A History of Germany Part 27

In this emergency, a new man presented himself. Albert of Waldstein, better known under his historical name of Wallenstein, was born at Prague in 1583. He was the son of a poor n.o.bleman, and violent and unruly as a youth, until a fall from the third story of a house effected a sudden change in his nature. He became brooding and taciturn, gave up his Protestant faith, and was educated by the Jesuits at Olmutz. He travelled in Spain, France and the Netherlands, fought in Italy against Venice and in Hungary against Bethlen Gabor and the Turks, and rose to the rank of Colonel. He married an old and rich widow, and after her death increased his wealth by a second marriage, so that, when the Protestants were expelled from Bohemia, he was able to purchase 60 of their confiscated estates. Adding these to that of Friedland, which he had received from the Emperor in return for military services, he possessed a small princ.i.p.ality, lived in great splendor, and paid and equipped his own troops. He was first made Count, and then Duke of Friedland, with the authority of an independent prince of the Empire.

[Sidenote: 1625.]

Wallenstein was superst.i.tious, and his studies in astrology gave him the belief that a much higher destiny awaited him. Here was the opportunity: he offered to raise and command a second army, in the Emperor's service.

Ferdinand II. accepted the offer with joy, and sent word to Wallenstein that he should immediately proceed to enlist 20,000 men. "My army," the latter answered, "must live by what it can take: 20,000 men are not enough. I must have 50,000, and then I can demand what I want!" The threat of terrible ravage contained in these words was soon carried out.

Wallenstein was tall and meagre in person. His forehead was high but narrow, his hair black and cut very short, his eyes small, dark and fiery, and his complexion yellow. His voice was harsh and disagreeable: he never smiled, and spoke only when it was necessary. He usually dressed in scarlet, with a leather jerkin, and wore a long red feather on his hat. There was something cold, mistrustful and mysterious in his appearance, yet he possessed unbounded power over his soldiers, whom he governed with severity and rewarded splendidly. There are few more interesting personages in German history.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

TILLY, WALLENSTEIN AND GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.

(1625--1634.)

The Winter of 1625--6. --Wallenstein's Victory. --Mansfeld's Death.

--Tilly defeats Christian IV. --Wallenstein's Successes in Saxony, Brandenburg and Holstein. --Siege of Stralsund. --The Edict of Rest.i.tution. --Its Effects. --Wallenstein's Plans. --Diet at Ratisbon. --Wallenstein's Removal. --Arrival of Gustavus Adolphus.

--His Positions and Plans. --His Character. --Cowardice of the Protestant Princes. --Tilly sacks Magdeburg. --Decision of Gustavus Adolphus. --Tilly's Defeat at Leipzig. --Bohemia invaded.

--Gustavus at Frankfort. --Defeat and Death of Tilly. --Gustavus in Munich. --Wallenstein restored. --His Conditions. --He meets Gustavus at Nuremberg. --He invades Saxony. --Battle of Lutzen.

--Death of Gustavus Adolphus. --Wallenstein's Retreat. --Union of Protestant Princes with Sweden. --Protestant Successes. --Secret Negotiations with Wallenstein. --His Movements. --Conspiracy against him. --His Removal. --His March to Eger. --His a.s.sa.s.sination.

[Sidenote: 1626. WALLENSTEIN.]

Before the end of the year 1625, and within three months after Ferdinand II. had commissioned Wallenstein to raise an army, the latter marched into Saxony at the head of 30,000 men. No important operations were undertaken during the winter: Christian IV. and Mansfeld had their separate quarters on the one side, Tilly and Wallenstein on the other, and the four armies devoured the substance of the lands where they were encamped. In April, 1626, Mansfeld marched against Wallenstein, to prevent him from uniting with Tilly. The two armies met at the bridge of the Elbe, at Dessau, and fought desperately: Mansfeld was defeated, driven into Brandenburg, and then took his way through Silesia towards Hungary, with the intention of forming an alliance with Bethlen Gabor.

Wallenstein followed by forced marches, and compelled Gabor to make peace with the Emperor: Mansfeld disbanded his troops and set out for Venice, where he meant to embark for England. But he was already worn out by the hardships of his campaigns, and died on the way, in Dalmatia, in November, 1626, 45 years of age. A few months afterwards Prince Christian of Brunswick also died, and the Protestant cause was left without any native German leader.

[Sidenote: 1628.]

