Battle of Soltau

Battle of Soltau
Part of the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud
Henry II (the Younger), who was defeated, but escaped
Date 28 June 1519 Location near Soltau, in present-day Germany Result Lüneburg victory. Brunswick forces flee into the surrounding bogs
Belligerents
Brunswick Calenberg	Lüneburg Hildesheim
Commanders and leaders
Henry the Younger Eric the Elder  (POW)	Henry the Middle Bishop John IV
Strength
4,000 levies 3,000 Landsknechte 700 knights in armour 24 cannon	7,000 foot soldiers 1,500 knights in armour
Casualties and losses
est. 3,000 to 3,500 killed	est. 10 to 200 killed

The Battle of Soltau (German: Schlacht bei Soltau) took place on 28 June 1519 and was the military climax of the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud which lasted from 1519–1523.^[1] Some sources describe it as "the last knights' battle" (Die letzte Ritterschlacht). ^[2][3] It is also often described as the "last medieval feud".^[4]

The feud had all the hallmarks of a typical dispute between noble families of that time. At its heart was the division of revenue and territorial claims, mainly on the land of the Bishopric of Hildesheim. Two aspects, however, made it rather different. Firstly, the main protagonists on both sides were members of the princely House of Welf family and secondly, the warring parties simultaneously supported different pretenders to the imperial elections of the Holy Roman Empire. The Brunswick-Calenberg party, with dukes Henry II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Eric I of Calenberg at its head, favoured the Habsburg Charles (later Emperor Charles V), the Lüneburg-Hildesheim coalition under Duke Henry the Middle and Bishop John IV supported the election of Francis I of France as the new emperor.^[1][5]

Despite their convincing victory at the Battle of Soltau, the Lüneburg-Hildesheim alliance eventually lost the war against Brunswick and Calenberg, when Emperor Charles V banned both Henry, Duke of Lüneburg, and Prince-Bishop John.^[6]