From 1618 to 1648, the Catholics, Protestants and Calvinists were at war
with one another in what was referred to as the Thirty Years War. The war was not primarily fought over
religion; dynastic, territorial and commercial reasons also came into
play. The struggles that led up to the
wars included to name a few: the Turkish menace, serfdom issues, and Hapsburg mismanagement.
The war involved the major powers of Europe: Spain, Sweden, France, and
Austria. Approximately 350,000 soldiers lost their lives, civilian lives
outnumbered their deaths by 20 to1. Sovereignty occurred for the European
countries as a result of the series of battles referred to as the Thirty Years
War.
The reformation led to the division of communities and countries as a
whole. All Christian faiths were derived
from common roots but became intertwined in vested material interests and
social concerns for status and the psychological need to belong to a set group
and alienate those who had different viewpoints. Theological controversies
ensued and believers needed to take a stand. Catholicism accentuated the
importance of organization and only the Roman Catholic Church was the only competent
authority to spread the word of God for all Christians. Lutherans believed more
importance needed to be placed on doctrine and attested that the Word of God be
free from misinterpretation by a church that appeared to have lost its way, the
Roman Catholic Church. Calvinism placed importance on practice, bringing
behavior in line with faith and referred to Luther’s reformation as doctrine.
The alienation and descension between the religious sectors led to a lot of
tension. Some powerful elites wanted their religious practices to take
precedence (Williams, 2011).
The ruler of the Roman Empire was getting too old to run the empire
efficiently. A replacement was needed. The Hapsburgs, who were Catholic, had no
male heir to take on the role as emperor. They selected Ferdinand II of Syria
as the heir to the throne. At a little at a time, the Hapsburgs’ land was being
placed in Ferdinand’s control. The soon retired ruler made compromises with the
Protestants under his rule. Ferdinand had something else in mind. He was raised
by Jesuits and so he ordered that all the inhabitants become Catholics or
leave. Approximately a third of the inhabitants fled the country. As he took
even more control of more of the Hapsburgs’ resources, he asserted more control
over religious conformity throughout a large portion of Europe (White, 2012).
The Hapsburg dynasty was one of the most powerful and successful of all
princely families. The Hapsburgs accumulated influence and properties in 11
Austrian provinces, Bohemia and 17 Netherland provinces. Parts of Hungary fell
under control of the Hapsburgs during the 1500s. The Hapsburgs governed over 7
million subjects by 1600. There were a total of 24 million inhabitants residing
in the empire.
William Hapsburg met with Sedrick Hapsburg, cousins and two of the owners
of the Hapsburg estate, to discuss certain prospects for the estate.
“We were lucky to come across Ferdinand. He definitely supports our
beliefs and goals. I am a little concerned with the number of people who fled
the country because they did not want to convert back to the Catholic religion.
Why don’t people see that the Catholic religion is the only viable religion.
Every other form of religion is hogwash. How can we convince people to see the
truth,” said Sedrick.
“I see your point. We lost a lot of the population because they would not
convert. It’s insane. I see the validity of the Catholic religion like it is
written on the wall in large print. It is so obvious to me,” replied William.
“I am counting on the electors to Ferdinand as the new emperor,” said
Sedrick.
“They will vote in our favor like they have done in the past,” said
William.
A democratic process was in place concerning the selection of the Holy
Roman Emperor. That decision was placed in the hands of the seven electors in
which three of the electors were archbishops who supported the Catholic
Hapsburgs. The four remaining four votes were sought from rulers of small
countries within the empire: Brandenburg, Saxony, the Palatinate, and Bohemia.
Three of these electors converted to the Protestant religion and they preferred
a Protestant emperor who would protect their interests. The Bohemian ruler
usually supported the House of Hapsburg and was recognized as a Catholic king. The
Catholics represented four of the seven votes. The Hapsburgs believed they were
going to have their way with their selection of Ferdinand as the new emperor.
Things were not going the Hapsburgs way, the general population of
Bohemia converted to Calvinism. When the Bohemian nobility gathered in Prague
to rubber stamp the Hapsburg choice for the new emperor, they changed their
mind and decided perhaps a Protestant may be a better choice. They brought
their misgivings and concerns to Ferdinand. They were hopeful that he would
grant Bohemia religious freedom. On May 23, 1618 negotiations went south. The
Bohemians vehemently threw the Hapsburgs out of the meeting and placed
Frederick from Palatinate in the role as the new emperor. Frederick had two
votes on his own and the backing of the Protestant electors, which made a
majority. The Hapsburgs were furious. The Protestant nobility decided to not
take any risks so they cast their votes for the Hapsburg Ferdinand and left
Bohemia to fight their own battles (White, 2012).
