The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in
Central Europe
Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in
European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, while parts of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
reported population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
, the
War of the Mantuan Succession, the
Franco-Spanish War, the
Torstenson War, the
Dutch-Portuguese War, and the
Portuguese Restoration War.
The war had its origins in the 16th-century
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
, which led to religious conflict within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. The 1555
Peace of Augsburg attempted to resolve this by dividing the Empire into
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
states, but the settlement was destabilised by the subsequent expansion of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
beyond these boundaries. Combined with differences over the limits of imperial authority, religion was thus an important factor in starting the war. However, its scope and extent was largely the consequence of external drivers such as the
French–Habsburg rivalry and the
Dutch Revolt.
Its outbreak is generally traced to
1618, when the Catholic
Emperor Ferdinand II was replaced as
king of Bohemia by the Protestant
Frederick V of the Palatinate. Although Ferdinand quickly
regained control of Bohemia, Frederick's participation expanded fighting
into the Palatinate, whose strategic importance drew in the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
and Spain, then engaged in the Eighty Years' War. In addition, the acquisition of territories within the Empire by rulers like
Christian IV of Denmark and
Gustavus Adolphus of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
gave them and other foreign powers an ongoing motive to intervene. Combined with fears the Protestant religion in general was threatened, these factors turned an internal dynastic dispute into a European conflict.
The period 1618 to 1635 was primarily a
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
within the Holy Roman Empire, which largely ended with the
Peace of Prague. However,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
's entry into the war in
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
with Sweden turned the empire into one theatre of a wider struggle with their Habsburg rivals,
Emperor Ferdinand III and Spain. Fighting ended with the 1648
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
, whose terms included greater autonomy for states like
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
and
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, as well as acceptance of Dutch independence by Spain. The conflict shifted the
balance of power in favour of France, and set the stage for the expansionist wars of
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
which dominated Europe for the next sixty years.
Structural origins
The 16th century
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
caused
open warfare between
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
and
Catholics within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, which ended with the 1552
Peace of Passau. The
Peace of Augsburg in 1555 tried to prevent a recurrence by fixing boundaries between the two faiths, using the principle of ''
cuius regio, eius religio''. Under this, states were designated as either
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
, then the most usual form of Protestantism, or Catholic, based on the religion of their ruler. Other provisions protected substantial religious minorities in cities like
Donauwörth, and confirmed Lutheran ownership of property taken from the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
since 1552.
However, the settlement was undermined by the expansion of Protestantism into Catholic areas post 1555, particularly
Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
, a Protestant doctrine viewed with hostility by both Lutherans and Catholics. The Augsburg terms also gave individual rulers significantly greater autonomy, allowing larger states to pursue their own objectives. These frequently clashed with those of central authority, and on occasion superseded religion, with the Protestant states of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
,
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...
and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
competing over the lucrative
Baltic trade.
Reconciling these differences was hampered by fragmented political institutions, which included 300
imperial estate
An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...
s distributed across Germany, the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
,
northern Italy, and present-day France. These ranged in size and importance from the seven
Prince-electors who voted for the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
, down to
Prince-bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
rics and
imperial cities like
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
. Each also belonged to an
Imperial Circle", a regional grouping concerned chiefly with defence, and which operated independently of the others. Above all of these was the
Imperial Diet, which assembled infrequently, and focused on discussion, rather than legislation.
Although technically elected, since 1440 the position of emperor had been held by the
House of Habsburg. The largest single landowner within the Holy Roman Empire, they ruled over eight million subjects, based in territories that included
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
and
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. They also controlled the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
until 1556, when
Charles V divided his possessions between different branches of the family. This bond was reinforced by frequent inter-marriage, while
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
retained territories within the Holy Roman Empire such as the
Spanish Netherlands
The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
,
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and
Franche-Comté. However, although the two often collaborated, there was no such thing as a joint "Habsburg" policy.
This is because the two entities were very different. Spain was a global maritime superpower, stretching from Europe to the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, and
the Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...
, while Austria was a land-based power, focused on Germany, and securing their eastern border against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Another key difference was the disparity in relative financial strength, with the Spanish providing large subsidies to their Austrian counterparts. The loss of these post 1640, as Spain itself struggled with the costs of a long running global war, substantially weakened the imperial position.
Prior to the Reformation, shared religion partially compensated for weak imperial institutions. After 1556, rising religious and political tensions allowed states like Lutheran Saxony and Catholic
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
to expand their own power, while further weakening imperial authority. This internal political struggle was exacerbated by external powers with their own strategic objectives, such as Spain, the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, or France, confronted by Habsburg lands on its borders to the
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
,
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, and along the
Pyrenees. Since a number of foreign rulers were also imperial princes, divisions within the empire drew in players like
Christian IV of Denmark, who joined the war in 1625 as
Duke of Holstein-Gottorp.
Background: 1556 to 1618

Disputes occasionally resulted in full-scale conflict like the 1583 to 1588
Cologne War, caused when its
ruler
A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...
converted to Calvinism. More common were events such as the 1606 "Battle of the Flags" in Donauwörth, when riots broke out after the Lutheran majority blocked a Catholic religious procession.
Emperor Rudolf approved intervention by the Catholic
Maximilian of Bavaria. In return, he was allowed to annex the town, and as agreed at Augsburg, the official religion changed from Lutheran to Catholic.
When the Imperial Diet opened in February 1608, both Lutherans and Calvinists sought re-confirmation of the Augsburg settlement. In return, the Habsburg heir
Archduke Ferdinand required the immediate restoration of any property taken from the Catholic Church since 1555, rather than the previous practice whereby each case was assessed separately. By threatening all Protestants, his demand paralysed the diet, and removed the perception of imperial neutrality.
Loss of faith in central authority meant towns and rulers began strengthening their fortifications and armies, with foreign travellers often commenting on the militarisation of Germany in this period. When
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine formed the
Protestant Union in 1608, Maximilian responded by setting up the
Catholic League in July 1609. Both were largely vehicles for their leaders' dynastic ambitions, but when combined with the 1609 to 1614
War of the Jülich Succession, the result was to increase tensions throughout the empire. Some historians who see the war as primarily a European conflict argue Jülich marks its beginning, with Spain and Austria backing the Catholic candidate, France and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
the Protestant.
External powers became involved in what was an internal German dispute due to the imminent expiry of the 1609
Twelve Years' Truce, which suspended the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
between Spain and the Dutch Republic. Before restarting hostilities,
Ambrosio Spinola, commander in the Spanish Netherlands, needed to secure the
Spanish Road, an overland route connecting Habsburg possessions in Italy to
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. This allowed him to move troops and supplies by road, rather than sea where the Dutch navy was dominant; by 1618, the only part not controlled by Spain ran through the
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...
.
Since
Emperor Matthias had no surviving children, in
July 1617 Philip III of Spain agreed to support
Ferdinand II's election as king of Bohemia and Hungary. In return, Ferdinand made concessions to Spain in northern Italy and Alsace, and agreed to support their offensive against the Dutch. Doing so required his election as emperor, which was not guaranteed; Maximilian of Bavaria, who opposed the increase of Spanish influence in an area he considered his own, tried to create a coalition to support his candidacy.
