The Thirty Years' War 1618 1648 briefly. Causes of the Thirty Years' War

Reasons:
1. The religious clash between Protestants and Catholics in Germany then developed into a struggle against Habsburg hegemony in Europe.
2. Confrontation between France and the coalition of Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs. It was in France's interests to keep the empire fragmented and prevent the two Habsburg monarchies from uniting their actions. It had territorial claims in Alsace, Lorraine, the Southern Netherlands, Northern Italy, and the territories bordering Spain. France was ready to support the Evangelical League despite the difference in confessions.
3. The Republic of the United Provinces saw the Evangelical League as a natural ally against the Habsburgs
4. Denmark and Sweden tried to protect themselves from competition in the northern sea routes
5. England constantly fought with Spain at sea, and for her the anti-Habsburg policy seemed natural. But, at the same time, it competed in foreign trade with the countries of the anti-Habsburg coalition.

Progress of the war:
Thirty Years' War traditionally divided into four periods: Czech (1618–1623). , Danish(1625–1629), Swedish(1630–1635) and Franco-Swedish(1635–1648).
Conflicts outside Germany took the form of local wars: the war between Spain and the Netherlands, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Russian-Polish War, the Polish-Swedish War.

The war began with the Czech uprising (“Prague Defenestration”) against Habsburg rule. In 1620, the Czech Republic was defeated, which gave. The Habsburgs had a noticeable advantage. In 1625, Protestant Denmark came out against them. France tried to drag strong Sweden into the war, but it failed. The Catholic camp won a number of victories and forced Denmark to withdraw from the war in May 1629. In 1628, clashes between France and the Habsburg forces began in northern Italy; they lasted three years and proceeded extremely sluggishly. In 1630 - and! Sweden entered the war, its troops marched throughout Germany and on September 17, 1631 won a victory at Breitenfeld, in May 1632 they occupied Munich, and in November at Lützen they defeated the Habsburg army. In 1632, Russia entered into a war with Poland, but, not receiving the expected reinforcements, the Russian army was defeated, and in 1634 Russia concluded the Peace of Polyanovsky. The Swedes belatedly moved to Poland, but in September 1634 at Nördlingen they were defeated by the united forces of the Catholic Coalition. In 1635, Sweden signed the Treaty of Paris with the Habsburgs, which was joined by some German Protestant princes; in the same year, Sweden concluded the Treaty of Stumsdorf with Poland and the Treaty of Saint-Germain with France. The final, decisive period of the war began, during which France waged military operations against Spain and Germany. Gradually, military superiority leaned towards the opponents of the Catholic Coalition. After a series of victories over the Habsburgs (at Rocroi, Nördlingen), France and Sweden began to divide Germany. According to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Sweden received the mouths of the navigable rivers of Northern Germany, France - Alsace, Verdun, Metz and Toul; Holland gained independence from Spain. Swedish troops were in Germany for another 5 years, and the war between France and Spain continued until 1659.

Results:
1. The Peace of Westphalia was concluded on October 24, 1648. Under the terms of the peace, France received Southern Alsace and the Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, Sweden - the island of Rügen, Western Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen, plus an indemnity of 5 million thalers. Saxony - Lusatia, Brandenburg - Eastern Pomerania, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Minden. Bavaria - Upper Palatinate, the Bavarian Duke became Elector. All princes are legally recognized as having the right to enter into foreign political alliances. Consolidation of the fragmentation of Germany.

2. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) - one of the first pan-European military conflicts, which affected almost all European countries(including Russia), with the exception of Switzerland and Turkey

3. After the Thirty Years' War, hegemony in the international life of Western Europe passed from the Habsburgs to France. However, the Habsburgs were not completely crushed and remained a serious international force.

2. a sharp weakening of the influence of religious factors on the life of European states. Their foreign policy began to be based on economic, dynastic and geopolitical interests.

The Thirty Years' War is the first military conflict that engulfed the whole of Europe. Two took part in it large groups: Habsburg bloc (Austro-German and Spanish Habsburgs, Catholic principalities of Germany, Poland) and anti-Habsburg coalition (Denmark, Sweden, France, Protestant principalities of Germany, England, Holland, Russia). Both religious and political reasons contributed to the development of this conflict.

