The Battle of Rocroi, fought on 19 May 1643, was a major engagement of the Thirty Years' War between a French army, led by the 21-year-old Duke of Enghien (later known as the Great Condé) and Spanish forces under General Francisco de Melo only five days after the accession of Louis XIV to the throne of France after his father's death. Rocroi shattered the myth of invincibility of the Spanish Tercios, the terrifying infantry units that had dominated European battlefields for the previous 120 years. The battle is therefore often considered to mark the end of Spanish military greatness and the beginning of French hegemony in Europe during the 17th century. After Rocroi, the Spanish progressively transformed the tercio system incorporating more of the line infantry doctrine used by the French over time.

Context 
Since 1618, the Thirty Years' War had raged in Germany, with the Catholic Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs fighting the Protestant states. In 1635, fearing a peace too favorable to the House of Habsburg after a string of Protestant defeats, France decided to intervene directly and declared war on the Habsburgs and Spain, despite France being a Catholic power that had suppressed its own Protestant rebellions. An initial invasion of the Spanish Netherlands ended in failure, and the French retreated to their borders.

December 1642 brought the death of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to Louis XIII of France, followed by the King's own death on 14 May 1643, when his four-year-old son Louis XIV inherited the throne. Despite receiving overtures of peace amid the precarious domestic situation, the new French chief minister, Mazarin, did not wish to end the war and exerted French military pressure on Franche-Comté, Catalonia, and the Spanish Netherlands.

The Battle of Honnecourt in May 1642 had opened the way towards Paris, and the renowned Spanish Army of Flanders advanced through the Ardennes into northern France with 27,000 men in the hope of relieving pressure on Catalonia and in Franche-Comté.

Prelude

En route, the Spanish troops, under Francisco de Melo, laid siege to the fortified town of Rocroi. The Duc d'Enghien, the commander of a French army in Amiens, was appointed to stop the Spanish incursion. He was 21 but had already proven himself a bold and cunning commander, and he had the support of worthy subordinates, such as Marshal Jean de Gassion. French forces in the area numbered 23,000. Enghien advanced to meet de Melo's numerically superior army along the Meuse River. On 17 May, he learned the king had died but kept the news secret from his army.

Word reached Enghien that 6,000 Spanish reinforcements were on their way to Rocroi, and he hurried there on 18 May. He decided on an attack before de Melo's forces could be reinforced against the advice of his older subordinate commanders. He ordered his army forward through the only available approach, a defile between woods and marshes that the Spanish had failed to block. That afternoon, the French took up position on a ridge overlooking Rocroi.

Learning of the French advance, de Melo decided to engage the oncoming forces, rather than invest in the siege, as he deemed his army stronger. Accordingly, the Spanish army formed up between the French and Rocroi, and both sides prepared for battle the next day. The Spanish expected a decisive victory, which would compel the French to negotiate peace.

The French army was arranged in two lines of infantry in the center, squadrons of cavalry on each wing, and a thin line of artillery at the front. The Spanish army was similarly positioned but with the center infantry in their traditional "tercio" squares, with some 8,000 highly trained Spanish in front and mercenary infantry behind them. The two armies exchanged fire in the afternoon of 18 May, but the full battle did not occur until the following day.

Battle

The battle began early in the morning of 19 May on open farmland in front of Rocroi with a French cavalry attack on the Spanish left. The French horsemen on the right under Jean de Gassion pushed back the Spanish cavalry opposite, and Enghien followed up by swiftly charging the exposed Spanish left flank. The Spanish horsemen were routed, and Enghien moved against the elite Spanish infantrymen, which had engaged their French counterparts and were besting them. At the same time, the French cavalry on the left, against Enghien's orders, attacked the Spanish right and were repulsed. The Spanish mounted a counter-attack, initially very successful, but their advance was eventually halted by French reserves. At this point, the French left and center were in distress.

The battle was still inconclusive, with both armies succeeding on their right but bloodied on their left.

