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History 321: State and Society in Early Modern Europe: The Thirty Years War

History 321: State and Society in Early Modern Europe: The Thirty Years War. Questions. Why did Sweden invade the Holy Roman Empire? What explains Sweden’s initial success? What challenges did Sweden face?. Swedish Invasion. 1627: earliest consideration

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History 321: State and Society in Early Modern Europe: The Thirty Years War

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  1. History 321: State and Society in Early Modern Europe:The Thirty Years War

  2. Questions • Why did Sweden invade the Holy Roman Empire? • What explains Sweden’s initial success? • What challenges did Sweden face?

  3. Swedish Invasion • 1627: earliest consideration • April 1630: Swedish Council of State accepted Gustavus’ claim about Lübeck, 1629 • religious motive: to restore monasteries to Protestants? • “Gustavus did not intend this. Oxenstierna later admitted that religion was merely a pretext, while Gustavus said that if it had been the cause then he would have declared war on the pope” (p. 462)

  4. Swedish Invasion: Manifesto • Security • reduce the Emperor’s power • but no call for help from the Empire • German liberties for the peace of Europe • Satisfaction • territorial gain: Stralsund, Pomerania (20 July 1630) • Contentment of the army • “to make war at Germany’s expense” (p. 464)

  5. Swedish success • “Sweden possessed the technical expertise and manpower for its invasion, but not the resources to sustain it. Gustavus was gambling his country’s fortunes on the chance he could succeed where Christian of Denmark had failed and break south from his bridgehead” (p. 459) • alliance with France • alliance with German states • military conquest and assertion of power

  6. Swedish success • Alliance with France • Treaty of Bärwalde (23 January 1631) • France: 400,000 talers • Sweden: 36,000 troops in HRE • Sweden: no attack on Catholic League • Sweden: religious freedom for Catholics • a problem for France • Treaty of Fontainebleau (31 May 1631) • France: recognition of Maximilian I’s electoral title • France: defence of Bavaria against all enemies • Bavaria: no support for France’s enemies

  7. Swedish success • “Success depended entirely on the German Protestant princes who were now caught between the Swedish lion and the imperial eagle” (p. 465) • Gustavus to Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg (brother-in-law): • “I don’t want to be hear about neutrality. His grace must be my friend or foe” (p. 465). • Georg Wilhelm (1619-1640)

  8. Swedish success • Leipzig Convention (1630) • “not a call for holy war” • “not a confessional alliance” • “a neutral block” (40,000 troops) • Ferdinand II’s stubbornness: Edict of Restitution • caution of Protestant princes • initial support only from Christian Wilhelm: administrator of Magdeburg (1598-1631)

  9. Swedish success • the battle for Magdeburg • strategic importance for alliance with Protestants • Colonel Falkenberg • Gustavus’ invasion of Mecklenburg • fall of Frankfurt on the Oder (13 April 1631) • destruction of Magdeburg (20 May 1631) • “The disaster became a defining event in the war and did much to shape its subsequent interpretation as a benchmark for brutality” (p. 470).

  10. Swedish success • Ferdinand II cancelled Leipzig manifesto (14 May 1631) • new Swedish allies • Brandenburg (June 1631) • Hessen-Kassel (27 July 1631) • Saxony (12 September 1631) • after unsuccessful negotiations with Empire • after Tilly’s invasion of Saxony (5 September) • Johann Georg’s objective: • not religious war but pressure on the Emperor

  11. Swedish success • Battle of Breitenfeld (17 September 1631) • +7,000 dead • Swedish losses: 2,100 men • imperial prisoners • “Breitenfeld was the first major defeat of Catholic forces since the beginning of the war” (p. 475).

