The Battle of White Mountain, one of the first major battles of the Thirty Years' War, took place on November 8, 1620, when the Protestant forces of the Bohemian Confederation confronted the Catholic Habsburg Army led by Count Tilly. The Protestant forces, under King Frederick I of Bohemia, faced a poorly coordinated array of troops, lacking the unity and resources of the imperial forces. Following the defeat, Frederick I's grip on power was severely weakened, prompting him to flee Prague a day later to save himself from capture by the victorious Habsburgs. His escape towards Wroclaw, then part of Silesia, represented not just a personal retreat but a significant moment in the Protestant struggle against Catholic rule in the region.

Frederick I's flight was emblematic of the broader conflicts playing out in Europe at the time. The Habsburgs’ tightening reign over Bohemia was an alarming sign for Protestant interests across the continent. As he traveled, Frederick's escape symbolized the crumbling hopes of many Protestant nobles who had rallied behind his cause and the implications of the defeat for their political ambitions. The resulting Habsburg dominance in Bohemia would lead to profound shifts in power and initiate a period of Catholic re-consolidation.

Consequently, Frederick’s retreat did not just herald the end of his reign but marked a considerable setback for the Protestant movement leading into the Thirty Years' War. The subsequent Habsburg policies in Bohemia would enforce religious restrictions and facilitate a wave of Catholic resettlement, reshaping the religious landscape of Central Europe.