Battle of Honnecourt

Battle of Honnecourt
	Part of the Thirty Years' War
	; The tercio system depicted in The Siege of Bois-le-duc, by Pieter Snayers. Oil on canvas.
Date	May 26, 1642
Location	Honnecourt-sur-Escaut, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (present-day France)
Result	Spanish victory
Belligerents
France	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Antoine III de Gramont, Maréchal de Guiche	Francisco de Melo
Strength
7,000 infantry; 3,000 cavalry; 10 guns	13,000 infantry; 6,000 cavalry; 20 guns
Casualties and losses
3,700 dead or wounded; 3,400 captured	500 dead or wounded

The Battle of Honnecourt was a battle of the Thirty Years' War fought on May 26, 1642. The Spanish, led by Francisco de Melo, were victorious over the French under Antoine III de Gramont, Comte de Guiche.

In this battle the French Champagne army was all but annihilated. It lost three quarters of its men against a force double its size. 3200 men were killed and 3400 captured, including army commander Josias Rantzau, leaving Northern France wide open for the Spanish army. But the Spanish victory was not exploited because Francisco de Melo decided to be too careful.

One year later De Melo lost the historic Battle of Rocroi, making this Battle of Honnecourt a footnote in history.

External links