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002 - Part 2 · History of the Thirty Years War

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Speaker 1: Part two of the History of the Thirty Years War,
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Speaker 1: Volume three by Friedrich Schuller, translated by Reverend A. J. W. Morrison.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Wallegus Davis
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Speaker 1: was thus extending his conquests along the main fortune, crowned
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Speaker 1: also the efforts of his generals and allies. In the
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Speaker 1: north of Germany, Rostock, Wismar and Domitz. The only strong
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Speaker 1: places in the Duchy of Mecklenburg which still sighed under
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Speaker 1: the yoke of the imperialists, were recovered by their legitimate sovereign,
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Speaker 1: the Duke John Albert, under the Swedish general A. Katius
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Speaker 1: tot in vain to the Imperial general Wolf Count von Mansfeld,
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Speaker 1: endeavored to recover from the Swedes the territories of Halberstadt,
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Speaker 1: which they had taken possession immediately upon the victory of Leipzig.
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Speaker 1: He was even compelled to leave Magdeburg itself in their hands.
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Speaker 1: The Swedish general Banner, who with eight thousand men remained
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Speaker 1: upon the Elbe, closely blockaded that city and had defeated
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Speaker 1: several Imperial regiments which had been sent to its relief.
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Speaker 1: Count Mansfeld defended it in person with great resolution, but
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Speaker 1: his garrison being too weak to oppose for any length
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Speaker 1: of time the numerous force of the besiegers, He was
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Speaker 1: already about to surrender on conditions when Pappenheim advanced to
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Speaker 1: his assistance and gave employment elsewhere to the Swedish arms. Magdeburg, however,
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Speaker 1: or rather the wretched huts that peeped out miserably from
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Speaker 1: among the ruins of that once great town, was afterwards
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Speaker 1: voluntarily abandoned by the imperialists and immediately taken possession of
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Speaker 1: by the Swedes. Even Lower Saxony, encouraged by the progress
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Speaker 1: of the king, ventured to raise its head from the
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Speaker 1: disasters of the unfortunate Danish War. They held a congress
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Speaker 1: at Hamburg and resolved upon raising free regiments, which they
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Speaker 1: hoped would be sufficient to free them from the oppressive
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Speaker 1: garrisons of the imperialists. The Bishop of Bremen, a relation
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Speaker 1: of Gustavus Adolphus, was not content even with this, but
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Speaker 1: assembled troops of his own and terrified the unfortunate monks
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Speaker 1: and priests of the neighborhood, but was quickly compelled by
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Speaker 1: the imperial general Count Grandsfeld, to lay down his arms.
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Speaker 1: Even George Duke of Lunenburg, formerly a colonel in the
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Speaker 1: Emperor's service, embraced the party of Gustavus, for whom he
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Speaker 1: raised several regiments, and by occupying the attention of the
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Speaker 1: imperialists in Lower Saxony, materially assisted him. But more important
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Speaker 1: service was rendered to the king by the Lngrave William
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Speaker 1: of Heskessal, whose victorious arms struck with terror the greater
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Speaker 1: part of Westphalia and Lower Saxony, the Bishopric of Fulda,
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Speaker 1: and even the Electorate of Cologne. It has been already
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Speaker 1: stated that immediately after the conclusion of the alliance between
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Speaker 1: the Landgrave and Gustavus Adolphus at Vermen, two imperial generals,
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Speaker 1: Fuger and Altringer, were ordered by Tilly to march to
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Speaker 1: Hesse to punish the Landgrave for his revolt from the Emperor.
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Speaker 1: But this prince had as firmly withstood the arms of
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Speaker 1: his enemies as his subjects had. The proclamations of Tilly
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Speaker 1: inciting them to rebellion, and the Battle of Leipzig presently
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Speaker 1: relieved him of their presence. He availed himself of their
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Speaker 1: absence with courage and resolution. In a short time vach
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Speaker 1: Munder and Hexter surrendered to him, while his rapid advance
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Speaker 1: alarmed the bishoprics of Fulda, Paderborne, and the ecclesiastical territories
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Speaker 1: which bordered on Hesse. The frightened states hastened by speedy
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Speaker 1: submission to set limits to his progress and by considerable
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Speaker 1: contributions to purchase exemption from plunder. After these successful enterprises,
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Speaker 1: the Landgrave united his victorious army with that of Gustavus Adolphus,
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Speaker 1: and concerted with him at Frankfort their future plan of operations.
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Speaker 1: In this city, a number of princes and ambassadors were
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Speaker 1: assembled to congratulate Gustavus on his success, and either to
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Speaker 1: conciliate his favor or to appease his indignation. Among them
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Speaker 1: was a fugitive king of Bohemia, the Palatine Frederic the Fifth,
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Speaker 1: who had hastened from Holland to throw himself into the
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Speaker 1: arms of his avenger and protector. Gustavus gave him the
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Speaker 1: unprofitable honor of greeting him as a crowned head, and
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Speaker 1: endeavored by a respectful sympathy to soften his sense of
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Speaker 1: his misfortunes. But great as the advantages were, which Frederick
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Speaker 1: had promised himself from the power and good fortune of
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Speaker 1: his protector, and high as were the expectations he had
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Speaker 1: built on his justice and magnanimity, the chance of this
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Speaker 1: unfortunate prince's reinstatement in his kingdom was as distant as ever.
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Speaker 1: The inactivity and contradictory politics of the English court had
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Speaker 1: abated the zeal of Gustavus Adolphus, and an irritability which
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Speaker 1: he could not always repress, made him on this occasion
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Speaker 1: forgives the glorious vocation of Protector of the oppressed, in
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Speaker 1: which on his invasion of Germany he had so loudly
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Speaker 1: announced himself. The terrors of the King's irresistible strength and
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Speaker 1: the near prospect of his vengeance had also compelled George
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Speaker 1: Langrave of Hesse Darmstadt to a timely submission. His connection
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Speaker 1: with the Emperor and his indifference to the Protestant cause
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Speaker 1: were no secret to the King, but he was satisfied
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Speaker 1: with laughing at so impotent an enemy as the Landgrave.
