>War of the Austrian Succession – Introduction

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France was soon to realize that she would have a new and great enemy, Prussia. As it was Prussia was just one of the many kingdoms that comprised the Holy Roman Empire. However, with the rise of Frederick Willelm I and Frederick II, Prussia was at this time an emerging power. She needed France’s help against the old French enemy, the Habsburgs, who controlled the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick Willelm I and Frederick II were Hohenzollerns, a powerful northern German house. They decried succession proceedings, which sought to install Maria Theresa upon all of her father’s, Emperor Charles VI, thrones, except the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire had never had a Queen, and Maria Theresa was not to become an Empress. The issue, according to Frederick II, was the Salic Law – which provided only for male succession to the Imperial title, and not the husband of an Austrian Queen.

Charles VI realized issues would arise after his death. He knew that Maria Theresa could not claim the Emperor’s throne, so he willed his lands to his daughter, but desired his son-in-law Francis-Stephen to become Emperor. Charles skillfully outmaneuvered most diplomats, and secured acceptance of the Pragmatic Sanction in 1713. Decades later, the accepted Pragmatic Sanction was breeched as Frederick II invaded Silesia. Frederick claimed that the 200 year old Treaty of Brieg granted Prussia the Duchy of Brieg. Frederick hoped to expose feminine weakness in Maria Theresa as a ruler. Other rulers soon followed Frederick’s lead, such as Bavaria’s Charles Albert who in turn claimed the Imperial throne. Maria Theresa was not weak, but she needed help, fast.

Prussia had long been at peace, but this did not mean she was weak. Frederick Willem I created one of the modern world’s first professional armies. He organized and drilled the Prussian military constantly, which meant they were ready for war at a moment’s notice. Other European armies still had to be levied from militias, which could take weeks to months to form and train. As a result, Prussia invaded Silesia with no opposition, and no opposition would arrive for months. Prussian military forces occupied all of Silesia, thus doubling Prussia’s size and natural resource capacity. Wisely, Prussian soldiers treated this newly occupied territory humanely. Though quartering was necessary, and done, those quartered troops did not loot, rape, and murder any of the Silesians.

Against the soon to die Cardinal Fleury’s wishes, Louis XV desired to enter this war. Louis had hoped, as did other monarchs, to cash in on Habsburg weakness. Fleury was not so sure Austria was weak. No matter, in 1741 France allied itself with the Anti-Austrian cause, which included Prussia, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, and other lesser states. Maria Theresa also had allies, powerful ones such as England, Russia, and the Netherlands. The Silesian War, as Prussia’s invasion was called, soon included the War of Jenkins’ Ear between England and Spain, and almost all of Europe’s nations. The war would not be contained to just Europe, but it was spread to the New World as well, where it became known as King George’s War. Louis, by the end, certainly should have listened to his former tutor, and now dead Prime Minister Cardinal Fleury.

 

>War of the Spanish Succession, Part 5 – Almansa and Malplaquet

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Marlborough’s victory at Ramillies opened all roads for his free passage. He continued to capture French fortresses well into 1707, with little to no opposition. His ally, Prince Eugene, followed up on Marlborough’s brilliant victories, and won many battles in Northern Italy – none more important than at Turin. France had lost Belgium, Italy, and borderlands. It had seen Bavaria beaten out of the war. Misery breeds misery, and Portugal was happy to add to French anxiety.

Portugal sent an army into the final French-held region, Spain. Marquis das Minas captured Madrid, and held the city for a few months. Phillip V received aid from one of James II’s illegitimate sons, the Duke of Berwick. Together Phillip and Berwick recaptured Madrid, but the Portuguese presence remained. A second invasion attempted to retake Madrid, but the Franco-Spanish armies engaged battle outside of Madrid at Almansa. The Earl of Galway led his force against Berwick, who masterfully employed field artillery against Galway’s cavalry. A route ensued, as Galway recovered much of eastern Spain for Phillip V. Galway moved further to take Valencia and other surrounding cities, thus strengthening the French claim on Spain. From this point onward, no major battles were engaged in Spain for war’s duration.

Louis XIV closely watched a developing conflict in Northern Europe. He had hoped to draw the Swedish into war on his side. This would have been a great boon to his army’s lagging morale, but because Louis persecuted the Huguenots, the Swedish King Charles XII, an avid Protestant, deplored Louis. Charles XII instead turned his attention toward Russia, and spurned Louis’ advances. Louis had no time to react, because Prince Eugene, working from a new power base, invaded Southern France. The French capably halted Eugene’s advance, but had to return focus to the north, as Marlborough began to move once again.

In 1708, Marlborough took advantage of further French military problems. This time the French commanders were at odds with one another. Notably, Louis XIV’s grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, and Louis’ main commander Marechal Vendome clashed. Burgundy did not want to engage Marlborough directly, Vendome did. Either way, Marlborough took advantage of French dalliance, and sent a strong force into France. Two battles raged, Oudenarde and Lille.

