Warrior Kings of Sweden

by Gary Dean Peterson

  The Heilbronn League, which had never lived up to its promise, now began to disintegrate. As early as April 1634 at the Frankfurt convention of the league, a divisive rift was opened between Sweden and George William of Brandenburg, who was actually not a member. After Nördlingen the league looked for support outside Sweden. It turned to France and concluded the Treaty of Löffler-Streiff which transferred French support in the form of money from Sweden to the league, but no monies were ever paid. Oxenstierna refused to sign the treaty and in March 1635 the last meeting of the league under Swedish auspices was held. Attendance was miserable. If the league was to continue it would be as a French client. Oxenstierna wished Richelieu good luck for he was divorcing himself from the organization. But the French were no more successful than the Swedes had been with the Heilbronn League and it finally dissolved.

  In southern Germany all was lost and now the north began to turn against the Swedes as well. In June 16, 1634, John George had opened peace negotiations with the emperor. On November 14 they issued the Preliminaries of Pirna outlining the conditions for a permanent peace between the two parties. The emperor was gradually reasserting his hold over Germany and was now readily accepting Spanish troops into his domain. France had made gains in western Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, but had given up on any alliance with Bavaria and was losing influence with the Protestant princes. Intensifying the situation, Spain and France declared open war on one another in mid–1635.

  Oxenstierna and Richelieu, both searching for support in the German war, agreed to meet. In March 1635 the Swedish chancellor left southern Germany to confer with the cardinal at Compiégue. The treaty signed there bound neither party to any hard and fast commitments. It was, rather, a recognition of common interests and a promise of mutual, but unspecified, support in the German conflict.

  Oxenstierna returned to Germany at Stade in June of 1635 to find the situation had deteriorated still further. On May 20 the emperor and John George had signed the Peace of Prague. Forfeiting their freedoms, concerned only with the desire for peace and in a rush of nationalism, the princes and independent cities of Germany quickly followed Saxony’s example and settled with Ferdinand. Within a few months only William V of Hesse-Kassel and Bernard of Saxe-Weimar remained loyal to the Swedish cause. Swedish military forces in Germany were reduced to only Banér’s small army in Pomerania and Mecklenburg, which had not been paid for some time. Upon his return Oxenstierna was taken and literally held as a hostage by the officers in their camp in Mecklenburg demanding back pay or they would cross to Sweden and march on Stockholm to collect.

  At this absolute low point in the chancellor’s affairs in Germany, he received word of the Truce of Stuhmsdorf, September 2, 1635. The government in Stockholm had for some time been conducting negotiations with Poland to make a final settlement concerning Swedish holdings in Prussia. The inexperienced and divided negotiators had allowed themselves to be manipulated by the French, who were mediating. The outcome was an accord that relinquished all territorial rights in Prussia along with the rights to the port tolls and taxes vital to financing Sweden’s overseas war machine. Oxenstierna was outraged that he was not informed of these conditions until two months after the conclusion of the treaty. First southern Germany and now Prussia were lost to him. The only consolation was that he was able to transfer the 9,700 troops in Prussia to Pomerania along with their commander, Lennart Torstensson. This force became very useful for on October 6, 1635, John George declared war on Sweden, followed by George William on January 6, 1636. With the reinforcements Banér was able to defeat Saxon attempts to drive the Swedes out of the country. A series of victories in limited engagements brought matters to a stalemate. It was under these conditions Oxenstierna took leave of Germany in July 1636 to return to Sweden. He was forced to detour through France and Holland, landing at Dalarö, outside Stockholm, July 16, 1636, not knowing what kind of reception to expect.

  Four days later Oxenstierna gave his report to the Råd and was surprised to find overwhelming support for him as the head of the government. On July 22 the Estates passed a resolution recognizing the chancellor as such. For all the wrangling between the home government and the absent chancellor, there was now peace and accord between them.

  Meanwhile, Spanish and Imperial forces had made progress against the French in Alsace and Lorraine, but were eventually stopped. Two French and Dutch armies attempted an invasion of the Spanish Netherlands, but this campaign also ground to a halt accomplishing little. In the fall of 1636, with Oxenstierna’s departure, Ferdinand turned his Imperial army against the Swedes.