Religious reasons

“War of Faiths” is the second name for a large-scale military conflict that lasted from 1618 to 1648. Indeed, the Thirty Years' War became the most terrible period of confrontation between Catholics and Protestants in the 17th century. Many people took up arms to establish the dominance of the “faith right.” The religious nature of the war is also evidenced by the names of the opposing alliances. In particular, Protestants created the Evangelical Union (1608), and Catholics created the Catholic League (1609).

The tension in the relationship between Protestants and Catholics occurred when in 1617 Ferdinand of Styria was proclaimed king of the Czech Republic, who was at the same time the heir to the entire Holy Church. He was a Catholic and was not going to take into account the interests of the Protestants. This was clearly evident in his policies. Thus, he gave various privileges to Catholics, and limited the rights of Protestants in every possible way. The main government positions were occupied by Catholics, and Protestants, on the contrary, were persecuted. A ban was imposed on the implementation of Protestant activities. As a result of the violence, some Protestants switched to Catholics. Religious clashes became common again.

All of the above led to the uprising of Prague Protestants on May 23, 1618. Then the “Second Prague Defenestration” took place: rebel Protestants threw Habsburg officials out of the windows of one of the Prague fortresses. The latter survived only because they fell into the manure. Later she explained their salvation with the help of angels. After the events described, the Catholic army moved towards the rebels. And so began the Thirty Years' War.

Political reasons

But the causes of the Thirty Years' War are not only related to religion. The political nature of the conflict became clear in subsequent periods of the war (Swedish, Danish and Franco-Swedish). It was based on the struggle against Habsburg hegemony. Thus, Denmark and Sweden, who defended the interests of Protestants, wanted to find a place in Central Europe. In addition, these countries were trying to get rid of competitors in

The Thirty Years' War contributed to the fragmentation of the Habsburg Empire, so even Catholic France went over to the side of the Protestants. The latter was afraid of the excessive strengthening of the empire, and also had territorial claims in the Southern Netherlands, Alsace, Lorraine and Northern Italy. England fought the Habsburgs at sea. The Thirty Years' War, the causes of which lay in religion, quickly turned into one of the largest European political conflicts.

Reference table for thirty years war contains the main periods, events, dates, battles, countries involved and the results of this war. The table will be useful for schoolchildren and students in preparing for tests, exams and the Unified State Examination in history.

Czech period of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1625)

