The Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, and France in the Thirty Year War, 1618-1648

Af Jochnick

• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781643501994
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

This book is about the section of the Thirty-Year War, relating primarily to the struggle between the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, and France. Jochnick analyzes the incentives and objectives of these three dominant entities in the war, their conduct, the impact of the War on other countries, the eventual peace treaty, and its consequences for all participants.

III

Sweden’s Campaign in the Holy Roman Empire, 1630—1635

A. British/French Negotiations

The British and the French put heavy pressure on Sweden and Poland to reach peace. They needed Gustavus to serve their purposes. Gustavus had reason to resent the emperor, who had sent troops to assist Sigismund. Gustavus felt Ferdinand’s involvement was one reason he had not succeeded in winning a decisive victory. The French/British negotiating efforts were successful and resulted in the six-year armistice at Altmark in 1629. It was very favorable to Sweden in confirming territorial gains at Poland’s expense. Sigismund also relinquished his claim to the Swedish crown.

Concerning the desires of the Western powers, the British were still focused on assisting Frederick to recover his status in the Palatinate. But their offer of support was totally inadequate. Richelieu wanted the Swedes to get involved in the battle in the empire, not to promote any particular religious position, but as a part of his program to restrain Hapsburg’s power. He did offer economic subsidies, the terms of which resulted in lengthy negotiations with Gustavus.

Gustavus was extremely concerned about Wallenstein’s march through the German coastal territories, subjugating Pomerania and Mecklenburg and securing their Baltic harbors for the emperor. The emperor, in fact, was so pleased with Wallenstein’s progress that he awarded him the title of Duke of Mecklenburg in 1627?. In a panic, Mecklenburg’s electors had appealed to Gustavus for help. Gustavus was sympathetic to their situation, but demanded that they enter an alliance with Sweden before he would get involved. They lacked the courage to act. So Wallenstein took the country, facing minimal resistance.

Then in the spring of 1629 Wallenstein turned toward Stralsund, an important old Pomeranian Hanseatic port. Wallenstein thought of it as the perfect staging place for the emperor’s Baltic fleet, of which he would be the admiral. This caused the first actual Swedish engagement in the Thirty-Year War. For once the Swedes and the Danes agreed, and both Danish and Swedish troops were sent to assist Stralsund. After a three-month siege, Wallenstein withdrew, the first failure in his multi-year campaign in Northern Germany and Denmark.

B. Gustavus’s Preparations

Gustavus realized that the emperor’s ambitions were such that Sweden had to take steps to resist them. The involvement at Stralsund was a beginning but clearly not enough. In February 1629, a meeting was arranged between Gustavus and King Christian of Denmark in Ulfsback, a town in Southwestern Smaland, close to the Danish border. According to the reports by Gabriel Oxenstierna, Gustavus tried hard, sometimes in a less than diplomatic manner, to convince Christian that joint Danish-Swedish action was the answer to deal with the emperor. Christian, made humble after his devastating defeat by Tilly, argued that a Danish-Swedish military force would never be strong enough to tackle Tilly’s and Wallenstein’s armies. All Gustavus’s arguments to the contrary failed.18 A short time following this meeting, Christian agreed to a humiliating, but surprisingly lenient, peace with Wallenstein and the Catholic League. Among other things, he agreed to provide no more support for Protestant forces in the empire.

Gustavus approached a few other potential allies in a war against Ferdinand and the Catholic League, in particular Betlem Garbot, the Ruler of Transylvania, a major Protestant holdout. However, Gustavus had no immediate success in these efforts. So he had to approach the Swedish Government and Parliament and advise that Sweden might have to deal with this difficult problem alone. In support of his proposal, he reportedly, told them, “If we do not take on the Emperor in Germany we will have to do it in Kalmar” (a Swedish port city).19

Sweden had been at war with Poland and Russia for almost fifteen years; nonetheless, the members of Parliament appreciated the urgency of the situation and gave Gustavus the support he needed. They did this although realizing that the war would put a heavy burden on the Swedish people including new taxes. Gustavus, in addition to his military talents, had strong administrative capabilities, and had, over the years, appointed competent assistants and advisors. The most important person was Axel Oxenstierna, the chancellor, about ten years older than Gustavus, who in effect served as prime minister. Oxenstierna came to be recognized among the leading European rulers as an outstanding administrator and leader. It was largely thanks to his efforts and skill that Sweden was able to persevere successfully in the war following Gustavus’s death.

While evaluation and preparation for an intervention in the war continued, Gustavus carried on negotiations with Richelieu concerning financial support and religious and other issues important to the two countries. An agreement was not reached until December 1630. It provided for French financial support but also included a commitment by Gustavus not to disrupt Catholic services in any entity within Ferdinand’s empire, which Swedish forces might occupy.

