宗教改革-三十年戰爭-終局-1648 朗斯&布拉格會戰-威斯特伐利亞和約

我們無法置信這一天終於到了,但今天我們正在釋出本集最後一集關於三十年戰爭的內容 由於各方已被耗盡精力,軍隊試圖獲得勝利,以強化他們在談判桌上的士兵的位置 這導致了兩場戰爭在兩邊遠距離的前線,由法國和西班牙人攻打洛杉磯,並由瑞士人攻打克拉格 由於法國和西班牙人控制了半個維吾爾族的維吾爾人,馬克思米利亞總統不斷發出恐慌的信息給維多納帝國,要求維多納帝國維持或結束戰爭 然而,軍隊無法避免,因此維多納帝國繼續要求他的士兵獲得和平協議,並發出自己的信息給他的姊姊,西班牙王菲利普,請求幫助 哈布斯伯克皇帝有了自己的問題,波蘭和加特羅尼亞正在爭奪他們的獨立,受到法國的支持,而在東部的情況嚴重,因為康德在這裡操縱 法國軍隊的指揮官加斯多納瓦里奧是亞利桑那州的領導人,他回到巴黎參加活動 德國已經在兩邊戰爭中持續戰鬥了一段時間,而在1647年他們的領導人弗雷德雷克·亨利的死亡中,他們的渴望繼續戰鬥更加複雜 儘管弗雷德雷克·亨利的兒子威廉二世的抗議,六成的七個德國省都投票支持和平,在1648年1月,西班牙和德國簽署了和平協議,結束了他們之間的八十年戰爭 這解放了25,000強的將軍,王后雷波特,攻擊法國,並開始做了這件事,強迫康德雷克雷德雷克離開加利文,法國領導人在迅速地移動,並在前線聘請,但在他抵達前,王后利用法國大使羅索在4月時封殺了重要的戰略部隊 However, the Spaniards got bogged down, as the heavily outnumbered garrison proved to be stalwart. This bought Condé enough time to reach the region, bringing the total strength of the French armies to 23,000, comparable to the Spanish. To get a supply line for Cotré, Condé attacked Ypres on May 12th, and the city fell 10 days later. Still, Condé didn't have enough time to reinforce Cotré, and it was conquered by Leopold on the 23rd. In June and July, armies maneuvered around, wrestling for position, and the French commander sent a contingent under Ronceau to attack Ostend. However, the Spaniards were able to read the situation. Their detachment, commanded by Fuenzaldagna, managed to ambush and destroy Ronceau's troops to the north of Dixmude. This handcuffed Condé, and the enemy now had a numerical advantage, so he failed to stop another Spanish unit under Sfondrati from taking Fuen in early August. The French commander was unusually patient, and for a good reason. His long-term captain, Johann von Erlach, was marching from Germany with 3,000 fresh reinforcements. Leopold used that to march to Vanneton, 40km away from the French positions at Béthune. On the 12th of August, he moved south, leaving detachment to keep an eye on the enemy garrisons, and two days later, his vanguard clashed with the French defending the crossing of the river La Loire. On the 15th, the Spanish archduke decided to take Lens in order to cut Condé from his supply base at Arras, and continued south. Condé united with Erlach on the next day and started chasing the Spaniards. On the 17th, the Spanish army reached Lens and besieged it using part of their forces. The garrison was small and had little hope to resist for long, and Leopold's troops immediately started bombarding the walls of the city. The French arrived at the scene by the end of the day. Condé wanted to relieve the defenders immediately, but the Spaniards knew of his approach from their scouts, and turned most of their forces north just in time to prevent the foe from attacking. Their army now occupied a hill to the northeast of the village of Liévent, a position that even the bold Condé didn't dare to attack head on. On the 18th, Condé ordered his army to form up between the villages of Grenay and Luz, hoping that his counterparts would take the bait and attack, but Leopold, or most probably his chief officer Beck, ignored it. Left with no support, the garrison of Lens resisted the Spanish assaults for a day, but this was futile, and early on the 19th they finally capitulated. A small unit was left in Lens while the rest of the attackers joined the main body. The leader of the French army found himself in a difficult situation. Lens was critical for the supply lines connecting Arras to the recently conquered Vertun and La Bassée, but there was no way to reclaim it at the moment. At the same time, the French marched to Lens double time, leaving their supplies in La Bassée, so the army was growing hungry. The obvious choice was to reposition to Arras, which was to the south, but Condé wasn't eager to cede territory, and instead in the early morning of the 20th commanded his army into marching columns and started moving north. It seems that the Spanish leadership didn't want to go after the retreating foe immediately, but a few cavalry squadrons of Ligneville were sent to scout ahead at 5.30am, and they managed to surprise the French rearguards due to the darkness. Without much of a fight, the rearguards dispersed, and Ligneville crashed into the personal guard of Condé. The French general was almost captured, but barely escaped and fell back behind the approaching infantry battalions. Overextended and facing more opposition, the Spanish commander returned to his position. The Spanish leadership was extremely encouraged