	Events of the Thirty Years' War	Results of the Thirty Years' War
	Opposition nobles, led by Count Thurn, threw the royal governors out of the windows of the Czech Chancellery into the ditch (“Prague Defenestration”).	The beginning of the Thirty Years' War.
	The Czech Directory formed an army led by Count Thurn, the Evangelical Union sent 2 thousand soldiers under the command of Mansfeld.
	Siege and capture of the city of Pilsen by the Protestant army of Count Mansfeld.
	The Protestant army of Count Thurn approached Vienna, but met stubborn resistance.	A 15,000-strong imperial army led by Count Buqua and Dampierre entered the Czech Republic.
	Battle of Sablat.	Near Ceske Budejovice, the imperials of Count Buqua defeated the Protestants of Mansfeld, and Count Thurn lifted the siege of Vienna.
	Battle of Westernitz.	Czech victory over Dampier's imperials.
	The Transylvanian prince Gabor Bethlen moved against Vienna, but was stopped by the Hungarian magnate Druget Gomonai.	Protracted battles were fought on the territory of the Czech Republic with varying success.
October 1619	Emperor Ferdinand II entered into an agreement with the head of the Catholic League, Maximilian of Bavaria.	For this, the Saxon Elector was promised Silesia and Lusatia, and the Duke of Bavaria was promised the possessions of the Elector of the Palatinate and his electorate. In 1620, Spain sent a 25,000-strong army under the command of Ambrosio Spinola to help the emperor.
	Emperor Ferdinand II entered into an agreement with the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg.
	Battle of White Mountain.	The Protestant army of Frederick V suffers a crushing defeat from the imperial troops and the army of the Catholic League under the command of Field Marshal Count Tilly near Prague.
	The collapse of the Evangelical Union and the loss of all possessions and titles by Frederick V.	Bavaria received the Upper Palatinate, Spain - the Lower Palatinate. Margrave Georg-Friedrich of Baden-Durlach remained an ally of Frederick V.
	The Transylvanian prince Gabor Bethlen signed peace in Nikolsburg with the emperor, gaining territories in eastern Hungary.
	Mansfeld defeated the imperial army of Count Tilly at the Battle of Wisloch (Wischloch) and allied with the Margrave of Baden.	Tilly was forced to retreat, having lost 3,000 people killed and wounded, as well as all his guns, and headed to join Cordoba.
	The troops of German Protestants, led by Margrave Georg Friedrich, are defeated in the battles of Wimpfen by the Tilly imperials and the Spanish troops who came from the Netherlands, led by Gonzales de Cordoba.
	Victory of Tilly's 33,000-strong imperial army in the Battle of Hoechst over the 20,000-strong army of Christian of Brunswick.
	At the Battle of Fleurus, Tilly defeated Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick and drove them into Holland.
	Battle of Stadtlohn.	Imperial troops under the command of Count Tilly thwarted Christian of Brunswick's invasion of northern Germany, defeating his fifteen thousand Protestant army.
	Frederick V concluded a peace treaty with Emperor Ferdinand II.	The first period of the war ended with a landslide victory for the Habsburgs, but this led to a closer unity of the anti-Habsburg coalition.
	France and Holland concluded the Treaty of Compiègne, and later England, Sweden and Denmark, Savoy and Venice joined it.

Danish period of the Thirty Years' War (1625-1629)

	Events of the Thirty Years' War	Results of the Thirty Years' War
	Christian IV, King of Denmark, came to the aid of the Protestants with an army of 20,000.	Denmark enters the war on the Protestant side.
	The Catholic army under the command of the Czech Catholic Count Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Mansfeld's Protestants at Dessau.
	The imperial troops of Count Tilly defeated the Danes at the Battle of Lutter am Barenberg.
	The troops of Count Wallenstein occupy Mecklenburg, Pomerania and the mainland possessions of Denmark: Holstein, Schleswig, Jutland.
	Siege of the port of Stralsund in Pomerania by the Imperial troops of Wallenstein.	The Catholic armies of Count Tilly and Count Wallenstein conquer most of Protestant Germany.
	Edict of Restitution.	Return Catholic churches lands taken by Protestants after 1555.
	Treaty of Lübeck between Emperor Ferdinand II and the Danish King Christian IV.	Danish possessions were returned in exchange for an obligation not to interfere in German affairs.

Swedish period of the Thirty Years' War (1630-1635)