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Speaker 1: Know his own strength and the political situation of Germany
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Speaker 1: so little as to offer himself as mediator between the
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Speaker 1: contending parties, Gustavus used jestingly to call him the Peacemaker.
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Speaker 1: He was frequently heard to say, when at play he
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Speaker 1: was winning for the Landgrave that the money afforded double satisfaction,
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Speaker 1: as it was imperial coin. To his affinity with the
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Speaker 1: Elector of Saxony, whom Gustavus had caused to treat with forbearance.
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Speaker 1: The Landgrave was in debted for the favorable terms he
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Speaker 1: obtained from the King, who contented himself with the surrender
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Speaker 1: of his fortress of Russelheim and the promise of observing
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Speaker 1: a strict neutrality during the war. The counts of Westerwald
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Speaker 1: and Wetterran also visited the King in Frankfort to offer
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Speaker 1: him their assistance against the Spaniards and to conclude an
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Speaker 1: alliance which was afterwards of great service to him. The
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Speaker 1: town of Frankfort itself had reason to rejoice at the
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Speaker 1: presence of this monarch, who took their commerce under his protection,
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Speaker 1: and by the most effectual measures, restored the fairs which
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Speaker 1: had been greatly interrupted by the war. The Swedish army
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Speaker 1: was now reinforced by ten thousand Hessians, which the Landgrave
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Speaker 1: of cass commanded. Gus Davis Adolphus had already invested. Konigstein,
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Speaker 1: Kosteim and Florsheim surrendered after a short siege. He was
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Speaker 1: in command of the main and transports were preparing with
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Speaker 1: all speed it hausted to carry troops across the Rhine.
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Speaker 1: These preparations filled the Elector of Mentz and Selm Casimir
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Speaker 1: with consternation, and he no longer doubted but that the
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Speaker 1: storm of war would next fall upon him. As a
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Speaker 1: partisan of the Emperor and one of the most active
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Speaker 1: members of the League, he could expect no better treatment
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Speaker 1: than his confederates. The bishops of Wurzburg and Bamberg had
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Speaker 1: already experienced. The situation of his territories upon the Rhine
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Speaker 1: made it necessary for the enemy to secure them, while
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Speaker 1: the fertility afforded an irresistible temptation to an assess to
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Speaker 1: his army. Miscalculating his own strength and that of his adversaries,
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Speaker 1: the elector flattered himself that he was able to repel
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Speaker 1: force by force, and weary out the valor of the
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Speaker 1: Swedes by the strength of his fortresses. He ordered the
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Speaker 1: fortifications of his capital to be repaired with all diligence,
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Speaker 1: provided it with every necessary for sustaining a long siege,
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Speaker 1: and received into the town a garrison of two thousand
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Speaker 1: Spaniards under Don Philip de Silva. To prevent the approach
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Speaker 1: of the Swedish transports, he endeavored to close the mouse
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Speaker 1: of the main by driving piles and sinking large heaps
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Speaker 1: of stones and vessels. He himself, however, accompanied by the
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Speaker 1: Bishop of Worms and carrying with him his most precious effects,
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Speaker 1: took refuge in Cologne and abandoned his capital and territories
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Speaker 1: to the rapacity of a tyrannical garrison. But these preparations,
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Speaker 1: which bespoke less of true courage than of weak and
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Speaker 1: overweening confidence, did not prevent the Swedes from marching upon
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Speaker 1: Mentz and making serious preparations for an attack upon the city.
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Speaker 1: While one body of their troops poured into the Rheingal
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Speaker 1: routed the Spaniards who remained there and levied contributions on
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Speaker 1: the inhabitants, another laid the Roman Catholic towns in Westerwald
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Speaker 1: and Veterau under similar contributions. The main army had encamped
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Speaker 1: at Cassel opposite Mintz, and Bernhard, Duke of Weimar, made
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Speaker 1: himself master of them, a mausanterne and the castle of
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Speaker 1: Erenfels on the other side of the Rhine. Gustavus was
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Speaker 1: now actively preparing to cross the river and to blockade
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Speaker 1: the town on the land side, when the movements of
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Speaker 1: Tilly and Franconia suddenly called him from the siege and
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Speaker 1: obtained for the elector a short repose the danger of Nuremberg, which,
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Speaker 1: during the absence of Gustavus's dolphice on the Rhine, Tilly
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Speaker 1: had made a show of besieging, and in the event
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Speaker 1: of resistance, threatened with the cruel fate of Magdeburg, occasioned
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Speaker 1: the king suddenly to retire from before Metz, lest he
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Speaker 1: should expose himself a second time to their approach of
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Speaker 1: of Germany and the disgrace of abandoning a confederate city
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Speaker 1: to a ferocious enemy. He hastened to its relief by
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Speaker 1: forced marches. On his arrival at Frankfort, however, he heard
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Speaker 1: of its spirited resistance and of the retreat of Tilly,
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Speaker 1: and lost not a moment in prosecuting his designs against Metz.
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Speaker 1: Failing in an attempt to cross the Rhine at Cassel
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Speaker 1: under the cannon of the besiege, he directed his march
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Speaker 1: toward the Bergstrasse, with a view of approaching the town
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Speaker 1: from an opposite quarter. Here he quickly made himself master
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Speaker 1: of all the places of importance, and at Stockstot, between
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Speaker 1: Gernsheim and Oppenheim, appeared a second time upon the banks
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Speaker 1: of the Rhine. The whole of the Bergstrasse was abandoned
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Speaker 1: by the Spaniards, who endeavored obstinately to defend the other
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Speaker 1: bank of the river. For this purpose they had burned
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Speaker 1: or sunk all the vessels in the neighborhood and arranged
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Speaker 1: a formidable force on the banks in case the king
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Speaker 1: should attempt the passage at that place. On this occasion,
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Speaker 1: the king's impetuosity exposed him to great danger of falling
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Speaker 1: into the hands of the enemy. In order to reconnoiter
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Speaker 1: the opposite bank, he crossed the river in a small boat.
