CHAPTER X.
GUSTAVUS IN GERMANY.—CONTINUED.
The battle of Breitenfield marks an important epoch in history. Ferdinand had a dream of annexing all northern Europe to the Holy Roman Empire. When he failed at Stralsund he saw the limit of his northern stretch; at Breitenfield he knew the limitations of his army. This battle really restored to freedom and to Protestantism all northern Europe.
It marks an era in military affairs. Gustavus had practiced his army in great flexibility, or mobility, and this quality had triumphed over weight and numbers. Colonel Munro says: "Oh! would to God I had once again such a leader to fight such another day in this old quarrel, and though I died standing, I should be persuaded I died well."
The united forces of the Emperor and the Catholic League were broken. Gustavus now reaped the benefit of all his smaller conquests. Of the great Imperial army but two thousand remained, with Tilly old, discouraged and discredited. The peasantry fell upon Tilly's retreating army and almost annihilated it. On every side rang the words of a rude song of the period, "Fly, Tilly, fly!" It was howled and hissed and yelled by the peasantry till he had fled far southward. Tilly was heartbroken as much by the hate shown his men in retreat as by the disasters of the battlefield.
Gustavus now had full liberty to go wherever he desired. Richelieu expected the King of Sweden to march at once to Vienna. The Elector of Saxony urged the same course. When Oxenstiern came, soon after this, on a short visit and met his king at Mainz he said plainly: "I would rather have proffered my congratulations at Vienna." But the king thought differently; he knew the wily electors who might at any time stab him in the back, and he doubtless understood Ferdinand's hereditary position, that, though driven from Vienna he would have the heart loyalty of all Catholics and many Protestants as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and Gustavus believed such a course would greatly protract the war.
Gustavus said, "First pure, then peaceable;" so as he passed through the country having churches rebuilt, property restored, and above all, restoring hope and courage to the desolated provinces, he was everywhere hailed as a friend and deliverer, and just for a short time in the lull after the battle, it looked as if his work were really done.
Even after this great battle he continued to preserve perfect discipline; every morning public prayer was offered to God, and Gustavus, with bared head stood before his victorious army leading them in a hymn of thanksgiving. What an object-lesson in godliness it was alike to the pious and the impious, not alone for that age, but for all time to come.
The defeat of the Imperialists at Breitenfield settled the fate of the Edict of Restitution. At Vienna pious Catholics wondered "if God had indeed turned Lutheran."
At Halle, Gustavus divided his army. He sent the Elector of Saxony into Bohemia, which was most anxious to shake off the Imperial yoke. The King of Sweden may have remembered that Bohemia was Ferdinand's crown lands and the Elector of Saxony would by that act forever exclude himself from Ferdinand's favor and be most fully committed to the perpetual alliance with Sweden. Gustavus himself undertook to march over all western Germany and to crush out the Catholic League in its different centers.
Even the Catholics who had been so badly treated by Tilly's army, seeing the good conduct of the Swedish troops, came out to meet Gustavus and greeted him as the liberator of the country. His march through Thuringia and Franconia to the Main and the Rhine reads like a triumphal procession.
The Duke of Saxe-Weimar now joined forces with Gustavus. He proved to be a skillful general and was useful in many ways, especially because of his familiarity with the country.
As Gustavus approached Wurzburg the Catholic bishop of that city, so noted for his persecution of Protestants, fled and left his people to the mercy of the invaders. The city surrendered without any resistance. The king considered that as the country had been abandoned by its rulers the sovereignty became his, so he appointed a cabinet, one-half of whose members were Protestants. He restored to the Protestants their churches and encouraged the Catholics to attend their own churches, and to put them in repair. Only those who refused to submit were severely dealt with. He was really the first prince who understood religious toleration. In every place he claimed that as God's dealing is personal to each individual, each person should have liberty of conscience.
On one occasion when a Catholic town had been captured, his officers suggested that here he could revenge Magdeburg. The king answered, "I have come to break the chains of slavery and not to forge new ones. Let them live as they have done hitherto."
