis of Moravia, at the expense of the conquered Olomouc.

  1. ^ Guthrie 2003, pp. 142–143.
  2. ^ The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy. Harvard University Press. 2011. ISBN 978-0-674-06231-3.
  3. ^ "Brno :: Raduit de Souches".