The Thirty Years' War No.6

The Battle of White Mountain Episode 6.

The Final Defeat

The Battle of White Mountain was a severe disaster, but it did not have to cause the collapse of the entire conscription resistance. On the imperial side, its importance was not overestimated. This is evident from the fact that negotiations were held in Poland to obtain further aid. The casualties were small and most of the troops held on in Prague. There were numerous garrisons in the country besides Mansfeld's corps, and new resources were offered in Bohemia and Moravia. The alliance with Bethlen also continued, with 8,000 men of the Hungarian cavalry on the road to Prague. The end of the autumn campaign was approaching, and in the coming winter a number of complications awaited the large enemy army, as there was a shortage of accommodation. Further real resistance would have caused the nobility to give up the attempt to wage war on debt and at the expense of others, to dig deeper into their purses(the enemy mercenaries did so a few weeks later) and, by making substantial political and social concessions, prepare the conditions for the mobilization of the bourgeoisie and the subject people.

These ideas were put forward at the war council on the night of from 8th to 9th Novemberto discuss the future conduct of the war. The leader of the Upper Austrian Estates, Jiri Tschernembel, reminded the gentlemen present of the example of their Hussite ancestors and urged them to lead a mass mobilisation of all men capable of bearing arms. In his opinion, the king should not have left for Prague, but the enemy camped outside the city should have been attacked that night. Thurn also constantly repeated that Prague should not be surrendered. Finally Anshalt's suggestion was accepted that according to the prepared plan Prague should be cleared the centre of gravity of further command of the battle should be transferred to Wrocław. This proposal suited the Bohemian dominion, as it meant that no concessions would have to be made and that the existing regime of government would be maintained.

In the morning hours 9 November the royal couple, accompanied by Anhalt, Thurn and Hohnloh and a number of provincial officials, set off for Silesia with many wagons loaded with the most necessary property. Soon another part of the nobility, who had not even had time to load their possessions, also left. The gates were soon clogged with wagons. According to Anhalt's orders, part of the army gathered in Prague was to go in order to Brandýs nad Labem, and part was to cover the escape of the royal procession under the leadership of Turnovo's son Bernard. The mercenaries saw the generals fleeing and so some fled too, some stayed in Prague hoping to be paid their ransom. Some were under no illusions about settling their claims and began to raid the wagons of officers and nobles taking away their property. The mercenaries also robbed the trucks carrying the property of Field Marshal Hohenloch. When the king fled Prague, the townspeople no longer thought of defending the city, because in such a state it was impossible to defend Prague. The walls were in a disastrous state, with gaps so wide that it was impossible to drive wagons through them. So they decided to throw themselves on the mercy of the victor.

On November 9 at 11 a.m. ...the imperial and then the Ligist troops began to enter Prague. The garrison in the castle surrendered, and already in the courtyard a huge booty fell into the hands of the victors in loaded wagons, which Frederick did not manage to take with him, Also the whole of Frederick's office with secret correspondence. The chambers of the castle were ransacked. The same day a deputation of provincial officials came to Maximilian of Bavaria who had remained in Prague, led by William of Lobkowitz, with a request for amnesty and the preservation of religious and political freedoms. It was quite incomprehensible that they remained in Prague believing that they would be pardoned. Maximilian refused the request on the grounds that the Emperor would not be bound by any conditions and promised that the leaders of the rebellion would be spared life. It was an empty promise, which was soon confirmed. The soldiers of the Estates, clamouring for mercenaries, were dispersed under threats. Some left Prague, many went into hiding and were soon slaughtered. Maximilian and Buquoy tried in their own interest to prevent violence and plunder, but failed.

The booty which fell into the hands of the victors was enormous, and Maxmilian alone carried it away in 1,500 wagons on his departure from Prague. It was mostly boxes of gold and silverware and precious jewels of all kinds. Only part of these treasures would have been enough to pay the mercenary and thus avert a military disaster. Similarly large was the booty of Buquoy and other imperial generals, which amounted to a million gold pieces, not counting what the soldiers had plunderedwho, after having ravaged the royal palaces, systematically plundered the houses of the townspeople, committing all kinds of violence.

Such was the fury that Maximilian wrote a letter to Buquoy urging him to put a stop to the rampage. Buquoy had several of the mercenaries who had been apprehended in the robbery executed, but it had no effect, for all the officers were interested in the plunder, including their commander-in-chief.
After the capture of Prague, part of the Ligist army was detached to Bavaria, the administration of the country was then entrusted to Prince Charles of Liechtenstein and the command of the army to Buquoy. Maximilian ended his mission and advised the emperor that the chiefs of the rebellion should be executed, the provincial privileges abolished, and in general that "strike while the iron is hot".

The news of the White Mountain caused consternation on the White Mountain. The conservative party around Charles Sr. of Žerotín gained the upper hand. The Diet, hastily convened in Brno, accepted the influence of Thurn, who had been sent by the king to Moravia to organize defensive measures for further fighting, but the opponents of further warfare grew stronger and stronger. At Žerotín's castle in Rosice, a meeting of all the supporters of negotiations with the emperor was held and contact with Vienna was established. As a result of this group, the congress held in Brno at the end of November also decided to send Ferdinand a letter offering the Moravian Estates to surrender if their political and religious freedoms were preserved. Ferdinand, however, was unwilling to make any concessions, for at this point the fate of the uprising in Moravia had already been decided by the coup d'état in the Moravian army.

Continued next time.................