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.