Chapter IV: , VII (87)

"This battle, sometimes called Breitenwald [Breitenfeld],
sometimes the First Battle of Leipsic, … was the first
victory on the Protestant side that had been achieved. It was
Tilly's first defeat after thirty battles. It filled with joy
those who had hitherto been depressed and hopeless. Cities
which had dreaded to declare themselves for fear of the fate
of Magdeburg began to lift up their heads, and vacillating
princes to think that they could safely take the part which
they preferred. Gustavus knew, however, that he must let the
Germans do as much as possible for themselves, or he should
arouse their national jealousy of him as a foreign conqueror.
So he sent the Elector of Saxony to awaken the old spirit in
Bohemia. As for himself, his great counsellor, Oxenstierna,
wanted him to march straight on Vienna, but this was not his
object. He wanted primarily to deliver the northern states,
and to encourage the merchant cities, Ulm, Augsburg,
Nuremberg, which had all along been Protestant, and to deliver
the Palatinate from its oppressors. And, out of mortification,
a strange ally offered himself, namely, Wallenstein, who
wanted revenge on the Catholic League which had insisted on
his dismissal, and the Emperor who had yielded to them. … He
said that if Gustavus would trust him, he would soon get his
old army together again, and chase Ferdinand and the Jesuits
beyond the Alps. But Gustavus did not trust him, though he sat
quiet at Prague while the Saxons were in possession of the
city, plundering everywhere, and the Elector sending off to
Dresden fifty waggon-loads filled with the treasures of the
Emperor Rudolf's museum. … Many exiles returned, and there
was a general resumption of the Hussite form of worship.
Gustavus had marched to Erfurt, and then turned towards the
Maine, where there was a long row of those prince bishoprics
established on the frontier by the policy of
Charlemagne—Wurtzburg, Bamberg, Fulda, Köln, Triers, Mentz,
Wurms, Spiers. These had never been secularised and were
popularly called the Priests' Lane. They had given all their
forces to the Catholic League, and Gustavus meant to repay
himself upon them. He permitted no cruelties, no persecutions;
but he levied heavy contributions, and his troops made merry
with the good Rhenish wine when he kept his Christmas at
Mentz. He invited the dispossessed Elector Palatine to join
him, and Frederick started for the camp, after the christening
of his thirteenth child. … The suite was numerous enough to
fill forty coaches, escorted by seventy horse—pretty well
for an exiled prince dependent on the bounty of Holland and
England. … There was the utmost enthusiasm for the Swede in
England, and the Marquess of Hamilton obtained permission to
raise a body of volunteers to join the Swedish standards, and
in the August of 1631 brought 6,000 English and Scots in four
small regiments; but they proved of little use … many dying.
… So far as the King's plans can be understood, he meant to
have formed a number of Protestant principalities, and united
them in what he called 'Corpus Evangelicorum' around the
Baltic and the Elbe, as a balance to the Austrian Roman
Catholic power in southern Germany. Frederick wanted to raise
an army of his own people and take the command, but to this
Gustavus would not consent, having probably no great
confidence in his capacity. All the Palatinate was free from
the enemy except the three fortresses of Heidelberg,
Frankenthal, and Kreuznach, and the last of these was
immediately besieged. … In the midst of the exultation
Frederick was grieved to learn that his beautiful home at
Heidelberg had been ravaged by fire, probably by the Spanish
garrison in expectation of having to abandon it. But as Tilly
was collecting his forces again, Gustavus would not wait to
master that place or Frankenthal, and recrossed the Rhine. Sir
Harry Vane had been sent as ambassador from Charles I. to
arrange for the restoration of the Palatinate, the King
offering £10,000 a mouth for the expense of the war, and
proposing that if, as was only too probable, he should be
prevented from performing this promise, some of the fortresses
should be left as guarantees in the hands of the Swedes.
Frederick took great and petulant offence at this stipulation,
and complained, with tears in his eyes, to Vane and the
Marquess of Hamilton. … He persuaded them to suppress this
article, though they warned him that if the treaty failed it
would be by his own fault. It did in fact fail, for, as usual,
the English money was not forthcoming, and even if it had
been, Gustavus declared that he would be no man's servant for
a few thousand pounds. Frederick also refused the King's own
stipulation, that Lutherans should enjoy equal rights with
Calvinists. Moreover, the Swedish success had been
considerably more than was desired by his French allies. …
Louis XIII. was distressed, but Richelieu silenced him, only
attempting to make a treaty with the Swedes by which the
Elector of Bavaria and the Catholic League should be neutral
on condition of the restoration of the bishops. To this,
however, Gustavus could not fully consent, and imposed
conditions which the Catholics could not accept. Tilly was
collecting his forces and threatening Nuremberg, but the Swedes
advanced, and he was forced to retreat, so that it was as a
deliverer that, on the 31st March [1632], Gustavus was received
in beautiful old Nuremberg with a rapture of welcome. …
{1478}
Tilly had taken post on the Lech, and Maximilian was
collecting an army in Bavaria. The object of Gustavus was now
to beat one or other of them before they could join together:
so he marched forward, took Donauwerth, and tried to take
Ingoldstadt, but found it would occupy too much time, and,
though all the generals were of a contrary opinion, resolved
to attack Tilly and force the passage of the Lech. The
Imperialists had fortified it to the utmost, but in their very
teeth the Swedes succeeded in taking advantage of a bend in
the river to play on them with their formidable artillery,
construct a pontoon bridge, and, after a desperate struggle,
effect a passage. Tilly was struck by a cannon-shot in the
knee," and died soon afterwards. "On went Gustavus to Augsburg
… where the Emperor had expelled the Lutheran pastors and
cleared the municipal council of Protestant burgomasters. In
restoring the former state of things, Gustavus took a fresh
step, making the magistrates not only swear fidelity to him as
an ally till the end of the war, but as a sovereign. This made
the Germans begin to wonder what were his ulterior views. Then
he marched on upon Bavaria, intending to bridge the Danube and
take Ratisbon, but two strong forts prevented this. … He,
however, made his way into the country between the Inn and the
Lech, Maximilian retreating before him. … At Munich the
inhabitants brought him their keys. As they knelt he said,
'Rise, worship God, not man.' … To compensate the soldiers
for not plundering the city, the King gave them each a crown
on the day of their entrance. … Catholic Germany was in
despair. There was only one general in whom there was any
hope, and that was the discarded Wallenstein. … He made
himself be courted. He would not come to Vienna, only to Znaim
in Moravia, where he made his terms like an independent
prince. … At last he undertook to collect an army, but
refused to take the command for more than three months. His
name was enough to bring his Friedlanders flocking to his
standard. Not only Catholics, but Protestants came, viewing
Gustavus as a foreign invader. … Wallenstein received
subsidies not only from the Emperor, but from the Pope and the
King of Spain, towards levying and equipping them, and by the
end of the three months he had the full 40,000 all in full
order for the march. Then he resigned the command. … He
affected to be bent only on going back to his tower and his
stars at Prague [the study of astrology being his favorite
occupation], and to yield slowly to the proposals made him. He
was to be Generalissimo, neither Emperor nor Archduke was ever
to enter his camp; he was to name all his officers, and have
absolute control. … Moreover, he might levy contributions as
he chose, and dispose as he pleased of lands and property
taken from the enemy; Mecklenburg was to be secured to him,
together with further rewards yet unspecified; and when
Bohemia was freed from the enemy, the Emperor was to live
there, no doubt under his control. … There was no help for
it, and Wallenstein thus became the chief power in the Empire,
in fact a dictator. The power was conferred on him in April.
The first thing he did was to turn the Saxons out of Bohemia,
which was an easy matter." At Egra, Wallenstein was joined by
the Elector of Bavaria, which raised the Catholic force to
60,000. "The whole army marched upon Nuremberg, and Gustavus,
with only 20,000 men, dashed back to its defence. Wallenstein
had intrenched himself on an eminence called Fürth." As
Nuremberg was terribly distressed, his own army suffering, and
being infected with the lawless habits of German warfare,
Gustavus found it necessary to attempt (August 24) the
storming of the Imperialists' camp. He was repulsed, after
losing 3,000 of his Swedes and thrice as many Germans. He then
returned to Bavaria, while Wallenstein, abandoning his hope of
taking Nuremberg, moved into Saxony and began ravaging the
country. The Swedish king followed him so quickly that he had,
no time to establish the fortified camp he had intended, but
was forced to take up an intrenched position at Lützen. There
he was attacked on the 6th of November, 1632, and defeated in
a desperate battle, which became one of the memorable
conflicts in history because it brought to an end the great
and splendid career of Gustavus Adolphus, the Swede. The king
fell as he was leading a charge, and the fierce fight went on
over his body until the enemy had been driven from the field.

