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MindMap Gallery World History 35-The Thirty Years War

World History 35-The Thirty Years War

This first large-scale international war in European history lasted for thirty years from 1618 to 1648, and later generations called it the Thirty Years' War.

Edited at 2024-01-28 18:31:42

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World History 35-The Thirty Years War

The first large-scale international war in European history lasted for thirty years from 1618 to 1648, and later generations called it the Thirty Years' War.

1. The religious reform led to sectarian antagonisms

Disputes among princes: In 1254, the heirs to the throne of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire died one after another, leaving the throne vacant and disputes among princes. Rudolf of Habsburg, victorious. On October 1, 1273, he was elected Emperor of the Empire at the Imperial Parliament and was known as Rudolf I. From then on, the rule of the Habsburg Dynasty began.

Scope: At its peak, the Habsburg family controlled most of Europe, including what is now Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, part of Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia, Spain, parts of Italy, and the Netherlands.

Religious Schism: In the 16th century, the religious reformation against the Roman Catholic Church led to religious schism in Germany. The princes took the opportunity to dominate and separatist power.

After the Reformation, Catholicism and Protestantism formed in Germany. The various princes divided into the Protestant Alliance and the Catholic Alliance.

The Catholic forces headed by the emperor were mainly concentrated in southern and southeastern Germany and the middle and lower reaches of the Rhine River. The Protestant forces composed of Lutheranism and Calvinism are concentrated in Saxony, Hesse, Brandenburg and the upper reaches of the Rhine River in the north. The two factions are incompatible with each other and are in a state of division.

2. The dispute between old and new sects

In 1618, Emperor Ferdinand II tried to squeeze out the Protestants and forcibly closed two Protestant churches to consolidate imperial power.

An uprising broke out against the imperial power in Prague, the capital of Bohemia. (Bohemia is the Czech Republic.)

The fuse: On May 23, 1618, Bohemians who believed in Protestantism rushed into the palace, captured two imperial envoys of Ferdinand II, threw them from the window sill more than 20 meters high, and fell into the ditch. It was said in history that For the thrown out the window event.

Instigation of the Great Powers: Germany is located in the middle of Europe. It has an important political, economic and military strategic position, and is also the key to dominating Europe. With dual purposes of religion and politics, the European powers instigated and supported the old and new sectarian disputes within Germany, taking the opportunity to realize their intention of weakening Germany and striving for European hegemony.

The great powers took sides: Protestant England, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands sided with the Protestant Alliance; while Catholic Spain, Poland, and the Pope sided with the Emperor and the Catholic League; France, which also believed in Catholicism, secretly supported the Protestant Alliance and opposed the imperial emperor, clearing the way for its struggle for European hegemony.

3. War stage

Divided into: Bohemian War, Danish War, Swedish War and French-Habsburg War.

1) Bohemian War - Emperor wins

The two warring parties in the German Civil War were the Protestant Allied Army, led by Elector Frederick of Palatinate, and the Catholic Allied Army, with the Emperor as its core.

The emperor was supported by the army and the Pope's money. The princes within the Protestant Alliance were not united and lacked training, so the war situation was unfavorable.

In November 1621, at the Battle of White Mountain, the Protestant Confederate army led by Mansfield was defeated by the Catholic Confederate army led by Tilly, and Bohemia became the territory of the Habsburg family.

In 1625, at the initiative of French Prime Minister Richelieu, Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark formed an anti-Habsburg alliance.

2) Danish War - The Emperor wins

In February, Denmark united with the German Protestant army to launch an attack. The Danish army sent troops to Germany, marking that the Thirty Years' War had transformed from a German civil war into an international war.

Emperor Ferdinand II appointed the famous military commander Wallenstein.

In August 1626, Wallenstein led his army to defeat the Danish army in the Battle of Lot-an-Barrenberg, captured Jutland, and then occupied the entire northern Germany and advanced to the Baltic Sea coast.

In May 1629, King Christian IV of Denmark was forced to sign the Peace of Lübeck with Ferdinand II, giving up his territorial claims to the bishopric of northern Germany.

3) Swedish War - Emperor defeated

King Gustav II of Sweden launched a war against the Habsburgs. The outbreak of the Swedish War marked the transformation of the Thirty Years' War from a so-called religious holy war to a struggle for hegemony among the great powers.

In July 1630, Gustavus II commanded 40,000 troops and landed at the mouth of the Oder River in Germany. With the assistance of France, the Netherlands, Russia and other countries, the Swedish army marched in and quickly captured many areas in northern and central Germany.