Gustavus now made a triumphal march, loved and respected by both Catholics and Protestants, through the garden spot of Germany. After resting his weary troops in the rich district of Wurzburg, he continued his march to Frankfort-on-the-Main, which opened her gates at the first summons. Gustavus crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim and on December 20th he entered Mainz, having cleared the Palatinate of its Spanish garrison. The Elector of Saxony and General Armin invaded Bohemia and occupied Prague. Gustavus now commanded from the Arctic Ocean to the Alps, and from the Rhine to the Moldau. He encamped at Main with an army of twenty thousand men. All the Protestant princes here paid him court. It was his plan to form a Corpus Evangelicum, or Union, under the protection of Sweden, which would include what is now called Germany and all Scandinavia.
France was much disconcerted by these Swedish victories. It was all right to curtail the pretensions of the House of Hapsburg, but to the eyes of Richelieu it would be a much worse fate for a new Emperor of Germany to bear the name of Gustavus than to let the Hapsburgs have undue sway.
Richelieu now insisted that Gustavus must come to an understanding with the Catholic League of southern Germany. Gustavus refused to surrender his conquests till the League saw that Maximilian of Bavaria, who was the head of the League, was disarmed. Richelieu at that broke his alliance with Gustavus and renewed his alliance with the Emperor. This was quite equivalent to a declaration of war. Richelieu declared himself the protector of the Catholic princes. They again took heart and brought together their armies in behalf of Austria.
The Jesuits who were at the Protestant courts succeeded in again stirring up the envy and jealousy of those weak northern Protestant German Electors. The Elector of Saxony now went back in heart, if not in force, to Austria.
Gustavus had felt that this would occur, and this was the main reason he had not pushed his triumph to Vienna. He now quickly conquered Franconia. Frankfort-on-the-Main, instead of opening her gates in welcome at his approach, wanted a parley. This city had received special commercial advantages from the Empire, and now they feared if Gustavus were well received they would lose their celebrated fairs. When summoned to surrender they sent a deputation to the King of Sweden explaining these conditions and hoping he would not urge compliance with his demands.
Gustavus was justly indignant. He said: "I am very much astonished that when the liberties of Germany and the Protestant religion are at stake the citizens of Frankfort talk of annual fairs, and postpone for temporal interests the great cause of their country and their conscience." He continued: "I have managed to find the keys of every town and fortress from the Island of Rugen to the Main, and I know where to find the key of Frankfort. The safety of Germany and the freedom of the Protestant faith are the sole objects of my invasion. Conscious of the justice of the cause, I am determined not to allow any object to impede my progress. I am well aware that the inhabitants of Frankfort wish to stretch out only a finger to me, but I must have the whole hand to grasp."
With his army he escorted the deputies back to the city, and in full battle array awaited the decision of the city. The gates were immediately opened and the entire army marched through the old imperial city, making a magnificent procession conducted in wonderful order. Here again the Protestant princes came to offer congratulations, to secure favors, or to appease his indignation at their heavy apathy. It was in Frankfort that the crown was yet voted upon, and placed on the one selected as head of the Holy Roman Empire.
Queen Eleanor Marie here visited him in company with Chancellor Oxenstiern. Neither of them approved of the brilliant court surrounding Gustavus, and the queen, with the swift intuitive knowledge which God gives to good women, felt that underneath all these protestations these Protestant princes had envy and jealousy in their hearts. Oxenstiern, that keen judge of men, came to the same conclusions. The king felt these things himself, and felt, also, that these princes, so divided among themselves, had little religion worth defending. He occasionally broke out in public, showing his surprise and pain at the attitude of their minds. On one occasion he said: "I wish to make peace if I am offered honorable conditions, such as will secure the welfare of the Protestant princes and their oppressed subjects, for whose sake I have undertaken this war and shed my blood. But I shall never conclude a peace by which the honor of Protestant princes would be sacrificed, their unhappy subjects bear an iron yoke, and our religion compromised."
George, Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt, professed great friendship for the king, but secretly kept up a continued intercourse with the Emperor. On one occasion, when an unusual number of traitors happened to be among his guests, Gustavus said to George of Hesse Darmstadt: "If the Emperor does not care for me I shall not care for him. You may inform him of this, for I know you are well disposed towards his majesty." The landgrave was greatly confused by this unexpected thrust and stammered some excuse, but Gustavus continued: "He who receives $30,000.00 a year has indeed a reason to be the Emperor's friend. Were I to make such a present to anyone he must have well deserved it. It would be easy for me to enter into negotiations did I not consider the danger to those who have assisted me in this war for the restoration of the true religion."
