The Thirty Years’ War

TusharJoisEuropean History APKinbergDecember 22, 2012 The Thirty Years’ War 1/18

Timeline of the War Legend Bohemian Phase Danish Phase Swedish Phase French-International Phase Click on a box to go to that topic, or click anywhere to continue in chronological order. Bohemians rebel against Emperor Ferdinand II The Edict of Restitution is issued King Christian IV of Denmark enters the War 1620 1629 1609 1618 1625 1626 Rudolf II promises toleration for Bohemian Protestants The Battle of White Mountain Albrecht von Wallenstein raises an army of mercenaries The Peace of Westphalia The Battle of Lützen 1632 1648 1631 1635 1644 Sweden enters the war The Peace of Prague The Battle of Rocoroi France, Holland, and Savoy enter the war (Chambers 437)

Pre-War Religious Policy Back to Timeline • The Peace of Augsburg – 1555 • Each prince is allowed to choose Roman Catholicism or Luthernaism for their territory - cuiusregio, eiusreligio • Dissenters were allowed to emmigrate • Free cities – practice one of the two • Calvinists and others were ignored • Formed a delicate peace between Protestants and Catholics • Ecclesiastic Reservation: all clergy who converted after 1552 were to forfeit their positions (“Augsburg”) • Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor • Considered by most to be a crazed lunatic, because of his intense pursuit of alchemy • Hapsburgs tried to give the authority to Matthias • Both then began to compete for the favor of the nobility • Rudolf conceded Austria, Hungary to Matthias, but kept Bohemia • Rudolf needed to retain the support of the Bohemian estates • 1609- Issued a Letter of Majesty that granted toleration to Protestants • Rudolf soon became fed up with the restrictions on his power, and raised an army • Could not overcome both Matthias, Bohemian nobility; deposed in 1611 • Matthias, a moderate, become Holy Roman Emperor (Sommerville) Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1592 (Heintz)

Part 1/2 The Bohemian Revolts • Delicate peace between Protestants and Catholics shatters when Holy Roman Emperor Matthias dies • Successor: Ferdinand II (formerly Archduke of Styria) • Ardent Catholic: limited religions freedoms, persecuted Protestants and Jews (“Thirty,” Gale) • Protestant nobility decided that something had to be done • 23 May 1618: Nobles throw two of Ferdinand ’s confidants out the window of Hradcany Castle, Prague • The men survive this “defenestration of Prague,” but it sends a message to the Catholic rulers (“Thirty,” Arts 344) • August 1619: Estates of Bohemia depose Ferdinand, elect Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate, as a rival king • Leader of the Calvinists of Germany and married to the daughter of King James of England, so he is expected to draw significant support (Asch 30) Hradcany Castle (ŠJů)

Part 2/2 Preparations for Battle Back to Timeline • The Hapsburgs were better prepared in the early stages • Frederick received no assistance from King James, due to a reluctant aristocracy • The Dutch (who were fighting the Spanish Hapsburgs already) were only able to provide a money subsidy and a few thousand men, led under Christian Anhalt • Maximilian of Bavaria lends his Catholic League force [Thirty-thousand men] to Ferdinand • Army is thirty-thousand strong, led by Count von Tilly Portrait of Johann t'Serclaes von Tilly (De Jode).

The Battle of White Mountain Back to Timeline • The two armies prepared for battle near White Mountain (BíláHora), Prague • Anhalt’s position was fortified and defensible • Due to the lack of training, Anhalt’s men were massacred by Tilly’s well-trained army • Frederick V, now the “Winter King,” went into exile • Result gave the Spanish time to reconsolidate its holdings, namely the fort at Breda (“Thirty,” Gale) The Battle of White Mountain (Dahlstrom).

The Danish Enter Back to Timeline The Lower Saxon Reichkreis (Map of) • King Christian IV of Denmark stops Tilly’s advance into Northern Germany in 1625 • Had this power as the Duke of Holstein – a prince of the empire • Wanted to secure parts of northern Germany for his family and descendants • Mobilized the Imperial Circle of Lower Saxony (Reichskreis) for the Protestant cause • Counted on support from the Netherlands and England • Crushed at Lutter am Barenberge [1626] by an Imperial Army led by Albrecht von Wallenstein (Asch 30-31) Christian IV of Denmark (Isaacsz).

