The Two Golden Lions - a Thirty Years War timetree

Boto von Ageduch

More events of early 1631.


Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.
Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?
Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?
Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.
I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints:
but let them not turn again to folly.
Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.
Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.


Exerpt from Psalm 85 - selected for the opening service of the Convent of Leipzig (see below).


February, 15th: Swedish forces under Gustav Adolf enter the Brandenburgian fortress Küstrin.
On the same day, imperial forces under Wallenstein reach the Mecklenburgian-Pomeranian border
and renew the siege of Stralsund.


February, 16th: G.A. lays siege to Frankfurt and (17th) Landsberg,
where the remnants of the imperial garrison of Pomerania have taken a defense position

February, 18th: Wallenstein relieves Greifswald, where the imperial garrison has withstood G.A. until now

February, 18th: The Convent of Leipzig opens.
Representatives of virtually all Protestant imperial states and imperial cities gather
to debate on a common position in the conflict.
Elector Johann Georg of Saxony promotes his idea of a third party between Sweden
and the Catholic party.
Simultaneously, Saxony is heavily mobilizing - and thus creating a material basis for this policy.

February, 20th: Brandenburg lets G.A. enter the fortress of Spandau (near the electoral residence Berlin)
and (in the course of the next two weeks) other strategically important places

February, 24th: The Saxon Elector Johann Georg receives word from the Emperor which allows him to enter
certain Silesian fortresses, under several strict conditions.
The status of Lusatia remains undetermined.

February, 25th: Wallenstein enters the Uckermark (northermost part of Brandenburg) and approaches Stettin

March, 1st: Wallenstein lays siege to Stettin. G.A. leads his forces westward in Brandenburg

* March, 5th: The fortresses Landsberg and Frankfurt (7th) surrender to the Swedish.

March, 10th: Saxon forces enter Sagan (Silesia). Note: Silesia is ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs,
but on the level below state rule, Sagan is the private property of Wallenstein.

_______________________________________________________________________


Summary of the situation:

- Large army contingents lie in the North-East of the Empire:
The imperial army, the Swedish army (both converging to ~ 22,500;
Wallenstein from above, Gustav Adolf from below),
the Liguist (Bavarian) army (~ 12,000), and the Saxon army (~10,000).

- Saxony and its (potential) allies from the Convent has become a key player:
It has direct access to the Habsburg hereditary territories to the South,
and simultaneously is in a position where it may try to hold the Swedes on their
foray into the Empire. However, its (alliance) behavior is still uncertain ...



* The Convent is closely modeled after its counterpart in real history.
However, the implications are subtly different:
OTL's Convent condemned the Emperor's Restitution Edict
(which stated that all territories under Catholic rule in 1555 and reformed since had to be recatholized ).
This one will do so as well, but now the execution of the edict is already put on hold (by the Regensburg electoral congress).
The actual convent decided to recruit for an independent army under Saxon coordination -
in this timeline, such an army already exists (at least in Saxony itself).


---- All additions after the first posting marked with an * . ----
 
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Boto von Ageduch

1630_III_post.png


(Some changes are corrections of the last map.)

1630_III_post.png
 

Boto von Ageduch

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Branch A:
=========


March 18th, 1631.

Tilly had encamped around Jerichow, an Eastern possession of the Diocese of Magdeburg,
close to the Western border Brandenburg. May the inhabitants regret their Lutheran revolution
against the bishop! In spite of the new imperial and electoral policy, he was allowed
to hold this place as it was subdued when the descision was made. Or so Maximillian of Bavarian,
his lord, understood it.
He also had to respect Brandenburg's integrality as officially Sweden's victim, not ally.
But Tilly had doubts about that, like any reasonable man in Europe.
Sure, he had lead his army through the Altmark, the "Old March", the westernmost part of Brandenburg
(the name was a reminder of the old, old days when this was the frontier of the Empire).
But that would hardly be worth mentioning.


In the meantime, Gustav Adolf lead his forces West.
He categorically had to avoid an open battle with Wallenstein, for being outnumbered [1].
Gustav was not the man to take an unmeasurable risk at the beginning of his endeavor.
But he had to take the initiative, and he had to do so soon:
Wallenstein was cutting him off from the Baltic Sea, and thus both from his homeland Sweden
and his recent conquests in Prussia. Among other things, this threatened his supply of
mercenaries - and so made him dependant from the cooperation of the Protestant princes in Germany.

The Swedes had encamped near the city of Brandenburg.
Only the morning after their arrival, Gustav Adolf sent a significant, but still lesser
detachment West towards Madgdeburg.