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Speaker 1: He had scarcely landed when he was attacked by a
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Speaker 1: party of Spanish horse, from whose hands he only saved
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Speaker 1: himself by a precipitate retreat. Having at last, with the
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Speaker 1: assistance of the neighboring fisherman, succeeded in procuring a few transports,
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Speaker 1: he dispatched two of them across the river bearing Count
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Speaker 1: Bray and three hundred Swedes. Scarcely had this officer time
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Speaker 1: to intrench himself on the opposite bank when he was
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Speaker 1: attacked by fourteen squadrons of Spanish dragoons and crossier superior.
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Speaker 1: As the enemy was in number, Count Bray, with his
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Speaker 1: small force, bravely defended himself and gained time for the
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Speaker 1: king to support him with fresh troops. The Spaniards at
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Speaker 1: last retired with the loss of six hundred men, some
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Speaker 1: taking refuge in Oppenheim and others in Mintz. A lion
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Speaker 1: of marble on a high pillar holding a naked sword
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Speaker 1: in its paw and a helmet on its head, was
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Speaker 1: erected seventy years after the event to point out to
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Speaker 1: the traveler the spot where the immortal monarch crossed the
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Speaker 1: Great River of Germany. Because Davis Adolphus now conveyed his
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Speaker 1: artillery and the greater part of his troops over the
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Speaker 1: river and laid siege to Oppenheim, which, after a braver's
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Speaker 1: issation since was on the eighth December sixteen thirty one,
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Speaker 1: carried by storm, five hundred Spaniards, who had so courageously
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Speaker 1: defended the place, fell indiscriminately a sacrifice to the fury
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Speaker 1: of the Swedes. The crossing of the Rhine by Gustavus
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Speaker 1: struck terror into the Spaniards and Lorrainers, who had thought
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Speaker 1: themselves protected by the river from the vengeance of the Swedes.
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Speaker 1: Rapid flight was now their only security. Every place incapable
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Speaker 1: of an effectual defense was immediately abandoned. After a long
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Speaker 1: train of outrages on the defenseless citizens, the troops of
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Speaker 1: Lorraine evacuated worms, which before their departure they treated with
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Speaker 1: wanton cruelty. The Spaniards hastened to shut themselves up in Frankenthal,
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Speaker 1: where they hoped to defy the victorious arms of Gustavus.
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Speaker 1: At Dolphice. The king lost no time in prosecuting his
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Speaker 1: designs against mints, into which the flower of the Spanish
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Speaker 1: troops had thrown themselves. While he advanced on the left
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Speaker 1: bank of the Rhine, the of Hesqussal moved forward on
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Speaker 1: the other, reducing several strong places on his march. The
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Speaker 1: besieged Spaniards, though hemmed in on both sides, displayed at
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Speaker 1: first a bold determination and threw for several days a
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Speaker 1: shower of bombs into the Swedish camp, which cost the
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Speaker 1: king many of his bravest soldiers. But notwithstanding, the Swedes
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Speaker 1: continually gained ground and had at last advanced so close
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Speaker 1: to the ditch that they prepared seriously for storming the place.
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Speaker 1: The courage of the besiege now began to droop. They
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Speaker 1: trembled before the furious impetuosity of the Swedish soldiers, of
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Speaker 1: which Marienberg in Wurzburg had afforded so fearful an example.
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Speaker 1: The same dreadful fate awaited mince if taken by storm,
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Speaker 1: and the enemy might even be easily tempted to revenge
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Speaker 1: the carnage of Magdeburg on this rich and magnificent residence
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Speaker 1: of a Roman Catholic prince. To save the day rather
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Speaker 1: than their own lives, the Spanish garrison capitulated on the
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Speaker 1: fourth day and obtained from the magnanimity of Gustavus a
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Speaker 1: safe conduct to Luxembourg. The greater part of them, however,
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Speaker 1: following the example of many others enlisted in the service
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Speaker 1: of Sweden, on the thirteenth December sixteen thirty one, the
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Speaker 1: king made his entry into the conquered town and fixed
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Speaker 1: his quarters in the Palace of the Elector, eighty pieces
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Speaker 1: of cannon fell into his hands, and the citizens were
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Speaker 1: obliged to redeem their property from pillage by a payment
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Speaker 1: of eighty thousand florins. The benefits of this redemption did
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Speaker 1: not extend the Jews and the clergy, who were obliged
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Speaker 1: to make large and separate contributions for themselves. The library
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Speaker 1: of the Elector was seized by the king as his
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Speaker 1: share and presented by him to his chancellor, Oxensteern, who
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Speaker 1: intended it for the Academy of Westeraarah, but the vessel
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Speaker 1: in which it was shipped to Sweden foundered at sea.
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Speaker 1: After the loss of Mentz, misfortunes still pursued the Spaniards
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Speaker 1: on the Rhine. Shortly before the capture of that city,
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Speaker 1: the landgrave of Hesqussal had taken Falkenstein and Reifenberg, and
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Speaker 1: the fortress of Konigstein surrendered to the Hessians. The rhinegrave
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Speaker 1: Otto Luis, one of the king's generals, defeated nine Spanish
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Speaker 1: squadrons who were on their march for Frankenthal, and made
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Speaker 1: himself master of the most important towns upon the Rhine,
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Speaker 1: from Beaupart to Bacharach. After the capture of the fortress
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Speaker 1: of Braunfels, which was affected by the Count of Wetterau.
