The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy

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More detailed bookmarks A deadly continental struggle, the Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. When defiant Bohemians tossed the Habsburg emperor’s envoys from the castle windows in Prague in 1618, the Holy Roman Empire struck back with a vengeance. Bohemia was ravaged by mercenary troops in the first battle of a conflagration that would engulf Europe from Spain to Sweden. The sweeping narrative encompasses dramatic events and unforgettable individuals—the sack of Magdeburg; the Dutch revolt; the Swedish militant king Gustavus Adolphus; the imperial generals, opportunistic Wallenstein and pious Tilly; and crafty diplomat Cardinal Richelieu. In a major reassessment, Wilson argues that religion was not the catalyst, but one element in a lethal stew of political, social, and dynastic forces that fed the conflict. By war’s end a recognizably modern Europe had been created, but at what price? The Thirty Years War condemned the Germans to two centuries of internal division and international impotence and became a benchmark of brutality for centuries. As late as the 1960s, Germans placed it ahead of both world wars and the Black Death as their country’s greatest disaster. An understanding of the Thirty Years War is essential to comprehending modern European history. Wilson’s masterful book will stand as the definitive account of this epic conflict. For a map of Central Europe in 1618, referenced on page XVI, please visit the book feature. Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations List of Maps and Battle Plans List of Tables Note on Form The Habsburg Family Tree 1500–1665 Map of Central Europe, 1618 Note on Currencies Preface PART ONE: Beginnings 1 Introduction Three Men and a Window Interpretations The Argument 2 Trouble in the Heart of Christendom The Empire Communities Emperor and Princes Cities The Imperial Constitution Political Culture Confessionalization Catholicism Lutheranism Calvinism Limits to Confessionalization Religion and Imperial Law The Peace of Augsburg 1555 The Three Dubia Catholic Opinion Protestant Resistance Theories 3 Casa d’Austria Lands and Dynasty Estates and Confession Estates Representation Habsburg Administration The Spread of Protestantism Social Tensions The Catholic Revival Rudolf II Melchior Klesl Catholic Strategy Archduke Ferdinand Bohemia 4 The Turkish War and its Consequences The Turkish Menace The Scourge of God Translyvania Strategy and Logistics The Military Frontier The Ways of War The Military Significance of the Turkish War Military Technology Infantry Cavalry Organization Battle Tactics The Long Turkish War A New Crusade Intervention in Transylvania The Bocskai Revolt 1604–6 Habsburg–Ottoman Relations after 1606 The Brothers’ Quarrel The Feuding Archdukes The Opening Round The Letter of Majesty 1609 5 Pax Hispanica The Spanish Monarchy Spain’s Many Dominions Silver: The Lifeblood of Empire Imperial Defence Spain and the Empire The Dutch Revolt 1568–1609 The Dutch Ulcer The Flanders School The Dutch Republic Dealers in Death The Dutch Military Reforms and their Influence Defence of the Republic 1590–1609 War of Attrition The Spanish Road The French Wars of Religion Lorraine and Savoy The Swiss Passes Spanish Peace-making Belgian Autonomy The Twelve Years Truce Savoy and Mantua 6 Dominium Maris Baltici Denmark The Baltic and European Conflict Danish Wealth and Power Denmark and the Empire The Divided House of Vasa Sweden’s Brothers’ Quarrel Gustavus Adolphus and Oxenstierna The Basis of Swedish Power Imperial Ambitions Sweden and the Empire Poland-Lithuania A Noble Commonwealth Polish Resilience and Strength Wars with Russia and Sweden 7 From Rudolf to Matthias 1582–1612 Religion and the German Princes Potential Catholic Leaders Potential Protestant Leaders Protestant Disunity Confession and Imperial Politics to 1608 The Cologne Dispute 1583–90 The Strasbourg Bishops’ War 1592–1604 Dreams of a Protestant Alliance The Four Monasteries Dispute 1598–1601 Bavaria Donauwörth The 1608 Reichstag Union and Liga 1608–9 The Protestant Union The Catholic Liga Common Problems The Jülich-Cleves Crisis 1609–10 The Jülich-Cleves Inheritance French Intervention German Intervention Consequences 