by this small victory, and Beck, who was the most experienced Spanish general, wanted to avenge the defeat at Roquois, was pressuring Leopold into allowing him to attack Condé, and he got permission at 7am. The Archduke left the army immediately afterwards. On the other end of the field, the French commander realised that retreating through open terrain might be deadly, so he ordered his troops to get into fighting formation to the east of the village of Maison Gabrielle. The battle of L'Anne, pitting Beck and Condé against each other for the second time after Roquois, began at 8am on August 20th, 1648. The Spanish army consisted of 9,000 infantry in 16 battalions, the majority of them from Spain, but also from Germany, Italy, Flanders, and even Ireland, alongside 9,000 cavalry in 60 squadrons, mostly from Wallonia and Lorraine. They also had 38 guns. The French had 7,000 footmen divided between 12 battalions, most of them from France, with battalions from Scotland, Switzerland, and Italy, while their cavalry totaled 9,000 split into 45 squadrons. Although the French had just 18 cannons, their artillery technology and officers were superior. It should also be noted that the Spanish battalions and squadrons had fewer soldiers than those of the French. The armies were slowly getting closer to each other. Beck left his cannons on top of the hill, defended by a few squadrons, hopeful that the height would allow them to inflict damage, but the few volleys they fired were ineffective and missed. Unlike his conduct at Roquois, the Spanish commander was acting hastily, and that led to disorder in his lines. The mobile French cannons made the descent from the hill even more complicated, killing many. By the time the Spaniards reached their intended positions to the east of Grenay, their lines were in chaos. Beck commanded the center, made up of two echelons, with 7 squadrons and 10 battalions in the first line, and 2 squadrons and 6 battalions in the second, most of the infantry in Tercios. On the left he had Lineuville with 20 cavalry units from Lorraine in two echelons, while the right was made up of Bouclois' 27 Walloon squadrons in two lines. In contrast, Condé knew that both he and the enemy had no choice but to fight, so he wasn't in a hurry, and on a few occasions his troops stopped to even the lines. During one of these stops, the commander gave a short speech. Friends, do you remember Roquois, Fribourg, Nordlingen? You must win or die! You will walk in one line! You will retain your order of battle no matter what! His artillery continued to soften up the opposition until the French made it to the designated position between Maison-Gabre and Luce. Gramont was the leader of 16 squadrons in two echelons on the left, while Gaspard de Coligny was leading the center in two echelons with a mix of infantry and cavalry, and the 6-squadron cavalry reserve behind it. Condé, who personally commanded the right, made up of 17 squadrons, noticed that the Spanish flank opposing him was in disarray, and immediately ordered his troops to attack. At 8.30am, the French were within pistol range, but suddenly stopped their advance. In this period, line battles were often decided by psychological matters, the unit who took the first volley was often exposed to enemy counterattack, and Condé managed to stop his soldiers from firing. The Lorrainers were first to blink, and although their volley did cause damage, the French took it in their stride and avenged their fallen comrades with a lethal charge. In a matter of minutes, the first echelon of the Spanish left was dispersed. The second line countercharged, and despite Condé's personal bravery, were able to stop his horsemen, but Erlach, who read the situation perfectly, brought his reserve cavalry forward and attacked Ligneville from the left. Attacked from the front and flank, the Lorrainers weren't able to hold for long, and by 9.00am were fleeing. The leader of the Spanish right, Bouclois, was a veteran of countless battles against the French, and he was used to the daring charges of their cavalry, which were usually countered by pistol or musket volleys, and then swords. However, Gramont decided to change this rhythm. To the surprise of the Walloon horsemen, the French gallop stopped just within musket range, and as the officers were still not able to form up their troops, they discharged the volley, which was