	Events of the Thirty Years' War	Results of the Thirty Years' War
	Sweden sent 6 thousand soldiers under the command of Alexander Leslie to help Stralsund.
	Leslie captured the island of Rügen.	Control over the Stralsund Strait was established.
	The Swedish king Gustav II Adolf lands at the mouth of the Oder and occupies Mecklenburg and Pomerania.	The Swedish king Gustav II Adolf enters the war against Ferdinand II.
	Wallenstein was removed from his post as commander-in-chief of the imperial army, and Field Marshal Count Johann von Tilly was appointed in his place.
	Franco-Swedish Treaty of Berwald.	France was obliged to pay the Swedes an annual subsidy of 1 million francs.
	Gustav II Adolf took Frankfurt an der Oder.
	Defeat by the troops of the Catholic League of Magdeburg.	The Elector of Brandenburg, Georg Wilhelm, joined the Swedes.
	Count Tilly, having an army of 25,000 under his command, attacked the fortified camp of the Swedish troops at Verbena, commanded by King Gustav II Adolf.	Was forced to retreat.
	Battle of Breitenfeld.	The Swedish troops of Gustav II Adolf and the Saxon troops are victorious over the imperial troops of Count Tilly. First major victory Protestants in clashes with Catholics. All of northern Germany was in the hands of Gustav Adolf, and he moved his activities to southern Germany.
December 1631	Gustav II Adolf took Halle, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Mainz.
	Saxon troops, allies of the Swedes, entered Prague.
	The Swedes invaded Bavaria.	Gustav II Adolf defeated the imperial troops of Tilly (mortally wounded, died on April 30, 1632) while crossing the Lech River and entered Munich.
April 1632	Albrecht Wallenstein led the imperial army.
	The Saxons are expelled from Prague by Wallenstein.
August 1632	Near Nuremberg, in the Battle of Burgstall, during an attack on the Wallenstein camp, the Swedish army of Gustav II Adolf was defeated.
	Battle of Lutzen.	The Swedish army wins the battle over Wallenstein's army, but King Gustav II Adolf is killed during the battle (Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar took command).
	Sweden and the German Protestant principalities form the League of Heilbronn.	The entirety of military and political power Germany switched to an elected council headed by Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna.
	Battle of Nördlingen.	The Swedes under the command of Gustav Horn and the Saxons under the command of Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar were defeated by the imperial troops under the command of Prince Ferdinand (King of Bohemia and Hungary, son of Ferdinand II) and Matthias Gallas and the Spaniards under the command of Infanta Cardinal Ferdinand (son of King Philip III of Spain). Gustav Horn was captured and the Swedish army was virtually destroyed.
	On suspicion of treason, Wallenstein was removed from command, and a decree was issued to confiscate all his estates.	Wallenstein was killed by soldiers of his own guard at Eger Castle.
	Prague world.	Ferdinand II makes peace with Saxony. The Treaty of Prague is accepted by the majority of Protestant princes. Its conditions: the annulment of the “Edict of Restitution” and the return of possessions to the conditions of the Peace of Augsburg; unification of the armies of the emperor and the German states; legalization of Calvinism; ban on the formation of coalitions between the princes of the empire. In effect, the Peace of Prague ended the civil and religious war within the Holy Roman Empire, after which the Thirty Years' War continued as a struggle against Habsburg dominance in Europe.

Franco-Swedish period of the Thirty Years' War (1635-1648)

	Events of the Thirty Years' War	Results of the Thirty Years' War
	France declared war on Spain.	France involved its allies in Italy - the Duchy of Savoy, the Duchy of Mantua and the Venetian Republic - into the conflict.
	The Spanish-Bavarian army under the command of the Spanish prince Ferdinand entered Compiegne, the imperial troops of Matthias Galas invaded Burgundy.
	Battle of Wittstock.	German troops were defeated by the Swedes under the command of Baner.
	The Protestant army of Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar was victorious at the Battle of Rheinfelden.
	Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar took the fortress of Breisach.
	The Imperial Army wins at Wolfenbüttel.
	The Swedish troops of L. Thorstenson defeated the imperial troops of Archduke Leopold and O. Piccolomini at Breitenfeld.	The Swedes occupy Saxony.
	Battle of Rocroi.	Victory of the French army under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Duke of Enghienne (from 1646 Prince of Condé). The French finally stopped the Spanish invasion.
	Battle of Tuttlingen.	The Bavarian army of Baron Franz von Mercy defeats the French under the command of Marshal Rantzau, who was captured.
	Swedish troops under the command of Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson invaded Holstein, Jutland.
August 1644	Louis II of Bourbon defeats the Bavarians under the command of Baron Mercy at the Battle of Freiburg.
	Battle of Yankov.	The Imperial Army was defeated by the Swedes under Marshal Lennart Torstensson near Prague.
	Battle of Nördlingen.	Louis II of Bourbon and Marshal Turenne defeat the Bavarians; the Catholic commander, Baron Franz von Mercy, died in the battle.
	The Swedish army invades Bavaria
	Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign a peace treaty in Ulm.	Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria, broke the agreement in the fall of 1647.
	The Swedes under the command of Königsmarck capture part of Prague.
	At the Battle of Zusmarhausen near Augsburg, the Swedes under Marshal Carl Gustav Wrangel and the French under Turenne and Condé defeat the Imperial and Bavarian forces.	Only the imperial territories and Austria proper remained in the hands of the Habsburgs.
	At the Battle of Lens (near Arras), the French troops of the Prince of Condé defeat the Spaniards under the command of Leopold William.
	Peace of Westphalia.	Under the terms of the peace, France received Southern Alsace and the Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, Sweden - the island of Rügen, Western Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen, plus an indemnity of 5 million thalers. Saxony - Lusatia, Brandenburg - Eastern Pomerania, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Minden. Bavaria - Upper Palatinate, the Bavarian Duke became Elector. All princes are legally recognized as having the right to enter into foreign political alliances. Consolidation of the fragmentation of Germany. The end of the Thirty Years' War.