Another option was
Frederick V, Elector Palatine, a Calvinist who in 1613 married
Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...
. Currently, three of the seven electors were Protestant, and four Catholic, so when Ferdinand was elected king of Bohemia in 1617, he also gained control of its electoral vote. However, his conservative Catholicism made him unpopular with the predominantly Protestant Bohemian nobility, who were also concerned about the erosion of their rights. These factors led them to propose replacing Ferdinand, but since Frederick's election would change the religious balance of the electors, this potentially implied a Protestant emperor, and the end of Habsburg predominance. These factors combined to bring about the
Bohemian Revolt in May 1618.
Phase I: 1618 to 1635
Bohemian revolt

Ferdinand once claimed he would rather see his lands destroyed than tolerate
heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
within them. Less than 18 months after taking control of
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
in 1595, he had eliminated Protestantism in what had been a stronghold of the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. Absorbed by their war in the Netherlands, his Spanish relatives preferred to avoid antagonising Protestants elsewhere. They recognised the dangers associated with Ferdinand's fervent Catholicism, but supported his claim due to the lack of alternatives.
On being elected king of Bohemia in May 1617, Ferdinand reconfirmed
Protestant religious freedoms, but his record in Styria led to the suspicion he was only awaiting a chance to overturn them. These concerns were heightened after a series of legal disputes over property were all decided in favour of the Catholic Church. In May 1618, Protestant nobles led by
Count Thurn met in
Prague Castle with Ferdinand's two Catholic representatives,
Vilem Slavata and
Jaroslav Borzita. In what became known as the
Third Defenestration of Prague, both men were thrown out of the castle windows along with their secretary
Filip Fabricius, although all three survived.
Thurn established a Protestant-dominated government in Bohemia, while unrest expanded into
Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
and the Habsburg heartlands of
Lower and
Upper Austria
Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...
, where much of the nobility was also Protestant. Losing control of these threatened the entire Habsburg state, while in addition to its crucial electoral vote, Bohemia was one of the most prosperous areas of the Empire. Regaining control was vital for the Austrian Habsburgs, but chronic financial weakness left them dependent on Maximilian and Spain for the resources needed to achieve this.
Spanish involvement inevitably drew in the Dutch, and potentially
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, although the strongly Catholic
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
faced his own
Protestant rebels at home and refused to support them elsewhere. The revolt also provided opportunities for external opponents of the Habsburgs, including the Ottoman Empire and
Savoy
Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...
. Funded by Frederick and
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, a mercenary army under
Ernst von Mansfeld was sent to support the Bohemian rebels. Attempts by Maximilian and John George of Saxony to broker a negotiated solution ended when Matthias died in March 1619, since many believed the loss of his authority and influence had fatally damaged the Habsburgs.
By mid-June 1619, the Bohemian army under Thurn was outside
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and despite Mansfeld's defeat at
Sablat, Ferdinand's position continued to worsen.
Gabriel Bethlen, Calvinist
Prince of Transylvania, invaded Hungary with Ottoman support, although the Habsburgs persuaded them to avoid direct involvement. This was helped by Ottomans involvement first in the
1620 Polish war, then the
1623 to 1639 conflict with Persia.

On 19 August, the Bohemian Estates rescinded Ferdinand's 1617 election as king and a week later formally offered the crown to Frederick. On 28 August, Ferdinand was elected Holy Roman Emperor, making war inevitable if Frederick accepted the Bohemian crown. Most of Frederick's advisors urged him to reject it, as did the Duke of Savoy, and his father-in-law James I. The exceptions included
Christian of Anhalt and
Maurice of Orange, for whom conflict in Germany was a means to divert Spanish resources from the Netherlands. The Dutch offered subsidies to Frederick and the Protestant Union, helped raise loans for Bohemia, and provided weapons and munitions. However, wider European support failed to materialise, largely due to lack of enthusiasm for removing a legally elected ruler, regardless of religion.
Although Frederick accepted the crown and entered Prague in October 1619, his support eroded over the next few months. In July 1620, the Protestant Union proclaimed its neutrality, while John George of Saxony backed Ferdinand in return for the cession of
Lusatia, and a guarantee of Lutheran rights in Bohemia. Maximilian of Bavaria funded a combined
Imperial-Catholic League army led by
Count Tilly and
Charles of Bucquoy, which pacified Upper and Lower Austria and occupied western Bohemia before marching on Prague. Defeated by Tilly at the
Battle of White Mountain in November 1620, the Bohemian army disintegrated, and Frederick was forced to flee the country.
Palatinate campaign
By abandoning Frederick, the German princes had hoped to restrict the dispute to Bohemia, but this was thwarted by Maximilian's dynastic ambitions. In the October 1619
Treaty of Munich, Ferdinand transferred the Palatinate's electoral vote to Bavaria, and allowed Maximilian to annex the
Upper Palatinate. Many Protestants had supported Ferdinand because in principle they opposed the deposition of a legally elected ruler, and now objected to Frederick's removal on the same grounds. For Catholics, it presented an opportunity to regain lands and properties lost since 1555, a combination which destabilised large parts of the Empire.
At the same time, Spain was drawn into the conflict due to the strategic importance of the Spanish Road for their war in the Netherlands, and its proximity to the Palatinate. When an army led by
Córdoba occupied the
Lower Palatinate in October 1619, James I sent English naval forces against Spanish colonial possessions and threatened war if Spanish troops were not withdrawn by spring 1621. These actions were primarily designed to placate his opponents in
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, who considered his pro-Spanish policy a betrayal of the Protestant cause. Spanish chief minister
Olivares correctly interpreted them as an invitation to open negotiations, and in return for an Anglo-Spanish alliance offered to restore Frederick to his Rhineland possessions.
Since Frederick's demand for full restitution of his lands and titles was incompatible with the Treaty of Munich, hopes of a negotiated peace quickly evaporated. Despite defeat in Bohemia, Frederick's allies included
Georg Friedrich of Baden and
Christian of Brunswick, while the Dutch provided him with military support after the Eighty Years' War restarted in April 1621 and his father-in-law James funded an army of mercenaries under Mansfeld. However, their failure to co-ordinate effectively led to a series of defeats by Spanish and Catholic League forces, including
Wimpfen in May 1622 and
Höchst in June. By November 1622, Spanish and imperial troops controlled most of the Palatinate, apart from
Frankenthal, which was held by a small English garrison under Sir
Horace Vere. The remnants of Mansfeld's army took refuge in the Dutch Republic, as did Frederick, who spent most of his time in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
until his death in November 1632.