ineffective. Immediately after that, Gramont charged into the enemy, and after a short engagement, the Walloons broke and were driven off the field. After 9.30am, Gramont and Condé met in the vicinity of Liévant and then charged uphill, dispersing the Spanish reserves and taking their artillery. In the center, the battle was much more difficult for the French. Initially, they attacked the Spanish center and successfully pushed back the line. But at some point, the French and Swiss guard regiments became the victims of their own success. They advanced too much, and when the Spanish cavalry in the center counterattacked, the rest of the French center was forced to retreat, and these three battalions were basically surrounded. Taking heavy casualties, the guard units slowly retreated, but the Spaniards were chasing and pushed beyond the second French center echelon, taking over the enemy artillery. Thankfully for the French, buoyed by the Scottish and Picardy regiments, they were able to reform their lines and stop the Spanish advance. That is when the Spanish center realized that its flanks were gone and it would soon be attacked from all sides. While cavalry squadrons and the infantry that was on the left managed to break away and retreat, the majority of the center was entrapped by Condé and Gramont. Unlike Roquois, there was no lengthy resistance and Beck's units surrendered. The commander himself was heavily wounded and became a prisoner of war, dying 10 days later, despite the efforts of the French surgeons. The Spanish losses were between 6 and 10 thousand, depending on the source, while the French casualties were around 3 thousand. This was the greatest victory Condé gained in his illustrious career, his Austerlitz and Breitenfeld. Some French chroniclers claim that his move to the north was a feint to draw the enemy from the defensible position. In any case, Condé and Gramont's talent, Erlach's timely attacks, and the superiority of the French cavalry decided the fate of this battle. It seemed that nothing could stop Condé's conquest of the Spanish Netherlands, but events were transpiring back in the capital. Emboldened by the victory at Lens, Maserat arrested the leaders of the parliament and it backfired, as Paris did what it does best. The populace revolted and the barricades rose in the streets, starting a five-year insurgency called Fronde. Immediately, the nobles attempted to use that to weaken the absolute monarchy and demanded the Estates-General to be called. The situation became so volatile that the 10-year-old Louis XIV, his mother and Maserat were forced to leave the city. Maserat immediately ordered his diplomats in Münster to finalize the negotiations, while Condé was asked to march back and take Paris from the rebels. Rulers always try to use military force to strengthen their diplomatic positions, and this war was no different, so Sweden was looking for its own massive victory to get a better deal from the Emperor. As we mentioned before, Königsmarck was sent towards Bohemia to reinforce the Swedish forces under Prince Charles Gustav. Things were improving on this front for the Swedes for some time, as most of the imperial forces were concentrated in Bavaria, while the imperial commander in the region, Gallus, became too ill to lead the army and was dismissed in late 1647, allowing Carl Gustav to send a portion of his army under Wittenberg to take over parts of eastern Bohemia and the Moravian capital, Olomouc. On top of that, Emperor Ferdinand's marriage celebrations and the news that peace was almost concluded somewhat relaxed the tired imperial forces. In late July, en route to assist Wittenberg, Königsmarck had another encounter with Ernest Odowalski, a former imperial colonel dismissed without payment and now keen to have his revenge. Odowalski told the Swedish commander that the defences of Prague were lax and the city was ripe for the taking. Königsmarck had only 3,000 troops under his command, but he thought that would be enough, as the majority of the Prazans were Protestant, and he thought that they would be eager to get rid of the Emperor's Catholic yoke. In reality, the Czechs loathed the conduct of the Swedish troops during the previous campaigns in their country, and now saw the Emperor as the guarantor of peace and stability. Königsmarck's first moves didn't help. Instead of approaching the city peacefully, the Swedish