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The war with Czechia lasted for almost
three years without a decisive battle. The Czechs were a greatly superior
force. However, they had an insufficient number of troops to conquer
Vienna by force. The Duke of Bavaria decided to take advantage of his
army's numerical superiority and marched directly to Prague, where
Commander Bucois surrendered to him. The Czech forces under the command of
Christian of Anhalt tried to hold the enemy back by barring his way at
strategic locations. The Czech Army took up a very favourable position: A
park and a hunters' castle surrounded by a wall lay to the right, a deep
chasm to the left and a stream flowed through the swampy meadow ahead of
them, allowing only a single bridge crossing. Tilly ordered the Bavarians
to cross the bridge and deploy on the opposite bank. His Catholic League
numbered 28,000 soldiers, whereas the Czechs had only 21,000 troops. After
a bloody two-hour battle, the Empire finally triumphed. Many Austrian,
Hungarian and Dutch soldiers fought on the side of the Czechs, while the
Catholics were supported by Prussians, Spaniards, Italians, Walloons and
Poles.
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