At a meeting of the Imperial Diet in February 1623, Ferdinand forced through provisions transferring Frederick's titles, lands, and electoral vote to Maximilian. He did so with support from the Catholic League, despite strong opposition from Protestant members, as well as the Spanish. The Palatinate was clearly lost; in March, James instructed Vere to surrender Frankenthal, while Tilly's victory over Christian of Brunswick at
Stadtlohn in August completed military operations. However, Spanish and Dutch involvement in the campaign was a significant step in internationalising the war, while Frederick's removal meant other Protestant princes began discussing armed resistance to preserve their own rights and territories.
Danish intervention (1625–1629)
With Saxony dominating the
Upper Saxon Circle and
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
the
Lower, both ''kreise'' had remained neutral during the campaigns in Bohemia and the Palatinate. However, Frederick's deposition in 1623 meant John George of Saxony and the Calvinist
George William, Elector of Brandenburg became concerned Ferdinand intended to reclaim formerly Catholic bishoprics currently held by Protestants. These fears seemed confirmed when Tilly restored the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Halberstadt in early 1625.
As Duke of Holstein, Christian IV was also a member of the Lower Saxon circle, while the Danish economy relied on the Baltic trade and tolls from traffic through the
Øresund. In 1621, Hamburg accepted Danish "supervision", while his son
Frederick became joint-administrator of
Lübeck
Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
,
Bremen, and
Verden; possession ensured Danish control of the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
and
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
rivers.
Ferdinand had paid
Albrecht von Wallenstein for his support against Frederick with estates confiscated from the Bohemian rebels, and now contracted with him to conquer the north on a similar basis. In May 1625, the Lower Saxony ''kreis'' elected Christian their military commander, although not without resistance; Saxony and Brandenburg viewed Denmark and Sweden as competitors, and wanted to avoid either becoming involved in the empire. Attempts to negotiate a peaceful solution failed as the conflict in Germany became part of the wider struggle between France and their Habsburg rivals in Spain and Austria.
In the June 1624
Treaty of Compiègne, France had agreed to subsidise the Dutch war against Spain for a minimum of three years, while in the December 1625
Treaty of The Hague, the Dutch and English agreed to finance Danish intervention in the Empire. Hoping to create a wider coalition against Ferdinand, the Dutch invited France, Sweden, Savoy, and the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
to join, but it was overtaken by events. In early 1626,
Cardinal Richelieu, main architect of the alliance, faced a new Huguenot rebellion at home and in the March
Treaty of Monzón, France withdrew from northern Italy, re-opening the Spanish Road.

Dutch and English subsidies enabled Christian to devise an ambitious three part campaign plan. While he led the main force down the Weser, Mansfeld would attack Wallenstein in
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
, supported by forces led by Christian of Brunswick and
Maurice of Hesse-Kassel. However, Mansfeld was defeated at
Dessau Bridge in April, and when Maurice refused to support him, Christian of Brunswick fell back on
Wolfenbüttel, where he died of disease shortly after. The Danes were comprehensively beaten at
Lutter in August, and Mansfeld's army dissolved after his death in November.
Many of Christian's German allies, such as
Hesse-Kassel and Saxony, had little interest in replacing imperial domination with Danish, while few of the Dutch or English subsidies were ever paid.
Charles I of England allowed Christian to recruit up to 9,000 Scottish mercenaries, but they took time to arrive, and although able to slow Wallenstein's advance were insufficient to stop him. By the end of 1627, Wallenstein had occupied
Mecklenburg,
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
, and
Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
, and began making plans to construct a fleet capable of challenging Danish control of the Baltic. He was supported by Spain, for whom it provided an opportunity to open another front against the Dutch.
On 13 May 1628, his deputy
von Arnim besieged
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...
, the only port with facilities large enough to build this fleet.
Gustavus Adolphus responded by sending several thousand men to Stralsund under
Alexander Leslie, who was also appointed governor. Von Arnim abandoned the siege on 4 August, but three weeks later Christian suffered another defeat at
Wolgast. He began negotiations with Wallenstein, who despite his recent victories was concerned by the prospect of Swedish intervention, and thus anxious to make peace.

With Ferdinand's resources stretched by the outbreak of the
War of the Mantuan Succession, Wallenstein persuaded him to agree relatively lenient terms in the June 1629
Treaty of Lübeck. These allowed Christian to retain
Schleswig and Holstein in return for relinquishing Bremen and Verden, and abandoning support for the German Protestants. While Denmark kept Schleswig and Holstein until 1864, this effectively ended its reign as the predominant Nordic state.
Once again, the methods used to obtain victory explain why the war failed to end. Ferdinand paid Wallenstein by letting him confiscate estates, extort ransoms from towns, and allowing his men to plunder the lands they passed through, regardless of whether they belonged to allies or opponents. In early 1628, Ferdinand deposed the hereditary
Duke of Mecklenburg, and appointed Wallenstein in his place, an act which united all German princes in opposition, regardless of religion. This unity was undermined by Maximilian of Bavaria's desire to retain the Palatinate; as a result, the Catholic League argued only for a return to the position prevailing pre-1627, while Protestants wanted that of 1618.
Made overconfident by success, in March 1629 Ferdinand passed an
Edict of Restitution, which required all lands taken from the Catholic church after 1555 to be returned. While technically legal, politically it was extremely unwise, since doing so would alter nearly every single state boundary in north and central Germany, deny the existence of Calvinism and restore Catholicism in areas where it had not been a significant presence for nearly a century. Well aware none of the princes involved would agree, Ferdinand used the device of an imperial
edict, once again asserting his right to alter laws without consultation. This new assault on "German liberties" ensured continuing opposition and undermined his previous success.
At the same time, his Spanish allies were reluctant to antagonise German Protestants as the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
had now shifted in favour of the Dutch Republic. Madrid's financial position steadily deteriorated in the 1620s, particularly after the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
captured the
Spanish treasure fleet
The Spanish treasure fleet, or West Indies Fleet (, also called silver fleet or plate fleet; from the meaning "silver"), was a convoy system of sea routes organized by the Spanish Empire from 1566 to 1790, which linked Spain with its Spanish Empi ...
at
Matanzas
Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...
in 1628. Fighting in Italy diverted Spanish resources from the Netherlands, where
Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange captured
's-Hertogenbosch
s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...
in 1629.
Sweden invades Germany (1630–1635)

From 1626 to 1629, Gustavus was engaged in a
war with Poland–Lithuania, ruled by his Catholic cousin
Sigismund, who also claimed the Swedish throne and was backed by Ferdinand II. Once this conflict ended, and with only a few minor states like
Hesse-Kassel still openly opposing Ferdinand, Gustavus became an obvious ally for Richelieu. In September 1629, the latter helped negotiate the
Truce of Altmark between Sweden and Poland, freeing Gustavus to enter the war. Partly a genuine desire to support his Protestant co-religionists, like Christian he also wanted to maximise his share of the Baltic trade that provided much of Sweden's income.
Following failed negotiations with Ferdinand II, Gustavus landed in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
in June 1630 with nearly 18,000 Swedish troops. Using Stralsund as a bridgehead, he marched south along the
Oder towards
Stettin
Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
and coerced
Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania, into agreeing an
alliance
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
which secured his interests in Pomerania against his rival Sigismund. As a result, the Poles turned their attention to Russia, initiating the 1632 to 1634
Smolensk War.
