THIS IS A RE-WORK OF THE 1559 MAP WITH AN ENLARGED MAP TO INCLUDE SCANDINAVIA AND RUSSIA
1556-1560
FRANCE AND ITALY;
The Hapsburg-Valois War (1551-59)
Pope Paul renewed his alliance with France as a defensive alliance then went out of his way to engineer an invasion of the Papal States from the south [arresting the secretary of the Spanish Embassy]. So, in December a French army, under the Duke of Guise, crossed the Alps into Italy. The Pope convinced Guise to attack Naples. Guise moved south and began a siege of Civitella in 1557.
By 1557 Philip II completed the encirclement of France, as husband of Mary he was also King of England and, in June, England declared war. In July Philip II invaded northern France with 50,000 men [including an English contingent] commanded by Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy. The French had only a small army in the north, led by Anne of Montmorency, and Paris was vulnerable to attack.
Instead of exploiting their numerical advantage Philip refused to leave French fortresses in his rear, the Spanish besieged Guise then St. Quentin. Admiral Coligny reached St. Quentin before the siege began, and inspired the defenders to hold out for longer than expected. Montmorency raised 26,000 men, raw and badly trained, and tried to harass the Spanish but suffered a heavy defeat near St. Quentin in August 1557 when his forces were caught crossing a river. He lost 6,000 dead and 6,000 captured, including himself.
Philip still refused to advance on Paris, insisting on capturing St. Quentin. Coligny surrendered in late August, giving the French time to recover from their defeat. In September Philip abandoned the siege, retreating back to the Netherlands. Duke Emmanuel resigned his position in disgust.
News of St. Quentin soon reached Guise in Naples, forcing him to abandon the siege of Civitella and retreat back to France, available to defend of France, but leaving Pope Paul IV without any allies in Italy. Philip II agreed a lenient peace with the Pope to free up his troops.
Late in the year Guise carried out a series of raids from Champagne across the frontier of the Netherlands to keep the Imperial forces off balance.
At the start of January 1558, Guise attacked and captured Calais, reducing the chance of further English invasion by removing their port of entry. In spring 1558 the French held the initiative, the plan was to capture Thionville then launch a two-pronged invasion from Calais. The plan was disrupted by the defenders of Thionville, who held out until mid June, preventing Guise from taking part in the invasion of Flanders.
The left wing of the French army still attacked, taking Dunkirk in late June, but was forced to retreat in the face of a Spanish-Netherlands army. In mid July 1558 the French were defeated, by a combination of the Spanish army and English naval gunnery, at Gravelines. Guise's army, however, was able to prevent the Spanish from taking advantage of the victory.
Negotiations begun in May resumed at Saint Pol in October. The death of Mary I of England removed any need for Philip to arrange the return of Calais. The Treaty of Edinburgh of 1560 ended the Franco-English part of the war.
In April 1559 the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis ending the Italian Wars. France would give up all of their claims in Italy, apart from in the border region of Saluzzo, and surrender Guise's conquests from the last year of the war. France would keep Metz, Toul and Verdun. Duke Emmanual Philibert of Savoy was restored to Savoy and Piedmont.
At the end of the wars Milan and Naples had been taken over by the Spanish where, before most of the peninsula had been in the hands of Italian rulers, or dynasties mainly based in Italy. Florence was now an independent duchy, but firmly within the Spanish sphere of influence. Only Venice, Genoa, Lucca and San Marino remained independent republics.
- - - - - - - - - -
HUNGARY;
In June 1556, Ferdinand wrote to the Sultan, confirming the verbal offer of his ambassadors to revoke Transylvania and give it to John II Zápolya, to evacuate the castles and withdraw his troops from the country but, prompted by the French, Suleiman made new demands. He demanded the dismantling of fortifications at Szigetvár. News of this only reached Ferdinand in the summer of 1557, negotiations were slow due to travel between the two capitals, whilst talks took place, in March 1558 they made a seven-month truce.
The following year the rebellion of one of the sultan's sons again took precedence over peace. Ferdinand wanted to take advantage of the situation but King Philip of Spain advised him to make peace even if he had to raise the annual tax of 30,000 by 5-10,000 thalers. The demolition of Szigetvár, however, was strongly opposed by Philip because of it's military importance standing in the way of a Turkish march on the Danube.
The peace treaty was made for eight years, from 1 February 1559, on the basis of actual holdings.
This treaty did not come into force, there was always new wording; so from 1560 to 1562 negotiations continued. In 1562 it became apparent that the treaty consecrated by Sulieman was very different from that signed by Ferdinand. Transylvania remained an unresolved, open question even after reconciliation with the Sultan. Although Ferdinand renounced Transylvania in 1556 and withdrew his armies, he did not reconcile with Isabella, who made a claim to the neighboring counties and tried to assert the claim by force.
Isabella again fell out with the powerful lords who had supported her return and had the three most powerful murdered in August 1559 however, she became ill and died herself in September.
John II Zápolya, when he finally ascended the throne, led the government with surprising intellect, zeal, and force despite his youth. Elected long ago, his accession to the throne took place without disturbance, and the Sultan immediately acknowledged it.
