The Battle of Jankau, also known as the Battle of Jankov, was a major battle of the Thirty Years' War which was fought on 6 March 1645.
After the Second Battle of Breitenfeld, the Imperial forces were saved from disaster only by the outbreak of a Danish-Swedish war. But the Swedish general Lennart Torstensson was back in central Europe by the summer of 1645 and at Jankov, outside Prague, he was confronted by an Imperial army. Thte ensuing battle was a series of skirmishes over hilly and wooded terrain. The Swedes were outnumbered and Torstensson's tactical ability was crucial in defeaeting the Imperial forces, whose infantry offered little resistance. Only the Bavarian cavalry fought back against the Protestants, but, outnumbered and outgunned, they fell in large numbers. The loss of this elite force left Emperor Ferdinand III militarily crippled and destroyed all Catholic hopes of enforcing a favorable peace.