However, Swedish expectations of widespread German support proved unrealistic. By the end of 1630, their only new ally was the Administrator of Magdeburg,
Christian William whose capital was under siege by Tilly. Despite the devastation inflicted by imperial soldiers, Saxony and Brandenburg had their own ambitions in Pomerania, which clashed with those of Gustavus; previous experience also showed inviting external powers into the Empire was easier than getting them to leave.

Gustavus put pressure on Brandenburg by sacking Küstrin and
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...
, while the
Sack of Magdeburg in May 1631 provided a powerful warning of the consequences of imperial victory. Once again, Richelieu used French financial power to bridge differences between the Swedes and the German princes; the 1631
Treaty of Bärwalde provided funds for the Swedes and their Protestant allies, including Saxony and Brandenburg. These amounted to 400,000
Reichstaler per year, or one million
livres, plus an additional 120,000 for 1630. While less than 2% of total French income, these payments boosted that of Sweden by more than 25%, and allowed Gustavus to maintain 36,000 troops.
Gustavus used this army to win victories at
Breitenfeld in September 1631, then
Rain
Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...
in April 1632, where Tilly was killed. Ferdinand turned once again to Wallenstein, who realised Gustavus was overextended and established himself at
Fürth, from where he could threaten his supply lines. This led to the
Battle of the Alte Veste in late August, one of the largest battles of the war. An assault on the imperial camp outside the town was bloodily repulsed, arguably the greatest blunder committed by Gustavus during his German campaign.

Two months later, the Swedes fought an imperial army at
Lützen. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, while Gustavus himself was killed and some Swedish units incurred losses of over 60%. Fighting continued until dusk when Wallenstein retreated, abandoning his artillery and wounded. Despite their losses, this allowed the Swedes to claim victory, although the result continues to be disputed.
After his death, Gustavus' policies were continued by his Chancellor
Axel Oxenstierna, and with French backing, Sweden and their German allies formed the
Heilbronn League in April 1633. In July, their combined forces defeated an imperial army under Bronckhorst-Gronsfeld at
Oldendorf. Critics claimed this defeat was caused by Wallenstein's failure to support the Bavarians, while rumours spread that he was preparing to switch sides. As a result, Ferdinand II ordered his arrest in February 1634, and on 25th, he was assassinated by his own officers in Cheb.
The loss of Wallenstein and his organisation left Ferdinand II reliant on Spain for military support. Since their main concern was to re-open the Spanish Road for their campaign against the Dutch, the focus of the war now shifted from the north to the Rhineland and Bavaria.
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria, new Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, raised an army of 18,000 in Italy, which met up with an imperial force of 15,000 at Donauwörth on 2 September 1634. Four days later, they won a decisive victory at
Nördlingen which destroyed Swedish power in southern Germany and led to the defection of their German allies, who now sought to make peace with the emperor.
Phase II: French intervention, 1635 to 1648
By triggering direct French intervention, Nördlingen expanded the conflict rather than ending it. Richelieu provided the Swedes with
new subsidies, hired mercenaries led by
Bernard of Saxe-Weimar for an offensive in the Rhineland, and in May 1635 initiated the
Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659). A few days later, the German states and Ferdinand agreed to the
Peace of Prague. In return for withdrawing the Edict of Restitution, the Heilbronn and Catholic Leagues agreed to dissolve their forces, which were replaced by a single Imperial army, although Saxony and Bavaria retained control of their own forces. This is generally seen as the point when the war ceased to be a primarily inter-German religious conflict.
In March 1635, French soldiers entered the
Valtellina, cutting the link between Spanish controlled Milan and the Empire. In May, their main army of 35,000 invaded the Spanish Netherlands, but withdrew in July after suffering 17,000 casualties. In
March 1636, France joined the Thirty Years War as an ally of Sweden, whose loss of most of the territories gained by Gustavus and their taxes made it increasingly reliant on French financing. The Spanish then invaded northern France, causing panic in Paris before lack of supplies forced them to retreat. Despite the defection of most of their German allies, victory under
Johan Banér at
Wittstock on 4 October re-established Swedish predominance in northeast Germany.
Ferdinand II died in February 1637, and was succeeded by his son
Ferdinand III, who faced a precarious military position. Although
Matthias Gallas had forced Banér back to the Baltic, in March 1638 Bernard of Saxe Weimar destroyed an imperial army at
Rheinfelden. His capture of
Breisach in December secured French control of Alsace and severed the Spanish Road, forcing Gallas to divert resources there. Although
von Hatzfeldt defeated a combined Scots-German force at
Vlotho in October, lack of supplies obliged Gallas to withdraw from the Baltic.
In April 1639, Banér defeated the Saxons at
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...
, then entered Bohemia in May. To retrieve the situation, Ferdinand diverted
Piccolomini's army from
Thionville
Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz.
History
Thionvi ...
, ending direct military cooperation between Austria and Spain. Pressure grew on Olivares to make peace, especially after French and Swedish gains in Germany cut the Spanish Road, forcing
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
to resupply their armies in Flanders by sea. Attempts to re-assert maritime control ended when the
Dutch fleet under
Maarten Tromp won a significant victory over the Spanish at the
Downs in October 1639.
The French occupied Spanish-controlled
Artois in 1640, while
Dutch attacks on
Portuguese colonies, combined with opposition to taxes, led to revolts in both
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
. Olivares now argued Spain should accept Dutch independence, and focus on preventing further French gains in the Spanish Netherlands. This appeared achievable since most of the Dutch ''
regenten'' believed the war was won, the only question being the price of peace. They therefore reduced the army budget for 1640, despite objections from Frederick Henry.
After Bernard died in July 1639, his troops joined Banér's Swedish army in an ineffectual campaign along the Weser, the highlight being a surprise attack in January 1641 on the Imperial Diet in Regensburg. Forced to retreat, Banér reached
Halberstadt in May where he died, and despite beating off an Imperial force at
Wolfenbüttel in June, his largely German troops mutinied due to lack of pay. The situation was saved by the arrival of
Lennart Torstensson in November with 7,000 Swedish recruits and enough cash to satisfy the mutineers.
French victory at
Kempen in January 1642 was followed by
Second Breitenfeld in October 1642, where Torstensson inflicted almost 10,000 casualties on an Imperial army led by
Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. The Swedes captured
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in December, although they failed to take
Freiberg, and by 1643 the Saxon army had been reduced to a few isolated garrisons. Despite these setbacks, Ferdinand fought on, hoping to improve his position enough to exclude the imperial estates from his peace negotiations with France and Sweden, and allow him to represent the Empire as a whole.
This seemed more likely when Richelieu died in December 1642, followed by
Louis XIII in May 1643, leaving his five-year-old son
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
as king. However, Richelieu's policies were continued by his successor
Cardinal Mazarin, while gains in Alsace allowed France to focus on the war against Spain. In 1643, the Army of Flanders invaded northern France, but were decisively beaten by
Condé at
Rocroi
Rocroi () is a Communes of France, commune in the Ardennes (département), Ardennes Departments of France, department in northern France.