leader listened to the wrathful colonel, deciding to attack to get the Czechs' submission. The Swedes advanced to the city from the west and were noticed by the commander of the city, Field Marshal Rudolf von Collaredo. Part of the 2,000-strong garrison was ordered to reinforce the western walls of the city. Odowalski, who was stationed in Prague before, knew its weak points and the fact that the western walls of the city were being reinforced, but the works were not over. The construction rubble, left under the northwestern corner of the wall, made scaling possible, and Odowalski, accompanied by his 100 men, did just that under the cover of darkness at 2AM on July 26th. The defenders were still unaware, so the colonel divided his unit into two groups and took over the bastions to the left and the right of this portion of the fortifications. He then rushed south and attacked the guards of the Strahov monastery gate from the rear, and opened the gates for the cavalry of Königsmarck. That is when the garrison finally realized that the city was under attack. Collaredo sent his second-in-command Schmidt to learn what was going on, but he was killed in Pohojolec. Some of the guards attempted to defend in the area, others decided that it was time to leave the western portion of the city, but neither group succeeded, as the Swedes were able to take over the Manns and Charles bridges. Most of the defenders were cut down, and although Collaredo lost as much as half of the garrison, he managed to get on a boat and cross the Vltava river. Fortunately for him, the portion of the city the Swedes just occupied was full of riches, as the gifts nobles were sending were collected there, which meant that for two days the attackers were only interested in looting. That gave the field marshal an opportunity to create defenses on both bridges, call for the citizens to take up arms, and ask the nearby imperial forces for reinforcements. Students of the universities, priests, and other locals flocked to his banners, and more regular troops under Field Marshal Puckheim arrived, bringing the total number of the defenders to at least 5,000. Although taking the western portion of Prague was a feat of bravery and a great victory, of discipline and looting didn't allow Königsmark to conquer the whole city. With his mostly cavalry army, he had almost no hope of taking the bridges, and even though he captured the imperial cannons, he could only use them to shell the city, as he needed the bridges intact. This shelling caused some casualties, but not nearly enough to break the resolve of the defenders. In another example of historical irony, the Czechs who started the active phase of the Thirty Years' War by defying the Emperor, were about to fight in the final battle of the conflict on his side. On the 30th, a 5,000-strong Swedish corps under Wittenberg arrived from the east, putting pressure on the defenders and forcing them to divide their forces. Shelled from the western side of the Vltava and attacked from the east, the Czechs still managed to defend and inflict casualties on Wittenberg. Königsmark attempted to use his paltry number of infantry to cross the bridges, but this too failed. Seeing that not much could be achieved, on August 4th, Wittenberg and his troops left the area around the city to raid the countryside. By now, Emperor Ferdinand had learned of the siege of Prague and ordered his diplomat to get a peace deal with the Swedes as soon as possible. That wasn't helpful for the Czechs, as their supply situation was deteriorating, which meant that foragers had to be sent out of the city. This wasn't safe, and in one such foraging mission, Puckheim and a few hundred of his troops were defeated by Wittenberg in the open field. The relative lull, interrupted by the Swedish guns from time to time, continued until October 4th, when Wittenberg returned and besieged the northeastern portion of the walls once again. This time he was joined by his superior, Charles Gustav, who took position to the south and southeast with his 6,000, bringing the total of the attackers to 14,000, which meant that they now had the decisive numerical superiority. For the next 20 days, the Swedes attacked the city from three sides, managing to destroy the eastern walls in three places. The troops were sent to penetrate the city through these gaps, but the Czechs stood tall, wreaking havoc on the