Editing Thirty Years' War (section)

==Phase II: French intervention, 1635 to 1648==

Swedish defeat at Nördlingen triggered direct French intervention and thus expanded the conflict rather than ending it. Richelieu provided the Swedes with [[Treaty of Compiègne (1635)|new subsidies]], hired mercenaries led by [[Bernard of Saxe-Weimar]] for an offensive in the Rhineland, and in May 1635 declared war on Spain, starting the 1635 to 1659 [[Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)|Franco-Spanish War]].{{Sfn|Parker|1997|pp=132–134}} A few days later, the German states and Ferdinand agreed to the [[Peace of Prague (1635)|Peace of Prague]]; in return for withdrawing the Edict of Restitution, the Heilbronn and Catholic Leagues were dissolved and 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.{{Sfn|Bireley|1976|p=32}}

[[File:Cardinal de Richelieu (detail).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Cardinal Richelieu]], French chief minister from 1624 until 1642, and creator of the anti-Habsburg alliance]]

In March 1635, French soldiers entered the [[Valtellina]], cutting the link between Spanish controlled Milan and the Empire.{{Sfn|Kamen|2003|p=387}} In May, their main army of 35,000 invaded the Spanish Netherlands, but withdrew in July after suffering 17,000 casualties. In [[Treaty of Wismar|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.{{efn|While the death of Gustavus was greeted with dismay by most European Protestants, Richelieu was more ambivalent. The two were increasingly at odds over strategic objectives, although there is no evidence for contemporary claims he was involved in the king's death.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|p=328}}}} The Spanish then invaded northern France, causing panic in Paris before lack of supplies forced them to retreat.{{Sfn|Israel|1995a|pp=272–273}} Despite the defection of most of their German allies, victory under [[Johan Banér]] at [[Battle of Wittstock|Wittstock]] on 4 October re-established Swedish predominance in northeast Germany.{{Sfn|Murdoch|Zickermann|Marks|2012|pp=80–85}}

Ferdinand II died in February 1637, and was succeeded by his son [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|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 [[Battle of Rheinfelden|Rheinfelden]]. His capture of [[Battle of Breisach|Breisach]] in December secured French control of Alsace and severed the Spanish Road, forcing Gallas to divert resources there. Although [[Melchior von Hatzfeldt|von Hatzfeldt]] defeated a combined Scots-German force at [[Battle of Vlotho|Vlotho]] in October, lack of supplies obliged Gallas to withdraw from the Baltic.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=595–598}}

In April 1639, Banér defeated the Saxons at [[Battle of Chemnitz|Chemnitz]], then entered Bohemia in May.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=615}} To retrieve the situation, Ferdinand diverted [[Ottavio Piccolomini|Piccolomini]]'s army from [[Relief of Thionville|Thionville]], ending direct military cooperation between Austria and Spain.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=661–662}} Pressure grew on Olivares to make peace, especially after French and Swedish gains in Germany cut the Spanish Road, forcing [[Madrid]] to resupply their armies in Flanders by sea. Attempts to re-assert maritime control ended when the [[Dutch States Navy|Dutch fleet]] under [[Maarten Tromp]] won a significant victory over the Spanish at the [[Battle of the Downs|Downs]] in October 1639.{{Sfn|Bely|2014|pp=94–95}}{{sfn|Israel|1995b|p=537}}

The French occupied Spanish-controlled [[Artois]] in 1640, while [[Dutch–Portuguese War|Dutch attacks]] on [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese colonies]], combined with opposition to taxes, led to revolts in both [[Portuguese Restoration War|Portugal]] and [[Reapers' War|Catalonia]].{{Sfn|Costa|2005|p=4}} Olivares now argued Spain should accept Dutch independence, and focus on preventing further French gains in the Spanish Netherlands.{{Sfn|Van Gelderen|2002|p=284}} 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.{{Sfn|Algra|Algra|1956|pp=120}}

{{Location map many|Deutschland|caption = Key locations 1635 to 1648 mentioned in text
|border = black|width =300|float = left|relief = yes
|label  =Breitenfeld  |pos   =left  |lat_deg  =51.417778|lon_deg  =12.377778
|label2 =Wolfenbüttel |pos2  =top |lat2_deg =52.162222|lon2_deg =10.536944
|label3 =Wittstock    |pos3  =top   |lat3_deg =53.163611|lon3_deg =12.485556
|label4 =Nördlingen   |pos4  =left |lat4_deg =48.851111|lon4_deg =10.488333
|label5 =Breisach     |pos5  =left  |lat5_deg =48.033333|lon5_deg =7.583333
|label6 =Rheinfelden  |pos6  =bottom  |lat6_deg =47.561111|lon6_deg =7.791667
|label7 =Zusmarshausen|pos7  =right |lat7_deg =48.4002  |lon7_deg =10.5967
|label8 =Münster      |pos8  =left  |lat8_deg =51.9625  |lon8_deg =7.625556
|label9 =Freiberg     |pos9  =right |lat9_deg =50.911944|lon9_deg =13.342778
|label10=Herbsthausen |pos10 =top   |lat10_deg=49.401944|lon10_deg=9.828889
|label11=Vlotho       |pos11 =bottom|lat11_deg=52.166667|lon11_deg=8.849722
|label12=Osnabrück    |pos12 =top   |lat12_deg=52.2833  |lon12_deg=8.1464
|label13=Tuttlingen   |pos13 =right   |lat13_deg=47.9852  |lon13_deg=8.8234
|label14=Hamburg      |pos14 =top   |lat14_deg=53       |lat14_min=35       |lon14_deg=10
|label15=Prague       |pos15 =bottom|lat15_deg=50       |lat15_min=05       |lon15_deg=14|lon15_min=25
|label16=Kempen       |pos16 =right|lat16_deg=51.365833|lon16_deg=6.419444
|label17=Leipzig      |pos17 =right |lat17_deg=51.333333|lon17_deg=12.383333
|label18=Thionville   |pos18 =right|lat18_deg=49.3589  |lon18_deg=6.1692
|label19=Chemnitz     |pos19 =left  |lat19_deg=50.833333|lon19_deg=12.916667
|label20=Regensburg   |pos20 =top   |lat20_deg=49.016667|lon20_deg=12.083333
|label21=Halberstadt  |pos21 =right   |lat21_deg=51.895833|lon21_deg=11.046667
|label22=Freiburg{{Efn|Not to be confused with Freiberg in Saxony.}} |pos22 =top   |lat22_deg=47.995|lon22_deg=7.85
}}