- - - - - - - - - -
OTTOMAN EMPIRE;
Background
The Saadian dynasty developed in southern Morocco. It had been successful evicting the Portuguese from it's forts in southern Morocco including Agadir, in 1541. The Saadians challenged the Wattasids of northern Morocco, trying unify Morocco.
Wattasid - Ottoman contact started around 1545. In June 1545 the Ottoman Regent of Algiers, occupied Tlemcen, installing a Turkish garrison, putting pro-Ottoman Sultan Muhammad on the throne. The Ottoman Regent wanted to establish an alliance with the Wattasids, against the Spanish. In 1545 the Wattassid Emir was captured by the Saadians. Ali Abu Hassun, regent for the Emir's young son, needing Ottoman military support against the Saadians, pledged allegiance to the Ottomans to obtain it.
In 1547, Spain sent an expedition against Mostaganem, in support of the ousted ruler of Tlemcen, but, whilst it failed, they did capture Tlemcen from the Ottomans and installed a puppet ruler. After the expedition was withdrawn Tlemcen was reconquered.
The Ottoman Regent could not intervene when the Saadians conquered Fez in 1549 but, the deposed pro-Ottoman regent was given asylum in Algiers. With the Ottomans preparing to restore Wattassid rule, the Saadians attacked the Regency of Algiers in 1551. An army of 30,000 men invaded Tlemcen, taking it easily. The Saadians advanced to Mostaganem, but failed to capture the city. The Saadian army was defeated by a joint army of Ottoman Janissaries and tribal troops. Tlemcen was again reconquered and an Ottoman governor and garrison installed, establishing direct Ottoman rule.
In 1552 Suleiman started diplomatic negotiation with the Saadians but this failed in 1554, the Saadians rejecting cooperation with the Ottomans. The Regent of Algiers marched on Fez, occupying it in early 1554. Ali Abu Hassun was installed as Emir of Fez, supported by Janissaries but, in September 1554, Fez fell to the Saadians who opened negotiations with Spain for an alliance.
The Regent of Algiers had the Saadian ruler assassinated in October 1557 and, in early 1558, invaded Morocco, but he was defeated by the Moroccans north of Fez at the Battle of Wadi al-Laban, and retreated after hearing of Spanish preparations for an offensive from Oran. He returned to Algiers to prepare a defence.
The Spanish attacked Mostaganem, with Saadian support, in 1558, but, again, failed. The failure ended attempts to form an alliance between Spain and Morocco.
In Morocco, following the 1557 assassination a struggle for power between the sons of the Emir forced the three younger sons to leave Morocco for exile Istanbul, where they received Ottoman training.
Ottoman–Safavid War (1532-55)
Territorial disputes between the two Empires, especially when the Bey of Bitlis put himself under Persian protection and Safavid discussions for the formation of a Habsburg-Persian alliance that would outflank the Ottoman Empire eventually erupted into war.
First campaign 1532-36
The Ottomans attacked Safavid Iraq, recaptured Bitlis, and went on to capture Tabriz and Baghdad in 1534. The Safavid Shah kept retreating ahead of the Ottoman troops, adopting a scorched earth strategy.
Second campaign 1548-49
The Ottomans attempted to defeat the Shah once and for all. Sultan Suleiman embarked upon a second campaign and, again, the Shah adopted a scorched earth policy, laying waste to Armenia. Suleiman besieged Van and made furter gains in Tabriz and Persian ruled Armenia also taking some forts in Georgia.
Third campaign 1553-55
In 1553 The Ottomans began the third campaign against the Shah. First losing and then regaining Erzurum. Ottoman territorial gains were secured by the Peace of Amasya in 1555. Suleiman returned Tabriz, but kept Baghdad, lower Mesopotamia, western Armenia, western Georgia, the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris, and part of the Persian Gulf coast. Persia retained the rest of all its northwestern territories in the Caucasus.
- - - - - - - - - -
RUSSIA/DUCHY OF MOSCOW;
The Russo-Swedish War (1554-57)
This rose out of border skirmishes, both the Russians and Swedes frequently crossing the border to plunder. Relations between Sweden and Russia were not good and, as Ivan IV of Russia did not consider Swedish King Gustav I his equal, refusing to negotiate with Swedish ambassadors in person.
In 1554 the Russian representative sent to Stockholm requesting an explanation for a raid on the Pechenga Monastery was imprisoned. In response, Russia organized an attack in March 1555. With only 1,000 men, Finland could not stand against the invasion, but reinforcements of 3,700 infantry and 250 cavalry arrived from Sweden. The Finnish nobility also rallied, contributing its cavalry.
The Swedish goal was to conquer Oreshek, Korela and Koporye but the siege of Oreshek was badly planned and failed since the Russians had destroyed the areas surrounding the town. Swedish troops had insufficient supplies to maintain the siege until the town surrendered.
Early in 1556, Russia attacked again with a strong army, aiming for the town of Viborg. Swedish troops were unlikely to withstand this army but, after a few days of pillaging the area around Viborg, the Russian forces left.
