A quiz question · hard
Approximately how many of Magdeburg's 25,000 inhabitants died when Imperial forces stormed the city on 20 May 1631?
About 20,000 of 25,000 inhabitants died on 20 May 1631 — about 80 percent of the population — to combat, the fire that followed, and post-sack disease. The atrocity became the canonical symbol of Thirty Years War destruction.
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The May 1631 Sack of Magdeburg by Imperial Catholic Troops That Killed Approximately 20,000 of the City's 25,000 Inhabitants and Defined the Thirty Years War's Reputation Imperial Catholic forces under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, stormed the besieged Lutheran city of Magdeburg on 20 May 1631. The sack and fire that followed killed approximately 20,000 of the city's 25,000 inhabitants — about 80 percent of the population. The atrocity became the canonical symbol of the Thirty Years War's destructive scale.
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