Battle of White Mountain
Encyclopedia
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 (Bílá hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech) was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War
in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt
were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy and of the German Catholic League
under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly at Bílá Hora, near Prague
(now part of the city). The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War.
and Hungary. Ferdinand was duly elected by the Bohemian estates to become the Crown Prince in 1617, and automatically upon the death of Matthias, the next King of Bohemia. This did not sit well throughout the Protestant population in Bohemia because they thought that they would lose the rights given to them because of the new Catholic
King. Ferdinand II viewed Protestantism
as the main problem in his realms. King Ferdinand was also the Holy Roman Emperor
and since he held this title he took seriously the duties which came with it. For him, the preservation of The Roman Catholic Church
was most important as Holy Roman Emperor. He viewed the Protestant political stature in his realm as an issue involving 'protests' or rebellion against imperial authority. He hoped to bring about the conversion of subjects of the Catholic Lords from Protestantism back to the Catholic Church. The dissension within his estates was an ever daunting domestic issue. Most of his realms in Bohemia were primarily Protestant. These areas under King Ferdinand’s rule were under separate individual constitutions thus giving them separate regional traditions. With the majority of his subjects being of the Protestant faith, they had apprehended their lands from the Roman Catholic Church in their initial confiscations of monastic properties at the beginning of the Reformation; they were resistant to their newly elected Catholic King and his tendency to favor the centralization
of their region. Catholicism was no longer proscribed but was being actively promoted and both church and local properties seized by King Ferdinand’s royal throne. None were as rebellious as the Protestant Hungarian subjects in Transylvania
. However it was Bohemia which became the first to act on these religious and domestic interests in fomenting a rebellion. The conflict known as the Second Defenestration of Prague was a dispute between Bohemian Nobles and the crown in 1618 over a royal guarantee made by one of King Ferdinand’s predecessors Rudolf II ensuring religious freedom throughout Bohemia. This conflict resulted in Bohemian nobles throwing King Ferdinand’s appointees and his secretary out of a window in the royal castle in Prague
. They survived only because they fell into a heap of manure thus saving their lives. This incident sparked a national struggle known as the Bohemian Revolt.
, the capital of Bohemia, which was in the hands of the rebels. The Bohemian army attempted to block the Imperial army by setting up a defensive position on a hill. The Imperial army simply ignored the Bohemian army however, and bypassed the hill. Christian of Anhalt then force-marched the Bohemian army and managed to get ahead of the Imperial army
just before Prague. The Bohemian army again tried to set up a defensive position, but had little time, and morale was low. As the Imperial army approached, Tilly divided his men into two distinct squads: The Imperials
and the Catholic League (German)
troops. The Catholics, Ferdinand’s army, pushed forth without great bombardment of artillery. Anhalt opened the battle by sending forward infantry and cavalry, led by Anhalt's son. The cavalry charged into the Imperial infantry, causing significant casualties. Tilly however, quickly brought up his own Cavalry, forcing the Bohemian cavalry to retire. The Bohemian infantry, who was only now approaching the Imperial army, saw the Cavalry retreating, at which they fired one volley at extreme range before retreating themselves. The Catholic Imperial Cavalry, amounted to 400 or so, circled the Protestant forces pushing them closer into the middle of the battle. With the Bohemian army already at a low morale, company after company started retreating, most without having even entered the battle. With the Protestant forces steadily diminishing Tilly and his 400 Imperial cavalrymen moved with the 2000 hussars which the Bavarians had brought to the battle. Tilly’s men steadily pushed the rebel forces back to the Star Palace where the rebels tried to establish a final defence but failed. The Battle of White Mountain was more of a skirmish than a fully-fledged battle. The Bohemian army was no match for King Ferdinand II trained soldiers, and the actual battle only lasted an hour and left the Bohemian army devastated. The Protestant army was non-existent by the end of the battle. Some 4,000 Protestants were killed or captured. The Catholic losses amounted to roughly 800.
Survivors of the battle soon reached Prague
, causing a general panic. Some rebel commanders tried to set up a defense, but they received little support. Frederick V of Bohemia and his entourage, leaving the crown jewels behind, slipped out of Prague quietly, disappearing into the stream of refugees who were fleeing the imminent Imperial takeover of Prague. When the Imperial army
arrived, it was able to enter Prague without resistance.
As the victor of the battle, King Ferdinand immediately turned to his council on questions arising from extravagant success of the recent battle on the international situation and on internal (Bohemian and Palatinate) politics. Ferdinand’s council believed in the centralization of power in all regions of his lands. It was sought to use the defeat at the Battle of White Mountain as a defense of his ultimate goal of centralized power in the Estates of the realm
. The defeat left the estates lacking in self-confidence and left them without any defensive stand. Ferdinand’s council wanted to declare the throne hereditary thus removing the election liberties of the estates and to expel several Protestant Lords from the estates thus leaving the religious and domestic and political rebellion inactive.
