The Thirty Years War, 1618-1648: The First Global War and the end of Habsburg Supremacy

528 Pages·25.594 MB·English

by  John Pike

The Thirty Years War,
1618–1648
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The Thirty Years War,
1618–1648
The First Global War and the
end of Habsburg Supremacy
John Pike
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First published in Great Britain in 2022 by
Pen & Sword Military
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Yorkshire – Philadelphia
Copyright © John Pike 2022
ISBN 978 1 52677 575 7
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Contents
Introduction 1
Madrid and Vienna, two coup d’etat 1
The Defenestration of Prague 18 May 1618 7
Background to the Holy Roman Empire 8
Chapter I: The Naval and Economic Challenge to the Habsburg Imperium 15
The Ottoman challenges 19
Challenges within and without the Empire before 1600 20
New intellectual and religious challenge to Universal Christendom’s
political order 22
Nationalism and identity politics 24
The ‘perceived’ Habsburg threat 32
Civil war and the dynamics of intervention; fear, the security
dilemma, and balance of power 37
Chapter II: Habsburg Domains, Ferdinand and the Defenestration of
Prague 46
Internal development of Spanish politics, 1600–1621 46
Olivares 47
Olivares’s policy 51
Spain; financing, social and economic problems 52
Spanish politics and foreign policy, 1619–21 53
Defenestration of Prague 54
Ferdinand II 56
The Dutch economy 1600–1648: military-industrial complex 59
Chapter III: The Thirty Years War: Military developments in the Thirty
Years War 1618–1634 66
From Vienna to the White Mountain and the wars of the interveners 66
Wallenstein 73
Wallenstein and war finance 77
The grudging acceptance of the offer, 17 April 1626 78
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vi The Thirty Years War, 1618–1648
Chapter IV: Gustavus: the War in the Baltic 86
Gustavus Adolphus 86
Baltic War 93
Chapter V: The Emergence of France, the Edict, Wallenstein and the
Mantuan War 104
Richelieu’s policies and political developments, 1620–27 104
The Edict of Restitution 1629 111
Louis XIII 114
Cardinal Richelieu: Machiavelli’s disciple 117
Duchesse de Chevreuse 121
The concept of frontiers and contrasting world views of ‘devot’ and
Gallicans 122
The Mantuan War and the dismissal of Wallenstein 123
France, Italy, and the Huguenots and the development of French
foreign policy 127
‘Day of the Dupes’: Three in a room - Turning point in the fight
against Habsburg supremacy 128
Chapter VI: The Dutch Front and Naval War 133
The Dutch front 133
Naval War 136
Chapter VII: Gustavus Invades Germany 139
Enter Gustavus: Germany 1628–32 139
Swedish economy, military-industrial complex – sinews of war,
1600–1648 141
The Swedish army 144
Battle of Breitenfeld 1631 145
Gustavus’s march to the Rhine 150
Richelieu’s vexation with his maverick ally 152
Gustavus rampant 153
Chapter VIII: Wallenstein Returns and the Battle of Lutzen 155
The return of Wallenstein: Gustavus falls off the critical path 155
Götterdämmerung 157
Chapter IX: Wallenstein’s fall, Oxenstierna and the Peace of Prague 163
Oxenstierna takes power and the fall of Wallenstein 163
Spanish reaction to the Swedish occupation of the Rhine valley 165
Journey to Nordlingen May 1634–Sept 1634 168
Another Spanish army crosses the Alps, 1634 169
Wheel of fortune; The battle of Nordlingen, 6 September 1634 171
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Contents vii
Dutch campaigns 1633–4 and reactions to the Battle of Nordlingen 178
Dutch war financing 179
The war of Smolensk and the Swedish loss of Prussian tolls,
1632–1635 179
Oxenstierna’s odyssey, and the end of the Heilbronn League,
September 1634–May 1635 180
The Peace of Prague, 30 May 1635 183
Spanish policy and the progress of the Imperial armies 1634–5 185
Chapter X: France Declares War and the Dutch Alliance 186
Richelieu sends a herald to Brussels, 5 April 1635 186
Pre-emptive onslaught, Battle of Avin May 1635 187
Fault lines: Franco–Dutch campaign, summer 1635 189
The Rhineland 191
Rohan’s Swiss campaign, the Valtellina, 1635 191
Chapter XI: Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Defects and the Swedish
Army Mutiny 193
Recruiting Saxe-Weimar, 1635 193
The ‘Gunpowder Convention’ and the French alliance, August
1635–February 1636 195
Saxon disillusion and decline, 1635–6 197
