10.6. 1619 Battle of Záblatí

Mansfeld fled with several officers to Protivín, barely saving himself. His troops were scattered by the imperial army at the Battle of Zablati in June 1619. The defeat caused panic in Bohemia.

General Peter Arnost II. Mansfeld began to concentrate his forces at Protivín in early June 1619. From there, at the head of a corps of 4,000, he headed towards Záblatí near Vodňany, where he was to meet three battalions of the cavalry of John George, Count of Solms. He took one cannon for the journey. When he reached Záblatí on 10 June, he received news that one of his detachments had encountered an enemy at Netolice. But it was an ambush.

Count Charles Bonaventure Buquoy had learned from his informants of Mansfeld's preparations and decided to attack the enemy before he could link up with the main body of the Estates army. He marched from České Budějovice with 5,000 cavalry and infantry to seize Týn nad Vltavou. During the expedition, the Hungarian hussars occupied Netolice, which they burned and the local population was cruelly slaughtered and the women and children thrown into the fire. It was here that Mansfeld was cunningly lured into a trap.

"Buquoy sent a peasant to him with the false news that 50 of Mansfeld's musketeers were defending themselves in the cemetery of Netolice and needed help. The Estates General did not hesitate, and himself, at the head of 200 horsemen and 400 musketeers, set out to extricate his troops from the encirclement. After half an hour's ride, however, he discovered that the situation was very critical and that he had encountered a much stronger enemy. He therefore sent a messenger to Rudolph to bring Hohenlohe to his aid. To this day, it is not clear why the headquarters of the Czech Estates Army did not meet him. This is probably where Hohenlohe's intelligence service also failed," writes Radek Fukala in his book Dream of Retribution: The Drama of the Thirty Years' War.

Mansfeld, meanwhile, retreated to Záblatí. He deployed troops on both flanks and placed a cannon in the middle of the village so that it could fire on all sides. Before the general could get his bearings, however, he was surrounded by imperial troops. In this trap he fought an unequal battle that afternoon. The attack was launched by Wallenstein's cuirassiers, supported by the Hungarian cavalry. Chaos ensued, and Mansfeld's musketeers were unable to distinguish the imperial horsemen from their own. after that, the Walloon and Hungarian troops had an easy job. They broke through the defenders' camp and set fire to the village.

"The Hungarians especially excelled in cruelty and killing not only fleeing mercenaries, but also women and children accompanying the Estates troops. There was a bloodbath. Despite the heroism of the defenders, 1,200 Stavov soldiers remained dead on the battlefield and 1,300 fell captive with a large spoil. Mansfeld escaped together with several officers to Protivín, barely saving himself," Fukala describes the events of that time.

According to contemporary accounts, Colonel Albrecht von Wallenstein first became famous at the Battle of Záblatí. The lost battle caused panic in Bohemia. The imperial army was going on the offensive. Týn nad Vltavou, Hluboká, Rožmberk and Nové Hrady fell. The situation was becoming untenable for the Czech Estates Army. Soldiers were denouncing their obedience, rations had not been paid for several months.

Sources:
Radek Fukala:TheDream of Retribution - The Drama of the Thirty Years' War
Jan Bauer: The Devil Wallenstein - The Remarkable Fate of the Duke of Frýdlant
www.bitvauzablati.cz