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Speaker 1: With the cooperation of the Swedes, the Spaniards quickly lost
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Speaker 1: every place in Wetterau, while in the Palatinate they retained
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Speaker 1: few places besides Frankenthal, Landau and Croviesenberg openly declared for
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Speaker 1: the Swedes. Spires offered troops for the king's service. Mannheim
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Speaker 1: was gained to the prudence of the Duke Bernard of
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Speaker 1: Weimar and the negligence of its governor, who, for his
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Speaker 1: misconduct was tried before the Council of War at Heidelberg
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Speaker 1: and beheaded. The king had protracted the campaign into the
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Speaker 1: depth of winter, and the severity of the season were
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Speaker 1: perhaps one cause of the advantage his soldiers gained over
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Speaker 1: those of the enemy. But the exhausted troops now stood
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Speaker 1: in need of the repose of winter quarters, which after
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Speaker 1: the surrender of Mentz Gustavus assigned to them in its neighborhood.
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Speaker 1: He himself enjoyed the interval of inactivity in the field,
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Speaker 1: which the season of the year enjoined in arranging with
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Speaker 1: his chancellor the affairs of his cabinet entreating for a
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Speaker 1: neutrality with some of his enemies, and adjusting some political
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Speaker 1: disputes which had sprung up with a neighboring ally, he
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Speaker 1: chose the city of Mentz for his winter quarters and
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Speaker 1: the settlement of these state affairs, and showed a greater
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Speaker 1: partiality for this town that seemed consistent with the interests
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Speaker 1: of the German princes or the shortness of his visit
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Speaker 1: to the Empire. Not content with strongly fortifying it, he
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Speaker 1: erected at the opposite angle from which the Main forms
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Speaker 1: with the Rhine, a new citadel, which was named Gustavsburg
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Speaker 1: from its founder, but which is better than under the
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Speaker 1: title of Faffenrube or Faffensang footnote priest's plunder, alluding to
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Speaker 1: the means by which the expense of its erection had
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Speaker 1: been defrayed in footnote. While Gustavis Adolphus made himself master
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Speaker 1: of the Rhine and threatened the three neighboring electorates with
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Speaker 1: his victorious arms, his vigilant enemies in Paris and Saint
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Speaker 1: Germain made use of every artifice to deprive him of
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Speaker 1: the support of France, and if possible, to involve him
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Speaker 1: in a war with that power. By his sudden and
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Speaker 1: equivocal march to the Rhine, he had surprised his friends
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Speaker 1: and furnished his enemies with the means of exciting a
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Speaker 1: distrust of his intentions. After the conquest of Wurtzburg and
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Speaker 1: of the greater part of Franconia, the path into Bavaria
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Speaker 1: and Austria lay open to him through Bamberg and the
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Speaker 1: Upper Palatinate, and the expectation was as general as it
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Speaker 1: was natural, that he would not delay to attack the
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Speaker 1: Emperor and the Duke of Bavaria and the center of
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Speaker 1: their power, and by the reduction of his two principal enemies,
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Speaker 1: bring the war immediately to an end. But to the
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Speaker 1: surprise of both parties, Gustavus left the path which general
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Speaker 1: expectation had thus marked out for him, and instead of
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Speaker 1: advancing to the right, turned to the left to make
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Speaker 1: the less important and more innocent princes of the Rhine
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Speaker 1: feel his power, while he gave time to his more
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Speaker 1: formidable opponents to recruit their strength. Nothing but the paramount
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Speaker 1: design of reinstating the unfortunate Palatine Frederick the Fifth in
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Speaker 1: the possession of his territories by the expulsion of the
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Speaker 1: Spaniards could seem to account for this strange step, and
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Speaker 1: the belief that Gustavus was about to effect that restoration
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Speaker 1: silenced for a while the suspicions of his friends and
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Speaker 1: the calumnies of his enemies. But the Lower Palatinate was
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Speaker 1: now almost entirely cleared of the enemy, and yet Gustavus
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Speaker 1: continued to form new schemes of conquest on the Rhine
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Speaker 1: and to withhold the reconquered country from the Palatine and
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Speaker 1: its rightful owner. In vain did the English ambassador remind
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Speaker 1: him of what justice demanded and what his own solemn
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Speaker 1: engagement made a duty of honor cause. Davis replied to
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Speaker 1: these demands with bitter complaints of the inactivity of the
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Speaker 1: English court, and prepared to carry his victorious standard into
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Speaker 1: Alsace and even into Lorraine. In his trust of the
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Speaker 1: Spanish monarch was now loud and open, while the malice
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Speaker 1: of his enemies busily circulated the most injurious reports as
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Speaker 1: to his intentions. Richelieu, the minister of Louis the thirteenth,
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Speaker 1: had long witnessed with anxiety the king's progress toward the
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Speaker 1: French frontier, and the suspicious temper of Louis rendered him
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Speaker 1: but too accessible to the evil surmises which the occasion
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Speaker 1: gave rise to. France was at this time involved in
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Speaker 1: a civil war with her Protestant subjects, and the fear
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Speaker 1: was not altogether groundless that the approach of a victorious
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Speaker 1: monarch of their party might revive their drooping spirit and
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Speaker 1: encourage them to a more dea desperate resistance. This might
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Speaker 1: be the case even if Gustavus Adolphus was far from
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Speaker 1: showing a disposition to encourage them or to act unfaithfully
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Speaker 1: towards his ally the King of France, but the vindictive
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Speaker 1: Bishop of Wurtzburg, who was anxious to avenge the loss
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Speaker 1: of his dominions, the invented rhetoric of the Jesuits and
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Speaker 1: the active zeal of the Bavarian Minister, represented this dreaded
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Speaker 1: alliance between the Huguenots and the Swedes as an undoubted fact,
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Speaker 1: and filled the timid mind of Louis with the most
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Speaker 1: alarming fears. Not merely chimerical politicians, but many of the
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Speaker 1: best informed Roman Catholics fully believed that the king was
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Speaker 1: on the point of breaking into the heart of France
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Speaker 1: to make common cause with the Huguenots and to overturn
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Speaker 1: the Catholic religion within the Kingdom. Fanatical Zealots already saw
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Speaker 1: him with his army crossing the Alps and dethroning the
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Speaker 1: vice region of Christ in Italy. Such reports, no doubt
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Speaker 1: soon refused themselves. Yet it cannot be he denied that Gustavus,
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Speaker 1: by his maneuvers on the Rhine, gave a dangerous handle
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Speaker 1: to the malice of his enemies, and in some measure
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Speaker 1: justified the suspicion that he directed his arms not so
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Speaker 1: much against the Emperor and the Duke of Bavaria as
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Speaker 1: against the Roman Catholic religion itself. The general clamor of
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Speaker 1: discontent which the Jesuits raised in all the Catholic courts
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Speaker 1: against the alliance between France and the enemy of the Church,
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Speaker 1: at last compelled Cardinal Richelieu to take a decisive step
21:29
Speaker 1: for the security of his religion, and at once to
21:33
Speaker 1: convince the Roman Catholic world of the zeal of France
21:36
Speaker 1: and of the selfish policy of the ecclesiastical states of Germany.