Results of the war: Thirty Years' War was the first war to affect all segments of the population. IN Western history it remained one of the most difficult European conflicts among the predecessors of the World Wars of the 20th century. The greatest damage was caused to Germany, where, according to some estimates, 5 million people died. Many regions of the country were devastated and for a long time remained deserted. A crushing blow was dealt to the productive forces of Germany. Epidemics, constant companions of wars, broke out in the armies of both warring sides. The influx of soldiers from abroad, the constant deployment of troops from one front to another, as well as flight civilian population, spread the pestilence further and further from the centers of disease. The plague became a significant factor in the war. The immediate result of the war was that over 300 small German states received full sovereignty under nominal membership of the Holy Roman Empire. This situation continued until the end of the first empire in 1806. The war did not automatically lead to the collapse of the Habsburgs, but it changed the balance of power in Europe. Hegemony passed to France. The decline of Spain became obvious. In addition, Sweden became a great power, significantly strengthening its position in the Baltic. Adherents of all religions (Catholicism, Lutheranism, Calvinism) gained equal rights in the empire. The main result of the Thirty Years' War was a sharp weakening of the influence of religious factors on the life of European states. Their foreign policy began to be based on economic, dynastic and geopolitical interests. It is customary to count down from the Peace of Westphalia modern era in international relations.

The Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 affected almost all European countries. This struggle for the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire became the last European religious war.

Causes of the conflict

There were several reasons for the Thirty Years' War.

The first is the clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Germany, which eventually grew into a larger conflict - the struggle against the hegemony of the Habsburgs.

Rice. 1. German Protestants.

The second is France’s desire to leave the Habsburg Empire fragmented in order to retain the right to part of its territories.

And the third is the struggle between England and France for naval dominance.

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Periodization of the Thirty Years' War

Traditionally, it is divided into four periods, which will be clearly presented in the table below.

Years	Period
	Swedish
	Franco-Swedish

Outside Germany, there were local wars: the Netherlands fought with Spain, the Poles fought with the Russians and Swedes.

Rice. 2. A group of Swedish soldiers from the Thirty Years' War.

Progress of the Thirty Years' War

The beginning of the Thirty Years' War in Europe is associated with the Czech uprising against the Habsburgs, which, however, was defeated by 1620, and five years later Denmark, a Protestant state, opposed the Habsburgs. France's attempts to drag strong Sweden into the conflict were unsuccessful. In May 1629, Denmark is defeated and leaves the war.

In parallel, France begins the war against Habsburg rule, which in 1628 enters into confrontation with them on the territory northern Italy. But fighting were sluggish and protracted - ended only in 1631.

The year before, Sweden entered the war, which covered the whole of Germany in two years and eventually defeated the Habsburgs at the Battle of Lützen.

The Swedes lost about one and a half thousand people in this battle, and the Habsburgs lost twice as many.

Russia also took part in this war, opposing the Poles, but was defeated. After this, the Swedes moved to Poland, who were defeated by the Catholic Coalition and in 1635 they were forced to sign the Treaty of Paris.

However, over time, superiority still turned out to be on the side of the opponents of Catholicism, and in 1648 the war was ended in their favor.

Results of the Thirty Years' War

This is a long religious war had a number of consequences. Thus, among the results of the war we can name the conclusion of the Treaty of Westphalia, which was important for everyone, which took place in 1648, on October 24.