This, of course was a simple trick to bait Tilly out of his fortifications.
He could hardly have learnt about the new Swedish position.
But even if he had: Could he take the risk and let 3,000 troops pass, well into the
territories Wallenstein and he had conquered over the last decade?
They could fortify in a city and thus encircle him.
Moreover, what would he do at the second occasion?

No, Tilly did what seemed unavoidable: He met the Swedish troop and opened a battle.
The Swedes would soon have had to surrender, if not the main forces of G.A. had marched out
with a couple of hours delay. It was G.A.'s aim to subdue one of his enemies while they were
disunited. Hence, the two armies met at the Battle of Jerichow on March 18th, 1631.
Tilly was cought by surprise by the number of his adversary.
Hastily, he called the rest of his army from the camp and city of Jerichow - he had relied on the most mobile
parts of his forces, in particular, he had not brought any artillery.


The outcome was easily predictable:
Tilly's infantery was virtually annihilated, also the casualties among his cavallery were severe.
After less than four hours after the clash of the main armies,
Tilly had to retreat. He took the way South with the rags of his army, into Thuringia,
obviously to seek assistence in the vincinity of allied states.
He certainly would not be able to defend himself if challenged by an actual army,
so he had to burden friendly territory with his presence.
Mainz (Erfurt), Würzburg, Bamberg, and Palatine-Neuburg may have come to his mind first.
Perhaps he even saw the necessity to retreat all the way back to Bavaria.

Gustav Adolf, the vanquisher of the battle, sent a small relief to Madgeburg,
to encourage the city and express his support for their endurance.
He himself lead his army South towards Electoral Saxony, with a mounted
messenger sent as a herald to Leipzig:
He was to announce the gathered Protestant princes their liberator, their "savior",
allay their concerns about the approaching army, guarantee them free passage -
and secure their political and financial support.



Branch B:
=========


Wallenstein moved westward, in parallel to and from behind of his adversary Gustav Adolf.
He were lucky that this spring was not so mild: The long arm of winter had left much of the soil
of the Uckermark frozen, and thus let the army move across these swamps without much peril.
This shortcut let Wallenstein unite with Tilly, as they had appointed through messengers.
They would meet West of the Havel river, close to Mecklenburg. Tilly would have had the longer,
but easier way through Altmark. Together, this large camp would establish a challenge to the Swedish army
and a direct threat to Brandenburg's capital Berlin.


On March, 1oth, the divisions of the two armies clashed in heavy skirmishes North of Spandau.
Gustav Adolf had encamped near Berlin and created a well assembled defence system from the
existing fortresses around. Wallenstein and Tilly, on their behalf, fortified their camp extensively,
so as to achieve almost a similarly strong position.


The ensuing series of skirmishes is called the Opposition of Spandau [b1].
There were heavy losses through combat operations, but more seriously, starvation and diseases
were spreading in both camps. This restricted area could not bear so many mercenaries for much longer.

More than a month later, on the 20th of April, Gustav Adolf resolved the desasterous situation
and moved eastward with his forces, leaving behind what seemed sufficient garrisons for the strongholds.
Wallenstein and Tilly were weakened as well, so that they would hardly take Berlin any time soon,
but nevertheless the Swede would certainly lose an open battle against both of them.



Branch C:
=========

In early March, the world got to know it: Elector Georg Wilhelm, the margrave of Brandenburg,
declared his loyalty to the King of Sweden. In future, he would serve Gustav Adolf as a
vice-commander, provide own troops, and support the Swedish forces.
This declaration, although not totally unexpected, raised a large wave of indignation throughout
the Empire. The Catholic authorities and private publishers exploited it with pleasure on the their pamphlets;
"Treason!" was the cry which let imperial councillors degrade the elector to an out-law.
The Protestant states, from the miniature duchy to the mighty Lüneburg, could not uphold
their neutral state pro-Empire and pro-religious freedom. Their situation is best described
by the reaction Johann Georg, the Duke of Saxony, who had most bravely, also most noisily propagated
this "third position": No sooner had he learnt about his fellow-elector's change of mind
than he sent word to the Emperor to condemn the traitor and to confirm his military assistance.
He sped up his arming efforts and sought contact to the commanders of his new allies.


Gustav Adolf, possibly cought by surprise himself by this premature revelation,
called for the promised auxiliary forces and headed West, towards Magdeburg,
in order not to waste the dynamics of his foray, nor to give his adversaries the opportunity
to take an optimal defence position.


On March, 14th, the Swedish-Brandenburgian Army crossed the Havel river,
entering the former possessions of the Diocese of Magdeburg.
They advanced quickly to find the Liguist army under Tilly and challenge it for battle.
The officers may have rejoiced finding Tilly's forces free in the field,
meeting them for battle, rather than hiding in strongholds or fortifying in the countryside.
They did not, however, anticipate that they would find Saxon forces moving in behind them.