_C. M. Yonge,
Cameos from English History,
6th series, chapter 19._

ALSO IN:
_G. B. Malleson,
Battle-fields of Germany,
chapters 2-3._

_R. C. Trench,
Gustavus Adolphus in Germany._

_J. L. Stevens,
History of Gustavus Adolphus,
chapters 15-18._

GERMANY: A. D. 1631-1641.
The Thirty Years War:
The war in Lorraine.
Possession of the duchy taken by the French.

See LORRAINE: A. D. 1624-1663.

GERMANY: A. D. 1632-1634.
The Thirty Years War:
Retirement of Wallenstein to Bohemia.
Oxenstiern in the leadership of the Protestant cause.
Union of Heilbronn.
Inaction and suspicious conduct of Wallenstein.
The Ban pronounced against him.
His assassination.

"The account of the battle [of Lützen] transmitted by
Wallenstein to the Imperial Court, led Ferdinand to think that
he had gained the day. … But … the reputed conqueror was
glad to shelter himself behind the mountains of the Bohemian
frontier. After the battle, Wallenstein found it necessary to
evacuate Saxony in all haste; and, leaving garrisons at
Leipsic, Plauen, Zwickau, Chemnitz, Freiberg, Meissen, and
Frauenstein, he reached Bohemia without further loss, and put
his army into winter-quarters. After his arrival at Prague, he
caused many of his officers to be executed for their conduct
at Lützen, among whom were several who belonged to families of
distinction, nor would he allow them to plead the Emperor's
pardon. A few he rewarded. The harshness of his proceedings
increased the hatred already felt for him by many of his
officers, and especially the Italian portion: of them. …
Axel Oxenstiern, the Swedish Chancellor, succeeded, on the
death of Gustavus Adolphus, to the supreme direction of the
affairs of Sweden in Germany, and was invested by the Council
at Stockholm with full powers both to direct the army and to
negotiate with the German courts. Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar
retained the military command of the Swedish-German army,
divisions of which were cantoned from the Baltic to the
Danube.
{1479}
After driving the Imperialists from Saxony, Bernhard had
hastened into Franconia, the bishoprics of which, according to
a promise of Gustavus, were to be erected in his favour into a
duchy; but, after taking Bamberg, his assistance was invoked
by General Horn, on the Upper Danube. One of the first cares
of Oxenstiern was to consolidate the German alliance; and, in
March 1633, he summoned a meeting at Heilbronn of the States
of the four Circles of the Upper and Lower Rhine, Franconia,
and Suabia, as well as deputies from Nuremberg, Strasburg,
Frankfort, Ulm, Augsburg, and other cities of the empire. The
assembly was also attended by ambassadors from France,
England, and Holland; and on April 9th was effected the Union
of Heilbronn. Brandenburg and Saxony stood aloof; nor was
France, though she renewed the alliance with Sweden, included
in the Union. The French minister at Heilbronn assisted,
however, in the formation of the Union, although he
endeavoured to limit the power of Oxenstiern, to whom the
conduct of the war was intrusted. At the same time, the Swedes
also concluded a treaty with the Palatinate, now governed, or
rather claimed to be governed, by Louis Philip, brother of the
Elector Frederick V., as guardian and regent for the latter's
youthful son Charles Louis. The unfortunate Frederick had
expired at Mentz in his 37th year, not many days after the
death of Gustavus Adolphus. … Swedish garrisons were to be
maintained in Frankenthal, Bacharach, Kaub, and other places;
Mannheim was to be at the disposal of the Swedes so long as
the war should last. … After the junction of Duke Bernhard
with Horn, the Swedish army,—for so we shall continue to call
it, though composed in great part of Germans,—endeavoured to
penetrate into Bavaria; but the Imperial General Altringer,
aided by John von Werth, a commander of distinction, succeeded
in covering Munich, and enabled Maximilian to return to his
capital. The Swedish generals were also embarrassed by a
mutiny of their mercenaries, as well as by their own
misunderstandings and quarrels; and all that Duke Bernhard was
able to accomplish in the campaign of 1633, besides some
forays into Bavaria, was the capture of Ratisbon in November."