During the same year the cause received a second and severer blow. On the 26th of August Christian IV. and Tilly came together at Lutter, a little town on the northern edge of the Hartz, and the army of the former was cut to pieces, himself barely escaping with his life. There seemed, now, to be no further hope for the Protestants: Christian IV.

retreated to Holstein, the Elector of Brandenburg gave up his connection with the Union of the Saxon States, the Dukes of Mecklenburg were powerless, and Maurice of Hesse was compelled by the Emperor to abdicate. New measures in Bohemia and Austria foreshadowed the probable fate of Germany: the remaining Protestants in those two countries, including a large majority of the Austrian n.o.bles, were made Catholics by force.

In the summer of 1627 Wallenstein again marched northward with an army reorganized and recruited to 40,000 men. John George of Saxony, who tried to maintain a selfish and cowardly neutrality, now saw his land overrun, and himself at the mercy of the conqueror. Brandenburg was subjected to the same fate; the two Mecklenburg duchies were seized as the booty of the Empire; and Wallenstein, marching on without opposition, plundered and wasted Holstein, Jutland and Pomerania. In 1628 the Emperor bestowed Mecklenburg upon him: he gave himself the t.i.tle of "Admiral of the Baltic and the Ocean," and drew up a plan for creating a navy out of the vessels of the Hanseatic League, and conquering Holland for the house of Hapsburg. After this should have been accomplished, his next project was to form an alliance with Poland against Denmark and Sweden, the only remaining Protestant powers.

While the rich and powerful cities of Hamburg and Lubeck surrendered at his approach, the little Hanseatic town of Stralsund closed its gates against him. The citizens took a solemn oath to defend their religious faith and their political independence to the last drop of their blood.

Wallenstein exclaimed: "And if Stralsund were bound to Heaven with chains, I would tear it down!" and marched against the place. At the first a.s.sault he lost 1,000 men; at the second, 2,000; and then the citizens, in turn, made sallies, and inflicted still heavier losses upon him. They were soon reinforced by 2,000 Swedes, and then Wallenstein was forced to raise the siege, after having lost, altogether, 12,000 of his best troops. At this time the Danes appeared with a fleet of 200 vessels, and took possession of the port of Wolgast, in Pomerania.

[Sidenote: 1629. THE EDICT OF RESt.i.tUTION.]

In spite of this temporary reverse, Ferdinand II. considered that his absolute power was established over all Germany. After consulting with the Catholic Chief-Electors (one of whom, now, was Maximilian of Bavaria), he issued, on the 6th of March, 1629, an "Edict of Rest.i.tution," ordering that all the former territory of the Roman Church, which had become Protestant, should be restored to Catholic hands. This required that two archbishoprics, twelve bishoprics, and a great number of monasteries and churches, which had ceased to exist nearly a century before, should be again established; and then, on the principle that the religion of the ruler should be that of the people, that the Protestant faith should be suppressed in all such territory.

The armies were kept in the field to enforce this edict, which was instantly carried into effect in Southern Germany, and in the most violent and barbarous manner. The estates of 6,000 n.o.blemen in Franconia, Wurtemberg and Baden were confiscated; even the property of reigning princes was seized; but, instead of pa.s.sing into the hands of the Church, much of it was bestowed upon the Emperor's family and his followers. The Archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg were given to his son Leopold, a boy of 15! In carrying out the measure, Catholics began to suffer, as well as Protestants, and the jealousy and alarm of all the smaller States were finally aroused.

Wallenstein, while equally despotic, was much more arrogant and reckless than Ferdinand II. He openly declared that reigning princes and a National Diet were no longer necessary in Germany; the Emperor must be an absolute ruler, like the kings of France and Spain. At the same time he was carrying out his own political plans without much reference to the Imperial authority. Both Catholics and Protestants united in calling for a Diet: Ferdinand II. at first refused, but there were such signs of hostility on the part of Holland, Denmark, Sweden and even France, that he was forced to yield. The Diet met on the 5th of June, 1630, at Ratisbon, and Maximilian of Bavaria headed the universal demand for Wallenstein's removal. The Protestants gave testimony of the merciless system of plunder by which he had ruined their lands; the Catholics complained of the more than Imperial splendors of his court, upon which he squandered uncounted millions of stolen money. He travelled with 100 carriages and more than 1,000 horses, kept 15 cooks for his table, and was waited upon by 16 pages of n.o.ble blood. Jealousy of this pomp and state, and fear of Wallenstein's ambitious designs, and not the latter's fiendish inhumanity, induced Ferdinand II. to submit to the entreaties of the Diet, and remove him.

[Sidenote: 1630.]

