- For the board game, see Wallenstein (board game).
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein?
(also Waldstein; Czech: Albrecht Václav Eusebius z
Valdštejna;[1] September 24, 1583 – February 25,
1634)[2]
was a Bohemian soldier and politician who gave his services (an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men)
during the Danish Period of the Thirty Years' War to Ferdinand II for no charge except the right to plunder the territories that he
conquered.
A successful generalissimo who ruled the Duchy of
Friedland in northern Bohemia, Wallenstein was released from service in 1630 after Ferdinand grew wary of his ambition.
Several Protestant victories over Catholic armies induced Ferdinand to recall Wallenstein, who again turned the war in favor of
the Imperial cause. Dissatisfied with the emperor's treatment of him, Wallenstein considered allying with the Protestants.
However, Ferdinand had the general assassinated at Eger (Cheb).
Early life
Wallenstein was born in Heřmanice, Bohemia, into poor
Protestant family.[2] His parents, Vilém z Valdštejna and Markéta Smiřická, died when he was 12 years old, so he was raised by his maternal uncle, Albrecht Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka. He was educated at the school of the Unity of the Brethren at Košumberk and the Jesuit
college at Olmütz (Olomouc).[2] From 1599 he continued his education at the University of Altdorf and then at Bologna and
Padua.[3]
Wallenstein then joined the army of Rudolf II in Hungary, under the command of Giorgio Basta.[3] In 1606, he converted
to Catholicism through his friendship with Jesuits and the Habsburgs. Wallenstein later would owe allegiance to the Imperial Habsburg Monarchy as a member of the Order of the Golden
Fleece.[citation needed] Even though he became religious, Wallenstein did not become a zealot. Three
years later, he returned to Bohemia, and soon married Lukrécie Nekšová z Landeka, a rich widow
three years older than himself whose estates in Moravia he inherited after her death in
1614.[3] He used his wealth to win favour,
offering and commanding 200 horses for Archduke Ferdinand of Styria for
his war with Venice in 1617. He later endowed a
monastery in her name, and had her reburied there. Wallenstein married Isabella Katharina, daughter of Count Harrach, in 1617.
She bore him two children, a son who died in infancy and a surviving daughter.[3] Examples of the couple's correspondence survive.
Thirty Years' War
At the beginnings of the Thirty Years' War in 1618 with unrest in Bohemia,
Wallenstein associated himself with the Imperial cause. His estates seized by Protestants,
he escaped with the Moravian treasure-chest to Vienna, where, however, he was told that it would
be restored to the province. He equipped a regiment of cuirassiers and won great distinction
under Karel Bonaventura Buquoy in the war against Ernst von Mansfeld and in the army which opposed Gabriel
Bethlen in Moravia. Wallenstein recovered his lands and, after the Battle of
White Mountain, he secured the estates belonging to his mother's family and confiscated tracts of Protestant lands. He
grouped his new possessions into a territory called Friedland (Frýdlant) in northern
Bohemia. A series of successes in battle led in 1622 to him being made an imperial count
palatine, in 1623 a prince, and in 1625 Duke of Friedland.[4]
In order to aid Ferdinand against the Northern Protestants and produce a balance to the Army of the Catholic League under
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Wallenstein offered to raise a whole
army for the imperial service in 1626. Wallenstein's popularity soon brought 30,000 (not long afterwards 50,000) men.[5] The two armies worked together over
1625–1627, at first against Mansfeld.