_T. H. Dyer,
History of Modern Europe,
book 4, chapter 6 (volume 2)._

Wallenstein, meantime, had been doing little. "After a long
period of inaction in Bohemia, he marched during the summer of
1633, with imperial pomp and splendor, into Silesia. There he
found a mixed army of Swedes, Saxons, and Brandenburgers, with
Matthias Thurn, who began the war, among them. Wallenstein
finally shut in this army [at Steinau] so that he might have
captured it; but he let it go, and went back to Bohemia, where
he began to negotiate with Saxony for peace. Meanwhile the
alliance formed at Heilbronn had brought Maximilian of Bavaria
into great distress. Regensburg [Ratisbon], hitherto occupied by
him, and regarded as an outwork of Bavaria and Austria, had
been taken by Bernard of Weimar. But Wallenstein, whom the
emperor sent to the rescue, only went into the Upper
Palatinate, and then returned to Bohemia. He seemed to look
upon that country as a strong and commanding position from
which he could dictate peace. He carried on secret
negotiations with France, Sweden, and all the emperor's
enemies. He had, indeed, the power to do this under his
commission; but his attitude toward his master became
constantly more equivocal. The emperor was anxious to be rid
of him without making him an enemy, and wished to give to his
own son, the young King of Hungary, the command in chief. But
the danger of losing his place drove Wallenstein to bolder
schemes. At his camp at Pilsen, all his principal officers
were induced by him to unite in a written request that he
should in no case desert them—a step which seemed much like a
conspiracy. But some of the generals, as Gallas, Aldringer,
and Piccolomini, soon abandoned Wallenstein, and gave warning
to the emperor. He secretly signed a patent deposing
Wallenstein, and placed it in the hands of Piccolomini and
Gallas, January 24, 1634, but acted with the profoundest
dissimulation until he had made sure of most of the commanders
who served under him. Then, suddenly, on February 18,
Wallenstein, his brother-in-law Tertzski, Ilow, Neumann, and
Kinsky were put under the ban, and the general's possessions
were confiscated. Now, at length, Wallenstein openly revolted,
and began to treat with the Swedes for desertion to them; but
they did not fully trust him. Attended only by five Sclavonic
regiments, who remained faithful to him, he went to Eger,
where he was to meet troops of Bernard of Weimar; but before
he could join them, he and the friends named above were
assassinated, February 25, by traitors who had remained in his
intimate companionship, and whom he trusted, under the command
of Colonel Butler, an Irishman, employed by Piccolomini."

_C. T. Lewis,
History of Germany,
chapter 18, section 10._

ALSO IN:
_F. Schiller,
History of the Thirty Years' War,
book 4._

_J. Mitchell,
Life of Wallenstein,
chapters 8-10._

_Sir E. Cust,
Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years' War,
part 1._

GERMANY: A. D. 1634-1639.
The Thirty Years War:
Successes of the Imperialists.
Their victory at Nördlingen.
Richelieu and France become active in the war.
Duke Bernhard's conquest of Alsace.
Richelieu's appropriation of the conquest for France.

"Want of union among the Protestants prevented them from
deriving all the benefit which they had at first anticipated
from Wallenstein's death. The King of Hungary assumed the
command of the army, and by the aid of money, which was
plentifully distributed, the soldiers were, without
difficulty, kept in obedience; not the slightest attempt was
any where made to resist the Emperor's orders. On the other
hand, Bernhard of Weimar and Field-Marshal Horn were masters
of Bavaria. In July 1634, they gained a complete victory at
Landshut, over General Altringer, who was slain in the action.
… The Swedes, who had so long been victorious, were, in their
turn, destined to taste the bitterness of defeat. 15,000
Spaniards, under the Cardinal Infant, son of Philip III.,
entered Germany [see NETHERLANDS: A.D. 1621-1633, and
1635-1638], and in conjunction with the imperial army, under
the King of Hungary, laid siege to Nördlingen. Field-Marshal
Horn, and Bernhard of Weimar, hurried to the relief of the
place. Owing to the superiority of the enemy, who was besides
strongly intrenched, the Swedish commanders had no intention
to hazard a battle, before the arrival of the Rhin-graff Count
Otho, with another division of the army, which was already
close at hand; but the impetuosity of the Duke of Weimar lost
every thing.
{1480}
Horn had succeeded in carrying a hill, called the Amsberg, a
strong point, which placed him in communication with the town,
and almost secured the victory. Bernhard, thinking that so
favourable an opening should not be neglected, hurried on to
the attack of another post. It was taken and retaken; both
armies were gradually, and without method, drawn into the
combat, which, after eight hours' duration, ended in the
complete defeat of the Swedes. Horn was made prisoner; and
Bernhard escaped on a borrowed horse. … The defeat of'
Nördlingen almost ruined the Swedish cause in Germany; the
spell of invincibility was gone, and the effects of the panic
far surpassed those which the sword had produced. Strong
fortresses were abandoned before the enemy came in sight;
provinces were evacuated, and armies, that had been deemed
almost inconquerable, deserted their chiefs, and broke into
bands of lawless robbers, who pillaged their way in every
direction. Bavaria, Suabia and Franconia were lost; and it was
only behind the Rhine that the scattered fugitives could again
be brought into something like order. … The Emperor refused
to grant the Swedes any other terms of peace than permission
to retire from the empire. The Elector of Saxony, forgetful of
what was due to his religion, and forgetful of all that Sweden
had done for his country, concluded, at Prague, a separate
peace with the Emperor; and soon afterwards joined the
Imperialists against his former allies. The fortunes of the
Protestants would have sunk beneath this additional blow, had
not France come to their aid. Richelieu had before only
nourished the war by means of subsidies, and had, at one time,
become nearly as jealous of the Swedes as of the Austrians;
but no sooner was their power broken, than the crafty priest
took an active share in the contest."

