The real first World War

 

                                      History is His Story

The Thirty Years War might be considered the First World War because all of Europe was involved.  It began with a failed movement for Bohemian independence.  Half the Bohemians were Moravian Protestants. Half were also nationalists but the two sides often disagreed.  Bohemia was very important for the ruling Hapsburg Empire because of its mineral wealth.  The extremely devout Catholic prince Ferdinand ascended to the Bohemian throne and made enemies of the Protestants and nationalists.  A mob 20,000 people stormed the palace.  Ferdinand wasn’t home.  They threw two deputies and the foreign secretary out of the castle window. Nobody was hurt because they landed in a dung pile (you wonder how the 3 Stooges got that routine?).  This famous Defenestration of Prague was hailed as a miracle by the Pope and rotten luck by the Protestants.  But the die was cast for independence.  German Protestants came to the aid of the rebels and lost repeatedly while Catholics from Spain, Flanders, and Austria-Hungary won the day.

            One by one, the German dukes and princes were defeated.  Finally their leader, Frederick of Palatinate was defeated when his commander deserted him.  The loss of civilian life was staggering.  To understand this, one has to understand that weapons had changed from swords and armor to muskets and pikes.  Handling a musket with a five-foot barrel was quite a skill, firing it from a tripod while the charge was set off by a match. Much practice was required in pike formations to protect gunners who took a long time to reload. Warfare was for professionals, but governments of the day had no way to tax, recruit, discipline and drill.  Mercenary armies arose, commanded by organizers who were loyal to the highest bidder.  Protestant Ernst von Mansfeld was such a man.  He was skilled at recruiting and keeping men fed and equipped.  His finance and organizational skills set him apart.  The soldiers were recruited from every country and had no national loyalty.  If not paid, they deserted; if not fed, they looted. Around each army was an enormous group of camp followers who were civilians—servants, wives, prostitutes, cooks.  Half a dozen children might be born among camp followers each week. So when Mansfeld deserted Frederick, this great marauding mob plus armies began to pillage Germany, where the battles happened.  1/3 the population of Germany starved or was killed by 1630.

            Bohemia was reclaimed under Hapsburg authority, Palatinate was divided by Catholic princes, but the armies continued fighting among each another. Another leader, Albrecht von Wallenstein, arose to ally with Catholic Ferdinand.  Like Mansfeld he had dubious titles but was an organizer with ambition. As he mopped up Lutheran Germany, however, Christian IV of Denmark became the Protestant leader of desperation. Meanwhile James I of England entered the fray re-hiring Mansfeld.  The two armies met at Desau on the Elbe River in 1626.  Mansfeld was totally defeated and fled. It looked like a united Catholic Germany and Scandinavia would soon occur under Hapsburg influence.  An edict for all people to become Catholic was decreed.  Then all of Europe awoke to the Hapsburg menace.  German princes of the Holy Roman Empire realized their sovereignty was in doubt.  Others realized their lands would be seized and their relatives slaughtered. Even the Pope expressed reservations at the Emperor’s power. The Bourbons of France were threatened by this too. Cardinal Richelieu, effective leader of France under Louis XIV, settled the Swedish-Polish war and hired the king of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, to champion the Protestants.  Adolphus was an odd hybrid—king of a small country but also a military organizer far beyond his time. His soldiers were issued uniforms and boots, wheel lock muskets, and he used a logistical crew like a modern army instead of camp followers.  His crack army of only 13,000 defeated much larger Catholic League armies, and soon other Germans joined him until he had 80,000 soldiers. The tide turned quickly and in one last battle in southern Germany at Lutzen, Wallenstein and Adolphus met.  Adolphus was killed in the battle but his army won.  The Emperor and the Protestants signed a peace treaty saving Protestantism in 1635.

            The final phase of the war included France who joined with Sweden and fought Austria, Spain and the Papal states.  The war was now political, not religious. By 1644, all the leaders who had begun the war had died and after a 4-year peace conference, the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648, a compromising treaty. 

            What came of the long war?  Germans and others grew extremely religious-war weary, an attitude that continued into the 19^th century when many fled to American shores. As disillusionment with the strife became universal, Europeans became more agnostic, setting the stage for the Enlightenment and Deism. When Christians fail to see Christ in other Christians who differ in type, it leads to hollow, legalistic faith, seen in the Orthodoxy of the latter 17^th century. Hollow faith and agnosticism haunts Europe down to the present day.  The Dutch achieved final independence, but Germany was left left a chaotic collection of states.  Germany became a constant battleground through Napoleon’s era. France grew strong and Austria grew weaker. Kings needed taxes and began to claim divine right to rule, leading to later revolts and the demise of most monarchies.  Finally, a peace-loving king of Prussia arose and told his German peasants to plant potatoes, which invading armies couldn’t find, and thus save yourselves during the marauding wars.  The Germans have celebrated Frederick “the Great” ever since.