8 On the Brink? Emperor Matthias The Final Act in the Brothers’ Quarrel The Imperial Election of 1612 Klesl ‘Composition’ or Succession? Beer George Frederick V The 1613 Reichstag The Habsburgs and the Liga Renewed Crisis in Jülich-Cleves, 1614 The Imperial Recovery The Uskok War and the Habsburg Succession 1615–17 The Uskok War 1615–17 Spain and the Austrian Succession The Oñate Treaty 1617 End of the Uskok War Palatine Brinkmanship The Approach of the Apocalypse Protestant Discord The Failure of Composition PART TWO: Conflict 9 The Bohemian Revolt 1618–20 For Liberty and Privilege An Aristocratic Conspiracy The Rebel Leadership The Habsburg Response The Scramble for Support The War Begins The ‘Stormy Petition’ A King for a Crown The Imperial Crown The Bohemian Confederation A Fateful Decision The Bohemian War Effort The Hungarian Crown Polish Intervention Ferdinand Gathers his Forces Bavaria The Final Pieces White Mountain The Habsburg Offensive The Battle of White Mountain Collapse of the Confederation Accounting for Failure 10 Ferdinand Triumphant 1621–4 The Palatine Cause The Winter King The End of the Protestant Union The Resumption of the Spanish-Dutch War, 1621 The Protestant Crowns Bethlen and Jägerndorf Protestant Paladins New Champions The Emperor’s Countermeasures Tilly against Mansfeld The War Enters North-west Germany The Battle of Stadtlohn Mopping Up The Catholic Ascendancy 1621–9 Change and Continuity Stabilizing the Dynasty The Blood Court The Land Transfers The Palatine Lands and Titles Re-Catholicization 11 Olivares and Richelieu Olivares The Count-Duke From the Spanish Match to Breda The War at Sea The Global Dimension Cadiz The Union of Arms Richelieu Divisions in the French Monarchy The Huguenots Richelieu The Huguenot Rebellions Richelieu’s Strategy The Valtellina The Holy Slaughter War 1625 12 Denmark’s War against the Emperor 1625–9 Trouble in Lower Saxony The North German Bishoprics Danish Motives The Problem of Neutrality Peace Talks Fail Wallenstein Rise to Prominence The Creation of a New Army, 1625–6 Wallenstein’s Powers and Subordinates War Finance Political Repercussions Denmark’s Defeat 1626–9 The Battle of Dessau Bridge The Upper Austrian Rebellion 1626 Political Uncertainty The Battle of Lutter Mansfeld’s Last Campaign The 1627 Campaign Wallenstein becomes Duke of Mecklenburg The Mühlhausen Electoral Congress The Peace of Lübeck 13 The Threat of European War 1628–30 The Baltic The Polish War The Baltic Design Stralsund and Magdeburg Imperial Intervention in Poland The Netherlands Spanish Bankruptcy The Siege of s’Hertzogenbosch Mantua and La Rochelle The Mantuan Succession The Siege of La Rochelle Imperial Intervention in Italy The Edict of Restitution Genesis Consternation in the Empire Implementation The Protestant Response The Regensburg Electoral Congress 1630 Wallenstein’s Dismissal Army Reform Peace in Italy 14 The Lion of the North 1630–2 Swedish Intervention Swedish Preparedness Strategy and Objectives Alliance with France Between the Lion and the Eagle The Leipzig Convention The Siege of Magdeburg The End of Neutrality The Battle of Breitenfeld The Swedish Empire A New Alexander Sweden’s Allies The Baltic Bridgehead Strategic Bases German Collaborators A New Augustus? Calls for Assistance Catholic Panic Spain France Wallenstein’s Recall Lorraine Zenith The Expansion and Regionalization of the War The Battles of Bamberg and the Lech The Battles of Steinau and Alte Veste The Battle of Lützen 15 Without Gustavus 1633–4 The Heilbronn League Stabilization of the Swedish Crown The Question of Command The League of Heilbronn The Swedish Mutiny Tension along the Rhine Trier and Maastricht 1632–3 Lorraine 1633–4 The Battle of Hessisch-Oldendorf 1633 Hessian Policy Spain Intervenes Wallenstein’s Secret Diplomacy The Decision to Send Feria The Siege of Konstanz Disaster Wallenstein: the Final Act The Second Battle of Steinau The Plot against Wallenstein The Eger Bloodbath Rewards and Cover-up The Two Ferdinands Renewed Spanish Intervention 1634 The Battle of No¨ rdlingen Sweden Loses Southern Germany The French Take Over 16 For the Liberty of Germany 1635–6 Richelieu Resolves on War Spanish Policy French Belligerence French Preparedness The War in the West 1635–6 Habsburg Military Cooperation The Rhine Campaign 1635 The