_J. Mitchell,
Life of Wallenstein,
chapter 10._

"Richelieu entered resolutely into the contest, and in 1635
displayed enormous diplomatic activity. He wished not only to
reduce Austria, but, at the same time, Spain. Spanish
soldiers, Spanish treasure, and Spanish generals made in great
part the strength of the imperial armies, and Spain besides
never ceased to ferment internal troubles in France. Richelieu
signed the treaty of Compiegne with the Swedes against
Ferdinand II. By its conditions he granted them considerable
subsidies in order that they should continue the war in
Germany. He made the treaty of St. Germain en Laye with
Bernard of Saxe Weimar, to whom he promised an annual
allowance of money as well as Alsace, provided that he should
remain in arms to wrest Franche-Comté from Philip IV. He made
the treaty of Paris with the Dutch, who were to help the King
of France to conquer Flanders, which was to be divided between
France and the United Provinces. He made the treaty of Rivoli
with the dukes of Savoy, of Parma, and of Mantua, who were to
undertake in concert with France the invasion of the
territories of Milan and to receive a portion of the spoils of
Spain. At the same time he declared war against the Spanish
Government, which had arrested and imprisoned the Elector of
Trèves, the ally of France, and refused to surrender him when
demanded. Hostilities immediately began on five different
theatres of war—in the Low Countries, on the Rhine, in
Eastern Germany, in Italy, and in Spain. The army of the
Rhine, commanded by Cardinal de la Valette, was to operate in
conjunction with the corps of Bernard of Saxe Weimar against
the Imperialists, commanded by Count Gallas. To this army
Turenne was attached. It consisted of 20,000 infantry, 5,000
cavalry, and 14 guns. This was the army upon which Richelieu
mainly relied. … Valette was to annoy the enemy without
exposing himself, and was not to approach the Rhine; but
induced by Bernard, who had a dashing spirit and wished to
reconquer all he had lost, encouraged by the terror of the
Imperialists who raised the siege of Mayence, he determined to
pass the river. He was not long in repenting of that step. He
established his troops round Mayence and revictualled this
place, which was occupied by a Swedish garrison, throwing in
all the supplies of which the town had need. The Imperialists,
who had calculated on this imprudence, immediately took to
cutting off his supplies, so that soon everything was wanting
in the French camp. … The scourge of famine threatened the
French: it was necessary to retreat, to recross the Rhine, to
pass the Sarre, and seek a refuge at Metz. Few retreats have
been so difficult and so sad. The army was in such a pitiable
condition that round Mayence the men had to be fed with roots
and green grapes, and the horses with branches of trees. …
The sick and the weary were abandoned, the guns were buried,
villages were burnt to stay the pursuit of the enemy, and to
prevent the wretched soldiers who would fall out of the ranks
from taking refuge in them."

_H. M. Hozier,
Turenne,
chapter 2._

"Meanwhile, Saxony had concluded with the Emperor at Pirna, at
the close of 1634, a convention which ripened into a treaty of
alliance, to which almost all the princes of Northern Germany
subscribed, at Prague, in the month of May following. The
Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg were thus changed into
enemies of Sweden. The Swedish General, Banner [or Baner],
who, at the period of the battle of Nördlingen, had been
encamped side by side with the Saxon army on the White Hill
near Prague, had, on the first indication of wavering on the
part of its Elector, managed skilfully to withdraw his troops
from the dangerous proximity. On the 22nd October 1635, he
defeated the Saxon army, at Dömitz on the Elbe, then invaded
Brandenburg, took Havelberg, and even threatened Berlin.
Compelled by the approach of a Saxon and Imperialist army to
quit his prey, he turned and beat the combined army at
Wittstock (24th September 1636). After that battle, he drew
the reinforced Imperialists, commanded by Gallas, after him
into Pomerania; there he caused them great losses by cutting
off their supplies, then forced them back into Saxony, and,
following them up closely, attacked and beat them badly at
Chemnitz (4th April, 1639)." In the south, Duke Bernhard had
gained meantime some solid successes. After his retreat from
Mayence, in 1635, he had concluded his secret treaty with
Richelieu, placing himself wholly at the service of France,
and receiving the promise of 4,000,000 francs yearly, for the
support of his army, and the ultimate sovereignty of Alsace
for himself. "Having concerted measures with La Valette
[1636], … he invaded Lorraine, drove the enemy thence,
taking Saarburg and Pfalzburg, and then, entering Alsace, took
Saverne. His career of conquest in Alsace was checked by the
invasion of Burgundy by Gallas, with an army of 40,000 men.
{1481}
Duke Bernhard marched with all haste to Dijon, and forced
Gallas to fall back, with great loss, beyond the Saone
(November 1636). Pursuing his advantages, early the following
year he forced the passage of the Saone at Gray, despite the
vivid resistance of Prince Charles of Lorraine (June 1637),
and pursued that commander as far as Besançon. Reinforced
during the autumn, he marched towards the Upper Rhine, and,
undertaking a winter campaign, captured Lauffenburg, after a
skirmish with John of Werth; then Säckingen and Waldshut, and
laid siege to Rheinfelden. The Imperialist army, led by John
of Werth, succeeded, indeed, after a very hot encounter, in
relieving that place; but three days later Duke Bernhard
attacked and completely defeated it (21st February 1638),
taking prisoners not only John of Werth himself, but the
generals, Savelli, Enkefort, and Sperreuter. The consequences
of this victory were the fall of Rheinfelden, Rötteln,
Neuenberg, and Freiburg. Duke Bernhard then laid siege to
Breisach (July 1638). … The Imperial general, Götz, advanced
at the head of a force considerably outnumbering that of Duke
Bernhard. Leaving a portion of his army before the place, Duke
Bernhard then drew to himself Turenne, who was lying in the
vicinity with 3,000 men, fell upon the Imperialists at
Wittenweiher (30th July), completely defeated them, and
captured their whole convoy. Another Imperialist army, led by
the Duke of Lorraine in person, shared a similar fate at
Thann, in the Sundgau, on the 4th October following. Götz, who
was hastening with a strengthened army to support the Duke of
Lorraine, attacked Duke Bernhard ten days later, but was
repulsed with great loss. Breisach capitulated on the 7th
December. Duke Bernhard took possession of it in his own name,
and foiled all the efforts of Richelieu to secure it for
France, by garrisoning it with German soldiers. To compensate
the French Cardinal Minister for Breisach, Duke Bernhard
undertook a winter campaign to drive the Imperialists from
Franche-Comté. Entering that province at the end of December,
he speedily made himself master of its richest part. He then
returned to Alsace with the resolution to cross the Rhine and
carry the war once again into Bavaria," and then, in junction
with Banner, to Vienna. "He had made all the necessary
preparations for this enterprise, had actually sent his army
across the Rhine, when he died very suddenly, not without
suspicion of poison, at Neuberg am Rhein (8th July, 1639). The
lands he had conquered he bequeathed to his brother. … But
Richelieu paid no attention to the wishes of the dead general.
Before any of the family could interfere, he had secured all
the fortresses in Alsace, even Breisach, which was its key,
for France."