With the Bohemian army destroyed, Tilly entered Prague and the revolt broke down. King Frederick
with his wife Elizabeth
fled the country (hence his nickname the Winter King), and many citizens welcomed the restoration of Catholicism. Forty-seven noble leaders of the insurrection were tried, and twenty-seven were executed on what is called "the Day of Blood" by Protestants at Prague's Old Town Square
. Amongst those executed were Kryštof Harant
and Jan Jesenius
. Today, 27 crosses have been inlaid in the cobblestone as a tribute to those victims. An estimated five-sixths of the Bohemian nobility went into exile soon after the Battle of White Mountain, and their properties were confiscated. Before the war about 151,000 farmsteads existed in the Lands of Bohemian Crown, while only 50,000 remained after the year 1648. The number of inhabitants decreased from 3 million to 800,000. The Thirty Years War had still another 28 years to run, and Bohemia was often the scene of much bloodshed.
But there was still a strong Protestant army in Silesia under the command of Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, Duke of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf which continued fighting the Imperial army
in Moravia and in what today is Slovakia
until 1623.
In 1621, the Emperor ordered all Calvinists and other non-Lutherans to leave the realm in 3 days or to convert to Catholicism. Next year, he also ordered all Lutherans (who primarily had not been involved in the revolt) to convert or leave the country. By 1627, Archbishop Harrach of Prague and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice set out to peacefully convert the heretics as they were termed; most Bohemians converted, but a significant Protestant minority remained. Spanish
troops, seeking to encircle their rebellious Dutch
provinces, seized the Palatinate electoral lands. With the prospect of Protestantism being overrun in Germany
, Denmark
entered the struggle. Sweden was to join the Protestant forces in 1630.
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
in which an army of 30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Anhalt
Christian of Anhalt
Christian I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, also known as Christian of Anhalt, was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was ruling prince of Anhalt and, from 1603, ruling prince of the revived principality of Anhalt-Bernburg...
were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
under Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy and of the German Catholic League
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...
under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly at Bílá Hora, near Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(now part of the city). The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War.
Prelude
Emperor Matthias wanted his dynastic heir Ferdinand II appointed to the royal throne of BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Hungary. Ferdinand was duly elected by the Bohemian estates to become the Crown Prince in 1617, and automatically upon the death of Matthias, the next King of Bohemia. This did not sit well throughout the Protestant population in Bohemia because they thought that they would lose the rights given to them because of the new Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
King. Ferdinand II viewed Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
as the main problem in his realms. King Ferdinand was also the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
and since he held this title he took seriously the duties which came with it. For him, the preservation of The Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
was most important as Holy Roman Emperor. He viewed the Protestant political stature in his realm as an issue involving 'protests' or rebellion against imperial authority. He hoped to bring about the conversion of subjects of the Catholic Lords from Protestantism back to the Catholic Church. The dissension within his estates was an ever daunting domestic issue. Most of his realms in Bohemia were primarily Protestant. These areas under King Ferdinand’s rule were under separate individual constitutions thus giving them separate regional traditions. With the majority of his subjects being of the Protestant faith, they had apprehended their lands from the Roman Catholic Church in their initial confiscations of monastic properties at the beginning of the Reformation; they were resistant to their newly elected Catholic King and his tendency to favor the centralization
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
of their region. Catholicism was no longer proscribed but was being actively promoted and both church and local properties seized by King Ferdinand’s royal throne. None were as rebellious as the Protestant Hungarian subjects in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
. However it was Bohemia which became the first to act on these religious and domestic interests in fomenting a rebellion. The conflict known as the Second Defenestration of Prague was a dispute between Bohemian Nobles and the crown in 1618 over a royal guarantee made by one of King Ferdinand’s predecessors Rudolf II ensuring religious freedom throughout Bohemia. This conflict resulted in Bohemian nobles throwing King Ferdinand’s appointees and his secretary out of a window in the royal castle in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. They survived only because they fell into a heap of manure thus saving their lives. This incident sparked a national struggle known as the Bohemian Revolt.
Battle
The Bohemian estates organized an army of 30,000 men in determination to fight for their liberties, as they saw them. Ferdinand II set to make an example of this Bohemian Revolt and countered the Bohemian Army by sending 25,000 men, many of them seasoned soldiers, to crush the revolt. They included the future philosopher Renee Descartes. These trained soldiers were under the leadership of Catholic Spanish-Flemish nobleman, Field Marshal Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. The army made straight for PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, the capital of Bohemia, which was in the hands of the rebels. The Bohemian army attempted to block the Imperial army by setting up a defensive position on a hill. The Imperial army simply ignored the Bohemian army however, and bypassed the hill. Christian of Anhalt then force-marched the Bohemian army and managed to get ahead of the Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
just before Prague. The Bohemian army again tried to set up a defensive position, but had little time, and morale was low. As the Imperial army approached, Tilly divided his men into two distinct squads: The Imperials
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and the Catholic League (German)
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...