21:40
Speaker 1: Convinced that the views of the King of Sweden, like
21:43
Speaker 1: his own, aimed solely at the humiliation of the power
21:46
Speaker 1: of Austria. He hesitated not to promise to the princes
21:49
Speaker 1: of the League on the part of Sweden a complete neutrality.
21:53
Speaker 1: Immediately they abandoned their alliance with the Emperor and withdrew
21:56
Speaker 1: their troops. Whatever the resolution these princes should adopt, Richelieu
22:01
Speaker 1: would equally attain his object. By their separation from the
22:04
Speaker 1: Austrian intent, Ferdinand would be exposed to the combined attack
22:08
Speaker 1: of France and Sweden, and Gustavus, in office, freed from
22:12
Speaker 1: his other enemies in Germany, would be able to direct
22:14
Speaker 1: his undivided force against the hereditary dominions of Austria. In
22:19
Speaker 1: that event, the fall of Austria was inevitable, and this
22:23
Speaker 1: great object of Richelieu's policy would be gained without injury
22:26
Speaker 1: to the Church. If, on the other hand, the princes
22:29
Speaker 1: of the League persisted in their opposition and adhere to
22:32
Speaker 1: the Austrian alliance, the result would indeed be more doubtful,
22:36
Speaker 1: but still France would have sufficiently proved to all Europe
22:40
Speaker 1: the sincerity of her attachment to the Catholic cause and
22:43
Speaker 1: performed her duty as a member of the Roman Church.
22:47
Speaker 1: The princes of the League would then appear the sole
22:50
Speaker 1: authors of those evils which the continuance of the war
22:53
Speaker 1: would unavoidably bring upon the Roman Catholics of Germany. They alone,
22:58
Speaker 1: by their willful and obstinate adherence to the Emperor, would
23:01
Speaker 1: frustrate the measures employed for their own protection, involve the
23:05
Speaker 1: Church in danger and themselves in ruin. Richelieu pursued this
23:09
Speaker 1: plan with greater zeal, the more he was embarrassed by
23:12
Speaker 1: the repeated demands of the Elector of Bavaria for assistance
23:15
Speaker 1: from France. For this Prince, as already stated, when he
23:19
Speaker 1: first began to entertain suspicions of the Emperor, entered immediately
23:23
Speaker 1: into a secret alliance with France, by which, in the
23:26
Speaker 1: event of any change in the Emperor's sentiments, he hoped
23:30
Speaker 1: to secure the possession of the Palatinate. But though the
23:34
Speaker 1: origin of the treaty clearly showed against what enemy was directed,
23:38
Speaker 1: Maximilian now thought proper to make use of it against
23:41
Speaker 1: the King of Sweden, and did not hesitate to demand
23:44
Speaker 1: from France that assistance against her ally which she had
23:48
Speaker 1: simply promised against Austria. Richelieu, embarrassed by this conflicting alliance
23:53
Speaker 1: with two hostile powers had no resource left but to
23:57
Speaker 1: endeavor to put a speedy termination to their hostilities, and
24:01
Speaker 1: as little inclined to sacrifice Bavaria as he was disabled
24:05
Speaker 1: by his treaty with Sweden from assisting it, he set
24:08
Speaker 1: himself with all diligence to bring about a neutrality as
24:11
Speaker 1: the only means fulfilling his obligations to both. For this purpose,
24:16
Speaker 1: the Marquis of Brez was sent as his plenty potentiary
24:21
Speaker 1: to the King of Sweden at Mentz, to learn his
24:23
Speaker 1: sentiments on this point and to procure from him favorable
24:27
Speaker 1: conditions for the allied princes. But if Louis the thirteenth
24:31
Speaker 1: had powerful motives for wishing for this neutrality, Gustavus Adolphus
24:35
Speaker 1: had as grave reasons for desiring the contrary. Convinced by
24:39
Speaker 1: numerous proofs that the hatred of the princes of the
24:42
Speaker 1: League to the Protestant religion was invincible, their aversion to
24:46
Speaker 1: the foreign power of the Swedes inextinguishable, and their attachment
24:50
Speaker 1: to the House of Austria irrevocable, he apprehended less danger
24:54
Speaker 1: from their open hostility than from a neutrality, which was
24:57
Speaker 1: so little in unison with their real incline and moreover,
25:02
Speaker 1: as he was constrained to carry on the war in
25:04
Speaker 1: Germany at the expense of the enemy, he manifestly sustained
25:08
Speaker 1: great loss if he diminished their number without increasing that
25:12
Speaker 1: of his friends. He was not surprising, therefore, if Gustavus
25:16
Speaker 1: evinced little inclination to purchase the neutrality of the League,
25:20
Speaker 1: by which he was likely to gained so little at
25:23
Speaker 1: the expense of the advantages, he had already obtained. The
25:26
Speaker 1: conditions accordingly upon which he offered to adopt the neutrality
25:31
Speaker 1: towards Bavaria were severe and suited to these views. He
25:35
Speaker 1: required of the whole League a full and entire cessation
25:38
Speaker 1: from all hostilities, the recall of their troops from the
25:41
Speaker 1: Imperial Army, from the conquered towns and from all the
25:45
Speaker 1: Protestant countries, the reduction of their military force, the exclusion
25:50
Speaker 1: of the Imperial armies from their territories and from supplies
25:54
Speaker 1: either of men, provisions, or ammunition. Hard as the conditions were,
25:59
Speaker 1: which the victory thus imposed upon the vanquished, the French
26:02
Speaker 1: mediator flattered himself that he should be able to induce
26:06
Speaker 1: the Elector of Bavaria to accept them, in order to
26:09
Speaker 1: give time for an accommodation. Gustavus had agreed to a
26:13