_G. B. Malleson,
The Battle-fields of Germany,
chapter 5._

"During [1639] Piccolomini, at the head of the Imperialist and
Spanish troops, gave battle to the French at Diedenhofen. The
battle took place on the 7th of June, and the French were
beaten and suffered great losses."

_A. Gindely,
History of the Thirty Years' War,
chapter 8._

ALSO IN:
_Sir E. Cust,
Lives of the Warriors of the Thirty Years' War,
part 2._

_S. R. Gardiner,
The Thirty Years' War,
chapter 9, section 5._

GERMANY: A. D. 1635-1638.
The Thirty Years War:
Campaigns in the Netherlands.
The Dutch and French against the Spaniards.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1635-1638.

GERMANY: A. D. 1636-1637.
Diet at Ratisbon.
Attempted negotiations of peace.
Death of the Emperor Ferdinand II

"An electoral diet was assembled at Ratisbon, by the emperor
in person, on the 15th of September, 1636, for the ostensible
purpose of restoring peace, for which some vague negotiations
had been opened under the mediation of the pope and the king
of Denmark, and congresses appointed at Hamburgh and Cologne;
but with the real view of procuring the election of his son
Ferdinand as king of the Romans. … Ferdinand was elected
with only the fruitless protest of the Palatine family, and
the dissenting voice of the elector of Treves. … The emperor
did not long survive this happy event. He died on the 15th of
February, 1637. … Ferdinand … seems to have been the first
who formally established the right of primogeniture in all his
hereditary territories. By his testament, dated May 10th.
1621, he ordered that all his Austrian dominions should
devolve on his eldest male descendant, and fixed the majority
at 18 years."

_W. Coxe,
History of the House of Austria,
chapter 56 (volume 2)._

GERMANY: A. D. 1637.
Election of the Emperor Ferdinand III.

GERMANY: A. D. 1640-1645.
The Thirty Years War:
Campaigns of Baner and Torstenson.
The second Breitenfeld.
Jankowitz.
Mergentheim.
Allerheim.
War in Denmark.
Swedish army in Austria.
Saxony forced to neutrality.