troops. The Catholics, Ferdinand’s army, pushed forth without great bombardment of artillery. Anhalt opened the battle by sending forward infantry and cavalry, led by Anhalt's son. The cavalry charged into the Imperial infantry, causing significant casualties. Tilly however, quickly brought up his own Cavalry, forcing the Bohemian cavalry to retire. The Bohemian infantry, who was only now approaching the Imperial army, saw the Cavalry retreating, at which they fired one volley at extreme range before retreating themselves. The Catholic Imperial Cavalry, amounted to 400 or so, circled the Protestant forces pushing them closer into the middle of the battle. With the Bohemian army already at a low morale, company after company started retreating, most without having even entered the battle. With the Protestant forces steadily diminishing Tilly and his 400 Imperial cavalrymen moved with the 2000 hussars which the Bavarians had brought to the battle. Tilly’s men steadily pushed the rebel forces back to the Star Palace where the rebels tried to establish a final defence but failed. The Battle of White Mountain was more of a skirmish than a fully-fledged battle. The Bohemian army was no match for King Ferdinand II trained soldiers, and the actual battle only lasted an hour and left the Bohemian army devastated. The Protestant army was non-existent by the end of the battle. Some 4,000 Protestants were killed or captured. The Catholic losses amounted to roughly 800.
Aftermath
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, causing a general panic. Some rebel commanders tried to set up a defense, but they received little support. Frederick V of Bohemia and his entourage, leaving the crown jewels behind, slipped out of Prague quietly, disappearing into the stream of refugees who were fleeing the imminent Imperial takeover of Prague. When the Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
arrived, it was able to enter Prague without resistance.
As the victor of the battle, King Ferdinand immediately turned to his council on questions arising from extravagant success of the recent battle on the international situation and on internal (Bohemian and Palatinate) politics. Ferdinand’s council believed in the centralization of power in all regions of his lands. It was sought to use the defeat at the Battle of White Mountain as a defense of his ultimate goal of centralized power in the Estates of the realm
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
. The defeat left the estates lacking in self-confidence and left them without any defensive stand. Ferdinand’s council wanted to declare the throne hereditary thus removing the election liberties of the estates and to expel several Protestant Lords from the estates thus leaving the religious and domestic and political rebellion inactive.
With the Bohemian army destroyed, Tilly entered Prague and the revolt broke down. King Frederick
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....
with his wife Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...
fled the country (hence his nickname the Winter King), and many citizens welcomed the restoration of Catholicism. Forty-seven noble leaders of the insurrection were tried, and twenty-seven were executed on what is called "the Day of Blood" by Protestants at Prague's Old Town Square
Old Town Square (Prague)
Old Town Square is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague in the Czech Republic at .Located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge, Prague's Old Town Square is often bursting at the seams with tourists in the summer. Featuring various architectural styles including the...
. Amongst those executed were Kryštof Harant
Kryštof Harant
Kryštof Harant z Polžic a Bezdružic was a Czech nobleman, traveller, humanist, soldier, writer and composer.As a composer he represented the school of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Bohemia...
and Jan Jesenius
Jan Jesenius
Jan Jesenius was a Slovak physician, politician and philosopher...
. Today, 27 crosses have been inlaid in the cobblestone as a tribute to those victims. An estimated five-sixths of the Bohemian nobility went into exile soon after the Battle of White Mountain, and their properties were confiscated. Before the war about 151,000 farmsteads existed in the Lands of Bohemian Crown, while only 50,000 remained after the year 1648. The number of inhabitants decreased from 3 million to 800,000. The Thirty Years War had still another 28 years to run, and Bohemia was often the scene of much bloodshed.
But there was still a strong Protestant army in Silesia under the command of Johann Georg of Hohenzollern, Duke of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf which continued fighting the Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
in Moravia and in what today is Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
until 1623.
In 1621, the Emperor ordered all Calvinists and other non-Lutherans to leave the realm in 3 days or to convert to Catholicism. Next year, he also ordered all Lutherans (who primarily had not been involved in the revolt) to convert or leave the country. By 1627, Archbishop Harrach of Prague and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice set out to peacefully convert the heretics as they were termed; most Bohemians converted, but a significant Protestant minority remained. Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
troops, seeking to encircle their rebellious Dutch
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
provinces, seized the Palatinate electoral lands. With the prospect of Protestantism being overrun in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
entered the struggle. Sweden was to join the Protestant forces in 1630.
External links
- http://books.google.com/books?id=e_m13Hk3AFEC&pg=PA87&dq=The+Battle+of+White+Mountain+Bohemia#v=onepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20White%20Mountain%20Bohemia&f=false
- http://books.google.com/books?id=8UZo2UBMdKYC&pg=PA47&dq=The+Battle+of+White+Mountain+Bohemia#v=onepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20White%20Mountain%20Bohemia&f=false
- http://books.google.com/books?id=zfxITVc66KMC&pg=PA144&dq=The+Battle+of+White+Mountain+Bohemia#v=onepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20White%20Mountain%20Bohemia&f=false
- http://books.google.com/books?id=BEl8LyOLoVQC&pg=PT71&dq=The+Battle+of+White+Mountain+Bohemia&lr=#v=onepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20White%20Mountain%20Bohemia&f=false