German Culture Past and PresentBax, Ernest Belfort
History
German Culture Past and Present
Bax, Ernest Belfort
Anabaptists; Germany -- Civilization; Germany -- Social conditions; Peasants' War, 1524-1525; Reformation -- Germany
The third period of the war, from 1624 to 1629, is characterized by
the intervention of the Powers outside the immediate sphere of German
or Imperial interests. France, under Richelieu, became concerned at
the growing power of the Hapsburgs, while James I of England began to
show anxiety at his son-in-law's adverse fortunes, though without
achieving any successful intervention. The chief feature of this
campaign was the entry into the field of Christian IV of Denmark with
a powerful army to join Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick in
invading the Imperial and Austrian territories. But the savageries and
excesses of Mansfeld's troops had disgusted and alienated all sides.
It was at this time that Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, was appointed
general of the Imperial troops, and soon after succeeded in completely
routing Mansfeld at the battle of Dessau Bridge in 1626. Four months
later Tilly completely defeated Christian IV and his Danes at Lutter.
Wallenstein, on his side, followed up his success, driving Mansfeld
into Hungary. Mansfeld, in spite of some fugitive successes in the
Austrian dominions in the course of his retreat, was compelled by
Wallenstein to evacuate Hungary, shortly after which he died. The
campaign ended with the Peace of Lubeck in 1629.
The action of the Emperor Ferdinand in attempting to enforce the
restitution of Church lands in North Germany was the proximate cause
of the next great campaign, which constitutes the fourth period of the
Thirty Years' War (1630-36). The immediate occasion was, however,
Wallenstein's seizure of certain towns in Mecklenburg, over which he
claimed rights by Imperial grant two years before. This, which may be
regarded as the greatest period of the Thirty Years' War, was
characterized by the appearance on the scene of Gustavus Adolphus, the
Swedish King. He was not in time, however, to prevent the sacking of
Magdeburg by the troops of Tilly and Poppenheim. The former,
nevertheless, was defeated by the Swedes at the important battle of
Breitenfeld in 1631. The following year the Imperial army was again
defeated on the Lach. Thereupon Gustavus occupied Muenchen, though he
was subsequently compelled by Wallenstein to evacuate the city. The
last great victory of Gustavus was at Luetzen in 1632, at which battle
the great leader met his death. Wallenstein, who was now in favour of
a policy of peace and political reconstruction, was assassinated in
1634 with the connivance of the Emperor. On September 6th of the same
year the Protestant army, under Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, sustained an
overwhelming defeat at Noerdlingen, and the Peace of Prague the
following year ended the campaign.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account