Battle of Rocroi, (May 19, 1643), a military engagement of the Thirty Years’ War in which a French army of 22,000 men, under the Duke d’Enghien (later known as the Great Condé), annihilated a Spanish army of 26,000 men under Don Francisco de Melo, marking the end of Spain’s military ascendancy in Europe.
The Spanish army crossed the French border from the Netherlands and then stopped to besiege the small fortress of Rocroi, 55 miles (88 km) northeast of Reims. Enghien advanced rapidly, knowing that the Spaniards were expecting reinforcements. On May 18 both armies positioned themselves with the bulk of their infantry in the centre, flanked by two wings of cavalry. Early on May 19 Enghien led a successful cavalry charge of the French right against the Spanish left.
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