Thirty Years War

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).