The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort.
Population
History
Rocroi was forti ...
on 19 May. This ended any prospect of re-opening the Spanish Road, and Madrid finally accepted the reality of Dutch independence.

However, Condé was unable to fully exploit his victory due to factors affecting all combatants. The devastation inflicted by 25 years of warfare meant armies spent more time foraging than fighting, forcing them to become smaller and more mobile, with a much greater emphasis on cavalry. Difficulties in gathering provisions meant campaigns started later, and restricted them to areas that could be easily supplied, usually close to rivers. In addition, the French army in Germany was shattered at
Tuttlingen in November by Bavarian general
Franz von Mercy.
Soon after Rocroi, Ferdinand invited Sweden and France to attend peace talks in the
Westphalian towns of
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
and
Osnabrück, but negotiations were delayed when Christian of Denmark blockaded Hamburg and increased toll payments in the Baltic. This severely impacted the Dutch and Swedish economies, and in December 1643 the
Torstensson War began when the Swedes invaded Jutland with Dutch naval support. Ferdinand assembled an army under Gallas to attack the Swedes from the rear, which proved a disastrous decision. Leaving
Wrangel to finish the war in Denmark, in May 1644 Torstensson marched back into Germany Gallas was unable to stop him, while the Danes sued for peace after their defeat at
Fehmarn in October 1644.
In August 1644, the French and Bavarian armies met in the three day
Battle of Freiburg, in which both sides suffered heavy casualties. Convinced the war could no longer be won, Maximilian now put pressure on Ferdinand to end the conflict. Shortly after peace talks restarted in November, Gallas' army disintegrated and the remnants retreated into Bohemia, where they were scattered by Torstensson at
Jankau in March 1645. In May, Bavarians under von Mercy destroyed a French detachment at
Herbsthausen, before he in turn was defeated and killed at
Second Nördlingen in August. This left John George of Saxony isolated, who was forced to sign a six-month truce with Sweden in September, then agreed to remain neutral in the March 1646 Treaty of Eulenberg.
Under
Turenne, French commander in the Rhineland, and Wrangel, who had replaced Torstensson, the French and Swedes separately invaded Bavaria in the summer of 1646. Maximilian was soon desperate to end the war he was largely responsible for starting, at which point the Spanish publicised a secret offer by Mazarin to exchange French-occupied Catalonia for the Spanish Netherlands. Angered by this duplicity, the Dutch agreed a truce with Spain in January 1647 and began to negotiate their own peace terms. Having failed to acquire the Netherlands through diplomacy, Mazarin decided to do so by force. To free up resources for the attempt, on 14 March 1647 he signed the
Truce of Ulm with Bavaria,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and Sweden.
The planned offensive fell apart when Turenne's mostly German troops mutinied, while Bavarian general
Johann von Werth refused to comply with the truce. Although the mutinies were quickly suppressed, Maximilian felt obliged to follow Werth's example, and in September ordered Bronckhorst-Gronsfeld to combine the remnants of the Bavarian army with Imperial troops under
von Holzappel. Outnumbered by a Franco-Swedish army led by Wrangel and Turenne, they were defeated at
Zusmarshausen in May 1648. Holzappel was killed, and although most of his army escaped thanks to
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy.
Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier, ...
, Bavaria was left defenceless once again.
The Swedes sent a second force under
von Königsmarck to
attack Prague, seizing the castle and
Malá Strana
Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menšà Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods.
In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...
district in July. The main objective was to gain as much loot as possible before the war ended; they failed to take the
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
but captured treasures including the ''
Codex Gigas'', which can now be seen in Stockholm. When a Spanish offensive in Flanders ended with defeat at
Lens
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
in August 1648, Ferdinand finally agreed terms and on 24 October, he signed peace treaties with France and Sweden, ending the war.
Conflict outside Germany
Northern Italy
Northern Italy had been contested by France and the
Habsburgs since the
end of the 15th century, as its control provided access to the vulnerable southern borders of France and Austria. In addition, large sections of the
Spanish Road ran through it, a route that allowed Spain to safely move recruits and supplies from their Italian possessions to support their
war against the Dutch. This reliance on long exterior lines of communication was a strategic weakness, which the French sought to exploit by disrupting the Road. This usually involved attacks on the Spanish-held Duchy of Milan, or blocking the Alpine passes.
Montferrat and its fortress of
Casale Monferrato were subsidiary territories of the
Duchy of Mantua and their possession allowed the holder to threaten Milan. This meant when the
last duke in the direct line died in December 1627, France and Spain backed rival claimants, resulting in the 1628 to 1631 War of the Mantuan Succession. The French-born
Duke of Nevers was backed by France and the Republic of Venice, his rival the
Duke of Guastalla by Spain, Ferdinand II, Savoy and
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. While a relatively minor conflict, the struggle had a disproportionate impact on the Thirty Years War, since
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...
viewed Habsburg expansion in Italy as a threat to the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
. His opposition to Ferdinand II divided the Catholic powers, and made it acceptable for France to employ Protestant allies against Austria.
In March 1629, the French stormed Savoyard positions in the Pas de Suse, lifted the Spanish siege of Casale, and captured
Pinerolo. The
Treaty of Suza then ceded the two fortresses to France and allowed their troops unrestricted passage through Savoyard territory, giving them control over
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
and the Alpine passes into southern France. However, as soon as the main French army withdrew in late 1629, the Spanish and Savoyards besieged Casale once again. At the same time, mercenaries funded by Ferdinand II were used in a Spanish offensive which routed the main Venetian field army, and forced Nevers to abandon Mantua. By October 1630, the French position seemed so precarious their representatives agreed the Treaty of Ratisbon. It was never ratified, as Richelieu claimed he had not approved the terms.
Several factors restored the French position in northern Italy, notably a devastating outbreak of
plague; between 1629 and 1631, over 60,000 died in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and 46,000 in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, with proportionate losses elsewhere. Richelieu took advantage of the diversion of imperial resources to fund a
Swedish invasion of Germany, whose success forced the Spanish-Savoyard alliance to withdraw from Casale and sign the Treaty of Cherasco in April 1631. Nevers was confirmed as Duke of Mantua and although Richelieu's representative, Cardinal Mazarin, agreed to evacuate Pinerolo, it was later secretly returned under an agreement with
Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. With the exception of the 1639 to 1642
Piedmontese Civil War, this secured the French position in northern Italy for the next twenty years.
After the outbreak of the Franco-Spanish War in 1635, Richelieu supported a renewed offensive by Victor Amadeus against Milan to tie down Spanish resources. These included an unsuccessful attack on
Valenza in 1635, plus minor victories at
Tornavento and
Mombaldone. However, the anti-Habsburg alliance in northern Italy fell apart when first Charles of Mantua died in September 1637, then Victor Amadeus in October, whose death led to a struggle for control of the Savoyard state between his widow
Christine of France and brothers,
Thomas and
Maurice.