Albrecht von Wallenstein Back to Timeline • Well-educated Bohemian nobleman and military entrepreneur • At the beginning of the Bohemian rebellion, Wallenstein moved to Vienna • Raised an army of armored cavalry (cuirassiers) • Won various distinctions and estates from the emperor for his raw fighting power • Wallenstein exploited the political uncertainty of the time • Won back his original estates, and consolidated them into his own Duchy of Friedland • Used pillaging as a form of bloodless warfare, one that targeted specific towns to undermine the enemy – “Total War” • 1626, Ferdinand II commissioned him to raise an army against the Danes • Recruited over thirty-thousand men in less than a year (Asch 31) A portrait of Albrecht von Wallenstein (Van Dyck)

The Edict of Restitution Back to Timeline • Wallenstien defeated the Danish forces led by Ernst von Mansfeld • Forced Demark from the war • Ferdinand soon recalled Wallenstein due to fears of his military power (“Thirty,” Arts 344) • Ferdinand released the Edict of Restitution when Denmark left the war • It returned all lands taken from the Church since the Peace of Augsburg (1555) • Enforced Ecclesiastic Reservation • Its ratification frightened the rest of Europe as it brought into view the scope of Ferdinand’s ambitions • A de facto ban on Protestantism (“March”) A reproduction of the Edict of Restitution (Luca)

GustavusAdolphus Back to Timeline • To undermine the Spanish Hapsburgs, France provided subsidies to allow Sweden to enter the war, as a proxy against the Austrian Hapsburgs • Brandenburg and Saxony, previously neutral states, backed Sweden because of the Edictand because of Tilly’s advance through Germany • GustavusAdolphus, king of Sweden, enters the war early 1631 • Military Genius • Three-ranked cavalry which fired once but used sabers • Used barrage fires, rotating salvos to give the artillery an active presence in the fighting • Improved logistical systems to pay for his large stranding army • Needs to assert the control of his dynasty, the Vasas • Ousted the older, Catholic dynasty in 1590 (Asch 32) GustavusAdolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld(Walter).

The Battle of Lützen Back to Timeline • Adolphus wins a decisive victory over Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 • Sweden’s advance into Southern Germany forced the emperor to call Wallenstein to command the army • 16 November 1632: Lützen • Wallenstein accidentally scatters his army into smaller scouting regiments, thinking Adolphus has entered winter quarters • Finds out about Swedish advance, and begins to reform army • Wallenstein sets fire to Lützen to delay the advance, makes a cavalry charge • Adolphus responds with a cavalry charge of his own that gets him killed • Swedes rally behind Lt. Axel Oxenstierna and defeat Wallenstein’s army • Both sides suffer severe casualties, but a decisive Swedish victory (“November”) The Battle of Lützen (Wahlbrom)

The Peace of Prague Back to Timeline • Wallenstein was assassinated on emperor's orders for his incompetence • Spain sent a new army to Germany commanded by one of Phillip IV’s brothers, the Cardinal Infante Ferdinand • Rendezvoused with an army commanded by the future Ferdinand III • The combined forces crushed the Swedes at Nördlingen • Forced the moderate Lutherans of Saxony to the peace table • Result: The Peace of Prague • Did not revoke the Edict of Restitution; Suspended it for forty years • North, East Germany relatively safe, but no settlement in the Palatinate, Wüttemberg • Increased the emperor's power • Commander-in-chief of all forces of the empire; only Saxony and Bavaria could keep separate armies – with permission • Overall a failure • Most Germans, princes resented its terms; did not buy out the Swedes with land (Asch 31) The Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (De Crayer)

International Intervention Back to Timeline • Early 1640s: Europe was on the brink of total socioeconomic devastation • None of the combatants were willing to withdraw • They wanted compensation for their protracted exertions • The French had intended their involvement in the war to be passive • The result of Nördlingen threatened French interests • The French Prime minister, Cardinal Richeleu, declares war on the Spanish Hapsburgs • French Commander: Louis II de Bourbon Ducd’Enghien • Young man of great promise (“Thirty,” Gale) • England, Holland, Savoy also enter the war on the Swedish side • Spanish in a disadvantageous position • Naval defeats against the Dutch • Catalonia, Portugal declare independence • Result: Spain no longer able to fund central European warfare • The new emperor Ferdinand III all on his own A portrait of Louis II de Bourbon Ducd’Enghien (Teniers).

The Battle of Rocoroi Back to Timeline • 25,000-man Spanish army led by Francisco de Melo advances into France in 1643 • Enghien proceeds to confront the invading force with his 23,000-man army • Both armies meet at the city of Rocroi • 19 May 1643: Rocroi • Both armies position themselves in the almost exact same way • Infantry in the center, guns forward, cavalry on each flank (Enghien had a cavalry reserve in the rear) • Battle opens with a successful French calvary charge • Spanish charges are warded off by the reserves • The well-prepared French broke the Spanish line and scattered them • After that it was merciless slaughter • Ended Spanish ambitions in central Europe (“Thirty,” War) The troop positions at Rocroi (Map showing)