Enghien's illumination

Enghien, aware that his left and center were bending under pressure, decided not to pull them back, but to exploit his momentum on the right flank. He ordered a cavalry encirclement, which was achieved via a sweeping strike and got behind the Spanish lines. He then smashed through the back of the Spanish infantry in the center and went on to crash into the rear of the Spanish right-flank cavalry that had engaged his reserves. The move was a complete success, and when the Spanish cavalry scattered, it left the infantry isolated, prompting the Spanish artillery crew to flee the battlefield. Regarded as the finest in Europe for over a century, the Spanish infantry, now enveloped on all sides, held its formations and repulsed two French cavalry attacks. Enghien massed his artillery alongside the captured Spanish guns, and relentlessly hammered the Spanish squares. The Germans and Walloons deserted, overwhelmed and broken, but the veteran Spanish Tercios remained on the field with their commander.

Concluding battle
Despite heavy artillery fire and the death of their commander de Fontaines, the Spanish absorbed additional French cavalry attacks without breaking formation. Impressed with their gallantry in combat, Enghien offered surrender terms similar to those obtained by a besieged garrison in a fortress, and the Spanish accepted. When Enghien personally rode forward to take their surrender, however, some of the Spanish apparently believed that this was the beginning of a French cavalry charge and opened fire on him. Angered by this seeming treachery, the French attacked again, this time without quarter and with devastating result. The Spanish army was virtually destroyed. Some Spanish sources state that only three of the five Spanish infantry battalions were destroyed by the French, while the remaining two were allowed to leave the field with deployed flags and weapons.

French losses were about 4,000. The Spanish commander Melo reported his losses at 6,000 casualties and 4,000 captured in his report to Madrid two days after the battle. The estimates for the Spanish army's dead range from 4,000 to 8,000. Of the 7,000 Spanish infantry, only 390 officers and 1,386 enlisted men were able to escape back to the Spanish Netherlands. Guthrie lists 3,400 killed and 2,000 captured for the five Spanish infantry battalions alone, while 1,600 escaped. Most of the casualties were suffered by the Spanish infantry, while the cavalry and artillerymen were able to withdraw, albeit with the loss of all the cannons.

Aftermath and significance
The French lifted the Siege of Rocroi but were not strong enough to move the fight into Spanish Flanders. The Spanish regrouped rapidly and stabilized their positions. The year 1643 ended in a stalemate, which was enough of a success for France.

However, the battle was of great symbolic importance because of the high reputation of the Army of Flanders. Melo in his report to the King called it "the most considerable defeat there has ever been in these provinces".

The proof of strength was important for France. At home, it was seen as a good omen for the new king's reign, and it secured the power of Anne of Austria as queen regent for the four-year-old Louis XIV, and of the newly appointed Prime Minister Mazarin. Both Richelieu and Louis XIII had distrusted Anne (a sister of Philip IV of Spain), but as regent, she confirmed Mazarin, Richelieu's protégé and political heir, and the French war policy maintained its direction.

The battle established the reputation of the 21-year-old Enghien, whose numerous victories would win him the name "the Great Condé".

Abroad, it showed that France remained strong despite its four-year-old king. The following decades would see supremacy in Europe move slowly from Habsburg Spain to Bourbon France, as the absolute monarchy in France overpowered the Spanish imperial power. Mazarin had maneuvered to have space to cope with the Fronde and to turn the tide slowly against the Spanish in France and in the Low Countries. Turning to alliance with England, he defeated the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes and took Dunkirk in 1658, leading to the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. Although Spain looked to be all-powerful as late as 1652, the peace settlement reflected the demise of Spain's mastery of Europe in the late 1650s.

In media
A 2006 Spanish movie, Alatriste, directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, portrays this battle in its final scene. The soundtrack features in the scene a funeral march, La Madrugá, composed by Colonel Abel Moreno for the Holy Week of Seville, played by the band of the Infantry Regiment "Soria" No. 9, the successor of the "bloody Tercio", which participated in the battle, the oldest unit in the Spanish Army.

