Slaget vid Nördlingen (1634) [sv]

The Battle of Nördlingen took place on 6 September 1634 during the Thirty Years' War. A combined Imperial-Spanish force inflicted a crushing defeat on the Swedish-German army.

By 1634, the Swedes and their German allies occupied much of southern Germany. This allowed them to block the Spanish Road, an overland supply route running from Italy to Flanders, used by the Spanish to support their war against the Dutch Republic. Seeking to re-open this, a Spanish army under Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand linked up with an Imperial force led by Ferdinand of Hungary near the town of Nördlingen, which was held by a Swedish garrison.

A Swedish-German army commanded by Gustav Horn and Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar marched to its relief but they significantly underestimated the number and calibre of the Imperial-Spanish troops facing them. On 6 September, Horn launched a series of assaults against earthworks constructed on the hills to the south of Nördlingen, all of which were repulsed. Superior numbers meant the Spanish-Imperial commanders could continually reinforce their positions and Horn eventually began to retreat. As they did so, they were outflanked by Imperial cavalry and the Protestant army collapsed.

Defeat had far-reaching territorial and strategic consequences; the Swedes withdrew from Bavaria and under the terms of the Peace of Prague in May 1635, their German allies made peace with Emperor Ferdinand II. France, which had previously restricted itself to funding the Swedes and Dutch, formally became an ally and entered the war as an active belligerent.

Nördlingenin taistelu (joskus myös Allbuchin taistelu) käytiin 6. syyskuuta 1634 kolmikymmenvuotisen sodan aikana lähellä Nördlingenin kaupunkia Etelä-Saksassa. Taistelussa Matthias Gallasin johtamat keisarilliset löivät perin pohjin protestanttien yhdistyneen armeijan. Taistelussa Kustaa Hornin ja Bernhard Weimarin johtama protestanttien armeija yritti pelastaa Nördlingeniä joutumasta sitä piirittäneiden keisarillisten käsiin.

Taistelu oli yksi sodan tärkeimmistä ja täydellinen katastrofi ruotsalaisille. Se käänsi sotaonnen keisarille suotuisaksi ja tuhosi ruotsalaisten haaveet sodan lopettamisesta heille edullisilla ehdoilla. Protestantit menettivät taistelussa noin puolet miehistään, Kustaa Horn joutui kahdeksaksi vuodeksi baijerilaisten vangiksi ja Heilbronnin liitto kaatui. Taistelun jälkeen Ranskan oli pakko puuttua kolmikymmenvuotiseen sotaan aktiivisesti, ja Saksan sisäinen uskonsota muuttui valtioiden väliseksi konfliktiksi.