The Peace of Westphalia Back to Timeline • Earlier peace talks have failed • Pope Urban VIII (1636), Ferdinand III (1640) • They did not include all parties involved • All convened in Westphalia • Imperial negotiators arrived in July 1643 • The French, other countries’ delegations arrived in 1644 • Negotiations did not start untill 1645 • The delegates were bickering about protocol • Negotiations ended 24 October 1648 • France’s and Sweden’s military dominance gave them the most land from the peace • The Peace of Westphalia (full text) • Granted Calvinists of the empire a degree of toleration • Calvinism was added to the religions of the Peace of Augsburg • The principle of cuiusregio, eiusreligio: “Whose realm, his religion” • No major losses or gains of land, but there were certain conditions… • The Spanish could never recapture the United Provinces • There could never be an absolute ruler over all of Germany • The Catholics must acknowledge that Protestantism is here to stay (Sommerville) The delegates at the Congress of Westphalia (TerBorch) Click anywhere to continue…

Land Transfers • France managed to weaken the emperor’s power; they gained land west of the Rhine and some land along the Spanish border • Sweden acquired West Pomerania, giving it access to the river Oder, and Bremen, the prosperous port city; they also received land from their previous conquests in north-eastern Europe • Brandenburg-Prussia received East Pomerania some scattered bishoprics • The Emperor was forced to recognizes the independence of Switzerland and the United Provinces, along with constitutional limitations of his reign • Effectively made all German states sovereign • The Palatinate was split: the Lower Palatinate was returned to the descendant of Frederick V, Karl Ludwig, and the Upper Palatinate was retained by Bavaria • The Hapsburgs were the main losers (Sommerville) (Territorial)

Further Research Links • The Western Tradition: The Wars of Religion • Hank’s History Hour: The Thirty Years’ War Podcast • A good student-made summary video • BBC Audio Documentary • A college level website for reviewing important events from the war • Directory Listing of all websites regarding the Thirty Years’ War All links used under a fair use license

Works Cited Back to Timeline Asch, Ronald G. "Thirty Years' War (1618–1648)." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 6. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 28-34. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. "Augsburg, Peace of." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press, 2011. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Chambers, Mortimer. The Western Experience. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print. Dahlstrom, C.A. The Battle of White Mountain.N.d. Giclee Print. Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy, n.p. De Crayer, Gaspar. Kardinal-Infant Ferdinand Von Österreich. Digital image.File:Kardinal-Infant Ferdinand Von Österreich.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 5 Feb. 2012. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. De Jode, Pieter, II. Portrait of Johann t'Serclaes von Tilly. Digital image. File:Johann Tserclaes Tilly.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 24 Apr. 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Heintz, Joseph, D.ä. Porträt Des Kaisers Rudolf II. Digital image. File:Joseph Heintz D. Ä. 002.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 19 May 2005. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Isaacsz, Pieter. Christian IV. 1612. Oil on panel. Museum of National History, Frederiksborg Castle. Luca, Stefano. Edict of Restitution (copy). Digital image. File:Editto Di Restituzione (1).JPG. Wikimedia Commons, 27 Mar. 2008. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Map of the Imperial Circles after the Transaction of Augsburg (1548). Digital image.File:Map of the Imperial Circles (1560)-EN.svg. Wikimedia Commons, 29 July 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Map showing the Battle of Rocroi. Digital image. File:Battle Rocroi.png. Wikimedia Commons, 10 Feb. 2008. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. "March 6, 1629." A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Ed. Spencer C. Tucker. Vol. 2: 1500-1774. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. 579. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. "November 16, 1632." A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Ed. Spencer C. Tucker. Vol. 2: 1500-1774. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. 585-586. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Teniers, David, The Younger. Le Grand Condé. Digital image. File:Grand-conde.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. TerBorch, Gerard. Ratification of the Peace of Münster between Spain and the Dutch Republic in the Town Hall of Münster, 15 May 1648. 1648. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam. File:The Ratification of the Treaty of Munster, Gerard TerBorch (1648).jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 19 Mar. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2012 Territorial_Changes_1648_166. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2007. PDF. "The Thirty Years' War and Its Aftermath." Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, et al. Vol. 5: The Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment 1600-1800. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 341-344. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. "Thirty Years War (1618–1648)." Gale Encyclopedia of World History: War. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. ŠJů. Pražskýhrad, odVelkéstrahovskézahrady. Digital image. File:Pražský Hrad, OdVelkéStrahovskéZahrady (01).jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Sommerville, J.P. "30 Years War." Seventeenth Century Europe. University of Wisconsin–Madison, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. <http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/351/351-05.htm>. Van Dyck, Anthony. Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland and Mecklenburg. Digital image. File:Albrecht Von Wallenstein.jpeg. Wikimedia Commons, 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Wahlbom, Carl. Battle of Lützen (1632). Digital image. File:Battle of Lutzen.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 6 Aug. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2012. Walter, Johann. GustavusAdolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Breitenfeld. Digital image.File:GustaveAdolphe at Breitenfeld-Johann Walter-f3706497.jpg. Wikimedia Commons, 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Dec. 2012.

The Thirty Years’ War