Gustav Adolf reacted immediately and ordered a retreat to the East as fast as possible,
well knowing that this would come to a standstill rather soon.
And in fact, the Saxon forces under Arnim made them stop for combat, while the Liguist forces
under Tilly moved up and kept attacking from the opposite side. Thus ensued the Battle of Brandenburg.
For three hours (not counting the initial pursuit), the Swedish forces fought on two fronts,
but successfully preventing Tilly in the West and Arnim in the South-East to unite.
The combat was long and lossy. Finally, General Bannier managed heroically to stabilize the Western front.
Seizing this opportunity, Gustav Adolf started an attack against Arnim, gathering all units he
could move without being completely overrun by Tilly.
But this venture saved the Swedish position: After a short period of intense battle,
many of the Saxon mercenaries had betaken themselves to flight,
and Arnim was struggling hard to organize an ordered retreat into Saxon territory [c 1].


The Swedish forces themselves, relieved by one adversary, mananged to strike Tilly severely,
and escape from his pursuit. Diminished and exasperated, they had to encamp in Brandenburg again,
an allied territory, and a country already heavily pressed by the mercenaries' presence.
They had severly hit the adversary forces, but still they could not enter their territories,
Saxony-Lusatia, or the former Bishopric of Madgeburg. Gustav Adolf was entrapped.






_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


[a 1] The numbers are more in favor of G.A. than in OTL -- mostly because Emperor and League operate seperately --,
but still the Swedes are in a slight minority position.

Besides, the grand total of soldiers in Northern Germany is up by ~ 30% in comparison to OTL.
This raises question about, say, food.

[b 1] Modeled after the situation in Nuremberg one and a quarter years later in OTL.

[c 1] Based on OTL's facts, the Saxon forces was the best equipped, but the least experienced army in this conflict.
 
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Valdemar II

Banned
Interesting timeline. Just one detail on the map you have forgotten to colour, Oldenburgs and Gottorps German possesions
 
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wilcoxchar

Aha! So the tree has begun. Excellent ideas and while I've currently only skimmed through the branches, this looks to be very well done.
 

Boto von Ageduch

Valdemar II said:
Interesting timeline. Just one detail on the map you have forgotten to colour, Oldenburgs and Gottorps German possesions
Click to expand...

Thanks for joining!
Of course you are right. Silly me to announce Gottrop explicitly ...

The Kiat said:
Interesting... has potential. Are the Dutch going to play a bigger role?
Click to expand...

Thanks to you as well.
I am planning to merge the Dutch Independence War with the Thirty Years War -
more closely than they have ever been in reality.
But I can't guarantee when (or if) that will come true ...

wilcoxchar said:
Aha! So the tree has begun. Excellent ideas and while I've currently only skimmed through the branches, this looks to be very well done.
Click to expand...

Rule of thumb: The closer to A, the more Sweden ...;)
 

Boto von Ageduch

W.W.A.F.T. said:
It's been a while since I updated myself on the goings on here.

this is superb work it must be said
Click to expand...

Thanks to you as well.

The Professor said:
I'm a little unwell so my brain might be a bit slow, what is your timetree?
Different timelines from 1 POD?
Click to expand...

In a way, yes. I started with a single timeline from my original PoD (Wallenstein is not dismissed by the Electoral Diet in Regensburg 1630).
Now I have reached a Point of Ramification (PoR); if you like,
this is another PoD, but not from OTL, but from one of my branches (branch A, say).
And yes, in this case I offer two alternatives to the first branch.


There will be at least another PoR. Of course, I won't ramify indefinitely.
But at some points it seems rather arbitrary to me to make a final decision about
what would happen. I would like to show something of the whole portfolio of possibilities
I see; that is why I choose branches with remarkable differences between them.

Moreover, the people in the timetree make decisions based on their expectations;
and most probably the anticipate more than one possible outcome.
Making them take the always wrong path because they did not know for which
50% chance I tilted might make them look more stupid than necessary ...


wilcoxchar said:
Everything needs more Sweden. Go branch A!
Click to expand...


Perhaps I may also recommend observing branch B?
The rule of thumb only applies now.
And you know, militarily it can't get any better for Sweden than in OTL ...
 

arctic warrior

Boto von Ageduch said:
In a way, yes. I started with a single timeline from my original PoD (Wallenstein is not dismissed by the Electoral Diet in Regensburg 1630).
Now I have reached a Point of Ramification (PoR); if you like,
this is another PoD, but not from OTL, but from one of my branches (branch A, say).
And yes, in this case I offer two alternatives to the first branch.


