Armies
SPANISH ARMY
Right Wing
Commander: Gauchier
800 commanded musketeers (in the woods)
5 Cavalry Squadrons in two lines
Center
Commander: Córdoba
Several units brigaded into 4 Escuadrones deployed in a single line
1st Escuadron
Tercio of Naples (16 companies, Spaniards)
Tercio Balanzon (2 companies, Burgundians)
Tercio Verdugo (15 companies, Walloons)
2nd Escuadron
Isenburg Regiment (10 companies, Lower Rhine Germans)
Emden Regiment (1 company, Northern Germans)
4 Free Companies (French)
3rd Escuadron
Tercio of Capua (14 companies, Italians)
4th Escuadron
Fugger Regiment (7 companies, Germans)
Left Wing
Commander: De Sylva
4 Cavalry Squadrons in two lines
The Spanish cavalry was composed of 53 small companies, assembled into ad hoc squadrons. There were 29 cuirassier companies and 24 arquebusier companies. All except 4 veteran cuirassier companies had been raised in 1621 and 1622. They were composed by Walloon recruits and they had performed poorly at the Battle of Wimpfen, so Cordoba was obviously concerned about the flanks of his army.
The Spanish infantry was of mixed quality, the Tercio of Naples was an elite unit that traced back its history to 1567, it had lived up to its reputation at the Battle of Wimpfen with a superb performance, and Córdoba placed it in the post of honour to the right, blocking the road. Fugger Regiment and Verdugo Tercio were also experienced units, veterans of the Bohemian campaign, the rest of the units were garrison troops of lesser quality mobilized by Córdoba to fill his command.
PROTESTANT ARMY
Right Wing
Commander: Streiff
10 Companies of Cavalry deployed in two lines
Center
Commander: Mansfeld
26 understrength Infantry regiments brigaded into 8 composite Battalions deployed in a checkerboard double line
Left Wing
Commander: Brunswick
50 Companies of Cavalry deployed in two lines
The Protestant army had left Sedan with 25.000 men, but the swift march had reduced it to 14.000, many stragglers killed by angry Walloon peasants
Protestant cavalry was highly motivated and of good quality, many of the recruits were members of the German lesser nobility, and most were heavily armoured cuirassiers. The infantry was of much lesser material, poorly equipped, it had suffered the most in the march.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Fleurus (1622)
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