“What do you think we should do about Bohemia? They definitely went their
own way after all we have done for them,” said William Hapsburg.
“I think we need to teach them a lesson,” replied Taffi, a Hapsburg
elite.
“What do you have in mind?” asked William.
“Let’s sic Tilly on them to enforce the scorched-earth policy,” replied
Taffi.
“Tilly has been anxious to get back on the battlefield and he would love
to wipe out some of the rebellious ones for us and teach them a thing or two,”
said William.
A Bavarian general by the name of Johannes Tilly went on a rampage to
reclaim Bohemia and punish the insubordinate Calvinists and Protestants. Bohemia was reduced to a smoldering
wasteland. Before the campaign there were 35,000 villages, after the war there
were only 6,000. The population plunged
from 2 million to 700,000. Peasants starved to death or fled the armies’
attacks. The Battle of White Mountain in November 1620 dispensed the final blow
which ended up crippling the Palatine forces. King Frederick headed for the
hills and Albrecht von Wallenstein was put in charge as Hapsburg’s military
governor of Bohemia. The instigators behind the rebellion were executed in the
town square at Prague. The estates that were left behind were confiscated and
allotted to the Hapsburg supporters (White, 2012).
The Catholic armies turned against the Palatinate to get back at
Frederick for his role in taking Bohemia away from the Catholics and the
Hapsburgs’ empire. Frederick’s city of Heidelburg was taken over and ransacked.
Frederick ran to Holland to hide in exile. The Hapsburgs granted the Palatinate
to the duke of Bavaria, their Catholic ally. This takeover really shook up the
Protestants and they decided to take action. The Catholic conquest of
Palatinate was more than they could handle. They were willing to accept the
Catholic’s efforts to restore their rule in Bohemia, but eliminating the
Palatinate was not what they were willing to let the Catholics get away with,
in the long run they saw massive problems of a complete takeover of Europe by
the Catholics.
The Protestants did not have the luck of the draw. Outside kingdoms came
to their aid. King Christian from
Denmark led his army into Germany in 1625. Christian’s army was badly defeated
by the Catholic army of Wallenstein. Tilly amassed another victory over
northern Germany and the peninsula of Denmark. The Danes were exiled to their
islands.
The Catholics were experiencing one victory after another, Austria
forwarded their efforts to negate any progress that was made concerning the
reformation. The 1629 Edict of Restitution placed forth the ruling that all of
the property taken over by the Protestant princes from the Roman Catholic
Church during the past 77 years were ordered to be returned to the church.
Calvinism was outlawed in the empire (White, 2012). Tension was mounting
between the religious sectors. Germany, divided between hostile Catholic and
Protestant factions, was ready to seek outside foreign support if the need
aroused.
The Hapsburgs’ forces were encroaching on Swedish land. Sweden, in
preparation for possible war with the Hapsburgs, gained additional support from
the French. The French did not want the Holy Roman Empire to be run like an
empire. They wanted to be a sovereign country. The Swedes with the help of the
French decided to take action and crossed the Baltic Sea to go to the
battlefield against the Hapsburgs in July 1630 (White, 2012).
Gustavus Adolphus was well-known for his military abilities. He proved
his weight on the battlefield when he went against Denmark, Russia and Poland.
He fought battles strategically like someone would master the game of chess,
carefully weighing and planning all his options before employing any military
action.
“What is Adolphus up to?” asked William Hapsburg.
“I don’t know,” replied Taffi.
“I think we need to send some scouts to his camp to find out what
Adolphus’ plans are,” said William.
“I will send some out at first light tomorrow,” replied Taffi.
Tilly forged ahead with his Catholic army and attacked the Protestant
fortress at the city of Magdeburg during the Spring of 1631. This city was
strategically placed to guard the crossing of the Elbe River. The lengthy siege
created a lot of mayhem and destruction. The city was finally taken by Tilly.
Before the attack, there were approximately 30,000 inhabitants in the city. By
the end of the siege, only about 5,000 people survived, mostly women to be drug
away from the city to be used at a later date. The carnage was heart breaking.