In 1639, their quarrel erupted into open warfare, with France backing Christine and Spain the two brothers, and resulted in the
Siege of Turin. One of the most famous military events of the 17th century, at one stage it featured no less than three different armies besieging each other. However, revolts in Portugal and Catalonia forced the Spanish to cease operations in Italy, and the war was settled on terms favourable to Christine and France.
In 1647, a French-backed rebellion succeeded in temporarily overthrowing Spanish rule in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
. The Spanish quickly crushed the insurrection and restored their rule over all of southern Italy, defeating multiple French expeditionary forces sent to back the rebels. However, it exposed the weakness of Spanish rule in Italy and the alienation of the local elites from Madrid. In 1650, the governor of Milan wrote that as well as widespread dissatisfaction in the south, the only one of the Italian states that could be relied on was the
Duchy of Parma.
Catalonia
Throughout the 1630s, tax increases levied to pay for the war led to protests throughout Spanish territories, which in 1640 resulted in revolts: first in Portugal, then in the
Principality of Catalonia. Backed by France as part of Richelieu's 'war by diversion', in January 1641 the rebels proclaimed a
Catalan Republic. The Madrid government quickly assembled an army of 26,000 men to crush the revolt, which defeated the rebels at
Martorell on 23 January 1641. The French now persuaded the
Catalan Courts to recognise Louis XIII as
Count of Barcelona
The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...
, and ruler of Catalonia.
On 26 January, a combined French-Catalan force routed a larger Spanish army at
Montjuïc and secured
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. However, the rebels soon found the new French administration differed little from the old, turning the war into a three-sided contest between the Franco-Catalan elite, the rural peasantry, and the Spanish. There was little serious fighting after France took control of
Perpignan and
Roussillon, establishing the current-day Franco-Spanish border in the Pyrenees. The revolt ended in 1651 when Madrid recaptured
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
Outside Europe
In 1580,
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
also became ruler of the Portuguese Empire, creating the
Iberian Union; long-standing commercial rivals, the 1602 to 1663
Dutch–Portuguese War
The Dutch–Portuguese War (; ) was a global armed conflict involving Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch West India Company, and their allies, against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, the Portuguese Empire. Beg ...
was an offshoot of the Dutch fight for independence from Spain. The Portuguese dominated the trans-
Atlantic economy known as the
Triangular trade, in which slaves were transported from
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
and
Portuguese Angola to work on plantations in
Portuguese Brazil, which exported sugar and tobacco to Europe. Known by Dutch historians as the 'Great Design", control of this trade would not only be extremely profitable but also deprive the Spanish of funds needed to finance their war in the Netherlands.
In 1621, the
Dutch West India Company
The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...
was formed to achieve this, and a Dutch fleet captured the Brazilian port of
Salvador, Bahia
Salvador () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality and capital city of the Federative units of Brazil, state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognize ...
in 1624. After it was retaken by the Portuguese in 1625, a second fleet established
Dutch Brazil in 1630, which was not returned until 1654. In 1641, the Dutch seized Portuguese slave trading hubs in Angola and
São Tomé, with support from the kingdoms of
Kongo and
Ndongo, whose position was threatened by Portuguese expansion. Although those gains proved short-lived, the Dutch retained territories elsewhere, like the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
, as well as Portuguese trading posts on the
Gold Coast, in
Malacca, on the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
, the
Moluccas and
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The final Peace of Westphalia consisted of three separate agreements. These were the
Peace of Münster between Spain and the Dutch Republic, the Treaty of Osnabrück between the Empire and Sweden, and the Treaty of Münster between the Empire and France. Preliminary discussions began in 1642, with a total of 109 delegations attending talks at one time or other, split between Münster and Osnabrück. After the Swedes rejected Christian of Denmark as mediator, the negotiators finally agreed on
Papal Legate Fabio Chigi, and Venetian envoy
Alvise Contarini.
The first to be signed on 30 January 1648, the Peace of Münster forms part of the Westphalia settlement since the Dutch Republic was still considered imperial territory. It confirmed Dutch independence from Spain, although the Republic was not officially acknowledged as being outside the Empire until 1728. The Dutch also gained a monopoly over trade conducted through the Scheldt estuary, ensuring the commercial ascendancy of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, capital of the Spanish Netherlands and previously the most important port in northern Europe, would not recover economically until the late 19th century.
The terms of the separate treaties with France and Sweden had first to be agreed by Ferdinand and the imperial estates. It has been argued they were a "major turning point in German and European...legal history", because they went beyond normal peace settlements and effected major constitutional and religious changes to the Empire itself. These negotiations were complex, with states like Saxony and Bavaria having very different views on desired outcomes, while Ferdinand continued to hope for an improvement in his military position. With Swedish troops on the verge of taking Prague, he finally signed the Peace on 24 October.
Key elements of the Peace were provisions confirming the autonomy of states within the Empire, including Ferdinand's acceptance of the supremacy of the Imperial Diet, and those seeking to prevent future religious conflict. Article 5 reconfirmed the Augsburg settlement, established 1624 as the basis, or "Normaljahr", for determining the dominant religion of a state and guaranteed freedom of worship for religious minorities. Article 7 recognised Calvinism as a Reformed faith and removed the ''ius reformandi'', the requirement that if a ruler changed his religion, his subjects had to follow suit. These terms did not apply to the hereditary lands of the Habsburg monarchy, such as Lower and Upper Austria.
In terms of territorial concessions, Brandenburg-Prussia received
Farther Pomerania, and the bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt,
Kammin, and
Minden
Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...
. Frederick's son
Charles Louis regained the Lower Palatinate and became the eighth imperial elector, although Bavaria kept the Upper Palatinate and its electoral vote. In Lorraine, the
Three Bishoprics of
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
,
Toul and
Verdun
Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
In 843, the Treaty of V ...
, occupied by France since 1552, were formally ceded, as were the cities of the
Décapole in Alsace, with the exception of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
and
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
. Sweden received an indemnity of five million
thalers, the imperial territories of
Swedish Pomerania, and the Prince-bishoprics of Bremen and Verden, which also gave them a seat in the Imperial Diet.
The Peace was denounced by
Pope Innocent X, who regarded the bishoprics ceded to France and Brandenburg as property of the Catholic church, and thus his to assign. It also disappointed many exiles by accepting Catholicism as the dominant religion in Bohemia, Upper and Lower Austria, all Protestant strongholds prior to 1618. Fighting did not end immediately, since demobilising over 200,000 soldiers took time, and the last Swedish garrison did not leave Germany until 1654. In addition, Mazarin insisted on excluding the
Burgundian Circle from the Treaty of Münster, allowing France to continue its campaign against Spain in the Low Countries, a war that continued until the 1659
Treaty of the Pyrenees. The
political disintegration of Poland-Lithuania led to the 1655 to 1660
Second Northern War
The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
with Sweden, which also involved Denmark, Russia and Brandenburg, while two Swedish attempts to impose its control on the port of
Bremen failed in
1654 and 1666.