"The war still went on for eight years, but the only influence
that it exerted upon the subsequent Peace was that it overcame
the last doubts of the Imperial court as to the indispensable
principles of the Peace. … The first event of importance on
the theatre of war after Bernhard's death was Baner's attempt
to join the army of Weimar in central Germany. Not in a
condition to pass the winter in Bohemia, and threatened in
Saxony and Silesia, he … commenced [March, 1640] a retreat
amidst fearful devastations, crossed the Elbe at Leitmeritz,
and arrived April 3rd at Zwickau. He succeeded in joining with
the mercenaries of Weimar and the troops of Lüneburg and Hesse
at Saalfeld;" but no joint action was found possible. "Until
December, the war on both sides consisted of marches hither
and thither, accompanied with horrible devastation; but
nothing decisive occurred. In September the Diet met at
Ratisbon. While wearisome attempts were being made to bend the
obstinacy of Austria, Baner resolved to compel her to yield by
a bold stroke, to invade the Upper Palatinate, to surprise
Ratisbon, and to put an end to the Diet and Emperor together.
… Not without difficulty Guebriant [commanding the French in
Alsace] was induced to follow, and to join Baner at Erfurt.
… But the surprise of Ratisbon was a failure. … The armies
now separated again. Baner exhausted his powers of persuasion
in vain to induce Guebriant to go with him. The French went
westward. Hard pressed himself, Baner proceeded by forced
marches towards Bohemia, and by the end of March reached
Zwickau, where he met Guebriant again, and they had a sharp
conflict with the Imperialists on the Saal. There Baner died,
on the 21st of May, 1641, leaving his army in a most critical
condition, The warfare of the Swedish-French arms was come to
a standstill.
{1482}
Both armies were near dissolution, when, in November,
Torstenson, the last of the Gustavus Adolphus school of
generals, and the one who most nearly equalled the master,
appeared with the Swedish army, and by a few vigorous strokes,
which followed each other with unexampled rapidity, restored
the supremacy of its arms. … After three months of rest,
which he mainly devoted to the reorganization and payment of
his army, by the middle of January [1642] he had advanced
towards the Elbe and the Altmark; and as the Imperial forces
were weakened by sending troops to the Rhine, he formed the
great project of proceeding through Silesia to the Austrian
hereditary dominions. On April 3rd he crossed the Elbe at
Werben, between the Imperial troops, increased his army to
20,000 men, stormed Glogau on May 4th, stood before
Schweidnitz on the 30th, and defeated Francis Albert of
Lauenburg; Schweidnitz, Neisse, and Oppeln fell into his
hands. Meanwhile Guebriant, after subduing the defiant and
mutinous spirit of his troops by means of money and promises,
had, on January 17th, defeated the Imperialists near Kempen,
not far from Crefeld [at Hulst], for which he was honoured
with the dignity of marshal. But this was a short-lived gleam
of light, and was soon followed by dark days, occasioned by
want of money and discontent in the camp. … He had turned
eastward from the Rhine to seek quarters for his murmuring
troops in nether Germany, when Torstenson effected a decision
in Saxony. After relieving Glogau, and having in vain tried to
enter Bohemia, he had joined the detachments of Königsmark and
Wrangel, and on October 30th he appeared before Leipzig. On
November 2nd there was a battle near Breitenfeld, which ended
in a disastrous defeat of the Imperialists and Leipzig
surrendered to Torstenson three weeks afterwards. In spite of
all the advantages which Torstenson gained for himself, it
never came to a united action with the French; and the first
victory won by the French in the Netherlands, in May, 1643,
did not alter this state of things. Torstenson … was
suddenly called to a remote scene of war in the north. King
Christian IV. of Denmark had been persuaded, by means of the
old Danish jealousy of Sweden, to take up arms for the
Emperor. He declared war just as Torstenson was proceeding to
Austria. Vienna was now saved; but so much the worse for
Denmark. In forced marches, which were justly admired,
Torstenson set out from Silesia towards Denmark at the end of
October, conducted a masterly campaign against the Danes, beat
them wherever he met with them, conquered Holstein and
Schleswig, pushed on to Jutland, then, while Wrangel and Horn
carried on the war (till the peace of Brömsebro, August,
1645), he returned and again took up the war against the
Imperialists, everywhere an unvanquished general. The
Imperialists under the incompetent Gallas intended to give
Denmark breathing-time by creating a diversion; but it did not
save Denmark, and brought another defeat upon themselves.
Gallas did not bring back more than 2,000 men from Magdeburg
to Bohemia, and they were in a very disorganized state. He was
pursued by Torstenson, while Ragoczy threatened Hungary. The
Emperor hastily collected what forces he could command, and
resolved to give battle. Torstenson had advanced as far as
Glattau in February, and on March 6th, 1645, a battle was
fought near Jankowitz, three miles from Tabor. It was the most
brilliant victory ever gained by the Swedes. The Imperial army
was cut to pieces; several of its leaders imprisoned or
killed. In a few weeks Torstenson conquered Moravia and
Austria as far as the Danube. Not far from the capital itself
he took possession of the Wolfsbrücke. As in 1618, Vienna was
in great danger." But the ill-success of the French "always
counterbalanced the Swedes' advantages. Either they were
beaten just as the Swedes were victorious, or could not turn a
victory to account. So it was during this year [1645]. The
west frontier of the empire was guarded on the imperial side
by Mercy, together with John of Werth, after he was liberated
from prison. On 26th March, Turenne crossed the Rhine, and
advanced towards Franconia. There he encamped near Mergentheim
and Rosenberg. On 5th May, a battle near Mergentheim ended
with the entire defeat of the French, and Turenne escaped with
the greatest difficulty by way of Hammelburg, towards Fulda.
The victors pushed on to the Rhine. To avenge this defeat,
Enghien was sent from Paris, and, at the beginning of July,
arrived at Spires, with 12,000 men. His forces, together with
Königsmark's, the remnant of Turenne's and the Hessians,
amounted to 30,000 men. At first Mercy dexterously avoided a
battle under unfavourable circumstances, but on August 3d the
contest was inevitable. A bloody battle was fought between
Nördlingen and Donauwörth, near Allerheim [called the battle
of Nordlingen, by the French], which was long doubtful, but,
after tremendous losses, resulted in the victory of the
French. Mercy's fall, Werth's imprudent advance, and a final
brave assault of the Hessians, decided the day. But the
victors were so weakened that they could not fully take
advantage of it. Condé was ill; and in the autumn Turenne was
compelled, not without perceptible damage to the cause, to
retreat with his army to the Neckar and the Rhine. Neither had
Torstenson been able to maintain his position in Austria. He
had been obliged to raise the siege of Brunn, and learnt at
the same time that Ragoczy had just made peace with the
Emperor. Obliged to retire to Bohemia, he found his forces
considerably diminished. Meanwhile, Kônigsmark had won an
important advantage. While Torstenson was in Austria he gained
a firm footing in Saxony. Then came the news of Allerheim, and
of the peace of Brömsebro. Except Dresden and Königstein, all
the important points were in the hands of the Swedes; so, on
the 6th of September [1645], the Elector John George concluded
a treaty of neutrality for six months. Besides money and
supplies, the Swedes received Leipzig, Torgau, and the right
of passage through the country. Meanwhile, Torstenson had
retreated into the north-east of Bohemia, and severe physical
sufferings compelled him to give up the command. He was
succeeded by Charles Gustavus Wrangel."

_L. Hausser,
The Period of the Reformation,
1517 to 1648, chapter 39._

ALSO IN:
_W. Coxe,
History of the House of Austria,
chapter 58 (volume 2)._

GERMANY: A. D. 1642-1643.
The Thirty Years War:
Condé's victory at Rocroi and campaign on the Moselle.

See FRANCE: A.D. 1642-1648, and 1643.

{1483}

GERMANY: A. D. 1643-1644.
The Thirty Years War:
Campaigns of Turenne and Condé against Merci, on the Upper
Rhine.
Dütlingen.
Freiburg.
Philipsburg.