Children were wandering the streets crying and yelling for their pAbbramts.
Babies were suckling their dead mothers’ breasts. Six thousand bodies were
dumped into the river as part of the cleanup efforts (White, 2012).
“News travels fast. Did you hear what happened in Magdeburg? It was
brutal. The Protestants at that location were almost wiped out completely. We
need to go where Tilly is and wipe out his army,” said Gustavus.
“I heard he is headed towards Breitenfeld. I will send spies out and let
it leak that we are headed towards Magdeburg to help the inhabitants in the
area. Tilly won’t see us coming,” said Peter, an officer of Gustavus’ army.
“That sounds like a good plan,” replied Gustavus.
Gustavus Adolphus had a successful campaign against the Catholics at
Breitenfeld during the month of September in 1631. This campaign pushed the war
away from the Protestant north and into the Catholic south. The Protestants were
back in the game. The Swedes beat the imperial army again and ended up killing
Tilly during a battle. Adolphus was on a winning strike, he had his greatest
victory when he defeated Wallenstein in the Battle of Lutzen. He was killed
shortly after that successful campaign when he ventured out too far into enemy
territory and was killed. The Catholics sighed with relief.
The Protestants forces were weakened but Wallenstein had different plans
then to go to battle with the Protestants. He had his eye on another lofty
goal. He wanted to take on the role of being in charge of Germany. He decided
to take a more peaceful approach and hold negotiations with the enemy. When they refused to accept his sanctions, he
would go to the war with them. The
emperor learned about his plans and sent officers to assassinate him.
The militia for both sides employed various military techniques and
weapons during the Thirty Years War. Musketeers and pikemen served as the
pillars of the Protestant and Catholic armies. The pikemen held off their
enemies by using long spears and the musketeers would ride up close to them in
heavy metal armor and fire pistols at the enemy. They would ride their horses
out of range to reload. Their efforts were tedious and repeated over and over
again. Canons were large and burdensome. Sometimes the canons would arrive at
the end of the battles because it took so long to transport them.
Improved formations and canons
were introduced by Gustavus Adolphus. He improved the size and firing range of
the canons. They were made light enough to be utilized more quickly when they
were in battle. Instead of attacking by
using blocks of men, Adolphus had the men form a line. He taught his soldiers
how to gallop with their horses and use lances and sabers at the same time. The
Battle of Breitenfeld was the first time the new techniques and equipment were
employed. Uniforms were not worn and most soldiers wore everyday clothes except
for the some of the armor they could scavenge. The armies were distinguished
from the common folk by the large battle flags they carried. Every army unit
had a group of women who traveled with them. They cooked, did laundry and
provided nursing for the soldiers. Adolphus insisted that the women who joined
the units be the wives of the soldiers. No army at the time could survive
without them.
The soldiers who worked
independently as mercenary units usually gave their allegiance to their
captains. They were not always loyal to the prince who hired them. They would
serve as back up for other army units and they would switch sides if the pay
was better. The size of their units usually numbered 10,000 to 20,000.
Sometimes they were taken as prisoners. If pay was not made available to them,
they would help themselves to the resources of the villages they invaded. Only palace guards and a few staff
officers who knew where to hire mercenaries posthaste were the personnel who
were paid full-time salaries. Mercenaries usually came from Scotland, Italy,
and Switzerland (White, 2012).
An army unit of approximately 30,000 soldiers required 150 tons of bread
and fodder (food for their animals) a day. During that time, villagers only
grew enough food to provide for their needs and the needs of their families with
a little left over to sell at the market. They could not afford to have their
food eaten by strangers who were just passing through. The soldiers stole their
food, slaughtered their livestock, abused the women and tore apart buildings for
firewood. They did not care that they put the lives of the villagers in
jeopardy (Williams, 2011).
Anguish and despair was everywhere. Abandoned children were found living
in cellars and eating rats by the Jesuits. They were rescued and brought to a
monastery to be fed, housed and educated. Much of the countryside was riddled
with ghost towns.
The Swedish soldiers were walking through one of the ghost towns. “Benkt,
look at this town. There is no one here,” said Abbram.
“It’s actually a little unnerving to see all the carnage. Many of the buildings
have been burned,” replied Benkt.
“I know it’s our job to make sure we destroy all of our enemies’
resources, but this seems to be going to far.”