The Imperial messengers who were sent to his camp with the order of dismissal, approached him in great dread and anxiety, and scarcely dared to mention their business. Wallenstein pointed to a sheet covered with astrological characters, and quietly told them that he had known everything in advance; that the Emperor had been misled by the Elector of Bavaria, but, nevertheless, the order would be obeyed. He entertained them at a magnificent banquet, loaded them with gifts, and then sent them away. With rage and hate in his heart, but with all the external show and splendor of an independent sovereign, he retired to Prague, well knowing that the day was not far off when his services would be again needed.

Tilly was appointed commander-in-chief of the Imperial armies. At the very moment, however, when Wallenstein was dismissed, and his forces divided among several inferior generals, the leader whom the German Protestants could not furnish came to them from abroad. Their ruin and the triumph of Ferdinand II. seemed inevitable; twelve years of war in its most horrible form had desolated their lands, reduced their numbers to less than half, and broken their spirit. Then help and hope suddenly returned. On the 4th of July, 1630, Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, landed on the coast of Pomerania, with an army of 15,000 men. As he stepped upon the sh.o.r.e, he knelt in the sight of all the soldiers and prayed that G.o.d would befriend him. Some of his staff could not restrain their tears; whereupon he said to them: "Weep not, friends, but pray, for prayer is half victory!"

Gustavus Adolphus, who had succeeded to the throne in 1611, at the age of 17, was already distinguished as a military commander. He had defeated the Russians in Livonia and banished them from the Baltic; he had fought for three years with king Sigismund of Poland, and taken from him the ports of Elbing, Pillau and Memel, and he was now burning with zeal to defend the falling Protestant cause in Germany. Cardinal Richelieu, in France, helped him to the opportunity by persuading Sigismund to accept an armistice, and by furnishing Sweden with the means of carrying on a war against Ferdinand II. The latter had a.s.sisted Poland, so that a pretext was not wanting; but when Gustavus laid his plans before his council in Stockholm, a majority of the members advised him to wait for a new cause of offence. Nevertheless, he insisted on immediate action. The representatives of the four orders of the people were convoked in the Senate-house, where he appeared before them with his little daughter, Christina, in his arms, asked them to swear fealty to her, and then bade them a solemn farewell. All burst into tears when he said: "perhaps for ever," but nothing could shake his resolution to undertake the great work.

[Sidenote: 1630. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.]

Gustavus Adolphus was at this time 34 years old; he was so tall and powerfully built that he almost seemed a giant; his face was remarkably frank and cheerful in expression, his hair light, his eyes large and gray and his nose aquiline. Personally, he was a striking contrast to the little, haggard and wrinkled Tilly and the dark, silent and gloomy Wallenstein. Ferdinand II. laughed when he heard of his landing, called him the "Snow King," and said that he would melt away after one winter; but the common people, who loved and trusted him as soon as they saw him, named him the "Lion of the North." He was no less a statesman than a soldier, and his accomplishments were unusual in a ruler of those days. He was a generous patron of the arts and sciences, spoke four languages with ease and elegance, was learned in theology, a ready orator and--best of all--he was honest, devout and conscientious in all his ways. The best blood of the Goths from whom he was descended beat in his veins, and the Germans, therefore, could not look upon him as a foreigner; to them he was a countryman as well as a deliverer.

The Protestant princes, however, although in the utmost peril and humiliated to the dust, refused to unite with him. If their course had been cowardly and selfish before, it now became simply infamous. The Duke of Pomerania shut the gates of Stettin upon the Swedish army, until compelled by threats to open them; the Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony held themselves aloof, and Gustavus found himself obliged to respect their neutrality, lest they should go over to the Emperor's side! Out of all Protestant Germany there came to him a few petty princes whose lands had been seized by the Catholics, and who could only offer their swords. His own troops, however, had been seasoned in many battles; their discipline was perfect; and when the German people found that the slightest act of plunder or violence was severely punished, they were welcomed wherever they marched.

[Sidenote: 1631.]

Moving slowly, and with as much wisdom as caution, Gustavus relieved Pomerania from the Imperial troops, by the end of the year. He then took Frankfort-on-the-Oder by storm, and forced the Elector of Brandenburg to give him the use of Spandau as a fortress, until he should have relieved Magdeburg, the only German city which had forcibly resisted the "Edict of Rest.i.tution," and was now besieged by Tilly and Pappenheim. As the city was hard pressed, Gustavus demanded of John George, Elector of Saxony, permission to march through his territory: it was refused!

Magdeburg was defended by 2,300 soldiers and 5,000 armed citizens against an army of 30,000 men, for more than a month; then, on the 10th of May, 1631, it was taken by storm, and given up to the barbarous fury of Tilly and his troops. The city sank in blood and ashes: 30,000 of the inhabitants perished by the sword, or in the flames, or crushed under falling walls, or drowned in the waters of the Elbe. Only 4,000, who had taken refuge in the Cathedral, were spared. Tilly wrote to the Emperor: "Since the fall of Troy and Jerusalem, such a victory has never been seen; and I am sincerely sorry that the ladies of your imperial family could not have been present as spectators!"