Museum
The elderly Spanish infantry general Paul-Bernard de Fontaines, from the Spanish Netherlands and known to the Spanish as de Fuentes, suffered from gout and was carried into battle and killed. His sedan chair was taken as a trophy by the French and may be seen in the museum of Les Invalides in Paris. Enghien is reported to have said, "Had I not won the day, I wish I had died like him".

References

Citations

Bibliography

 
 
 
 
 
 

1643 in France
Rocroi 1643
Rocroi 1643
Rocroi 1643
History of Ardennes (department)
Conflicts in 1643
Rocroi
Rocroi
로크루아 전투는 1643년 5월 19일 벌어졌으며 콩데 공작 루이 2세이 지휘하는 프랑스 군이 프란시스코 데 멜로(Francisco de Melo) 휘하의 스페인 군과 교전하여 결정적인 승리를 거두었다.

서막 
약 27,000명에 달하는 합스부르크 가문의 스페인-신성로마제국 연합군은 아르덴(Ardennes)을 거쳐 플랑드르(Flanders)로 진군하여 프랑스의 군사적 압력이 가해지는 카탈루냐(Catalonia)와 프랑슈콩테(Franche-Comté) 지방을 구원하고자 하였다. 스페인 군은 우아즈(Oise) 계곡을 가로지르는 길에 위치한 로크루아를 공략하고자 하였다. 21세의 앙갱 공작 루이가 지휘하는 프랑스군은 재빠르게 스페인 군의 움직임에 반응하여 6,000명에 달하는 스페인 원군이 도착하기 전에 전투를 벌이려 하였다. 스페인군은 로크루아를 봉쇄하는데 실패하고 프랑스군은 나무와 늪지로 뒤덮인 계곡을 통과하는데 성공하였다. 앙갱 공작은 계곡을 따라 진군을 계속하여, 공격 당하고 있는 로크루아를 내려다 볼 수 있는 산 능선에 병력을 집결시켰다. 스페인군은 마을과 산 능선 사이에서 빠르게 병력을 집결시키려 하였다. 약 23,000명에 달하는 프랑스군은 중앙에 보병을 2열로 배치하고, 양익에 기병부대를, 전위에 포병대를 배치하였다. 스페인군도 비슷한 진형을 펼쳤으나 보병들은 그들의 전통적인 테르시오(tercios) 방진을 쳤다. 양 군은 위치를 고수하며 밤 동안 노숙하였다.

전투 

전투는 동이 튼 후에 시작하였다. 프랑스군이 먼저 공격을 시작했으나 중앙의 프랑스 보병대는 스페인군에게 고전하였다. 앙갱의 명령에 반하여 전진하였던 프랑스군의 좌익 기병대 역시 스페인군에게 격퇴되었다. 그러나 장 드 가시옹(Jean de Gassion) 휘하의 프랑스군 우익 기병대는 자신들이 상대한 스페인 좌익 기병대를 패주시켰다. 앙갱 공작은 기병대의 패주로 인해 노출된 스페인 보병대의 좌익을 노릴 수 있게 되었다. 스페인 기병대는 프랑스 기병대와 맞서 이들을 격퇴시켰으나, 프랑스 예비대에게 격퇴 당하였다.

앙갱 공작은 기회가 오자 기병 포위작전을 개시하여, 스페인 군의 후방을 장악하였고 이 와중에 프랑스군 예비대와 교전을 계속하고 있던 스페인 기병대의 배후를 찔렀다. 스페인 기병대는 이로 인해 프랑스 군에게 패했고, 아직도 싸우고 있는 보병대를 놔두고 전장을 떠났다. 그럼에도 불구하고 프랑스군은 스페인군의 견고한 방진에 두 번이나 격퇴 당했고 앙갱 공작은 자신의 포병대와 노획한 스페인의 대포를 이용하여 포격으로 스페인군을 분산시키려 하였다.