During summer 1556, Peace negotiations between Sweden and Russia were made and, in March 1557, a peace treaty was signed preserving the status quo.
The Livonian War is considered a continuation of this.
Livonian War Background
In the mid-16th century, prosperous Livonia was decentralised and divided religiously. Livonia included the Livonian lands of the Teutonic Order, Prince-Bishoprics of Dorpat, Ösel–Wiek, and Courland as well as the Archbishopric of Riga and the city of Riga. Livonia had a weak administration subject to internal rivalries, lacked any powerful defences or outside support, and was surrounded by monarchies pursuing expansionist policies.
The cities of Riga, Dorpat and Reval, along with the knightly estates, enjoyed privileges which enabled them to act almost independently. The Livonian estates were held regularly but there were rivalries between the Archbishop of Riga and the Landmeister of the Order for hegemony. The Reformation had spread to Livonia in the 1520s, resisted by the Order sympathetic to Roman Catholicism.
The landholders of all sides were all lesser nobles, guarding their privileges and influence by preventing the creation of a higher, more powerful noble class. Only the Archbishopric of Riga successfully could overcome thei resistance. Wilhelm von Brandenburg, appointed as Archbishop of Riga tried to establish an hereditary Livonian Duchy styled after the Prussian model. At the same time the Order worked for its re-establishment in Prussia, opposing secularization.
The Hanseatic League had already lost its monopoly on the profitable and prosperous Baltic Sea trade, sharing the market with European mercenary fleets, most notably from the Dutch Seventeen Provinces and France. Hanseatic vessels were no match for contemporary warships so its Livonian members Riga and Reval along with trading partner Narva were left without protection. The powerful Danish navy controlled the entrance to the Baltic, collecting tolls and held the strategically important islands of Bornholm and Gotland.
Danish territories in the south and lack of sufficient year-round ice-free ports severely limited Sweden's access to Baltic trade, nevertheless, Sweden prospered from exports of timber, iron, and copper and its proximity to the Livonian ports across the narrow Gulf of Finland, protected by its growing navy. Sweden had sought to expand into Livonia, but Russian intervention halted these efforts in the Russo-Swedish War of 1554–1557 and the 1557 Treaty of Novgorod.
Russia had become Livonia's eastern neighbour after its conquest of the principalities of Novgorod and Pskov and grown stronger by annexing the Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. Russia was isolated from sea trade despite the new Ivangorod port, built on the eastern shore of the Narva River in 1550, which was unsatisfactory because of its shallow waters.
Tsar Ivan pointed out that the existence of the Order required passive Russian support, and threatened use of military force if not paid 6,000 marks tithe for the Principality of Dorpat.
Sigismund II Augustus, of Poland-Lithuania, was wary of Russian aspirations. Russian Expansion into Livonia would mean a strong, adjacent, political rival and loss of lucrative trade routes. Sigismund supported his cousin Wilhelm von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Riga, in his conflicts with the Livonian Order's Landmeister, hoping that Livonia, like the Duchy of Prussia, would become a vassal state of Poland–Lithuania. von Brandenburg planned an April 1556 attack on his opponents that would involve military aid Sigismund. Sigismund hesitated, fearing it would leave Kiev exposed to a Russian attack.
von Brandenburg was captured when Riga fell in June 1556, a diplomatic mission for his was dispatched by the Pomeranian Dukes, the Danish King and Emperor Ferdinand I. A meeting in Lübeck failed after quarrels between Sigismund and the Danish envoys. Sigismund used the killing of his envoy by the Landmeister's son as an excuse to invade southern Livonia with around 80,000 men. He forced the disparate parties in Livonia to reconcile in September 1557, signing the Treaty of Pozvol, which created a mutual defensive - offensive alliance and effectively dissolved the Livonian Confederation.
Livonian War (1558-83)
In 1554 Livonia and Russia had signed a fifteen-year truce in which Livonia agreed not to enter into an alliance with Poland–Lithuania. Ivan IV regarded the Treaty of Pozvol as a casus belli and, in January 1558, Ivan invaded. Russia waged a series of small campaigns, with sieges where musketmen played a key role in destroying wooden defences with effective artillery support. The Tsar's forces took important fortresses like Fellin, but lacked the means to gain the major cities of Riga, Reval, or Pernau. The Livonian knights suffered a disastrous defeat by the Russians at the Battle of Ērģeme in August 1560.
Many Livonian fortresses surrendered without resistance, seeing the Russians as liberators from the control of the largely German Lionian nobility. Russian troops took Dorpat in May, Narva in July and laid siege to Reval. Reinforced by 1,200 landsknechte, 100 gunners, and ammunition from Germany, Livonian forces successfully retook Wesenberg. Although they raided Russian territory, Dorpat, Narva, and many lesser fortresses remained in Russian hands. Ivan gained more ground in campaigns in 1559 and 1560. In January 1559, Russian forces invaded Livonia but Ivan arranged a six-month truce; May to November, while Russia fought against Crimean raiders.