Having beaten Mansfeld at Dessau, Wallenstein cleared Silesia of the remnants of Mansfeld's army in 1627.[5][6] At
this time he bought from the emperor the Duchy of Sagan. He then joined Tilly in the struggle with
Christian IV of Denmark,[7] and afterwards was rewarded with the Duchies of Mecklenburg,
whose hereditary dukes were expelled for having helped the Danish king. This awarding of a major
territory to someone of the lower nobility shocked the high-born rulers of many other German states.[8]
Wallenstein assumed the title of "Admiral of the North and
Baltic Seas". However, in 1628 Wallenstein failed to capture Stralsund, which received help from Swedish troops, a blow that denied access
to the Baltic and the chance of challenging the naval power of the Scandinavian kingdoms and
the Netherlands.[6] The situation was further degraded when the emperor's "Edict of Restitution" brought King Gustavus Adolphus
of Sweden into the conflict.[6] He
attempted to aid forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under
Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, which were
fighting Sweden in 1629; however, Wallenstein failed to engage any major Swedish
forces and this significantly affected the outcome of the conflict.[9]
Over the course of the war Wallenstein's ambitions and the exactions of his army had created a host of enemies, both
Catholic and Protestant princes. Then Ferdinand II suspected Wallenstein of planning to take
control of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor was advised to dismiss him and in
September 1630 envoys were sent to Wallenstein to announce his removal.[4] Wallenstein gave over his army to General Tilly, and retired to Jitschin (Jičín), the capital of his Duchy of Friedland. There he lived in an atmosphere of "mysterious
magnificence".[10]
Soon Emperor Ferdinand II was forced to call him into the field again.[4] The successes of Gustavus Adolphus over General Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld and on the Lech (1632), when
Tilly was killed, and his advance to Munich and occupation of Bohemia, demanded action.[10] In the spring of 1632 Wallenstein raised a fresh
army within a few weeks and took the field. He drove the Saxon army from Bohemia and then advanced against Gustavus Adolphus,
whom he opposed near Nuremberg and after the Battle
of the Alte Veste dislodged. In November came the great Battle of Lützen,
in which Wallenstein and the other imperialists were officially defeated, since they left the battle-field to the enemy, but
Adolphus was killed, and so it was a victory.
Wallenstein then withdrew to winter quarters in Bohemia.[10]
In the campaigning of 1633 Wallenstein's apparent unwillingness to attack the enemy caused much concern in Vienna (and in
Madrid, where the same dynasty was ruling; at this time the dimensions of the war became more and more European). Wallenstein
was, in fact, preparing to desert the emperor, because he was angry at Ferdinand's refusal to revoke the Edict of Restitution.
Not much is known about his secret negotiations; but rumors told that he began to prepare to force a just peace on the
emperor in the interests of united Germany, at the same time hesitating permanently - as
he used to do also in other respects — and trying to stay loyal to the emperor, as far as possible. With this apparent "plan" he
entered into negotiations with Saxony, Brandenburg, Sweden, and France. But apparently the enemies — vice versa — also tried to draw him onto their own side. In
any case, in effect he attracted little support, and anxious to make his power felt, he at last assumed the offensive against the
Swedes and Saxons, winning his last victory at Steinau on the Oder in October. He then resumed the negotiations.
One should also consider that at this time the Thirty Year's War was just at culmination, after 15 years, and that two years
later, in 1635, the French party performed a drastic change of support: instead of the Catholic side they now supported the
Swedes. All these changes were already in preparation in 1633; i.e., as already told, the dimensions of the war became gradually
more European. Wallenstein had to take this into account as an additional complication and was intending a peace 15 years too
early.
So no wonder that his efforts were in vain.