테르시오 진형을 이루고 있던 독일인들과 왈론인들(Walloon)이 궤주했음에도 불구하고 스페인군은 그들의 사령관과 함께 전장에서 꿋꿋이 버티었다. 프랑스군은 이들을 격파하기 위해 4번의 기병 돌격을 감행했으나 강력한 화력 지원에도 불구하고 스페인군의 막강한 진형을 무너뜨리지 못했다. 프랑스의 사령관인 젊은 앙갱 공작은 스페인 군에게 마치 공성전에서 요새를 지키는 수비병들과 같은 조건을 제시하며 항복을 요구했고, 스페인군이 이를 받아들임으로써, 두 개의 테르시오를 이루고 있던 스페인 군은 깃발과 무구들을 챙기고 전장을 떠났다.

스페인군은 사상자, 포로를 합쳐 15,000명의 피해를 입었으며, 프랑스군은 약 4,000명의 피해를 입었다.

중요성 

이 전투는 마자랭(Mazarin)과 훗날 위대한 콩데 공작 루이 2세에게 중요한 정치적 중요성을 지닌 승리였다. 비록 역사가들이 스페인군은 끊임없는 프랑스군의 포격 속에서 계속된 기병들의 돌격을 격퇴했는데도 멜로의 독일, 왈론, 이탈리아 부대가 전투 초반에 항복했기 때문에 패했음을 강조한다 해도, 이는 근 한 세기 동안 스페인이 야전에서 입은 패배중 가장 결정적인 것이었다. 로크루아는 스페인 군사교리의 우월성이 종결됨을 의미하기도 한다. 스페인군은 반란으로 인해 지배권을 상실한 카탈루냐와 이탈리아의 주요 전선에서 프랑스와의 전쟁을 성공적으로 수행하여 잃어버린 땅을 되찾을 수 있었지만, 그동안 스페인의 국력은 고갈되어, 포르투갈의 반란에 효과적으로 대응할 수 있는 부대를 파견하지 못했고, 결국 포르투갈의 독립운동은 성공적으로 끝났다. 뒨 전투(Battle of the Dunes) (이 전투에서 스페인 군은 로크루아 전투의 승리자 콩데 공작 루이 2세의 지휘를 받았다.)에서 스페인이 패한 후에 선형 전술은 확실하게 테르시오를 압도하게 되었고, 많은 나라들이 테르시오 대신 선형전술을 채택하게 되었다. 1659년 피레네 조약(Treaty of the Pyrenees)은 프랑스에 유리하게 체결되었다. 이 조약은 새로운 국제질서를 확고하게 하였으며 그 시작은 로크루아 전투에서부터였다.

미디어에서 
2006년 아구스틴 디아스 야네스(Agustín Díaz Yanes)가 감독한 스페인의 영화 알라트리스테(Alatriste)는 마지막 장면에서 이 전투를 묘사하고 있다.

이 장면에 사용된 배경음악은 장례 행진곡 라 마드루가(La Madrugá)로 아벨 모레노(Abel Moreno)가 세비야의 성 주간(Holy Week)을 위해 작곡한 곡이다. 이 곡은 소리아 9연대의 군악대가 연주하였는데, 이들은 피의 테르시오(the blood Tercio)라는, 전투에 참여한 옛 스페인 부대의 별명을 계승했다.

박물관 
스페인 보병 사령관 푸엔테스(Fuentes)가 사용하던 가마를 프랑스가 전리품으로 획득하였고 파리에 있는 앵발리드(Les Invalides) 박물관에서 볼 수 있다. 푸엔테스는 전투 중 전사하였다.

각주

참조 
 Dupuy, Trevor N., Harper Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.

외부 링크 
 The Battle of Rocroi
 The French Army 1600-1900

1643년
30년 전쟁의 전투
스페인이 참가한 전투
프랑스가 참가한 전투
1643년 분쟁
1643년 프랑스