Gustavus Adolphus has been blamed, especially by the admirers and defenders of the houses of Brandenburg and Saxony, for not having saved Magdeburg. This he might have done, had he disregarded the neutrality a.s.serted by John George; but he had been bitterly disappointed at his reception by the Protestant princes, he could not trust them, and was not strong enough to fight Tilly with possible enemies in his rear. In fact, George William of Brandenburg immediately ordered him to give up Spandau and leave his territory. Then Gustavus did what he should have done at first: he planted his cannon before Berlin, and threatened to lay the city in ashes. This brought George William to his senses; he agreed that his fortresses should be used by the Swedes, and contributed 30,000 dollars a month towards the expenses of the war. So many recruits flocked to the Swedish standard that both Mecklenburgs were soon cleared of the Imperial troops, the banished Dukes restored, and an attack by Tilly upon the fortified camp of Gustavus was repulsed with heavy losses.

[Sidenote: 1631. DEFEAT OF TILLY.]

Landgrave William of Hesse Ca.s.sel was the first Protestant prince who voluntarily allied himself with the Swedish king. He was shortly followed by the unwilling but helpless John George of Saxony, whose territory was invaded and wasted by Tilly's army. Ferdinand II. had given this order, meaning that the Elector should at least support his troops. Tilly took possession of Halle, Naumburg and other cities, plundered and levied heavy contributions, and at last entered Leipzig, after bombarding it for four days. Then John George united his troops with those of Gustavus Adolphus, who now commanded an army of 35,000 men.

Tilly and Pappenheim had an equal force to oppose him. After a good deal of cautious manoeuvring, the two armies stood face to face near Leipzig, on the 17th of September, 1631. The Swedes were without armor, and Gustavus distributed musketeers among the cavalry and pikemen.

Banner, one of his generals, commanded his right, and Marshal Horn his left, where the Saxons were stationed. The army of Tilly was drawn up in a long line, and the troops wore heavy cuira.s.ses and helmets: Pappenheim commanded the left, opposite Gustavus, while Tilly undertook to engage the Saxons. The battle-cry of the Protestants was "G.o.d with us!"--that of the Catholics "Jesu Maria!" Gustavus, wearing a white hat and green feather, and mounted on a white horse, rode up and down the lines, encouraging his men. The Saxons gave way before Tilly, and began to fly; but the Swedes, after repelling seven charges of Pappenheim's cavalry, broke the enemy's right wing, captured the cannon and turned them against Tilly. The Imperial army, thrown into confusion, fled in disorder, pursued by the Swedes, who cut them down until night put an end to the slaughter. Tilly, severely wounded, narrowly escaped death, and reached Halle with only a few hundred men.

[Sidenote: 1632.]

This splendid victory restored the hopes of the Protestants everywhere.

Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar had joined Gustavus before the battle: in his zeal for the cause, his honesty and bravery, he resembled the king, whose chief reliance as a military leader, he soon became. John George of Saxony consented, though with evident reluctance, to march into Bohemia, where the crushed Protestants were longing for help, while the Swedish army advanced through Central Germany to the Rhine. Tilly gathered together the scattered Imperial forces left in the North, followed, and vainly endeavored to check Gustavus. The latter took Wurzburg, defeated 17,000 men under Charles of Lorraine, who had crossed the Rhine to oppose him, and entered Frankfort in triumph. Here he fixed his winter-quarters, and allowed his faithful Swedish troops the rest which they so much needed.

The territory of the Archbishop of Mayence, and of other Catholic princes, which he overran, was not plundered or laid waste: Gustavus proclaimed everywhere religious freedom, not retaliation for the barbarities inflicted on the Protestants. He soon made himself respected by his enemies, and his influence spread so rapidly that the idea of becoming Emperor of Germany was a natural consequence of his success.

His wife, Queen Eleanor, had joined him; he held a splendid court at Frankfort, and required the German princes whom he had subjected to acknowledge themselves his dependents. The winter of 1631--32 was given up to diplomacy, rather than war. Richelieu began to be jealous of the increasing power of the Swedish king, and entered into secret negotiations with Maximilian of Bavaria. The latter also corresponded with Gustavus Adolphus, who by this time had secured the neutrality of the States along the Rhine, and the support of a large majority of the population of the Palatinate, Baden and Wurtemberg.