"After the death of Bernard of Saxe Weimar, Marshal Guébriant
had been placed in command of the troops of Weimar. He had
besieged and taken Rottweil in Suabia, but had there been
killed. Rantzau, who succeeded him in command of the Weimar
army, marched (24-25 November, 1643) upon Dütlingen [or
Tuttlingen], on the Upper Rhine, was there beaten by Mercy and
made prisoner, with the loss of many officers and 7,000
soldiers. This was a great triumph for the Bavarians; a
terrible disaster for France. The whole of the German infantry
in the French service was dispersed or taken, the cavalry
retreated as they best could upon the Rhine. … Circumstances
required active measures. Plenipotentiaries had just assembled
at Münster to begin the negotiations which ended with the
peace of Westphalia. It was desired that the French Government
should support the French diplomatist by quick successes. …
Turenne was sent to the Rhine with reinforcements. … He
re-established discipline, and breathed into [the army] a new
spirit. … At the same time, by negotiations, the prisoners
who had been taken at Dütlingen were restored to France, the
gaps in the ranks were filled up, and in the spring of 1644
Turenne found himself at the head of 9,000 men, of whom 5,000
were cavalry, and was in a position to take the field." He
"pushed through the Black Forest, and near the source of the
Danube gained a success over a Bavarian detachment. For some
reason which is not clear he threw a garrison into Freiburg,
and retired across the Rhine. Had he remained near the town he
would have prevented Mercy from investing it. So soon as
Turenne was over the river, Mercy besieged Freiburg, and
although Turenne advanced to relieve the place, a stupid error
of some of his infantry made him fail, and Freiburg
capitulated to Mercy."

_H. M. Hozier,
Turenne,
chapter 3 and 5._

"Affairs being in so bad a state about the Black Forest, the
Great Condé, at that time Duc d'Enghien, was brought up, with
10,000 men; thus raising the French to a number above the
enemy's. He came crowned with the immortal laurels of Rocroi;
and in virtue of his birth, as a prince of the blood-royal,
took precedence of the highest officers in the service. Merci,
a capable and daring general, aware of his inferiority, now
posted himself a short distance from Freyburg, in a position
almost inaccessible. He garnished it with felled trees and
intrenchments, mountains, woods, and marshes, which of
themselves defied attack." Turenne advocated a flank movement,
instead of a direct assault upon Merci's position; but Condé,
reckless of his soldiers' lives, persisted in leading them
against the enemy's works. "A terrible action ensued (August
3, 1644). Turenne made a long detour through a defile; Condé,
awaiting his arrival on the ground, postponed the assault till
three hours before sunset, and then ascended the steep. Merci
had the worse, and retreated to a fresh position on the Black
Mountain, where he successfully repulsed for one day Condé's
columns (August 5). In this action Gaspard Merci was killed.
Condé now adopted the flank movement, which, originally
recommended by Turenne, would have saved much bloodshed; and
Merci, hard pressed, escaped by a rapid retreat, leaving
behind him his artillery and baggage (August 9). These are the
'three days of Freyburg.' To retake the captured Freyburg after
their victory … was the natural suggestion first heard." But
Turenne persuaded Condé that the reduction of Philipsburg was
more important. "Philipsburg was taken after a short siege;
and its fall was accompanied by the submission of the adjacent
towns of Germersheim, Speier, Worms, Mentz, Oppenheim and
Landau. Condé at this conjuncture left the Upper Rhine, and
took away his regiments with him."

_T. O. Cockayne,
Life of Turenne,
pages 20-22._

ALSO IN:
_G. B. Malleson,
The Battle-fields of Germany,
chapter 6._

GERMANY: A. D. 1646-1648.
The Thirty Years War:
Its final campaigns.
The sufferings of Bavaria.
Truce and peace negotiations initiated by the Elector
Maximilian.
The ending of the war at Prague.