At Oudenarde Marlborough again proved supreme. He organized a series of flanking maneuvers that encircled the French who were beaten mercilessly. The only thing that saved France from total destruction was daylight, it ran out. Marlborough was now free to move on Lille, which he did, and successfully captured. Louis’ France was now in dire straits. Money was running out, and battlefield victories were nowhere to be found. Louis opened peace negotiations to end the war. Yet, such negotiations were not well received.

Louis offered Spain and its empire to the Allies. He wanted to keep Naples, Italy for France. Louis also offered to fund Phillip V’s expulsion, but on this point, negotiations ceased. The Allies demanded that the French be the ones to expel her own choice for Spanish Monarch. Louis would not do this to his own grandson. Instead, outraged, Louis chose to continue fighting. He campaigned to bring fresh recruits into an already large French army, and the plan worked.

Fresh recruits were desperately needed, and certainly realized in 1709. Marlborough tried to invade France three times. All proved nequient, and came at a high cost. Marlborough united with his ally Prince Eugene during one campaign as they advanced on Paris. French troops met the Allies at Malplaquet in September 1709. The French maintained a defensive posture following Marlborough’ dominance. Marlborough, however, moved to capture Mons, which Louis could not allow. Louis sent word to break defensive shackles and attack. His Marechal Villars did so on September 11, 1709. Throughout the course of battle a series of charges, defensive holds, counter-charges, and further defensive holds destroyed many lives. Marlborough proved to be successful by the standards of the day, because the French army left the battle by day’s end. Though the Allies won, they suffered severe losses, which mounted more than 21,000. The French lost just under 10,000. Regardless, the objective was met, and Mons fell in October 1709. Marlborough and his Allies could not build from this victory, because casualties were too immense. Politics would soon gnaw at the Allied success, and Marlborough’s victory at Malplaquet – the bloodiest battle of the war, and of the 1700’s – was his last. 1710 would see France find new success, though not overwhelming.

 

>Thirty Years’ War, Danish Phase

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With the rebellion crushed in Bohemian and the Austrias, the Rebel cause fled, taking with it their ideas and belligerent spirit. Protestants throughout Europe were wary of entering a general, large scale war. Many nations were already involved with their own internal and external conflicts. France had recently been involved in no less than nine civil wars, all centered upon religious strife between the Calvinist Huguenots and the Catholics. England was also trying to find stability post Henry VIII, as the religion question was also taking center stage. Sweden was involved in eastern wars, which kept their future involvement at bay. Many of the German electors had agreed under the Protestant Union meetings in 1621 not to carry on the conflict. An armistice was signed in April 1621 at Mainz. Frederick and his kingdom was forced into a cease-fire, and it was expected that Frederick would renounce his claim to the Bohemian throne. He refused, hoping rather to keep or take back his land by war rather than diplomacy. This refusal instigated Bohemia’s demise. Frederick’s appointed general, Mansfeld was, as previously illustrated beaten by the Catholic powerhouse Count Tilly and the Spanish General Spinola. Upon fleeing the Empire, and being beaten often, Frederick and Mansfeld found support from the Danish King Christian IV, also elector of Brunswick and Holstein.

Christian was one of Europe’s most powerful men at the War’s outset. He was rich through trade, diplomatically stable, and militarily powerful. His entrance into the War on the Protestant side, should have proved a major boon, instead, Christian’s entrance was a comedy of errors. Christian began helping both Frederick and Mansfeld, who were now both outlaws of the Holy Roman Empire. Because of Tilly’s overwhelming success against the Protestants, European diplomacy was now experiencing a dramatic shift, which should also have been a cause for Protestant optimism in spite of the pessimistic reality. Protestants were alarmed due to the extreme northwestern occupation held by Count Tilly’s armies. The Netherlands was concerned, because Habsburg forces surrounded her borders. England, began to support the Dutch with aid against what seemed to be a certain Spanish venture to retake the “heretic” Dutch. France, always wary of the Habsburg family, started to take steps leading toward Protestant support, in spite of the staunchly Catholic, Protestant murderer Marie de Medicis involvement. Marie and her mother Catherine orchestrated much bloodshed and turmoil in France, as Huguenots battled Catholics for decades. King Henry IV died leaving his young son, and Marie, to rule France. Henry was a notorious vacillator between religious positions, but his death plunged France into internal strife. It was not until Cardinal Richelieu was appointed in 1624, that France’s diplomatic ship was righted. Though Catholic, Richelieu was concerned with the growing Habsburg dominance. He openly began opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. With these concerns in mind, Christian of Denmark seemed ultimately destined for success.

