You will find on this page the composition of the army and historical data.
Composition (règle DBA, selon l'extension 1500-1900)
1 x 4Pi Cavalry d'Alsace, under Don Francisco de Melo (General)
1 x 3Dr Cavalry d'Alsace, under Issembourg
1 x 4Pi Cavalry des Flandres, under Albuquerque
4 x 4Pk Pikemen of the Tercios
4 x 4Sh Hharquebusiers of the Tercios
1 x Art Artullery
The Comte de Fontaine is represented as an item of luggage, although historically it was present in the heart of the tercios. This allows me to "hold" the chair on a pedestal and will often imply that the eventual death of the count would often coincide with the end of the battle.
The Comte de Fontaine is represented as an item of luggage, although historically it was present in the heart of the tercios. This allows me to "hold" the chair on a pedestal and will often imply that the eventual death of the count would often coincide with the end of the battle.
Figurines
- InfantryHistorical notes
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| Don Francisco de Melo |
France was in a critical situation in 1643. King Louis XIII is dying (he will die before Rocroi and his death will be hidden until after the battle).
The Spaniards wish to profit by this weakening of the enemy kingdom.
They believed that the shortest way to repair their losses was to become masters of Rocroi, one of our last places on the frontier, and whose grip would open the way to the capital and heart of France. They hoped to be supported by the malcontents, who should not fail to rise in the interior of the country.
To carry out their project, they assembled near Douai all the troops of Flanders, who were the most seasoned of Europe, and a formidable artillery. Dom Francisco de Melo, an experienced old general, the victor of Marshal de Guiche, at Honnecourt, on the 26th of May of the preceding year, ordered his army to march to Champagne, the places of which were without provisions and defenses, and to invest Rocroi on the 13th May 1643, by the corps of troops commanded by the Count d'Issembourg. Two days later he went himself to this place with his whole army.
.The Spaniards wish to profit by this weakening of the enemy kingdom.
They believed that the shortest way to repair their losses was to become masters of Rocroi, one of our last places on the frontier, and whose grip would open the way to the capital and heart of France. They hoped to be supported by the malcontents, who should not fail to rise in the interior of the country.
To carry out their project, they assembled near Douai all the troops of Flanders, who were the most seasoned of Europe, and a formidable artillery. Dom Francisco de Melo, an experienced old general, the victor of Marshal de Guiche, at Honnecourt, on the 26th of May of the preceding year, ordered his army to march to Champagne, the places of which were without provisions and defenses, and to invest Rocroi on the 13th May 1643, by the corps of troops commanded by the Count d'Issembourg. Two days later he went himself to this place with his whole army.
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| Flag taken from the Spaniards in Rocroi - Chantilly museum |
He hoped that the siege would not be long, and that the city, not being well fortified, would not dare to defend itself against a numerous and victorious army. His intention was to make of this place the key of the campaign, a place of arms and the center of its military operations. He therefore caused the trench to be opened without circumvallation, so much did he flatter himself that he would prevail before the arrival of any assistance. But God did not allow, said Marlot, that the inheritance of the great Saint Remy was defiled by a defeat. Melos having carried off the night of May 16th-17th, in spite of the vigorous resistance of the garrison, the half-moon of the Moulin-a-Vent and that of the Porte-Maubert, he thought himself already master of the fortress. Paris trembled, and the ministry was not without serious anxiety.
Persuaded that Melo had prepared for them a brilliant triumph, the Spaniards awaited with the same impatience as the French, the signal of the combat. But they did not know with all Europe that this young general, who was accused of inexperience and temerity, had the soul, genius, and fortune of Alexander! That it was to him that the supreme arbiter of the combats had reserved the glory of bearing the most mortal blows to a monarchy which had so long threatened to engulf all the others.
Then Melo arranged his army in battle on an eminence opposite the French, and in nearly the same order and with the same intelligence as his adversary had done. He gave to the Duke of Albuquerque, master of the camp, general of the cavalry, the command of the left, reserving to himself that of the right.
Persuaded that Melo had prepared for them a brilliant triumph, the Spaniards awaited with the same impatience as the French, the signal of the combat. But they did not know with all Europe that this young general, who was accused of inexperience and temerity, had the soul, genius, and fortune of Alexander! That it was to him that the supreme arbiter of the combats had reserved the glory of bearing the most mortal blows to a monarchy which had so long threatened to engulf all the others.
Then Melo arranged his army in battle on an eminence opposite the French, and in nearly the same order and with the same intelligence as his adversary had done. He gave to the Duke of Albuquerque, master of the camp, general of the cavalry, the command of the left, reserving to himself that of the right.
(Référence: blog aufildesmotsetdelhistoire)
During this battle, the Comte de Fontaine (a Picard, named de Fuentes in Spanish), aged, is suffering from a gout attack, a disease that prevents him from mounting his horse. He is obliged to give his orders from the top of his chair, carried by four servants. His heroic resistance against the repeated assaults of the French earned him the praise of his conqueror, the Duc d'Enghien: "If I had not vanquished, I would have liked to die like him! "
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| The Count of Fontaine at Rocroi |
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| The chair of the Comte de Fontaine- Musée de l'Armée. |
