Battle of Baesweiler

The Battle of Baesweiler took place on August 22, 1371 held in Baesweiler and was the decisive battle in the Brabant feud.

Prehistory ( Brabant feud )

Emperor Charles IV had built in the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire a " hegemonic kingdom ", having regard to its power base in Bohemia, Silesia and Brandenburg. In the West he was planning something similar for his half-brother Wenceslas I. Initially, he raised his county to the Duchy of Luxembourg and married him to the heiress of the powerful Duchy of Brabant. However, the rule there was Václav not compete unchallenged, but had to the Peace of 1356 Ath commit to the Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders Philip handed over to the city of Antwerp and the Bold - Wenceslas should remain without heirs - and Brabant. To consolidate his power, Wenzel therefore turned towards the east and gained small territorial successes against Edward, Duke of funds, and Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich. In 1366 he was taken by his brother to the imperial vicar in the West, which Wenceslas had legal basis to take action against the peace -breakers. Robbery at Brabant merchants in Jülich he took the opportunity to once again draw against Edward and William of field. On 21 and 22 August 1371 he came with a great army into the Duchy of Jülich.

Battle Record

After crossing over the worm attacked Duke William before the arrival of Guelders troops at the place Baesweiler the Brabant troops. The fight went on for the whole morning, with it after the initial distress the superior forces of Brabant succeeded in pushing back the Jülich. When the battle had already been decided, met Eduard Herzog surprised with new troops on the battlefield one. In the morning battle lines had been pulled wide apart and partly dissolved, so that now the Brabant had no time to take formation and to form battle lines to be able to fend off the rested Guelders soldiers can. The surprise was complete: 270 counts and knights of Brabant were captured. Wenzel himself fell into the hands of his enemies, and was then taken by Duke William first to Jülich after Nideggen. However, on money -driven side of the Duke had fallen when he took off his helmet after the battle and was struck by the last arrows.

Effects of the battle

Charles IV spoke about Wilhelm from the imperial ban and appeared in June 1372 in Aachen, to free his half-brother. At a military solution was, however, not to think. Because Wenceslas position was beyond saving: "The defeat cost the Duke of pay, allowances, ransoms etc. about 1,195,000 Moutonen in normal ducal annual income 50000-75000 Moutonen Although the Brabant estates took the lion's share of this burden upon himself. but required for such far-reaching political concessions that Wenzel had to be written off as a political power. " ( Janssen ) In a realistic assessment of the forces was no longer to think of a Luxembourg hegemony in the west, and the Kaiser had to rely on the two remaining powers, namely the winner William of Jülich and Cologne Archbishop Friedrich III. of Saarwerden. Latter he gave the kingdom therefore Vicariate.

To get his brother free, so they agreed on a special spectacle: William of Jülich submitted to the emperor and gave without ransom Wenzel free. In return, the Emperor enfeoffed the son of the victorious Duke William of Jülich with the become vacant duchy of Guelders. Because after the death in battle of Edward was also his older brother Rainald III in the same year. childless died of funds, which is why the duchy of Guelders and Zutphen the county was without a male heir. Aspirants to the duchy were the sisters of the two dukes, Mechthild and Mary, the latter was married to Duke William of Jülich and had a son of the same. Therefore, the Emperor enfeoffed the still underage Wilhelm with the duchy of Guelders and ordered his father as regent. Even the emperor paid 50,000 florin for a protection treaty between Brabant and Jülich - a somewhat verklausulierte form of the ransom.