Mansfeld was given money and support to raise a new army in 1624, but that army was never fully realized. Spain invaded The Netherlands at Breda, and new forces were demanded to beat back the Spanish venture. France, who was supporting the Dutch at Breda, oddly, would not allow Mansfeld’s army to pass into The Netherlands. The Dutch, also, would not let the army land by sea. Over time, the newly raised army died of disease or starvation, with the remaining soldiers entering Breda, as it fell to the Spanish. This blunder was an ill omen to future failures. England then began to organize a Scandinavian Alliance with Christian IV, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and Georg-Willem of Brandenburg. This “Grand Alliance” was preposterous, because for one, Christian and Gustavus Adolphus were recently involved in a war of their own, and also Georg-Willem could not trust the Scandinavians, because of their stated goal to create an empire in northern Germany. Gustavus demanded opulent terms for his entrance against the Catholics, Christian’s terms were less grandiose, so England appointed Christian as the new Protestant leader. Georg-Willem simply was not interested with England’s scheme. Christian was now given complete control of the Protestant cause, and free reign to involve himself in the Holy Roman Empire’s politics.

Christian’s claims in the north caused resentment and hatred amongst the other electors, who viewed Christian as an upstart. In spite of this, Christian and his supporters were given the Lower Saxon Circle’s approval as they elected him their director in 1625. With these newer alignments, Ferdinand appointed Albrecht Waldstein, “Wallenstein” to raise an army to succor Count Tilly. Wallenstein was not of the nobility, but he grew rich directly from plunder and pillage during the first phase of the war. He not only grew rich, but also accumulated opposition of his own. Wallenstein could be and was brutal, but his effective warring style was exactly what the Emperor desired. With a new, well trained and equipped army coming, Count Tilly received command to pass into Lower Saxony in July 1625. The Danish Phase of the War was now underway.

Tilly’s army was unstoppable as well as unbridled, leaving a massive path of destruction wherever they invaded. Wallenstein’s forces would only add to the magnitude of destruction, when he joined forces with Tilly later in 1625. Because of Tilly and Wallenstein’s overwhelming dominance, England, Denmark, and The Netherlands signed an open alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1625. Christian was reeling, and he needed more help desperately. England and The Netherlands, simply could not afford to supply men, so they supplied 350,000 florins a month instead. Soon enough, however, King Charles I of England would lose his money, support, and head as Civil War broke out between Protestants and Catholics on the home-front.

Christian then tried to break Tilly’s increasing dominance by sending two forces, one to Osnabruck, and one to Hesse-Cassel. Both were failures, and the venture within Hesse-Cassel cost Christian the life of his general, Halberstadt, who died of a fever. Further complications hindered the Protestant cause, as Mansfeld was spurning any agreement to work with the Danish. He moved across the Elbe river, and into close contact with Wallenstein’s forces, who controlled the region. At Dessau, Mansfeld wanted to occupy a bridge that would allow Wallenstein further passage into Saxony. Mansfeld proved no match for Wallenstein’s army as he reinforced it with artillery and more men. After a month of fighting, Mansfeld fled to Brandenburg, thus allowing Tilly free access northward, and further endangering Christian. Tilly completely destroyed Christian’s army at the Battle of Lutter in August 1626. Christian and Mansfeld’s armies from this point forward were struggling to stay alive. While fleeing Wallenstein, Mansfield and his successors died outside of Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina. With no competent leader, Mansfield’s remaining troops left the fray.

Other events also proved equally disastrous during this time. Bethlen Gabor of Transylvania and the Ottoman Turks were both forced out of the War, leaving Christian the only remaining Protestant threat by 1627. Wallenstein turned his bloody focus toward Denmark, and undertook a campaign that made him infamous. With no real opposition in his way, Denmark had to succumb to Wallenstein who captured all of Denmark except the capital on the island of Zealand. Wallenstein needed a navy, but no one would give it to him, as many began to oppose Wallenstein and his methods. Ferdinand was forced to recall his general, who went into retirement for the time being. Denmark was brought into negotiations, which ended the Danish Phase with the Treaty of Lubeck in 1629. Ferdinand’s power almost absolute in the Empire was now arrogantly on display. He issued the Edict of Restitution also in 1629, which stated that all previously Catholic, now Lutheran lands, were to be retaken, thus annulling the Peace of Augsburg. Even Wallenstein was outraged at such a declaration, and rightly postulated that such a foolish edict would bring Sweden into a new phase of the War. Within a few months, Gustavus Adolphus lent his aid to the Lutherans, and Wallenstein would need to be recalled from his retirement.

 

>Thirty Years’ War, Bohemian Rebellion

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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.

 

>Thirty Years’ War Introduction

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Though the entire world was not at war, all of Europe most certainly was at some point between 1618 and 1648. From a hindsight standpoint, this war was undoubtedly inevitable. Europe was emerging from a millennium of Catholic domination, and the “Barbarians” were now becoming, or were already, civilized. Much of what was destroyed in Ancient Rome had now resurfaced during the Renaissance. The Reformation, also springing to life during this emergence would prove to be the long, lit wick to massive gunpowder kegs.