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.{{Sfn|Parker|1997|p=150}} Forced to retreat, Banér reached [[Halberstadt]] in May where he died, and despite beating off an Imperial force at [[Battle of Wolfenbüttel (1641)|Wolfenbüttel]] in June, his largely German troops mutinied due to lack of pay.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|p=446}} The situation was saved by the arrival of [[Lennart Torstensson]] in November with 7,000 Swedish recruits and enough cash to satisfy the mutineers.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|p=447}}

French victory at [[Battle of Kempen|Kempen]] in January 1642 was followed by [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1642)|Second Breitenfeld]] in October 1642, where Torstensson inflicted almost 10,000 casualties on an Imperial army led by [[Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria]].{{Sfn|Clodfelter|2008|p=41}} The Swedes captured [[Leipzig]] in December, although they failed to take [[Freiberg]],{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=636–639}} and by 1643 the Saxon army had been reduced to a few isolated garrisons.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=641–642}} 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.{{Sfn|Milton|Axworthy|Simms|2018|pp=60–65}}

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 of France|Louis XIV]] 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 [[Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé|Condé]] at [[battle of Rocroi|Rocroi]] on 19 May.{{Sfn|Parker|1997|p=154}} This ended any prospect of re-opening the Spanish Road, and Madrid finally accepted the reality of Dutch independence.{{Sfn|Parker|1997|p=171}}

[[File:Tortensson1642 marcossouza.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Campaigns during the Franco-Swedish phase (until 1642)]]

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.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=587}} In addition, the French army in Germany was shattered at [[Battle of Tuttlingen|Tuttlingen]] in November by the Bavarian general [[Franz von Mercy]].{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=643–645}}

Soon after Rocroi, Ferdinand invited Sweden and France to attend peace talks in the [[Westphalia]]n towns of [[Münster]] and [[Osnabrück]],{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=671}} but negotiations were delayed when Christian of Denmark blockaded Hamburg and increased toll payments in the Baltic.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=687}} 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 [[Carl Gustaf Wrangel|Wrangel]] to finish the war in Denmark, in May 1644 Torstensson marched into the Empire; Gallas was unable to stop him, while the Danes sued for peace after their defeat at [[Battle of Fehmarn (1644)|Fehmarn]] in October 1644.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|pp=472–473}}

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.{{Sfn|Croxton|1998|p=273}} Shortly after peace talks restarted in November, Gallas' Imperial army disintegrated and its remnants retreated into Bohemia, where they were scattered by Torstensson at [[Battle of Jankau|Jankau]] in March 1645.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=693–695}} In May, a Bavarian force under von Mercy destroyed a French detachment at [[Battle of Herbsthausen|Herbsthausen]], before he was defeated and killed at [[Battle of Nördlingen (1645)|Second Nördlingen]] in August.{{Sfn|Bonney|2002|p=64}} Deprived of Imperial support, John George of Saxony signed a six-month truce with Sweden in September, and in the March 1646 Treaty of Eulenberg agreed to remain neutral until the end of the war.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=711}}

[[File:Slaget vid Prag (1648), ur "Theatri Europæi..." 1663 - Skoklosters slott - 99875.tif|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The final battle of the war; the Swedish [[Battle of Prague (1648)|Siege of Prague]] in 1648]]

Under [[Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne|Turenne]], French commander in the Rhineland, and Wrangel, who had replaced Torstensson, the French and Swedes separately invaded Bavaria in the summer of 1646.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|pp=493–494}} 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.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|pp=495–496}} 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, [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] and Sweden.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=716}}

The planned offensive fell apart when Turenne's mostly German troops mutinied, while Bavarian general [[Johann von Werth]] refused to comply with the truce.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|p=496}} 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 [[Peter Melander, Graf von Holzappel|von Holzappel]].{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|p=726}} Outnumbered by a Franco-Swedish army led by Wrangel and Turenne, they were defeated at [[Battle of Zusmarshausen|Zusmarshausen]] in May 1648. Holzappel was killed, and although most of his army escaped thanks to [[Raimondo Montecuccoli]], Bavaria was left defenceless once again.{{Sfn|Wilson|2009|pp=740–741}}

The Swedes sent a second force under [[Hans Christoff von Königsmarck|von Königsmarck]] to [[Battle of Prague (1648)|attack Prague]], seizing the castle and [[Malá Strana]] 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 (Prague)|Old Town]] but captured the Imperial library and treasures including the ''[[Codex Gigas]]'', which can now be seen in Stockholm. When a Spanish offensive in Flanders ended with defeat at [[Battle of Lens|Lens]] in August 1648, Ferdinand finally agreed terms and on 24 October, he signed peace treaties with France and Sweden, ending the war.{{Sfn|Wedgwood|1938|p=501}}