  12. Swedish success • more conquests 1631-32 • Erfurt (2 October) • Würzburg (15 October) • Frankfurt am Main (17 November) • Mainz (23 December) • Lower Palatinate • Mecklenburg

  13. Swedish success • assertion of power • allies • Saxony • invasion of Bohemia (1 November 1631) • agreement with Empire? • Hessen-Kassel • British support: 6,000 troops • Dutch Republic: “limited subsidies” (p. 480)

  14. Swedish success • assertion of power • Baltic Bridgehead • Stralsund, Pomerania, Mecklenburg • archbishopric of Bremen (1631)

  15. Swedish success • assertion of power • strategic bases • Erfurt, Magdeburg (1632) • Würzburg, Nürnberg (Franconia) • Mainz (Rhineland) • Frankfurt (lower Rhine) • Augsburg (Swabia) • relative religious freedom for Catholics • finance (p. 482) • French subsidies • contributions from German states, cities

  16. Swedish success • assertion of power • German collaborators “to raise and command troops” (p. 483) • relatively small armies (5,000 troops) that were not entirely reliable • minor Protestant princes (Wilhelm, Bernhard of Weimar) • compensation: “donations”  ecclesiastical properties at a price

  17. Swedish success • assertion of power • consequences for the imperial constitution • conquered territories = Swedish fiefs • allies: first allegiance to Swedish king • feudal dues • governors asserted “Swedish overlordship” (p. 486) • “…the clear direction of Sweden’s German policy was to usurp imperial authority and partition the Empire, restricting Habsburg influence to its hereditary lands” (p. 487)

  18. Swedish success • Imperialweakness • Tilly’s army: disorganized, “crammed into Bavaria” (p. 487) • Tilly’s death, 30 April 1632 • Catholic refugees (in Cologne) • “For most people, regardless of confession, the spread of the war brought disease, hardship, and uncertainty” (p. 488).

  19. Swedish success • Imperial weakness • “unable to rescue Catholic Germany” (p. 492) • Charles of Lorraine: his army could not disrupt Swedes (October 1631) • Spain: subsidies and more troops in Lower Palatinate • France: invasion of Lorraine • France: offer of protection: Mainz • Ferdinand recalled Wallenstein, December 1631 • “unconstrained military and plenipotentiary powers” (p. 492)

  20. Swedish success • military developments, 1632 • Imperial objective: secure Habsburg patrimony • Catholic League army: Bavaria, Westphalia • Swedish attack on Bavaria • Battle of Bamberg (9 March 1632): Imperial victory • Battle of the Lech (15 April 1632): Swedish victory • Gustavus’ entry into Munich (17 May 1632)

  21. Swedish success • military developments, 1632 • Battles in other regions • Steinau in Silesia (29 August, 4 September): Swedish victory • AlteVeste near Nürnberg (9 September): Imperial victory • Lützen in Saxony (16 November): Swedish victory • death of GustavusAdolphus

  22. Challenges for Sweden • Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna in charge • League of Heilbronn, 1633 • many German states • France • keep Sweden busy in Empire • support for Dutch • protect German Catholics • control Lorraine

  23. Challenges for Sweden • murder of Wallenstein (24 February 1634) • reasons • significance

  24. Challenges for Sweden • Swedish mutiny • orchestrated by officers • donations continued • Spanish intervention • Duke of Feria (governor of Milan) ordered to march north • relieved siege of Konstanz

  25. Challenges for Sweden • Spanish Intervention • Olivares’ plan • restore Spanish strength along the Rhine • obtain Imperial assistance against the Dutch • send more troops to assist the Empire with Cardinal Infant Fernando (Ferdinand) • cousin of Archduke Ferdinand (Ferdinand III, 1637-1657) • the two Ferdinands

  26. Challenges for Sweden • Spanish Intervention • Battle of Nördlingen (6 September 1634): Imperial victory • surrender of Württemberg (November 1634) • surrender of Heidelberg (November 1634) • French efforts • control of Philippsburg (September 1634) • lost to Imperial forces (January 1635) • proposal to exercise greater control of Heilbronn League: money, troops, restoration of Catholic worship

  27. Challenges for Sweden • loss of allies to Empire • Pirna talks, 1634-1635 • Saxony • Hessen-Darmstadt • other Lutheran states

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