“I think this is one of the villages Tilly destroyed some time ago,” said
Benkt.
“He was ruthless and heartless I heard some of our officers say,” said Abbram.
“I am glad one of our men killed him,” said Benkt.
“I wonder if all the people who lived in this village were killed or did
they escape?” asked Abbram.
“I hope some of them got away,” replied Benkt.
Throughout history, refugees have fled to other countries to seek solace
from wars and other acts of brutality. The citizens of the cities that accepted
refugees would find dead bodies daily as they walked around their city. They
died mostly as a result of starvation. Eventually the refugees would be
evacuated because there was no food or room for them. Some of the only
available food would have been considered forbidden. Feet and hands were
simmering in a cauldron at one of the temporary camps. Corpses would be laying face up starring at
the sky with grass sticking out of their mouths.
If the total destruction of villages was not enough, the bishop of
Wurzburg had 9,000 witches burned at the stake between the years 1625 and 1628.
An additional thousand were burned in the Silesian principality of Neisse
between 1640 and 1641. The witch hunts were not primarily a vestige born of
superstition. They were fueled by greed and ignorance. Many of the homesteads
in which the witches lived before their deaths were confiscated by the locals.
The religious conflicts also fueled the killing of many people suspected of
being witches. For centuries holy wars existed that weeded out the threatening
enemies which included Protestants and Catholics along with witches and demons.
The war was pulling in its neighboring nations France and Spain. They
were natural enemies and Spain was linked to the Hapsburg family which included
Belgium, Burgundy and a portion of Italy. Spain agreed to help Austria in their
war against the Protestants if they agreed to help them annihilate the
Protestant enemies of Spain in the Netherlands. The French joined forces with
all the enemies of the Hapsburgs because of their affiliation with Spain.
“Why are we fighting these battles. We are not doing it for the peasants.
They are laying dead all over the ground. Many have been thrown in the water.
Is this fighting ever going to stop?” asked Peder, a French officer.
“We need to keep the end in sight. We want to destroy the Spanish in
their tracks,” said Samuelle, another French officer.
“Their army is funded through the silver they are mining. They are a
wealthy nation,” replied Peder. Silver
was delivered from mines to the Spanish colonies. Spain was the only European
country able to maintain a fully manned and fully armed militia.
“We are struggling to keep our heads above water, but I know the effort
will be worth it in the long run,” said Samuelle.
“Our country has always supported the Catholic ideals and now we are
fighting against people who are Catholic,” said Peder.
“We cannot let the Hapsburgs gain control of the entire empire. They are
headed in that direction.”
The Swedish armies continued fighting near the center of the empire. They
switched their focus to the Spanish road where the Spanish allies and troops
were transported from the Mediterranean and the Catholic mercenary recruiting
grounds in Italy, across the Alps to the battlefields in the Spanish
Netherlands. France also wanted to stop Spain from using this pathway. It was a
long and arduous war.
In the Rhineland area the French joined forces with the German and Dutch
armies in tedious battles against the Spanish at the Spanish Netherlands. In
1643, the French army finally achieved an army unit that could rival the
Spanish. The Spanish were cornered and taken over by the French at the Battle
of Rocroi. As a result of this battle, the Spanish could not lend a hand to
their Austrian allies. They needed to keep close to home to keep the French out
of their territories (White, 2012). To add fuel to the fire, Sweden defeated
the Hapsburgs imperialist at Jankau in 1645. The Hapsburgs were forced to make
concessions which led to the Treaty of Westphalia.
The cost of the war was horrendous. Numbers vary but it is believed that
approximately 20% of Germany’s population were killed. During the Thirty Years
War many of the soldiers were mercenaries. If they could not collect their pay,
they would raid villages to get their supplies. The armies on both sides, the
Protestants and Catholics, marched and plundered through the country leaving
cities, towns and villages in ruin. When the powerful contenders met in
Westphalia, the balance of power was changed forever. Spain was no longer the
ruling force and lost it hold on the Netherlands. The United Netherlands was
recognized as an independent state. France rallied to the front of the line as
the chief Western power. Sweden took over control of the Baltic area. All the
member states from Germany to France gained full sovereignty. The Roman
Catholic empire of Europe headed by a pope and emperor no longer existed. The
structure of Europe became a collection of sovereign states (Encyclopedia
Britannica, 2017).