"The retreat of the French [after the battle of Allerheim]
enabled the enemy to turn his whole force upon the Swedes in
Bohemia. Gustavus Wrangel, no unworthy successor of Banner and
Torstensohn, had, in 1646, been appointed Commander-in-chief
of the Swedish army. … The Archduke, after reinforcing his
army … moved against Wrangel, in the hope of being able to
overwhelm him by his superior force before Koenigsmark could
join him, or the French effect a diversion in his favour.
Wrangel, however, did not await him." He moved through Upper
Saxony and Hesse, to Weimar, where he was joined by the flying
corps of Koenigsmark. Finally, after much delay, he was joined
likewise by Turenne and the French. "The junction took place
at Giessen, and they now felt themselves strong enough to meet
the enemy. The latter had followed the Swedes into Hesse, in
order to intercept their commissariat, and to prevent their
union with Turenne. In both designs they had been
unsuccessful; and the Imperialists now saw themselves cut off
from the Maine, and exposed to great scarcity and want from
the loss of their magazines. Wrangel took advantage of their
weakness to execute a plan by which he hoped to give a new
turn to the war. … He determined to follow the course of the
Danube, and to break into the Austrian territories through the
midst of Bavaria. … He moved hastily, … defeated a
Bavarian corps near Donauwerth, and passed that river, as well
as the Lech, unopposed. But by wasting his time in the
unsuccessful siege of Augsburg, he gave opportunity to the
Imperialists, not only to relieve that city, but also to
repulse him as far as Lauingen. No sooner, however, had they
turned towards Suabia, with a view to remove the war from
Bavaria, than, seizing the opportunity, he repassed the Lech,
and guarded the passage of it against the Imperialists
themselves. Bavaria now lay open and defenceless before him;
the French and Swedes quickly overran it; and the soldiery
indemnified themselves for all dangers by frightful outrages,
robberies, and extortions. The arrival of the Imperial troops,
who at last succeeded in passing the Lech at Thierhaupten,
only increased the misery of this country, which friend and
foe indiscriminately plundered. And now, for the first time
during the whole course of this war, the courage of
Maximilian, which for eight-and-twenty years had stood
unshaken amidst fearful dangers, began to waver. Ferdinand
II., his school-companion at Ingolstadt, and the friend of his
youth, was no more; and, with the death of his friend and
benefactor, the strong tie was dissolved which had linked the
Elector to the House of Austria. …
{1484}
Accordingly, the motives which the artifices of France now put
in operation, in order to detach him from the Austrian
alliance, and to induce him to lay down his arms, were drawn
entirely from political considerations. … The Elector of
Bavaria was unfortunately led to believe that the Spaniards
alone were disinclined to peace, and that nothing but Spanish
influence had induced the Emperor so long to resist a
cessation of hostilities. Maximilian detested the Spaniards,
and could never forgive their having opposed his application
for the Palatine Electorate. … All doubts disappeared; and,
convinced of the necessity of this step, he thought he should
sufficiently discharge his obligations to the Emperor if he
invited him also to share in the benefit of the truce. The
deputies of the three crowns, and of Bavaria, met at Ulm, to
adjust the conditions. But it was soon evident, from the
instructions of the Austrian ambassador, that it was not the
intention of the Emperor to second the conclusion of a truce,
but if possible· to prevent it. … The good intentions of the
Elector of Bavaria, to include the Emperor in the benefit of
the truce, having been thus rendered unavailing, he felt
himself justified in providing for his own safety. … He
agreed to the Swedes extending their quarters in Suabia and
Franconia, and to his own being restricted to Bavaria and the
Palatinate. The conquests which he had made in Suabia were
ceded to the allies, who, on their part, restored to him what
they had taken from Bavaria. Cologne and Hesse Cassel were
also included in the truce. After the conclusion of this
treaty, upon the 14th March, 1647, the French and Swedes left
Bavaria. … Turenne, according to agreement, marched into
Wurtemburg, where he forced the Landgrave of Darmstadt and the
Elector of Mentz to imitate the example of Bavaria, and to
embrace the neutrality. And now, at last, France seemed to
have attained the great object of its policy, that of
depriving the Emperor of the support of the League, and of his
Protestant allies. … But … after a brief crisis, the
fallen power of Austria rose again to a formidable strength.
The jealousy which France entertained of Sweden, prevented it
from permitting the total ruin of the Emperor, or allowing the
Swedes to obtain such a preponderance in Germany, which might
have been destructive to France herself. Accordingly, the
French minister declined to take advantage of the distresses
of Austria; and the army of Turenne, separating from that of
Wrangel, retired to the frontiers of the Netherlands. Wrangel,
indeed, after moving from Suabia into Franconia, taking
Schweinfurt, … attempted to make his way into Bohemia, and
laid siege to Egra, the key of that kingdom. To relieve this
fortress, the Emperor, put his last army in motion, and placed
himself at its head. But … on his arrival Egra was already
taken." Meantime the Emperor had engaged in intrigues with the
Bavarian officers and had nearly seduced the whole army of the
Elector. The latter discovered this conspiracy in time to
thwart it; but he now suddenly, on his own behalf, struck
hands with the Emperor again, and threw over his late
agreements with the Swedes and French. "He had not derived
from the truce the advantages he expected. Far from tending to
accelerate a general peace, it had a pernicious influence upon
the negociations at Munster and Osnaburg, and had made the
allies bolder in their demands." Maximilian, therefore,
renounced the truce and began hostilities anew. "This
resolution, and the assistance which he immediately despatched
to the Emperor in Bohemia, threatened materially to injure the
Swedes, and Wrangel was compelled in haste to evacuate that
kingdom. He retired through Thuringia into Westphalia and
Lunenburg, in the hope of forming a junction with the French
army under Turenne, while the Imperial and Bavarian army
followed him to the Weser, under Melander and Gronsfeld. His
ruin was inevitable if the enemy should overtake him before
his junction with Turenne; but the same consideration which
had just saved the Emperor now proved the salvation of the
Swedes. … The Elector of Bavaria could not allow the Emperor
to obtain so decisive a preponderance as, by the sudden
alteration of affairs, might delay the chances of a general
peace. … Now that the power of the Emperor threatened once
more to attain a dangerous superiority, Maximilian at once
ceased to pursue the Swedes. … Melander, prevented by the
Bavarians from further pursuing Wrangel, crossed by Jena and
Erfurt into Hesse. … In this exhausted country, his army was
oppressed by want, while Wrangel was recruiting his strength,
and remounting his cavalry in Lunenburg. Too weak to maintain
his wretched quarters against the Swedish general, when he
opened the campaign in the winter of 1648, and marched against
Hesse, he was obliged to retire with disgrace, and take refuge
on the banks of the Danube. … Turenne received permission to
join the Swedes; and the last campaign of this eventful war
was now opened by the united armies. Driving Melander before
them along the Danube, they threw supplies into Egra, which
was besieged by the Imperialists, and defeated the Imperial
and Bavarian armies on the Danube, which ventured to oppose
them at Susmarshausen, where Melander was mortally wounded."
They then forced a passage of the Lech, at the point where
Gustavus Adolphus formerly overcame Tilly, and ravaged Bavaria
once more; while nothing but a prolonged rain-storm, which
flooded the Inn, saved Austria from a similar devastation.
Koenigsmark, with his flying corps, entered Bohemia,
penetrated to Prague and surprised and captured the lesser
side of the city (the Kleinsite), thus acquiring the
reputation of "closing the Thirty Years' War by the last
brilliant achievement. This decisive stroke, which vanquished
the Emperor's irresolution, cost the Swedes only the loss of a
single man. But the old town, the larger half of Prague, which
is divided into two parts by the Moldau, by its vigorous
resistance wearied out the efforts of the Palatine, Charles
Gustavus, the successor of Christina on the throne, who had
arrived from Sweden with fresh troops. … The approach of
winter at last drove the besiegers into their quarters, and in
the meantime the intelligence arrived that a peace had been
signed at Munster, on the 24th October,"—the "solemn and ever
memorable and sacred treaty which is known by the name of the
Peace of Westphalia."

_F. Schiller,
History of the Thirty Years' War,
book 5._

ALSO IN:
_G. B. Malleson,
The Battle-fields of Germany,
chapter 7._

{1485}

GERMANY: The Thirty Years War:
Its horrors.
Its destructiveness.
The state of the country at its close.