It has been argued the Peace established the principle known as
Westphalian sovereignty, the idea of non-interference in domestic affairs by outside powers, although this has since been challenged. The 'Congress' model was used for peace negotiations at
Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668,
Nijmegen in 1678, and
Ryswick in 1697, although unlike the 19th century 'Congress' system, these were intended to end wars, rather than prevent them.
Human and financial cost of the war
The Thirty Years' War is part of what historians sometimes call "
The General Crisis" of the mid-17th century, a period of sustained conflict and unrest in areas ranging from
Ming China to the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
,
Tsarist Russia and the Holy Roman Empire. In each of these, fighting combined with
famine and disease to inflict severe losses on local civilian populations. While the war certainly ranks as one of the worst of these events, 19th century
German nationalists
German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and of the Germanosphere into one unified nation-state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans a ...
often exaggerated its impact to illustrate the dangers of a divided Germany.
Claims of up to 12 million deaths from a population of 18 million are no longer considered realistic, while upper estimates of material losses are not supported by contemporary evidence, or in some cases exceed prewar tax records. Regardless, modern commentators agree the war was a man-made mortality disaster previously unknown in Europe. Estimates of total deaths range from 4.5 to 8 million, most incurred after 1630 when Sweden entered the war, the vast majority being civilians.
Battles generally featured armies of around 13,000 to 20,000 each, one of the largest being Alte Veste in 1632 with a combined 70,000 to 85,000. Estimates of the total deployed by both sides within Germany range from an average of 80,000 to 100,000 from 1618 to 1626, peaking at 250,000 in 1632 and falling to under 160,000 by 1648.
Casualty rates for those who served in the military could be extremely high. Of 230 men conscripted from the Swedish village of
Bygdeå between 1621 and 1639, 215 are recorded as dead or missing, while another 5 returned home crippled. Historian Peter Wilson puts those killed or wounded in action at around 450,000. Research shows disease increased that number by a factor of between two and three, which suggests total military casualties ranged from 1.3 to 1.8 million.
Sociologist Pitirim Sorokin calculates an upper limit of 2,071,000 military casualties, although his methodology has been disputed.
Local returns show only 3% of civilian deaths were caused by military action, the major causes being starvation (12%),
bubonic plague (64%),
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
(4%), and
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
(5%). Poor harvests throughout the 1630s and repeated plundering of the same areas led to widespread famine, with reports of people eating grass, too weak to accept
alms, or resorting to
cannibalism. Although regular outbreaks of disease were common prior to 1618, their spread was accelerated by the influx of foreign soldiers, the shifting locations of battle fronts, and displacement of rural populations into already crowded cities. Soldiers transferred from Germany allegedly sparked the
1629–1631 Italian plague, described as the "worst mortality crisis to affect Italy during the
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
". This resulted in some 280,000 deaths, with estimates of up to a million.
Modern historians generally agree the Holy Roman Empire experienced an overall
population decline
Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total world population, human population has estimates of historical world population, continued to grow but projections sugg ...
from 18 and 20 million in 1600, to between 11 and 13 million in 1650, and did not regain pre-war levels until 1750. Nearly 50% of these losses were incurred during the first period of Swedish intervention from 1630 to 1635. The high mortality rate was partly due to the reliance of all sides on foreign mercenaries, often unpaid and required to live off the land. Lack of a sense of 'shared community' resulted in atrocities such as the destruction of Magdeburg, in turn creating large numbers of refugees who were extremely susceptible to sickness and hunger. While flight saved lives in the short-term, in the long run it often proved catastrophic.

In 1940, agrarian historian
Günther Franz published an analysis of data from across Germany covering the period from 1618 to 1648. Broadly confirmed by more recent work, he concluded about 40% of the civilian rural population became casualties, and 33% of the urban. These figures need to be read with care, since Franz calculated the ''absolute decline'' in pre and post-war populations, or 'total demographic loss'. They therefore include factors unrelated to death or disease, such as permanent migration to areas outside the Empire or lower birthrates, a common but less obvious impact of extended warfare. There were also wide regional variations, with areas of northwest Germany experiencing minimal loss of population, while those of Mecklenburg,
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
and
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
fell by nearly 50%.
Although some towns may have overstated their losses to avoid taxes, individual records confirm serious declines; from 1620 to 1650, the population of
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
fell from 22,000 to 17,000, that of
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
from 48,000 to 21,000. The financial impact is less clear; while the war caused short-term economic dislocation, especially in the period
1618 to 1623, overall it accelerated existing changes in trading patterns. It does not appear to have reversed ongoing macro-economic trends, such as the reduction of price differentials between regional markets, and a greater degree of market integration across Europe. The death toll may have improved living standards for the survivors; one study shows wages in Germany increased by 40% in real terms between 1603 and 1652.
Military developments
Innovations made by Gustavus in particular are considered part of the evolution known as the "
Military Revolution", although whether tactics or technology were at the heart of these changes is still debated. Introduced by
Maurice of Orange in the 1590s, these sought to increase infantry firepower by moving from massed
columns to
line formation. Gustavus further reduced the ten ranks used by Maurice to six, and increased the proportion of
musketeers to
pikemen. He also enhanced their firepower by providing each unit with quick-firing light artillery pieces on either flank. The best example of their application in battle was the victory over Tilly's traditionally organised army at Breitenfeld in September 1631.
Line formations were often harder to co-ordinate, as demonstrated when the supposedly obsolete Spanish
tercios defeated the Swedes at
Nördlingen in 1634. Since they also lacked the offensive impact of columns, Gustavus compensated by requiring his cavalry to be far more aggressive, often employing Finnish ''
Hakkapeliitta'' as shock troops. However, even the Swedes used columns on occasion, notably the failed assault at Alte Veste in September 1632. The line versus column debate continued into the early 19th century, and both were employed during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
.
Such tactics needed professional soldiers, who could retain formation, reload and fire disciplined salvos while under attack, as well as the use of standardised weapons. The first half of the 17th century saw the publication of numerous instruction manuals showing the movements required, thirty-two for pikemen and forty-two for musketeers. In theory, it took up to six months to train infantry to operate in this way, but in reality many went into battle with far less experience. It also placed greater responsibility on junior officers who provided the vital links between senior commanders and the tactical unit. One of the first military schools designed to produce such men was set up at Siegen in 1616, and others soon followed.
On the other hand, strategic thinking failed to develop at the same pace. Historian Jeremy Black (historian), Jeremy Black claims most campaigns were "inconclusive", since they were primarily concerned with gaining access to supplies and money for the soldiers, rather than focused strategic objectives. The disconnect between military and diplomatic goals helps explain why the war lasted so long, and peace proved so elusive. When fighting officially ended in 1648, there were still over 150,000 troops under arms within the Empire, small numbers by modern standards, but unprecedented at the time. Most 17th century states could not finance armies of this size for extended periods, forcing them to depend on "contributions" from areas they passed through.
