French victory at the Battle of Rocroi
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
At Rocroi (1643), although surrounded by the French, the Spaniards fought to the death. Here, indeed, was one of the strongest pillars in the Habsburg edifice; and it is significant that Spanish power visibly cracked only in the mid-seventeenth century, when its army consisted chiefly of German, Italian, and Irish mercenaries with far fewer warriors from Castile. Yet, for all these advantages, the Spanish-Austrian dynastic alliance could never prevail.
chapter: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Habsburg Bloc