Editing Battle of Nördlingen (1645) (section)

==Battle==
Before the battle, [[Marshal of France|Marshal]] [[Vicomte de Turenne|Henri, Vicomte de Turenne]] united his Franco-German army with an all-French army led by the [[Louis, Grand Condé|Duc d'Enghien]] (who succeeded as the Prince de Condé from 1646 onward) and 6,000 Hessians commanded by [[Johann von Geyso]].{{sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=701–702}} The combined army of 17,000 men was placed under Enghien's overall leadership. Enghien's tactics were brutally simple. He intended to launch the French troops in a frontal charge on the Imperial positions. Meanwhile, it took the French army from noon until 4:00 pm to arrange its lines for battle.

In the event, the Imperial army counterattacked almost at once. Charging downhill from Schloss Alerheim, they broke Enghien's hesitant right wing, forcing the Frenchman to call off his attack on the Imperial center. On the other end of the field, Turenne hammered at the Wennenberg. When the Wennenberg fell, the defeated Imperial right swung back and the victorious left wheeled forward, so that the Imperials faced north instead of northwest. Mercy was killed during the savage fighting. By evening, both armies were still on the field of battle. However, in the darkness and confusion, the Imperials in the village, believing themselves to be surrounded, capitulated. Later that night, the Imperial army conceded defeat and withdrew to [[Donauwörth]].