Supplies thus became the limiting factor in planning campaigns, a problem that grew more acute as the war progressed. Armies became smaller, with a greater emphasis on cavalry that could cover greater distances and move faster, rather than slow moving infantry. Poor infrastructure also required commanders to stay close to rivers, then the primary means of bulk transportation, and meant they could not move too far from their main bases. Feeding the troops became an objective in itself, unconnected to diplomatic goals and largely uncontrolled by their central governments. The result was "armies increasingly devoid of intelligible political objectives...degenerating into travelling armed mobs, living in a symbiotic relationship with the countryside they passed through". This often conflicted with the political aims of their employers; the devastation inflicted in 1628 and 1629 by imperial troops on Brandenburg and Saxony, both nominally allies, was a major factor in their support for Swedish intervention.
Finally, some commentators argue that while the Thirty Years War certainly played its part in accelerating new tactics and technology, of greater significance was the need to fund, supply and direct permanent armies for long periods, across wide-ranging theatres. Doing so required much more sophisticated mechanisms, and led to the transfer of organised violence from "contractor" generals like Wallenstein or Mansfeld to nation states. In that sense, the truly "revolutionary" aspect of the Military Revolution was less on the tactics and technology used by soldiers, but the institutions required to support them.
Social and cultural impact
The breakdown of social order caused by the war was often more significant and longer lasting than the immediate damage. The collapse of local government created landless peasants, who banded together to protect themselves from the soldiers of both sides, and led to widespread rebellions in Peasants' War in Upper Austria, Upper Austria, Bavaria and Brandenburg. Soldiers devastated one area before moving on, leaving large tracts of land empty of people and changing the ecosystem. Food shortages were worsened by an explosion in the rodent population, while Bavaria was overrun by wolves in the winter of 1638, and its crops destroyed by packs of wild pigs the following spring.

Contemporaries spoke of a "frenzy of despair" as people sought to make sense of the relentless and often random bloodshed unleashed by the war. Attributed by religious authorities to divine retribution, attempts to identify a supernatural cause led to a series of witch-hunts, starting in Franconia in 1626, then quickly spreading to other parts of Germany. They began in the Bishopric of Würzburg, an area with a history of such events going back to 1616 and now re-ignited by Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg, Bishop von Ehrenberg, a devout Catholic eager to assert the church's authority in his territories. By the time he died in 1631, Würzburg witch trial, over 900 people from all levels of society had been burned at the stake, executed.
The Bamberg witch trials, held in the nearby Bishopric of Bamberg from 1626 to 1631, claimed over one thousand lives; in 1629, 274 died in the Eichstätt witch trials, plus another 50 in the adjacent Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg. Elsewhere, persecution followed imperial military success, expanding into Margraviate of Baden, Baden and the Palatinate following their reconquest by Tilly, then into the Rhineland. However, the extent to which they were symptomatic of the impact of the conflict on society is debatable, since many took place in areas relatively untouched by the war. Concerned their brutality would discredit the Counter-Reformation, Ferdinand ensured active persecution largely ended by 1630.
Although the war caused immense destruction, it has also been credited with sparking a revival in German literature, including the creation of societies dedicated to "purging foreign elements" from the German language. One example is ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'', often suggested as one of the earliest examples of the picaresque novel; written by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen in 1668, it includes a realistic portrayal of a soldier's life based on his own experiences, many of which are verified by other sources. Other less famous examples include the diaries of Peter Hagendorf, a participant in the
Sack of Magdeburg whose descriptions of the everyday brutalities of the war remain compelling.
For German, and to a lesser extent Czech writers, the war was remembered as a defining moment of national trauma, the 18th century poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller being one of many to use it in their work. Variously known as the 'Great German War,' 'Great War' or 'Great Schism', for 19th and early 20th century German nationalists it showed the dangers of a divided Germany and was used to justify the creation of the German Empire in 1871, as well as the Greater Germanic Reich envisaged by the Nazi Germany, Nazis. Bertolt Brecht used it as the backdrop for his 1939 anti-war play ''Mother Courage and Her Children'', while its enduring cultural resonance is illustrated by the novel ''Tyll (novel), Tyll''; written by Austro-German author Daniel Kehlmann and also set during the war, it was nominated for the 2020 Booker Prize.
Political consequences
The Peace reconfirmed "German liberties", ending Habsburg attempts to convert the Holy Roman Empire into a centralised state similar to Spain. Over the next 50 years, Bavaria, Brandenburg-Prussia, Saxony and others increasingly pursued their own policies, while Sweden gained a permanent foothold in the Empire. Despite these setbacks, the Habsburg lands suffered less from the war than many others. They also became a far more coherent geographical bloc with the addition of Bohemia, and the restoration of Catholicism throughout their territories.
By laying the foundations of the modern nation state, Westphalia changed the relationship between rulers and ruled, many of whom previously had multiple political and religious allegiances. After 1648, they were now understood to be subject first and foremost to the laws and edicts of their respective state authority, not the claims of any other entity, either religious or secular. This made it easier to levy national forces loyal to the state and its leader; one lesson learned from Wallenstein and the Swedish invasion was the need for their own permanent armies, and German society became far more militarised.
For Sweden, the benefits ultimately proved short-lived. Unlike French gains, which were incorporated into France, Swedish territories remained part of the Empire, and they became members of the Lower and Upper Saxon ''kreis''. While this provided both seats and influence in the Imperial Diet, it also brought Sweden into direct conflict with Brandenburg-Prussia and Saxony, their competitors in Pomerania. The income from their German possessions was relatively minor, and although parts of Pomerania remained Swedish until 1815, much of it was ceded to Prussia in 1679 and 1720.

France arguably gained more from the conflict than any other power, and by 1648, most of Richelieu's objectives had been achieved. These included separation of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, expansion of the French frontier into the Empire, and an end to Spanish military supremacy in northern Europe. Although the Franco-Spanish war continued until 1659, Westphalia allowed Louis XIV to begin replacing Spain as the predominant European power.
While religion remained a divisive political issue in many countries, the Thirty Years' War is arguably the last major Continental Europe, European conflict where it was a primary driver. Future religious conflicts were either internal, such as the Camisards revolt in southern France, or relatively minor, like the 1712 Toggenburg War. The war created the outlines of a Europe that persisted until 1815 and beyond, most significantly the nation-state of France, along with the start of a split between Germany and a separate Austro-Hungarian bloc.
Notes
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{{Authority control
Thirty Years' War,
17th century in Bohemia
17th century in Europe
17th century in France
17th century in Switzerland
17th century in the Dutch Republic
17th century in the Habsburg monarchy
17th century in the Holy Roman Empire
17th century in the Spanish Empire
17th-century Christianity
17th-century conflicts
17th-century military history of the Kingdom of England
Christianity in the Holy Roman Empire
European wars of religion
History of Central Europe
History of the Palatinate (region)
Warfare of the early modern period
Wars involving England
Wars involving France
Wars involving the Habsburg monarchy
Wars involving the Holy Roman Empire