In September 1631, the Swedish army and the emperor's army fought at Bradenfield. The Swedish army wins.

The Battle of Bladen Field marked the replacement of older tactics based on troop numbers and the use of spears with new tactics of maneuver and firepower.

Gustavus II adopted a linear formation, also known as a wedge formation, for the first time, replacing the traditional European dense square formation. He arranged the soldiers to line up in six linear lines and fired one after another, creating a continuous rain of lethal bullets. Linear formation improves both the offensive and defensive capabilities of the army.

The Swedes also improved the structure of muskets and mobilized 100 artillery pieces. After this battle, Gustav II became famous in Europe as the Lion of Northern Europe and was elected as the leader of the Protestant Union.

The emperor had no choice but to use Wallenstein again. He took advantage of the weakness of the Swedish army's long supply line and inserted his flying troops into the rear of the Swedish army, frustrating the Swedish army's offensive momentum.

In November 1632, there was a bloody battle at Lützen near Leipzig. The Swedish army won and Wallenstein suffered a crushing defeat. However, Gustavus II was killed in the battle, and the morale of the Swedish army was greatly damaged. This prompted France to directly enter the war.

4) France-Habsburg War - Emperor defeated

In the first half of the 17th century, France had become a European power. French Prime Minister Richelieu used iron-fist politics and power diplomacy to bring France's autocratic monarchy and international status to its peak.

With the entry of France, the Thirty Years' War turned into a pure melee between the great powers fighting for hegemony in Europe.

In May 1635, France first declared war on Spain.

In 1638, France officially declared war on the emperor. Countries supporting France include Sweden, the Netherlands, Venice, Hungary, etc. Poland is neutral. The main supporters of the emperor were Spanish and German Catholic princes.

In December 1638, the French army captured Bressac, cutting off Spain's land route from the Rhine River to attack the Netherlands.

In October 1639, the Dutch navy defeated the Spanish fleet in the Strait of Dover and cut off Spain's sea lanes to attack the Netherlands.

In November 1642, the Swedish army and the emperor's army fought again at Bradenfield. The Swedish army won and then severely damaged the emperor's army again at the Battle of Yankov. The French army also defeated the emperor's army at Nördlingen.

In May 1648, the French-Swiss forces achieved another major victory in the Battle of Chusmahausen.

At this point, the emperor's army was unable to fight anymore, and its ally Spain was also overwhelmed by the fire in its backyard and the national uprisings in Catalonia and Portugal. The Holy Roman Emperor was forced to sue for peace, and the Thirty Years' War finally came to an end.

4. Sign a peace treaty

After four years of marathon negotiations, an agreement was finally reached, and on October 24, 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was signed in the city hall of Münster, the capital of Westphalia, Germany. .

The "Peace of Westphalia" is actually the collective name of the "Treaty of Osnabrück" and the "Peace of Münster" because the two signing cities were named after them in Westphalia.

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The "Peace Treaty" confirmed the final result of the Thirty Years' War in the form of law, ending the situation in Europe that had been dominated by one pope and one emperor for a long time since the Middle Ages. As the biggest winner of the war, France established its status as the European hegemon, and Sweden became the hegemon of Northern Europe.

The Peace Treaty recognized the principles of international equality and freedom of religious belief among countries large and small, and also set a precedent for European countries to resolve international disputes through international conferences. Therefore, it is regarded as the foundation of modern European public international law and a keystone in the history of modern European international relations. Very important document.

The "Peace Treaty" also formally recognized the equal status of Protestants and Catholics, and stipulated that future disputes related to religion should be resolved through friendly consultations among Catholic and Protestant members of the national parliament. Since then, religious disputes have never become a flashpoint in European wars.

5.The consequences of war

The Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire collapsed. More than 360 independent states, 40,000 secular territories, and 40,000 church territories make Germany like a big puzzle. The German nation has lost its strong character for a long time.

During the war, more than 8 million people died in the empire, accounting for 1/3 of the total population. More than 300 cities and more than 2,000 villages were destroyed in the war, and countless mining areas, monasteries, and factories were turned into ruins. .

Germany's economic situation declined sharply, serfdom became a common phenomenon again, and farmers were more brutally exploited and oppressed by aristocratic landowners.

More than 1 million soldiers from various countries participating in the war died on the battlefield. In this long, barbaric and cruel war, no one is the real winner.

The plundering of soldiers, the devouring of war, the escalation of hatred and killing, and the coming of plague and famine. This is the result of war.