Speaker 1: cessation of hostilities for a fortnight. But at the very
26:16
Speaker 1: time when this monarch was receiving from the French agents
26:20
Speaker 1: repeated assurances of the favorable progress of the negotiation, an
26:24
Speaker 1: intercepted letter from the Elector to Poppenheim, the Imperial general
26:28
Speaker 1: in Westphalia, revealed the perfidy of that prince as having
26:32
Speaker 1: no other object in view by the whole negotiation than
26:36
Speaker 1: to gain time for his measures of defense. Far from
26:40
Speaker 1: intending to fetter his military operations by a truce with Sweden,
26:44
Speaker 1: the artful Prince hastened his preparations and employed the leisure
26:48
Speaker 1: which his enemy afforded him in making the most active
26:51
Speaker 1: dispositions for resistance. The negotiation, accordingly failed and served only
26:57
Speaker 1: to increase the animosity of the Bavarians and Ns Sedes.
27:01
Speaker 1: Tilly's augmented force, with which he threatened over on Franconia,
27:05
Speaker 1: urgently required the king's presence in that circle. But it
27:09
Speaker 1: was necessary to expel previously the Spaniards from the Rhine
27:13
Speaker 1: and to cut off their means of invading Germany from
27:15
Speaker 1: the Netherlands. With this view, Gustavus Adolphus had made an
27:19
Speaker 1: offer of neutrality to the Elector of Treves, Philip von Zeltern,
27:24
Speaker 1: on condition that the fortress of Hermenstein should be delivered
27:28
Speaker 1: up to him and a free passage granted to his
27:30
Speaker 1: troops through Koblets. But unwillingly. As the Elector had beheld
27:35
Speaker 1: the Spaniards within his territories, he was still less disposed
27:39
Speaker 1: to commit his estates to the suspicious protection of a
27:42
Speaker 1: heretic and to make the Swedish conqueror master of his destinies.
27:47
Speaker 1: Too weak to maintain his independence between two such powerful competitors,
27:51
Speaker 1: he took refuge in the protection of France. With his
27:55
Speaker 1: usual prudence. Richelieu profited by the embarrassments of this prince
27:59
Speaker 1: to augment the power of France and to gained for
28:02
Speaker 1: her an important ally on the German frontier. A numerous
28:06
Speaker 1: French army was dispatched to protect the territory of Treves,
28:10
Speaker 1: and a French garrison was received in the Erembrtstein. But
28:14
Speaker 1: the object which had moved the Elector to this bold
28:17
Speaker 1: step was not completely gained, For the offended pride of
28:20
Speaker 1: Gustavus Adolphus was not appeased till he had obtained a
28:24
Speaker 1: free passage for his troops through Trees. Pending these negotiations
28:29
Speaker 1: with Trees. In France, the king's generals had entirely cleared
28:32
Speaker 1: the territory of ments of the Spanish garrisons, and Gustavus
28:36
Speaker 1: himself completed the conquests of this district by the capture
28:40
Speaker 1: of Kreutznach. To protect these conquests, the Chancellor Auxensteern was
28:46
Speaker 1: left with a division of the army upon the Middle Rhine,
28:48
Speaker 1: while the main body under the king himself began its
28:51
Speaker 1: march against the enemy in Franconia. The possession of this
28:55
Speaker 1: circle had in the meantime been disputed with variable success,
29:00
Speaker 1: between Count Tilly and the Swedish general Horn, whom Gus
29:03
Speaker 1: Davis had left there with eight thousand men, and the
29:06
Speaker 1: bishopric of Bamberg in particular, was at once the prize
29:10
Speaker 1: and the scene of their struggle. Called away to the
29:13
Speaker 1: Rhine by his other projects, the king had left to
29:16
Speaker 1: his general the chastisement of the bishop, whose perfidy had
29:19
Speaker 1: excited his indignation, and the activity of Horn justified the choice.
29:24
Speaker 1: In a short time, he subdued the greater part of
29:27
Speaker 1: the bishopric, and the capital itself, abandoned by its imperial garrison,
29:32
Speaker 1: was carried by storm. The banished bishop urgently demanded assistance
29:36
Speaker 1: from the Elector of Bavaria, who was at length persuaded
29:40
Speaker 1: to put an end to Tilly's inactivity. Fully empowered by
29:44
Speaker 1: his master's order to restore the bishop to his possessions,
29:48
Speaker 1: this general collected his troops, who were scattered over the
29:51
Speaker 1: Upper Palatinate, and with an army of twenty thousand men,
29:54
Speaker 1: advanced upon Bamberg. Firmly resolved to maintain his conquest and
30:00
Speaker 1: against this overwhelming force, Horn awaited the enemy within the
30:03
Speaker 1: walls of Bamberg, but was obliged to yield to the
30:06
Speaker 1: vanguard of Tilly what he thought to be able to
30:09
Speaker 1: dispute with his whole army. A panic which suddenly seized
30:13
Speaker 1: his troops and which no presence of mind of their
30:15
Speaker 1: general could check, opened the gates of the enemy, and
30:19
Speaker 1: it was with difficulty that the troops, baggage and artillery
30:22
Speaker 1: were saved. The reconquest of Bamberg was the fruit of
30:25
Speaker 1: this victory, but Tilly, with all his activity, was unable
30:29
Speaker 1: to overtake the Swedish general, who retired in good order
30:32
Speaker 1: behind the Maine. The King's appearance in Franconia and his
30:37
Speaker 1: junction with Gustavus Horn at Kitzingen put a stop to
30:40
Speaker 1: till his conquests and compelled him to provide for his
30:43
Speaker 1: own safety by a rapid retreat. The King made a
30:47
Speaker 1: general view of his troops at a Schaffenburg after his
30:50
Speaker 1: junction with Gustavus Horn, Banner and Duke William of Weimar.