That which the friends of Gustavus most feared was assassination. He suddenly awoke one night and found an armed man who proved to be a Catholic priest of Antwerp in his room. Jesuits were sent through the country to circulate calumnies against him. In Menz public prayer was offered for him, and at the same time an assassin was paid to take his life.
At Vienna on two successive days all Catholics were urged to pray for the successful execution of a project which God and one man knew, and on which the welfare of the Roman Church depended.
Gustavus well knew of all these things, but he declared that he could not live shut up in a box, and he urged that when he should be called to his account God would raise up another leader, that it was the cause and not the individual that God was leading to victory.
The entire Catholic world was now clamoring that Richelieu was misrepresenting France by being the friend of Gustavus, an enemy of the Catholic Church. Richelieu tried to persuade the Catholic League to complete neutrality, and leave Ferdinand and Gustavus to fight it out, Richelieu's sole object being to limit the ruling house of Austria.
Gustavus now plainly saw that no reconciliation was possible between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union, if the latter could be said to exist. He saw that German princes desired to settle with him on a money basis like a hireling, to give him no representation for Pomerania in the Diet, that their envy and jealousy at his success was greater than their love for Protestantism, and that they really preferred the House of Austria Catholic than him as a Protestant ruler, and that they were too jealous of each other to secure a Protestant Union if it were to be under the protection of Sweden. So in order to arrange with Richelieu for neutrality towards Bavaria he required that the League cease from all hostilities, that they call in all troops belonging to the League from the Emperor's army, from all conquered towns and from the Protestant territory. He also insisted on the reduction of their army, the exclusion of the Imperial troops from their territory, the restoration of all property taken from Protestants, the concession of religious liberty, and the expulsion of the Jesuits.
In order to arrange for the treaty to be fully considered, Gustavus had agreed for a cessation of hostilities for two weeks, so that Richelieu might induce the Elector of Bavaria to accept the conditions. But while the French commissioner was assuring Gustavus of the favorable progress of these negotiations an intercepted letter between the Elector and Pappenheim, the commanding general of the Austrian army, showed that the Elector had no other object in causing the delay than the better preparation for continued war. Thereupon Gustavus notified Richelieu of his treachery, with word that he would now invade Bavaria.
When the Pope, Urban VIII., heard of this he said: "The King of Sweden would commit a great imprudence if he advanced anywhere before crushing Maximilian." The Catholic League was never able to induce this Pope to make any public anathemas against Gustavus, for the Pope knew that the Hapsburgs were striving for personal and family aggrandizement under the pretence of fighting for the Church. He also knew that religious liberty prevailed wherever Gustavus conquered.
Gustavus' rest was interrupted by hearing that Tilly was ravaging Franconia, and was marching on Nuremberg. He hastened to meet Tilly, who retreated towards the Danube.
Gustavus entered Nuremberg March 21st, 1632, supported by his staff and a company of cavalry. He left his army at Fürth, a short distance from the city. His generals and the Protestant princes whose country he had delivered rode with him through the streets of that ancient city. The magistrates offered him the keys of the city, and the people made a great demonstration of rejoicing. The ringing of the bells, the firing of many cannon and the welcoming shouts of the grateful people stirred the heart of Gustavus Adolphus so that he showed great emotion. His fine appearance, his pleasing personality, his cordial manners completely won the hearts of the people of Nuremberg.
At his hotel he received the presents sent by the town. These consisted of money and two cannon with ammunition for his army, also two silver globes of the famous Nuremberg workmanship. The king addressed the waiting people. His words were put into a circular and sent throughout the country. He said: "I thank you and the city for these valuable presents. In return I can wish you nothing better than perseverance in the evangelical faith. May nothing turn you from it, neither threats nor promises nor any passion to which human nature is liable. You have given me the emblems of heaven and earth. May the riches of earth not make you forgetful of the still more precious treasures of heaven. I ask for you this grace of God. We have cunning, wicked and powerful enemies. All their thoughts are bent on the destruction of Protestantism. Apparently they seek peace, but peace would indeed prove fatal to you, to all Protestants, and ruinous to many millions of souls.