Treachery and death
In December Wallenstein retired with his army to Bohemia, around Pilsen. It was soon felt in
Vienna that he was definitely treacherous, a secret court sentenced him guilty, and the emperor sought for serious means of
getting rid of him (a successor-in-command, the later emperor Ferdinand
III, was already waiting). Wallenstein was aware of the plans against him, but felt confident that when the army came to
decide between him and the emperor the decision would be in his own favour.[10]
On January 24, 1634 the emperor signed a secret patent
(which was only opened to certain of Wallenstein's officers) removing him from his command. Finally an open patent charging
Wallenstein with high treason was signed on February 18, and published in Prague.[4] Losing the
support of his army, Wallenstein now realized the extent of his danger, and on February 23
with a company of some hundreds of men, he went from Pilsen to Eger (Cheb), hoping to meet the
Swedes under Duke Bernhard. After having arrived at Eger, however, certain
senior Scottish and Irish officers in his force assassinated him on the night of February
25.[10]
To carry out the assassination, dragoons under the command of the Irish general Walter Butler and the Scots colonels Walter
Leslie and John Gordon, first rushed upon Wallenstein's trusted officers Terzky, Kinsky, Illo and Neumann whilst the latter were
banqueting at Cheb Castle (which was under the command of John Gordon himself), and massacred them. Terzky alone managed to fight
his way out into the courtyard, only to be battered down by a group of muskeeters.[11]
A few hours later, an English captain, Walter Devereux, together with a few companions, broke into the burgomaster's house at
the main square, where Wallenstein was lodged (again by John Gordon), and kicked open the bedroom door, whereupon Devereux ran
his halberd through the unarmed Wallenstein, who, roused from sleep, is said to have asked in vain for quarter.
The German Emperor may not have commanded the murder, nor may he definitely desired it; but he had given free rein to the
party who he knew wished "to bring in Wallenstein, alive or dead." After the assassination, he rewarded the murderers with honour
and riches.[12]
Wallenstein was buried at Jitschin (Jičín).
Golo Mann's monumental and highly readable biography[13] of Wallenstein is widely regarded as a masterpiece of historiography. Currently
a large exhibition about Wallenstein is being prepared by the Czech National Museum and will be held at the Wallenstein Palace in Prague (current seat of Senate) from 15
November 2007 till 15 February 2008.
Wallenstein's particular genius was to substitute the previous way of payment of the war through systematic plunder of the
enemy by the new method of systematic "war taxes": even a city or a prince on the side of the emperor had to pay taxes for the
war. He understood that enormous wastage of resources resulted from the depredations of the whimsical and random tax extractions
of princes and cities of the enemy only, and desired to replace these measures with systematic "balanced" extortion. He was
unable to fully realize this ambition, and actually his intentions led to random exploitation of the whole population on either
side, until finally, almost fifteen years after his death, the war had become so unpopular that politicians had to make peace. In
any case, Wallenstein's idea inspired many, among which Colbert, in future to "pluck the goose with a minimum of screeching".
References
- ^ Hughes-Hallett, Lucy. Heroes: A History of Hero Worship. Alfred A.
Knopf, New York, New York, 2004. ISBN 1-4000-4399-9.
- ^ a b c Schiller,
Friedrich. (1911) Schillers Wallenstein, Macmillan & co., ltd.
- ^ a b c d Ripley, George & Charles Anderson Dana. (1858) The New American
Cyclopaedia, D. Appleton and Company. pp. 185-189.
- ^ a b c d Schiller, J. Friedrich Von. (1980) Robbers and Wallenstein, Penguin
Classics. pp. 12-13. ISBN 0-14-044368-1.
- ^ a b Eggenberger, David. (1985) An Encyclopedia of Battles, Courier
Dover Publications. p. 161. ISBN 0-486-24913-1.
- ^ a b c Fuller, J. F. C.
(1987) A Military History of the Western World, Da Capo Press. p. 46-47. ISBN 0-306-80305-4.
- ^ Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2005) Western Civilization, Thomson
Wadsworth. p. 414. ISBN 0-534-64604-2.
- ^ Wedgwood, C. V. (1961) The Thirty Years War, Anchor
Books. p. 219-220.
- ^ Dahlquist, Germund Wilhelm & Carl Von Clausewitz. (2003) Principles
of War, Courier Dover Publications. p. 81. ISBN 0-486-42799-4.
- ^ a b c d e Ingrao, Charles W.
(2000) The Habsburg Monarchy, 1618-1815, Cambridge University Press. pp. 45-46. ISBN 0-521-78505-7.
- ^ According to Wedgwood in her classic 'The Thirty Years War'
- ^ The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition
- ^ Golo Mann, op.cit.
- Golo Mann "Wallenstein, his life narrated", 1976, Holt, Rinehart and Winston (ISBN
0030918847).
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