In the early spring of 1632, satisfied that no arrangement with Maximilian was possible, Gustavus reorganized his army and set out for Bavaria. The city of Nuremberg received him with the wildest rejoicing: then he advanced upon Donauworth, drove out Maximilian's troops and restored Protestant worship in the churches. Tilly, meanwhile, had added Maximilian's army to his own, and taken up a strong position on the eastern bank of the river Lech, between Augsburg and the Danube.

Gustavus marched against him, cannonaded his position for three days from the opposite bank, and had partly crossed under cover of the smoke before his plan was discovered. On the 15th of April Tilly was mortally wounded, and his army fled in the greatest confusion: he died a few days afterwards, at Ingolstadt, 73 years old.

[Sidenote: 1632. WALLENSTEIN RESTORED TO POWER.]

The city of Augsburg opened its gates to the conqueror and acknowledged his authority. Then, after attacking Ingolstadt without success, he marched upon Munich, which was unable to resist, but was spared, on condition of paying a heavy contribution. The Bavarians had buried a number of cannon under the floor of the a.r.s.enal, and news thereof came to the king's ears. "Let the dead arise!" he ordered; and 140 pieces were dug up, one of which contained 30,000 ducats. Maximilian, whose land was completely overrun by the Swedes, would gladly have made peace, but Gustavus plainly told him that he was not to be trusted. While the Protestant cause was so brilliantly victorious in the south, John George of Saxony, who had taken possession of Prague without the least trouble, remained inactive in Bohemia during the winter and spring, apparently as jealous of Gustavus as he was afraid of Ferdinand II.

The Emperor had long before ceased to laugh at the "Snow King." He was in the greatest strait of his life: he knew that his trampled Austrians would rise at the approach of the Swedish army, and then the Catholic cause would be lost. Before this he had appealed to Wallenstein, who was holding a splendid court at Znaim, in Moravia; but the latter refused, knowing that he could exact better terms for his support by waiting a little longer. The danger, in fact, increased so rapidly that Ferdinand II. was finally compelled to subscribe to an agreement which practically made Wallenstein the lord and himself the subject. He gave the Duchies of Mecklenburg to Wallenstein, and promised him one of the Hapsburg States in Austria; he gave him the entire disposal of all the territory he should conquer, and agreed to pay the expenses of his army. Moreover, all appointments were left to Wallenstein, and the Emperor pledged himself that neither he nor his son should ever visit the former's camp.

Having thus become absolute master of his movements, Wallenstein offered a high rate of payment and boundless chances of plunder to all who might enlist under him, and in two or three months stood at the head of an army of 40,000 men, many of whom were demoralized Protestants. He took possession of Prague, which John George vacated at his approach, and then waited quietly until Maximilian should be forced by necessity to give him also the command of the Bavarian forces. This soon came to pa.s.s, and then Wallenstein, with 60,000 men, marched against Gustavus Adolphus, who fell back upon Nuremberg, which he surrounded with a fortified camp. Instead of attacking him, Wallenstein took possession of the height of Zirndorf, in the neighborhood of the city, and strongly intrenched himself. Here the two commanders lay for nine weeks, watching each other, until Gustavus, whose force amounted to about 35,000, grew impatient of the delay, and troubled for the want of supplies.

[Sidenote: 1632.]

He attacked Wallenstein's camp, but was repulsed with a loss of 2,000 men; then, after waiting two weeks longer, he marched out of Nuremberg, with the intention of invading Bavaria. Maximilian followed him with the Bavarian troops, and Wallenstein, whose army had been greatly diminished by disease and desertion, moved into Franconia. Then, wheeling suddenly, he crossed the Thuringian Mountains into Saxony, burning and pillaging as he went, took Leipzig, and threatened Dresden. John George, who was utterly unprepared for such a movement, again called upon Gustavus for help, and the latter, leaving Bavaria, hastened to Saxony by forced marches. On the 27th of October he reached Erfurt, where he took leave of his wife, with a presentiment that he should never see her again.

As he pa.s.sed on through Weimar to Naumburg, the country-people flocked to see him, falling on their knees, kissing his garments, and expressing such other signs of faith and veneration, that he exclaimed: "I pray that the wrath of the Almighty may not be visited upon me, on account of this idolatry towards a weak and sinful mortal!" Wallenstein's force being considerably larger than his own, he halted in Naumburg, to await the former's movements. As the season was so far advanced, Wallenstein finally decided to send Pappenheim with 10,000 men into Westphalia, and then go into winter-quarters. As soon as Gustavus heard of Pappenheim's departure he marched to the attack, and the battle began on the morning of November 6th, 1632, at Lutzen, between Naumburg and Leipzig.