30:54
Speaker 1: They amounted to nearly forty thousand men. His progress through
30:58
Speaker 1: Franconi was uninterrupted, for Tilly, far too weak to encounter
31:02
Speaker 1: an enemy so superior in numbers, had retreated by rapid
31:05
Speaker 1: marches towards the Danube. Bohemia and Bavaria were now equally
31:11
Speaker 1: near to the King, and uncertain whether his victorious course
31:14
Speaker 1: might be directed, Maximilian could form no immediate resolution. The
31:19
Speaker 1: choice of the King and the fate of both provinces
31:22
Speaker 1: now depended on the road that should be left open
31:25
Speaker 1: to Count Tilly. It was dangerous during the approach of
31:28
Speaker 1: so formidable an enemy to leave Bavaria undefended in order
31:31
Speaker 1: to protect Austria, still more dangerous by receiving Tilly into Bavaria,
31:36
Speaker 1: to draw thither of the enemy also and to render
31:40
Speaker 1: it the seat of a destructive war. The cares of
31:43
Speaker 1: the sovereign finally overcame the scruples of the statesmen, and
31:46
Speaker 1: till he received orders at all hazards to cover the
31:49
Speaker 1: frontiers of Bavaria with his army. Nuremberg received with triumph
31:54
Speaker 1: and joy the protector of the Protestant religion and German freedom,
31:57
Speaker 1: and the enthusiasm of the citizens expressed itself on his
32:00
Speaker 1: arrival in loud transports of admiration and joy. Even Gustavis
32:05
Speaker 1: could not contain his astonishment to see himself in this city,
32:09
Speaker 1: which was the very center of Germany, where he had
32:11
Speaker 1: never expected to be able to penetrate. The noble appearance
32:15
Speaker 1: of his person completed the impression produced by his glorious exploits,
32:20
Speaker 1: and the condescension with which he received. The congratulations of
32:23
Speaker 1: this free city won all hearts. He now confirmed the
32:27
Speaker 1: alliance he had concluded with it on the shores of
32:29
Speaker 1: the Baltic and excited the citizens to zealous activity and
32:33
Speaker 1: fraternal unity against the common enemy. After a short stay
32:37
Speaker 1: in Nuremberg, he followed his army to the Danube and
32:41
Speaker 1: appeared unexpectedly before the frontier town of Donalvorth. A numerous
32:46
Speaker 1: Bavarian garrison defended the place, and their commander, Rodolph Maximilian,
32:50
Speaker 1: Duke of Saxe Launenburg, showed at first a resolute determination
32:55
Speaker 1: to defend it till the arrival of Tilley. But the
32:58
Speaker 1: vigor with which Gustavus Adolph has prosecuted the siege soon
33:02
Speaker 1: compelled him to take measures for a speedy and secure treat, which,
33:06
Speaker 1: amidst the tremendous fire from the Swedish artillery, he successfully executed.
33:11
Speaker 1: The conquest of the Nalverth opened to the king the
33:14
Speaker 1: further side of the Danube, and now the small river
33:17
Speaker 1: Lech alone separated him from Bavaria. The immediate danger of
33:22
Speaker 1: his dominions aroused all Maximilian's activity, and, however little he
33:27
Speaker 1: had hitherto disturbed the enemy's progress to his frontier, he
33:30
Speaker 1: now determined to dispute as resolutely the remainder of their
33:34
Speaker 1: course on the opposite bank of the Lech, near the
33:38
Speaker 1: small town of Rain till he occupied a strongly fortified camp, which,
33:43
Speaker 1: surrounded by three rivers, bade defiance to all attack. All
33:47
Speaker 1: the bridges over the Lech were destroyed, the whole course
33:50
Speaker 1: of the stream protected by strong garrisons as far as Augsburg,
33:55
Speaker 1: and that town itself, which had long betrayed its impatience
33:58
Speaker 1: to follow the example of nurami Burg and Frankfurt, secured
34:01
Speaker 1: by a Bavarian garrison and the disarming of its inhabitants.
34:06
Speaker 1: The elector himself, with all the troops he could collect,
34:09
Speaker 1: threw himself into Till's camp, as if all his hopes
34:12
Speaker 1: centered on this single point. And here the good fortune
34:15
Speaker 1: of the Swedes was to suffer shipwreck forever. Goods Davis
34:20
Speaker 1: to Dolphus. After subduing the whole territory of Augsburg on
34:23
Speaker 1: his own side of the river and opening to his troops,
34:26
Speaker 1: a rich supply of necessaries from that quarter soon appeared
34:30
Speaker 1: on the bank opposite the Bavarian entrenchments. It was now
34:34
Speaker 1: the month of March, when the river, swollen by frequent
34:37
Speaker 1: rains and the melting of the snow from the mountains
34:39
Speaker 1: of the Tyrol, flowed full and rapid between its steep banks.
34:44
Speaker 1: Its boiling current threatened the rash assailants with certain destruction,
34:48
Speaker 1: while from the opposite side, the enemy's cannon showed their
34:51
Speaker 1: murderous mouths, if in despite of the fury both of
34:55
Speaker 1: fire and water, they should accomplish this almost impossible passage.