Europe was largely governed by the political arm of the Catholic Church, the Holy Roman Empire. This Empire was hardly a true empire. It was more of a collection of regional German States, including various other provinces outside of present day Germany. Each of these kingdoms had rulers known as electors, because they would meet at a Diet, and elect a governing Emperor. Each King was sole ruler of his territory, but owed his allegiance to the Emperor. A close, but not precise example would be Governors of each State in the United States, and the President. Thus, the Holy Roman Empire, was much like a republic, without the people actually electing leaders. Depending on the kingdom, some of the people did have choices, and a voice to make those desires known. The greatest choices made during the 16^th to 17^th centuries centered upon religion. After Martin Luther’s challenge was laid down, many northern kingdoms followed Luther’s point of view. In the Catholic dominated southern states, no challenge was tolerated, therefore creating a split in the Holy Roman Empire. Eventually two kingdoms would emerge. The Habsburg family in Austria championed Catholicism, as Prussia rose to the Protestant cause. Certainly, the Thirty Years’ War is not that simple. Many political, religious, and military maneuvers occurred during this complex age, for instance Catholic France fighting for the Protestants.

Ever since Martin Luther’s stand against Catholic Rome, the Holy Roman Empire had to figure out ways to deal with the Protestants. Initially then Holy Roman Emperor Charles V wanted to destroy all Protestants, but he could not. He instead had to deal with another threat, Islam. For almost two decades Charles was fighting with the Ottoman Turks, eventually halting them at Vienna. Once this threat was satisfactorily stanchioned, Charles returned his attention to the other heretics. During those two decades, Lutheranism spread rapidly, and became organized. Charles may have been able to end all Lutheran hopes in the 1520’s or 1530’s, but by the 1550’s it was too late. Protestantism was a viable foe, and an agreement had to be made. At Augsburg, Germany an agreement was made, and a confession outlined this new Christianity. Lutheranism was now a recognized church in the Holy Roman Empire, much to Catholic ire.

Lutheranism spread northward into Scandinavia, as other newer ideas spawned from the Catholic foundation. John Calvin, the trained Catholic lawyer wrote his philosophical treatise The Institutes a year after he finished Law school in France. This was peppered with much Catholicism from Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and other prominent Catholic theologians/philosophers. But it did have a few notable differences, which were pulled from Luther’s previous statements. Both Calvin and Luther thought it necessary to read the Bible in common vernacular, something with Catholicism forbade to anyone. Calvin and Luther also, to differing degrees, believed that salvation was not determined by the Church, but by God. (Luther was closer to being correct than Calvin, according to the Bible). Calvin’s ideas, being closer to Catholicism, were more readily acceptable to questioning Catholic churchgoers. However, no provision was made to this Calvinism at Augsburg. The Catholic elite violently rejected Calvinist ideas and establishment, especially in The Netherlands and France (more on this in subsequent posts).

Religion was now overtly mixing with politics throughout Europe. Catholicism was losing control fast, but did not want to vacate such power without a fight. After all, the richest, most powerful families were Catholic, therefore the richest, most powerful countries were also Catholic by monarchical choice. Spain, still the most powerful country in the world during the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries, was involved in many religious/political conflicts that lead to the Thirty Years’ War. She tried to conquer England with the ill-fated Armada in 1588, was involved in a long conflict and ultimately lost The Netherlands (1560’s to 1609), and tried to create many alliances through marriage. France, though Catholic was involved in political/familial battles between the Bourbon and Habsburg families, not to mention the Guise, Stuart, and Medici. Scandinavian powerhouse Sweden was also interested in carving out an empire in Northern Germany. Many skirmishes were fought and subsequent treaties were signed forestalling the larger conflict, but by May 1618 peace was forsaken.

The first of four phases of war resulted from the succession of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias II. Matthias died without an heir to succeed him. Matthias moved to make Ferdinand II heir to the throne. Ferdinand, Jesuit trained, was violently Catholic. Protestants in Bohemia and Hungary knew Ferdinand’s background and intentions, and voiced opposition to Ferdinand’s accession to the Emperorship. Regardless, other Protestants backed Ferdinand, and he was elected to become Emperor once Matthias died. Ferdinand moved to consolidate his power over Bohemia by sending representatives to rule in his absence. These representatives, Vilem Slavata and Jaroslav Borzita, were forced to endure a mock trial upon arrival. After the trial, Slavata and Borzita were, according to legend, thrown from Castle Hradshin. They fell fifty feet into horse dung, but lived. With the attempted murder of the King’s regents, war could not be avoided. Thus, what became known as theSecond Defenstration of Prague brought Europe past the brink, and into war.