attackers. It was clear that this couldn't continue for long. The Swedes were gaining ground, and new portions of the wall were being wrecked. Still, to avoid more casualties, the Swede prince decided to start negotiations with Colorado, promising that the garrison would be allowed to leave the city and the citizens would be unharmed. A back and forth followed, as the imperial leader was trying to buy time. Finally, Charles Gustav realized that he was being played and broke off the talks. On the 24th, the Westphalian peace treaty was signed, but neither side knew about it at the moment, so on the next day, another general assault was ordered. Once again, the Swedes were able to punch through in the area between the horse and mountain gates. 6,000 elite Swedish footmen kept in reserve were then commanded to enter the city. They were initially successful, pushing the defenders back, but the narrow front gave the Czechs an opportunity to counterattack the enemy, and the Swedish assault was stopped around the second line of makeshift fortifications. Finally, on the 26th, both the Swedes and Colorado were informed about the peace. On paper, Charles Gustav had to lift the siege of the city, but he pretended to be oblivious. Four days later, the prince offered a surprise Colorado a chance to surrender, but was refused yet again. His troops were sent forth to attack the city, but this attack was half-hearted and didn't even advance beyond the walls like the previous ones. On November 5th, the Swedish commander learned of the approaching Imperial forces under Piccolomini and concluded that it was time to stop feigning ignorance. The siege was lifted and the Swedes left the vicinity of Prague with hefty loot. Nonetheless, the gallant defenders of Prague entered into history and probably prevented the Swedes from getting even more from the peace treaties. But what was the Peace of Westphalia? As we mentioned previously, diplomats were negotiating in the cities of Osnabrück and Münster for some time in the first-ever example of a peace conference. As the cities were in the region of Westphalia, the documents signed on October 24th, 1648 became collectively known as the Peace of Westphalia. According to it, the resolutions of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 were confirmed, meaning that every prince of the Holy Roman Empire was allowed to change the denomination of their own state and choose between Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism, while the Christians of all denominations were allowed to worship according to their faith. All the Saini countries agreed that the usage of mercenaries and privateers was an extension of their foreign policy. France and Sweden were declared the guarantors of the execution of the peace treaty, which meant that they could intervene in Imperial affairs whenever they wanted. The old Swiss Confederacy, who leveraged its neutrality, and the Dutch Republic, who won a bloody war against Spain, were declared independent and outside the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. France was given the cities of Metz, Toul and Verdun in Lorraine, and nine out of the ten major cities in Alsace, save for Strasbourg, and this set up centuries of warfare between French and German polities, eventually leading to the World Wars. Sweden received 5 million talers of compensation, as well as part of Western Pomerania, Bismarck, Bremen and Verdun, while Gdansk was returned to Poland-Lithuania. Brandenburg-Prussia received Eastern Pomerania, but the border between the two Pomeranias was not determined, leading to future conflicts. Bavaria retained its vote in the Electoral College, but the new Prince Palatine Charles I Louis got the western portion of his family lands back, along with receiving the eighth vote in the Electoral College. Free trade was implemented on the River Rhine. The war between France and Spain wasn't concluded, despite all the efforts of the Emperor, meaning that Spain was now fighting France on its own, which weakened the Habsburg alliance. The Thirty Years' War was one of the bloodiest up until then, causing the death of at least 8 million people, most of them in Germany, but it didn't solve the issues that haunted both the Holy Roman Empire and Europe at large, and that led to the continuation of conflicts all over the continent. 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