The Hessian ‘long march’ 1636 and relations with the Dutch and
French 198
Imperial-Bavarian financing of war 1618–1648 200
Chapter XII: French Economic and Military Mobilisation 202
The French economy and war finance, 1618–1648 202
Social stress 207
War on the home front 209
French army and military efficiency 1635 209
France: Recruitment and officers and the changing role of Europe’s
nobility 211
State development and ‘absolutism’ 212
French nobility, constitutional crisis, role in warfare, and modern
military state 1629–1632 212
Richelieu’s regime of terror 213
Invasion of France: the year of ‘Corbie’, 1636 215
Rohan’s Swiss campaign and the Valtellina: 1636 218
Chapter XIII: Swedish Recovery and the Emergence of Hesse 220
The Dutch Front and the English Channel, 1636 220
Baner’s masterpiece: Swedish recovery 220
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viii The Thirty Years War, 1618–1648
Battle of Wittstock 4 October 1636 223
Death of Ferdinand II February, 1637 226
Ferdinand III 226
Baner’s campaigns 1636–1641 227
Campaigns in Europe 1637 228
Amelia of Hesse 230
Landgravine Amelia of Hesse holds out, 1637–1639 231
Chapter XIV: Saxe-Weimar Breaks Out and the Battle for the ‘Spanish
Road’ 234
Campaigns in Europe 1638 234
Dutch debacle at Kallo 22 June 1637 236
Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar 237
Battle of Rheinfelden, February 1638 239
Consequences of Rheinfelden and the serendipity of war, March
1638–April 1638 242
The Breisach campaign and siege, April–December 1638 243
The battle of Poligny 18 June 1638 and war in Franche-Comté 244
The battle of Wittenwier, 9 August 1638 245
Battles for the siegeworks October 1638 246
The surrender of Breisach, 17 December 1638 246
Cutting the Spanish Road: Consequences 247
Death of Saxe-Weimar, 1638–1639 248
England’s last eccentric intervention February 1637–October 1638 248
Chapter XV: Global War 250
Dutch and English attacks on Spain’s Empire 250
The Portuguese Empire and trading riches 256
The Habsburg Asian Empire 262
War in the Atlantic, South America and Caribbean 1618–1640 281
Fortresses on the Spanish Main 281
War in the Caribbean 1620–1641 284
Sugar and slaves 286
Bahia 1624–1625 289
The battles for El Mina and the Gold Coast 1600–1625 290
Luanda and ‘The Heart of Darkness’ 291
Mozambique and Mombasa 292
End of Imperium 293
Chapter XVI: Stalemate on Land; Dutch Supremacy at Sea and Prelude
to Revolution 294
The Pyrenees front 1637–1640 and siege of Salces 294
Military stalemate, Flanders and Germany, 1639 296
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Contents ix
Spain’s fleet 1630–1640 299
The Battle of the Downs, 18 September to 21 October, 1639 302
Dunkirkers: Spanish maritime raiders 1621–1646 305
Campaign in Germany 1640 and Amelia returns home 306
The Artois–Luxembourg front, the siege of Arras, 1640 306
Dutch campaign 1640 308
Regensburg Diet, Campaigns in 1641 and Baner’s last hurrah 309
Soissons rebellion, Battle of La Marfee, 9 July 1641 310
The Dutch-French land campaign, 1641 312
Chapter XVII: Iberian Revolutions and the Fall of Olivares 313
The revolutionary road: Catalan revolt May 1640 313
Revolution in Catalonia 1640–1642 314
The secession of Portugal, December 1640 316
Spain’s economic problems 1640s 318
The fall of Olivares, January 1643 319
Chapter XVIII: Origins of Peace 320
Origins of the Peace of Westphalia, 1640–1643 320
Sweden’s negotiating issues, pressures for peace, 1636–1642 322
Dutch moves towards peace, 1640–1646 323
Spain sues for peace, 1640 324
Bavaria’s need for peace, 1636–1640 324
The Emperor considers peace 324
France: Peace talks and revolt 1636–1639 325
Hesse and German supplicants at Westphalia 325
Other interests at Westphalia 326
Chapter XIX: Enter Torstensson and Mazarin, Italy and Habsburg
Exhaustion 327
Mazarin, the gambler 327
Mazarin’s progress to power 1634–1639 332
Savoy: a small state’s struggle for survival, 1635–1640 and the war
in Italy 333
Savvy Christina of Savoy and the war in Italy 1638–1641 334
De Campion’s transition into high politics and misdemeanours 336
The Cinq Mars affair, usual suspects, and the Death of Richelieu,
1642 337
French military and political triumph in Savoy 1641–1643 341
Interregnum, death of Louis XIII, Mazarin and Anne of Austria
consolidate power 341
Anne of Austria 342
Power struggle at court 344
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