34:59
Speaker 1: A fresh and vigorous enemy awaited the exhausted troops in
35:03
Speaker 1: an impregnable camp, and when they needed repose and refreshment,
35:07
Speaker 1: they must prepare for battle. With exhausted powers, they must
35:11
Speaker 1: ascend the hostile entrenchments, whose strength seemed to bid defiance
35:15
Speaker 1: to every assault. A defeat sustained upon this shore would
35:19
Speaker 1: be attended with inevitable destruction, since the same stream which
35:23
Speaker 1: impeded their advance would also cut off their retreat if
35:27
Speaker 1: fortune should abandon them. The Swedish Council of War, which
35:30
Speaker 1: the King now assembled, strongly urged upon him all these
35:34
Speaker 1: considerations in order to deter him from this dangerous undertaking.
35:39
Speaker 1: The most intrepid were appalled, and a troop of honorable
35:42
Speaker 1: warriors who had grown gray in the field did not
35:44
Speaker 1: hesitate to express their alarm. But the King's resolution was fixed.
35:49
Speaker 1: What said he to Gustavus Horn, who spoke, for the rest,
35:53
Speaker 1: have we crossed the Baltic and so many great rivers
35:55
Speaker 1: of Germany? And shall we now be checked by a
35:58
Speaker 1: brook like the Lech gos Davis had already, at great
36:02
Speaker 1: personal risk, reconnoitered the whole country and discovered that his
36:06
Speaker 1: own side of the river was higher than the other,
36:08
Speaker 1: and consequently gave a considerable advantage to the fire of
36:12
Speaker 1: the Swedish artillery over that of the enemy. With great
36:15
Speaker 1: presence of mind, he determined to profit by the circumstance
36:18
Speaker 1: at the point where the left bank of the Lech
36:20
Speaker 1: forms an angle with the right, he immediately caused three
36:23
Speaker 1: batteries to be erected, from which seventy two field pieces
36:27
Speaker 1: maintained a crossfire upon the enemy. While this tremendous cannonade
36:32
Speaker 1: drove the Bavarians from the opposite bank, he caused to
36:35
Speaker 1: be erected at a bridge over the river with all
36:37
Speaker 1: possible rapidity. A thick smoke, kept up by burning wood
36:41
Speaker 1: and wet straw, concealed for some time the progress of
36:44
Speaker 1: the work from the enemy, while the continued thunder of
36:47
Speaker 1: the cannon overpowered the noise of the axes. He kept
36:51
Speaker 1: alive by his own example the courage of his troops
36:54
Speaker 1: and discharged more than sixty cannon with his own hand.
36:57
Speaker 1: The cannonade was returned by the Bavarians with evil vivacity
37:01
Speaker 1: for two hours, though with less effect, as a Swedish
37:04
Speaker 1: battery swept the lower bank, while their height served as
37:07
Speaker 1: a breastwork to their own troops in vain. Therefore did
37:10
Speaker 1: the Bavarians attempt to destroy these works. The superior fire
37:14
Speaker 1: of the Swedes threw them into disorder, and the bridge
37:17
Speaker 1: was completed under their very eyes. On this dreadful day,
37:21
Speaker 1: Tilly did everything in his power to encourage his troops,
37:24
Speaker 1: and no danger could drive him from the bank. At
37:27
Speaker 1: length he found the death in which he sought. A
37:29
Speaker 1: cannonball shattered his leg, and Altringer, his brave companion in arms,
37:34
Speaker 1: was soon after dangerously wounded in the head. Deprived of
37:38
Speaker 1: the animating presence of their two generals, the Bavarians gave
37:41
Speaker 1: way at last, and Maximilian, in spite of his own judgment,
37:45
Speaker 1: was driven to adopt a pusillanimous resolve. Overcome by the
37:50
Speaker 1: persuasions of the dying Tilly, whose wonted firmness was overpowered
37:54
Speaker 1: by the near approach of death, he gave up his
37:57
Speaker 1: impregnable position for lost and the discovery by the Swedes
38:00
Speaker 1: of a ford by which their cavalry were on the
38:02
Speaker 1: point of passing accelerated his inglorious retreat. The same night,
38:07
Speaker 1: before a single soldier of the enemy had crossed the Lech,
38:10
Speaker 1: he broke up his camp, without giving time for the
38:13
Speaker 1: king to harass him in his march, retreated in good
38:16
Speaker 1: order to Newburgh and Inglstadt. With astonishment did Gustavus Adolphus,
38:23
Speaker 1: who completed the passage of the river on the following day,
38:26
Speaker 1: behold the hostile camp abandoned, and the elector's flight surprised
38:30
Speaker 1: him still more when he saw the strength of the
38:33
Speaker 1: position he had quitted. Had I been the Bavarian, said he,
38:37
Speaker 1: though a cannon ball had carried away my beard and chin.
38:40
Speaker 1: Never would I have abandon a position like this and
38:43
Speaker 1: laid open my territory to the enemies. Bavarian now lay
38:48
Speaker 1: exposed to the conqueror, and for the first time the
38:51
Speaker 1: tide of war, which would hitherto only beat against his frontier,
38:55
Speaker 1: now float over its long, spared and fertile fields. Before, however,
39:00
Speaker 1: the king proceeded to the conquest of these provinces, he
39:03
Speaker 1: delivered the town of Augsburg from the yoke of Bavaria,
39:07
Speaker 1: exacted an oath of allegiance from the citizens, and to
39:10
Speaker 1: secure its observance, left the garrison in the town. He
39:13
Speaker 1: then advanced by rapid marches against Inglostadt, in order by
39:17
Speaker 1: the capture of this important fortress, which the Elector covered
39:20
Speaker 1: with a greater part of his army, to secure his
39:23
Speaker 1: conquests in Bavaria and obtain a firm footing on the Danube.
39:28
Speaker 1: End of Part two