  The combined Imperial-Saxon army forced its way into Brandenburg, driving the smaller Swedish army back. Banér gave ground looking for an opportunity for a decisive battle that might save the Swedish cause. His chance came on September 24, 1636, when Imperial-Saxon forces were drawn up near the town of Scharfenberg on a ridge facing a marshy lowland. The coalition had reinforced their earthworks by placing a string of wagons along the front to use as cover and to break up any cavalry charge. Heavy artillery was arranged along the line to blast the Swedes coming out of the marshy low ground. It was a prescription for annihilation, but Banér proved a wily opponent.

  Instead of attacking head on, the 40-year-old general brought his troops through a wooded area south of the town of Wittstock on the German left flank. The battle line, with the center under Banér, the left commanded by Leslie and the right by Torstensson, threatened to roll up the Imperial-Saxon line. The Germans were forced to pull their troops out of their prepared works and shift them to the left, developing a whole new front. Banér’s assault was halted as the superior numbers of the repositioning German troops began to build. The combat was intense and bloody with both sides heavily engaged. This battle saw some of the heaviest and bloodiest cavalry engagements of the war.

  In addition to his surprise flank attack, Banér had sent a column under Lieutenant-General King around to the left to attack the area the Germans had originally intended to be the scene of the battle, but was now vacated. King’s men had been delayed in getting through a woods and then the marshy lowland, but by late afternoon they had found their way back to the battlefield just as the Swedish main attack was stalling out and on the verge of collapse due to the numerical superiority of the Germans.

  King had outflanked the Germans’ right and now attacked rolling up the line. The Imperial-Saxon army was forced to shift once again to meet this new threat, which relieved the pressure against Banér’s main front. The battle might have turned into a rout, but darkness intervened and both sides pulled back for the night.

  The next morning, the Swedes advanced to renew the fight but found no one in front of them. During the night the Germans had fled their positions, abandoning their artillery. Banér held the field and stopped this latest thrust to drive Sweden from northern Germany. He had defeated Gallas, the general who had engineered the defeat of the Swedes at Nördlingen. Swedish military prestige was revived.

  Banér sent his cavalry after the fleeing Imperialists and Saxons who left a trail of dead, wounded, arms and wagons. The Swedish horse caught up with the remnants of the German army and completed the annihilation. Sweden’s position, for the moment at least, was secure.

  During the winter of 1636–37 Banér rebuilt his army. He received new troops from Sweden and Finland, but these recruits, though loyal, were not well trained and the Swedish field marshal used them mostly for garrison duty. For his field army he preferred German mercenaries who could withstand the diseases rampant in the military camps. He had a good share of Scots, Irish and English as well. The old disciplined army of Swedes and Finns of Gustav’s day no longer existed. Banér and his mercenaries were not squeamish about living off the countryside they passed though. In fact Banér amassed a fortune from looting conquered territories, cities and towns.

  By spring he had 14,000 men in the field and he began a campaign to bring George William to heel, leaving Wrangel in Pomerania with a small
force to guard the back door. He invaded Saxony and laid siege to the capital, Leipzig. In early June a final storming was prepared. Ladders, short pikes, hand grenades and axes were ready. Two large mines were used to blow the Grimmagate and a thirty foot wide breach was made in the wall by cannon fire. As the sun rose, the defenders braced for the onslaught, but the attack never came. Banér’s attention had been diverted by a large Imperial army approaching his entrenchments.

  Gallas had assembled an army of 47,000 Saxons, Brandenburgers, Hessians, Lueneburgers and Imperialists, and was advancing to relieve the siege. The first units were being thrown around Banér’s works. The Swedish commander had to act quickly or face certain catastrophe.

  On June 18 he pulled out of his works and headed north. Everything that could not be carried at a rapid rate was burned. Gallas sent his fast moving cavalry to try to block the retreat while bringing his infantry and guns along as fast as possible. It was a race for survival.