*****

AXEL OXENSTIERNA

Axel Oxenstierna was born in Uppsala in 1583. He entered government service at an early age and was an assistant to King Charles IX. Following Gustavus’s assumption of power in 1611, Oxenstierna became chancellor, in effect prime minister. Providing funds and supplies for Gustavus’s wars in Poland and Russia was one of Oxenstierna’s major responsibilities. During Sweden’s early involvement in the Thirty-Year War, he assisted Gustavus by administering some of the principalities conquered by Sweden. Following Gustavus’s death at Lutzen, Oxenstierna, as chancellor, came to run Sweden, as Gustavus’s only child, Christina, was only six, at the time. Oxenstierna created a sophisticated administrative system and established provincial borders in Sweden, which mostly still remain in effect. He guided Swedish peace negotiation at Osnabruck to a successful conclusion. Oxenstierna died in 1654, two months following the abdication of Queen Christina.

C. Gustavus’s Campaign and Its Objectives

Gustavus had made a strong case to the Swedish government and the Parliament as to why Sweden should send troops across the Baltic into Germany. What did he actually hope to accomplish? He had advised the government and Parliament of the aggressive action by the emperor’s forces along the Baltic coast, and about the emperor’s ambition to become a Baltic power. Concern for the struggling Protestant principalities within the Holy Roman Empire, was part of his case, but he was also looking for some gains for Sweden. Control of river outlets into the Baltic offered substantial revenues. Sweden had already reaped significant benefit from harbors, conquered from the Poles and the Russians. A venture into Mecklenburg and Pomerania could be expected to gain additional ports along the Baltic’s southern coastline. To accomplish these objectives, Gustavus eventually had to face the empire’s main forces and defeat them.

This venture was dangerous. Sweden was surrounded by rather hostile powers—Denmark in the south and Poland in the east. By 1630, peace prevailed with both of these countries, but to what extent could they be trusted to remain peaceful? Then there was the cost. Sweden was almost unique in those days in relying, as far as possible, on a national army. It consisted of Swedish citizens, primarily peasants, who were called in to serve.20 But to take on the Catholic armies, Gustavus had to increase his army by mercenaries. This was expensive and the cost would exceed what Sweden could afford. However, Gustavus was counting on financial support from the major Protestant principalities in Northern Germany as well as aid under the treaty with France.

In late June of 1630, Gustavus landed with around fifteen thousand troops at Stralsund in Pomerania. The Swedish forces moved quickly to secure the outlet of the River Oder into the Baltic and the city of Stettin, the capital of Pomerania. Even though Pomerania was a Protestant state, its ruler, Elector Bogislav, was reluctant to enter a pact with Gustavus. He feared retribution from Emperor Ferdinand. This fear was common among most of the Protestant rulers in Northern Germany following the ravages by the Catholic troops, particularly those belonging to Wallenstein. Few of the electors knew much about Gustavus. Following the dismal failure of the Danish king and his army, they had doubts about Gustavus’s ability to stand up to the consistently successful Catholic commanders. Nonetheless, Gustavus reached out to as many Protestant principalities and cities as possible. He wanted them as allies, to receive aid he needed. He also wanted to demonstrate that his campaign was not just a Swedish invasion but a joint Swedish and German effort to secure the rights of Protestants in the empire. In addition to financial support, other help such as food and residence for the troops, were welcome. Gustavus tried to formalize the relationship with allies by written agreements, but satisfying them would sometimes affect Gustavus’s strategic flexibility. It was important that such commitments did not impose excessive demands on available resources.

In the case of Pomerania, in the summer of 1630, the population of Stettin, the Pomeranian capital, demonstrated such strong enthusiasm for Gustavus and his army, that Elector Bogislav eventually had to agree with Gustavus’s proposition. An agreement was concluded granting Sweden the right to keep troops in Pomerania until all expenses of the Swedish campaign in the Holy Roman Empire had been paid. The next stop for Gustavus was Brandenburg, a major Lutheran state. While negotiating with George William, the elector and Gustavus’s brother-in-law, Gustavus proceeded along the River Oder to Frankfurt and from there to Berlin, Brandenburg’s capital. The immediate presence of Swedish troops was sufficiently intimidating to persuade George William to get off the fence and join the Swedes.

While facing these problems and frustrations, Gustavus received the unexpected gift of Wallenstein’s dismissal. As indicated above, the decision in this respect was forced on Ferdinand by Maximilian and few other electors in the meeting at Regensburg in 1630. After considerable hesitation, Ferdinand informed Wallenstein that he was fired. Would Wallenstein accept the order? He was the commander of a huge army that he recruited and trained, and which was far more committed to him than to the emperor. To Ferdinand’s great relief, Wallenstein accepted his dismissal with no complaints and no fresh demands. He simply returned to run his extensive estates, and his army was disbanded. The removal of such an accomplished opponent was a tremendous benefit to Gustavus. Nonetheless, the Swedes still faced the forces of the Catholic League, allied with Ferdinand and led by Tilly, the formidable commander, who had made short work of the Danes.

D. Magdeburg’s Destruction

Magdeburg was a free city within the Empire, with a population in 1830 of around thirty thousand, which made it one of the biggest such cities. Magdeburg, had adopted the Lutheran faith. Unlike most of the other Protestant principalities and free cities, its government had taken the brave step of entering an alliance with Gustavus. Because Magdeburg had a strategic location on the river Elbe, Tilly concluded that the city must be subjugated. In the spring of 1631, h...

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