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Bohemia, as previously written, did not want Ferdinand as their next king. They wanted the Protestant, Calvinist Frederick V of Palatine. However, Matthias, the Emperor overlooked this, and made plans for Ferdinand’s accession to the throne both in Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire. Upon Matthias’ death in 1619, Ferdinand was to be coroneted King and Emperor. Bohemia, already in open revolt made plans to secure allies against the ensuing Catholic invasion. Ferdinand, also began to secure allies, as he was not yet in the position to fight. These two actions made what could or should have been a short war involving only a few regions, into a large war involving most of Europe, and even European Colonial Empires.
Bohemia sought admission into the Protestant Union coincidentally led by Frederick V, their choice to be King. Bohemian leaders sent messages promising the throne in exchange for assistance. However, problems soon surfaced, as other Bohemian leaders promised the same throne to the Duke of Savoy and the Prince of Transylvania. Catholic Austrians intercepted the lying letters, and publicized them extensively, thus destroying early Bohemian support. The remaining Bohemian allies were consolidated into an army under Count Jindrich Thurn.
Count Thurn moved quickly. He invaded into Catholic controlled lands, and laid siege to Vienna in 1619. Thurn was under the impression that chaos was the order in Vienna, so he did not use siege technology against Vienna. While Vienna was under siege, allies in the east took to the offensive. Bethlen Gabor, the Transylvanian Prince and the Ottoman Turk Emperor Osman II created an alliance, which was to bring a large force into Catholic Poland. The Polish-Ottoman region of the War exploded in 1620. The Ottoman Turks were victorious, effectively taking Polish support away from the Holy Roman Empire in 1620, yet it was too late. Bohemian armies were defeated at the Battle of White Mountain a few months after Ottoman successes. The Ottomans returned home not being a major factor during the latter phases of the war.
Count Thurn, still outside of Vienna, was now threatened. He lost communication and supply lines, as Catholic armies were victorious at Sablat. The siege was broken, and the Bohemians needed to regroup, which they did under Thurn and Count Mansfield. With reorganization, the Bohemians allied themselves with Upper and Lower Austria, who were also in revolt. This alliance effectively deposed Ferdinand as King of Bohemia in 1619. These occurrences brought the Spanish Habsburgs into the war beginning in 1621.
First, Spain sent Ambrosio Spinola to Vienna with an army. Spain also convinced the once Bohemian ally, Protestant Saxony to fight on the Catholic side. In return, Saxony was to be awarded Lusatia, one of the rebelling Bohemian regions. With forces in place, the Spanish led army invaded successfully throughout northern and western Bohemia. Spanish forces quelled the rebellion in Upper Austria, as Ferdinand’s army ended conflict in Lower Austria. Their rear now protected, both armies met and moved further into Bohemia. Frederick V’s army was pinned down at the aforementioned, decisive Battle of White Mountain. Bohemian forces were defeated, with many, such as Thurn and Mansfield, fleeing to fight another day. Frederick was outlawed in the Holy Roman Empire, and all of his land holdings were distributed to Catholic nobility. Indefatigable, Frederick survived outside of the Holy Roman Empire, raising support in Scandinavia and the Low Countries for the Protestant cause.
Remaining Protestant support fled toward The Netherlands. Count Mansfield and Duke Christian of Brunswick could not remain together as an effective military force. Mansfield was paid off by the Dutch to remain in East Friesland. Duke Christian returned to fight in Saxony, where the Catholic military genius, Count Tilly soundly destroyed Christian’s army at Stadtholn. With this news, King James I of England, also father-in-law to Frederick V, convinced Frederick to forget his involvement in the war. Protestants were defeated, and Catholics were posturing, thus frightening other non-belligerent nations by 1625.
armchaircapitalist 