  At Lueblen Croat light cavalry got ahead of Banér’s troops and had to be attacked. At Jueterbog Banér’s rearguard was overtaken and cut down; 600 men were killed and another 400 taken prisoner. At Liebrose the Swedish army was forced to battle and in a counterattack drove some of their pursuers into a swamp where a number were drowned. Finally, on June 27 Banér’s flight was brought to a halt. At the Warthe River Gallas pushed ahead of the Swedish army. Banér found a three mile long battle line drawn up at Landsberg blocking his path. It looked like the race between Gallas and the Swedish general was over.

  There was one possible avenue of escape. Poland lay only 35 miles away to the east. Banér sent his wife along with several high ranking officers to the border to arrange entry and provide for some kind of security. Gallas, however, discovered the preparations and shifted his army to the east. On June 30 Banér broke camp and marched out, not to the east, however, but to the west. The whole exercise in preparing for an escape to Poland had been a ruse.

  Banér led the vanguard that cut its way through the lightly held positions to the west and the army escaped. They crossed the Oder and by July 4 had joined Wrangel’s forces at Eberwalde. The escape was an incredible feat performed by a canny general who once more bested his German adversary.

  However, Banér and Wrangel together had only 11,000 men. Banér had lost most of his equipment. The countryside was devastated, not able to support even this small army, and the Swedes did not have the money to pay their mercenaries. Gallas moved into Pomerania taking garrisons, cities, towns and even the ports. Desertions and disease reduced the Swedish army to only 7,000 men as Gallas closed in.

  But just when the situation seemed completely hopeless, Banér received word that the Germans were pulling back. The ports and towns of Pomerania were being abandoned by the Imperial army and Gallas was evacuating the province. It was not the Swedish army that had defeated Gallas, but logistics. As hard as it was to feed Banér’s small army in the devastated countryside, it was impossible to sustain the huge German army. Gallas pulled back to the Elbe where supplies were available and went into winter quarters.

  With Sweden’s situation in Germany in a sorry state at the beginning of 1638, a new emperor was breathing easier. Nearly all the German princes had returned to his fold. With Spain’s help France was being held at bay. In December 1636, Ferdinand’s son was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and on February 15, 1637, Ferdinand III succeeded his father on the Imperial throne.

  The Spanish war in the Netherlands had ground to a stalemate with the only significant action being the Dutch retaking of Breda which had been lost in 1626.

  Over the winter Banér received 180,000 riksdalers from the Swedish government and was able to rebuild his army. In addition, 9,000 Swedish and 5,000 Finnish recruits arrived strengthening the army to 21,000 men. Pomerania had been totally devastated. The cities and countryside had been destroyed by starvation and disease. Cites overflowed with refugees displaced from farms and small towns ravaged by the invading armies. Social systems failed and the judiciary collapsed. The educational and religious organizations were in chaos. The country was near anarchy. Under these conditions it became necessary for Sweden to annex the province. Banér was appointed governor-general of a barren land, devastated population and shattered economy. He did what he could to organize a government and get the country on its feet. All of which slowed down his campaign the next season.

  However, it was logistics as much as his preoccupation with local government that was the reason for Banér’s immobility. He could feed his army by sea from across the Baltic as long as he stayed close to the coast. But Gallas on the Pomeranian border was rapidly depleting his supply base with no readily available new source. Disease and desertions were taking their toll on the German army while Banér procrastinated. Finally, in September the Swedish army started south.

  Gallas departed his death camp ahead of the Swedes and retreated southward leaving a trail of dead and dying. The way was strewn with baggage, wagons and a devastated countryside.

  Banér, as usual, moved quickly, but before he could catch up with the German army the effects of the denuded land began to take its toll on his army. His 650 man Västergötland cavalry was reduced to 300 while the Östergötland horse counted only 40 troopers fit for service. Not only the men, but also the animals died. An attempt was made to stem the wave of disease by selecting a few accused witches from among the camp followers and executing them. When this didn’t help and with much of his cavalry now afoot, Banér was forced to abandon his pursuit and return north to revitalize his poor army.

