Capture of Bacharach The Capture of Bacharach took place on October 1 , 1620 at Bacharach , Electorate of the Palatinate . The conflict was between the Spanish forces commanded by Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and the Protestant forces of Frederick V , Elector Palatine , during the Palatinate campaign in the context of the Thirty Years ' War . After a quick start of the invasion of states of Frederick V , proclaimed King of Bohemia , the operations slowed in mid - September , after the Capture of Oppenheim . Don Ambrosio Spinola , the Spanish general in command , assessed at a council of war the choice between undertaking the siege of Heidelberg or , secondarily , the town of Bacharach . The Spanish officers decided to take Bacharach due to the small number of Frederick ' s scattered forces . On October 1 , Córdoba captured Bacharach with a force of 2 , 500 soldiers , forcing the Anglo - German defenders to surrender . Background . After securing stores of food and ammunition through the Capture of Oppenheim , Spinola had a choice between taking Heidelberg or Bacharach . On September 23 , Spinola consulted with the Spanish commanders , Don Carlos Coloma , Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba , Don Diego Felípez de Guzmán and Hendrik van den Bergh . There was talk of marching on Heidelberg , Frankenthal or Bacharach , but finally Spinola decided to opt for Bacharach . Bacharach was an important strategic point because it was a bridgehead over the Rhine and would be a link between the part of the Palatinate occupied by the Spaniards and the city of Mainz . In addition , the operation would buy time for the arrival of reinforcements expected from the Spanish Netherlands . On 27 September , news came to Spinola that a force from the United Provinces of about 5 , 000 men under the command of Henry of Nassau - Dillenburg and Sir Horace Vere had crossed the Moselle in Kerpen to support Frederick V . Spinola , ignoring the entity of Vere ' s forces , composed of Dutch , English and Scottish volunteers sent by King James I of England , decided to move with his army to the west bank of the Rhine and await the Protestant forces . With his attention centered on the arrival of the Anglo - Dutch relief , Spinola remained near the road with the bulk of his army , and entrusted the capture of Bacharach to Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba . On September 29 , Córdoba marched with his forces and captured Lorch , forcing the few defenders to surrender . He had also sent another group of about 2 , 000 men directly to Bacharach . This group approached the outskirts of Bacharach at about 2 am . With the arrival of the Spaniards , the Protestant soldiers outside the town threw down their muskets and fled into the town . Córdoba ' s men then proceeded to build a bulwark behind the town . At dawn , the defenders , aided by heavy mist , fired shots of musket , killing three Spaniards and wounding three more . Shortly thereafter the bulk of the forces led by Córdoba arrived . Demoralised by the arrival of the Spanish , the officers of the garrison decided to surrender . The Spanish troops entered Bacharach at 3 pm . Two captains and 94 English soldiers , among other German troops , were taken prisoners . Consequences . Córdoba left a garrison of 300 soldiers in Bacharach and sent most of his troops under the commanders Diego Ruiz and Baltasar de Santander to capture Kaub . The small garrison of that town soon surrendered . Shortly thereafter , the Spaniards took the Pfalzgrafenstein Castle . Spinola , meanwhile , focused on intercepting the Anglo - Dutch relief , but the Protestant force did not appear . The Anglo - Dutch force went instead to Worms unhindered . In August 1621 , Mainz fell to Spinola ' s army of 15 , 000 men , now under the command of Córdoba . Meanwhile , General Spinola , on his return to the Netherlands where the Eighty Years ' War was still going on , lay siege to Jülich , and after five months of siege the city fell to the Spaniards , reversing Maurice ' s success of 1610 .