"God has entrusted you with the administration of a rich and powerful city. I do not doubt of your governing it so that you need not fear the account which will one day be required of you before God's tribunal. Your city, encompassed with dangers and persecutions, has as yet been miraculously preserved. I have myself been not less miraculously preserved since arriving in these countries. I had expected to see the end of the world rather than your city. In the misfortunes which have befallen your brethren, and in your own sufferings, God intended to make you feel and acknowledge what great sinners we all are.
"It is for your sake, for the defence of the gospel, that I have left my peaceful native land and have come to these disturbed countries. It is for this cause I have sacrificed the resources of my poor subjects, their blood, exposed my life and renounced domestic happiness. I shall do all that the grace of God will give me strength to do. On your side, learn to suffer for a short time if it is necessary for our holy cause. Remain faithful to it. God will bless you. He will increase your city and make it prosperous, and your renown will spread everywhere. Let us together praise, magnify and glorify God here on earth, and in heaven forever."
After dinner the king left the city amid the enthusiastic admiration of the people. His pictures were scattered throughout the country, poems were written wherein he was likened to Moses, to Joshua, to Gideon, to David, and even to Judas Maccabeus, the deliverer of his nation, showing, at least, that the people knew well their Bible history.
The signal for Gustavus to leave that part of the country was the sudden advance of Tilly against Gustavus Horn, one of the Swedish generals. Tilly compelled General Horn to evacuate the bishopric of Bamberg. Gustavus pursued the Imperialists into Bavaria, forced the passage of the Danube at Donauwörth, where Tilly's forces retreated under a galling artillery fire from the Swedish batteries. The conquest of Donauwörth made the king controller of the Danube, and only the small River Lech kept him from the States of Maximilian, who seems to have been about all that was left of the Catholic League.
The Lech is usually a small stream, but the melting snow in the Tyrol mountains had made it a raging torrent. Tilly's forces were in a strongly fortified camp protected by this roaring current, so that the position was impregnable. The armies were within speaking distance of each other. As the king rode along the bank he called to the sentinel on the opposite side, "Good morning, sir. Where is old Tilly?" "Praise God, he is in his quarters at Main," said the man, then added, "Where is the king, comrade?" "He is in his quarters, too," said Gustavus. "What! you don't mean to say he has got any quarters, do you?" "Oh, yes. Come over here yourself and you shall have excellent quarters."
It was just that spirit of humor which endeared Gustavus to his polyglot army. Gustavus rode up and down the bank reconnoitering. He soon observed that the side on which his army was located was considerably higher than the other side, so he arranged three batteries with seventy-two field pieces, keeping up a ruinous cross fire on the Bavarians. While this was going on the king's army built a bridge across the Lech. They kept the Bavarians very busy on account of the destructive fire of the artillery, and they made a great smoke with wet straw and wet wood so that their work was concealed for some time from General Tilly. Gustavus fired over sixty guns with his own hands and seemed to be everywhere among his men cheering and directing them. General Tilly, though a much older man, would not leave the opposite bank of the river; no danger from that cross fire could drive him from his post, and there he was mortally wounded and carried from the field. The Bavarians gave way and the dying Tilly advised Maximilian to retreat. So before a single one of Gustavus' army had crossed the river Maximilian broke camp and retreated to Neuburg and to Ingolstadt.
When Gustavus arrived in their vacated camp he said, "Had I been a Bavarian, though a cannon ball had carried away my beard and chin, never would I have abandoned a position like this and laid open my territory to my enemies." Gustavus could now have gone through Bavaria, but he greatly desired to relieve Augsburg, whose very name is dear to the Protestant world. He entered Augsburg on April 14th, 1632, and found every Protestant church closed. He found that the Edict of Restitution had here been enforced with great severity, its administration had been entrusted to a most bigoted Catholic, and the Protestants had been outraged in their feelings in the birthplace of their confession of faith. The King expelled the Bavarian soldiers and put Protestant magistrates in command of the city.
Then Gustavus, his staff and leading officers, went to Saint Ann's Church, which with many others he restored to the Protestant faith. His chaplain, Dr. Fabricus, preached from Ps. 12:5—"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord. I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." The citizens were filled with emotion as they sang again the songs of Zion. Dr. Fabricus gave thanks for their great deliverance, and the whole congregation chanted the words of the psalms—"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." "The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed."
The citizens spent several days in rejoicing, but Gustavus felt that he must follow up the pursuit of the Bavarian army, and did not stay longer to assist in celebrating their deliverance.