  Meanwhile, in southern Germany, Bernard of Saxe-Weimar and his Army of the Rhine were taken into French service, giving Richelieu a credible force within Germany.

  By the end of the year Banér was once more resupplied and ready to advance on the Imperial forces. In January 1639 he crossed the Elbe and wrote to Bernard to move up the Rhine into central Germany where the two could unite. Bernard, leading an army paid by France, had crossed the Rhine in 1638 and defeated an Imperial army at Rheinfelden. He then laid siege to Breisch forcing the city into starvation. After being reduced to eating rats, cats and finally humans, including seven Swedish war prisoners, the city surrendered. However, content with this victory Bernard refused to move further in spite of the proddings by both Richelieu and Banér.

  The Swedes, meanwhile, advanced on Erfurt to relieve a Swedish garrison being invested by Imperial forces. Driving away the Germans, Banér moved into southern Saxony. By February he had seized Zwickan and Chemnitz, outposts guarding the passes into Bohemia. Next he attacked the old medieval city of Freiberg. Though the walls were not up to modern standards, Banér lacked the heavy guns needed to breach them and had to settle, once again, for a protracted siege. The garrison, backed by the townspeople, put up a stout defense. Banér received word that an Imperial army was approaching to raise the siege. The Swedish field marshal decided to try a final assault on the walls. Though carried out bravely, the attack failed with the loss of over 500 men. Banér was now forced to turn and meet the new threat. He lifted the siege and by forced march met the Imperial army at Chemnitz on April 4. In spite of their exhausted state, Banér’s troops defeated the Germans, capturing cannon and baggage train.

  Banér marched into Bohemia and by May 20, 1639, stood at the walls of Prague. This country had been untouched by war for five years so supplies were plentiful. Again the Swedish army lacked the heavy artillery necessary to take the city. He, nevertheless, surrounded Prague and pounded it with his light field pieces which did little damage.

  A Hungarian army showed up intending to raise the siege. It attacked in the old Polish style with lance and saber. Banér’s hardened veterans cut them down with musket and pike. Banér was growing impatient. He could defeat the armies sent against him, but didn’t have the guns to take the fortified positions and without these he could not conquer Bohemia.

  In frustration he decided if he couldn’t conquer the country no one was going to have
it. He unleashed his cavalry regiments and infantry brigades to crisscross Bohemia looting, burning and pillaging. Contemporary sources claim over 1,000 castles were destroyed. Hardly a city, town or farmstead was spared. Starvation and disease followed the wanton destruction so that half of the population died. Rural areas were left deserted as peasants either died or fled to the cities for protection. Three quarters of the once flourishing towns and villages ceased to exist. For years afterward the Bohemian word for Swede was synonymous with bandit, thief and murderer. This period of devastation became known as “the time of the Swedes.”

  The new emperor, Ferdinand III, was not the stern, iron-willed ruler that his father had been and he agonized over this destruction and suffering in his realm. He sent a raiding party into Livonia led by an English colonel, Booth, in the hopes of diverting Banér from his rampage, but the Swedish field marshal made no effort to follow. The emperor tried to negotiate, but was rebuffed. Finally, Ferdinand threw all of his remaining resources into raising another army. He mustered 30,000 men which were sent into Bohemia to drive the Swedish forces out. Gallas, who had proven no match for Banér, was replaced with an Italian veteran, Piccolomini. The new general maneuvered cautiously as he entered Czech territory.

  Banér was not intimidated and left only in late winter 1640 when all logistical supplies had been destroyed. Having been ill for some time, his fever worsened again as he left Bohemia in search of fresh supply sources. North, then west he moved with Piccolomini dogging his trail, but not closing for battle.

  Banér sent letter after letter to Bernard and Richelieu encouraging a joint action. He would move south and the French would move east to squeeze the emperor into submission. But Duke Bernard would not be provoked. Finally, in that winter of 1639–40 Bernard died at 35 years of age. His army of 10,000 hardened veterans known as the Bernardines was enlisted by the French and placed under the command of General Guébriant.