The terms of this agreement were as follows: Southern Alsace and part of the Lorraine lands went to France, Sweden received a significant indemnity and also actual power over Western Pomerania and the Duchy of Bregen, as well as the island of Rügen.

Rice. 3. Alsace.

The only ones who were not affected by this military conflict were Switzerland and Türkiye.

Hegemony in international life ceased to belong to the Habsburgs - after the war, their place was taken by France. However, the Habsburgs still remained a significant political force in Europe.

After this war, the influence of religious factors on the life of European states sharply weakened - interfaith differences ceased to be important. Geopolitical, economic and dynastic interests came to the fore.

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The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was a war between two factions of the strongest European states. The Habsburg bloc (Austria and Spain), which sought to dominate “the entire Christian world,” entered into a struggle with Holland, Denmark, Russia, France and Sweden, which formed the anti-Habsburg coalition. Reason war was the policy of the Habsburgs and the desire of the papacy and Catholic circles to restore the power of the Roman Church in that part of Germany where in the first half of the 16th century. The Reformation won. Reasons: religious clashes between Protestants and Catholics in Germany, then escalated into a struggle against Habsburg hegemony in Europe. There are four stages: Czech period (1618–1623). Second, Danish, period of T. century. (1625-1629). . Third, Swedish, period of T. century. (1630- 1635) . The fourth, Franco-Swedish period of T. century. (1635-48 ). The Habsburgs were supported by the Pope, the Catholic princes of Germany (Catholic League 1609) and the Polish-Lithuanian state. The war began with the Czech uprising (“Prague Defenestration”) against Habsburg rule. In 1620, the Czech Republic was defeated, which gave. The Habsburgs had a noticeable advantage. In 1625, Protestant Denmark came out against them. France tried to drag strong Sweden into the war, but it failed. The Catholic camp won a number of victories and forced Denmark to withdraw from the war in May 1629. In 1628, clashes between France and the Habsburg forces began in northern Italy; they lasted three years and proceeded extremely sluggishly. In 1630, Sweden entered the war, its troops marched all over Germany and won a victory at Breitenfeld on September 17, 1631, occupied Munich in May 1632, and defeated the Habsburg army in November at Lützen. In 1632, Russia entered into a war with Poland, but, not receiving the expected reinforcements, the Russian army was defeated, and in 1634 Russia concluded the Peace of Polyanovsky. The Swedes belatedly moved to Poland, but in September 1634 at Nördlingen they were defeated by the united forces of the Catholic Coalition. In 1635, Sweden signed the Treaty of Paris with the Habsburgs, which was joined by some German Protestant princes; in the same year, Sweden concluded the Treaty of Stumsdorf with Poland and the Treaty of Saint-Germain with France. The final, decisive period of the war began, during which France waged military operations against Spain and Germany. Gradually, military superiority leaned towards the opponents of the Catholic Coalition. After a series of victories over the Habsburgs (at Rocroi, Nördlingen), France and Sweden began to divide Germany. According to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Sweden received the mouths of the navigable rivers of Northern Germany, France - Alsace, Verdun, Metz and Toul; Holland gained independence from Spain. Swedish troops remained in Germany for another 5 years, and the war between France and Spain continued until 1659. Results: Consequence of T.v. for Germany were: strengthening and consolidating its political. fragmentation, further enslavement of the peasantry. T.v. had a great influence on the development of the permanent mercenary armies of the West. Europe. In recruitment, there has been a transition from voluntary recruitment to forced recruitment and, as a consequence of this, to the establishment of cane discipline in the armies. The final registration was received in T.V. linear tactics, which was a progressive phenomenon, a new stage in the development of the military. art. During the war, there was a transition from a system of supplying troops through requisitions and indemnities to a system of centralized supply from specially created warehouses and stores, the totality of which later formed the army base. This influenced the methods of combat of mercenary armies. Skillful maneuvering of troops in the theater of operations in order to cut off the enemy from his bases began to be used to achieve success in war. Those who advanced to T.V. talented commanders and military leaders - Gustav II Adolf (in Sweden) and Turenne (in France) made a contribution to the construction and military. the art of standing mercenary armies, in theory. justification of existing methods and forms of weapons. struggle.