Year of Corbie The Peace of Prague 1635 Peace-making The Terms Winning Acceptance The Amnesty Question The Problem of Hessen-Kassel Appeals to Patriotism The Powder Barrel Mutiny The Stuhmsdorf Truce Why Saxony Failed The Treaty of Wismar 1636 The Battle of Wittstock Renewed Efforts for Peace The Cologne Congress 1636 The Regensburg Electoral Congress 1636–7 17 Habsburg High Tide 1637–40 Stalemate Emperor Ferdinand III The Rhine Campaign Hessen-Kassel The Palatinate’s Final Throw The Swedish Retreat Resolution on the Rhine Imperial Military Finance Partisan Leaders The Battles of Rheinfelden The Siege of Breisach The Battle of Wittenweier Desperate Measures The Fall of Breisach Peace for North Germany? Ferdinand III Addresses the Amnesty Question A New Third Party Bane´r’s Offensive Competition for the German Armies The War Moves North 18 In the Balance 1641–3 The Franco-Swedish Alliance 1641 The Relationship of War to Diplomacy The Regensburg Reichstag Banér’s Winter Offensive 1641 Renewed Swedish Mutiny The Battle of Wolfenbüttel The War in the Empire 1642–3 The Battle of Kempen 1642 Swedish Recovery The Second Battle of Breitenfeld The Drift to Neutrality The 1643 Campaign The Battle of Tuttlingen Spain’s Growing Crisis 1635–43 The War in Italy 1635–42 The Savoyard Civil War The Papacy The Pyrenean Front The Catalan and Portuguese Revolts The Fiscal-Military Burden The Colonial War From Breda to Rocroi 1637–43 The Loss of Breda 1637 The End of Imperial Assistance 1638–9 The Downs Clutching at Straws Changing of the Guard in Spain and France The Battle of Rocroi 1643 19 Pressure to Negotiate 1644–5 The Westphalian Congress Negotiating Methods The Representatives and their Objectives France in Germany 1644 The Freiburg Campaign Westphalia The Baltic Becomes Swedish 1643–5 A New Baltic War Sweden’s Surprise Attack Imperial Intervention The Peace of Brömsebro 1645 1645: Annus horribilis et mirabilis The Battle of Jankau Transylvania Rejoins the War The Battle of Herbsthausen The Battle of Allerheim The Kötzschenbroda Armistice Ferdinand Gives Way 20 War or Peace 1646–8 A Crisis of Confidence 1646 Preliminary Agreement The 1646 Campaign The Hessian War The Ulm Truce, March 1647 Towards Consensus The Territorial Settlement Agreement on the Normative Year The Spanish Succession Operations During the Truce The End of the Truce Spain’s Peace with the Dutch The Neapolitan Revolt 1647 The War against the Dutch Spain’s Negotiations with the Dutch and French From Lens to the Pyrenees The Final Round 1648 The Last Campaign The Battle of Zusmarshausen Modest Recovery The Final Confrontation at Prague Concluding the Peace PART THREE: Aftermath 21 The Westphalian Settlement The International Dimension Westphalia and World History The Empire and Europe A Christian Peace The Religious Settlement The Nuremberg Execution Congress Relative Success The Düsseldorf Cow War The Palatine Controversy Demobilization The Imperial Recovery Habsburg Power Territorial Sovereignty 22 The Human and Material Cost An All-destructive Fury? The Myth of Absolute Destruction General Trends The Demographic Impact Overall Losses Causes of Mortality The Economic Impact The ‘Kipper and Wipper’ Hyperinflation Trade and Industry Agriculture The Credit Crunch Level of Recovery The Crisis of the Territorial State War and State-building War and State Destruction The New Order Cultural Impact Cultural Destruction Creativity and Innovation Critical Voices? Grimmelshausen Conclusions 23 Experiencing War The Nature of Experience Personal Testimony The War as Media Event Military–Civil Relations The Military Community Plunder Negotiation Flight Resistance Perceptions The War as Defining Event Fear Witchcraft Normality Fortuna Commemoration Peace Celebrations Commemoration Abbreviations Notes Introduction Trouble in the Heart of Christendom Casa d’Austria The Turkish War and its Consequences Pax Hispanica Dominium Maris Baltici From Rudolf to Matthias On the Brink? The Bohemian Revolt Ferdinand Triumphant Olivares and Richelieu Denmark’s War against the Emperor The Threat of European War The Lion of the North Without Gustavus For the Liberty of Germany Habsburg High Tide In the Balance Pressure to Negotiate War or Peace The Westphalian Settlement The Human and Material Cost Experiencing War Index Illustrations