There will be at least another PoR. Of course, I won't ramify indefinitely.
But at some points it seems rather arbitrary to me to make a final decision about
what would happen. I would like to show something of the whole portfolio of possibilities
I see; that is why I choose branches with remarkable differences between them.

Moreover, the people in the timetree make decisions based on their expectations;
and most probably the anticipate more than one possible outcome.
Making them take the always wrong path because they did not know for which
50% chance I tilted might make them look more stupid than necessary ...
Click to expand...

Ok - that did a lot of clear up for my part.
Keep up the work! :)
 

Boto von Ageduch

Oh, it was unclear that the branches are alternative courses of events?
I am sorry I had not explained ...

This is a little antipasto for the next part.


Short notice. (All branches)

March, 22th 1631. The imperial court in Vienna receives a letter by Duke Wallenstein.
He protests in the harshest form against his expropriation and humiliation by the
Saxon occupation of Sagan. He demands immediate withdrawal, and asks for his
dismissal as a commander of the imperial forces, as he obviously had to take care
of his own territories, and the recent events would inspire a remarkable amount of
distrust to the Emperor's newly established allies.

A witty councellor of the court remarks this would be a reason to celebrate,
as this was the twelfeth time Wallenstein raises this hypocritical wish.

The letter is replied to in the usual diplomatic style, acknowledging Wallenstein's
claim on Sagan beyond all doubt.
There are no direct consequences of this latter;
other than for that meddlesome courtier, possibly.
 

Boto von Ageduch

Part 7, branch A:


March 20th, 1631: Swedish-German Union.
The entry of Gustav Adolph into Leipzig was staged very felicitously.
The people in the street would cheer for him - although they had not really
suffered too much from imperial troops. But fear had prevailed among them
for a long time, fear of arbitrary actions of the Emperor and of his army.
In this atmosphere they were quite susceptive to the Swedish propaganda flyers,
which celebrated the king as the protector of all Protestants.


The princes however, who had confered in the city had, by majority, left in a hurry,
often with paltry excuses to prevent open opposition to the Swede as well.
Those who stayed, however, were the most desperated princes, mostly of the North,
whose territories had been devastated by Imperial and Liguist troops, and their cities
often still occupied by them. Domains they had inherited from their grandfathers
reconsigned to the monastic orders who had operated them half a century ago,
and Jesuits were spreading over their duchies. The extent of their remaining souvereignity
was mostly determined by the overstretching of the hostile armies.
They might have supported Saxony against Sweden, if Johann Georg could provide any
protection to them. But now it was proven that he had nothing to counter Gustav Adolph with.


Thus the two Electors Georg Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg, and nolens volens
Johann Georg, Duke of Saxony, formed a new alliance with the king of Sweden,
the ratification of which was celebrated publically.
Among the imperial princes which immediately joined this alliance were
Landgrave Wilhelm V. of Hesse-Cassel, who had already declared his commitment to
Gustav Adolph half a year ago;
Prince Georg of Calenberg-Göttingen (one of the three parts of the Duchy Brunsvik-Lüneburg),
who already had decisive military experience in Danish service,
and to the distress of the Saxon Elector, also Duke Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar,
a sprout from a distantly related, but still frequently rivalling family line.
Wilhelm was youngest in this noble society, his 33th birthday upcoming in a few weeks.
He obviously desired to continue and excel the legacy of his elder brother and predecessor
as duke, Johann Ernst, who had fought against the Emperor from the beginning of the
conflict 12 years ago until his death in 1626.


It was not long before the declaration of this union showed significant effects:
The Catholic and loyal-imperial agreed in branding Saxony and Brandenburg
as traitors - concessions to them at Regensburg had proven bad advised.
The war in the heart of the Empire, between princes and princes, had been
reignited with vehemence.
The attempt of a loyal truce, started hopefully in Regensburg, was a failure,
and the model of a "third party" had died.
The Catholic princes were closing the ranks behind the Liguist leader,
Maximillian of Bavaria, more than ever before;
and the Protestant nobility was fearfully pondering the danger from Swedes
and Catholics.


Gustav Adolph had scored a major diplomatic and propaganda success after
his victory in battle. But this only obscured one major problem in his
strategic position:
His access to the sea was blocked by Wallenstein, and by that his
line of supply. He had not only calculated with arms sent on ships,
but also with fresh soldiers from Prussia, Finland, and motherland Sweden.
He had to do everything to regain the shore.
And in the meantime, he desperately needed his German allies and their
manpower.
 
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Boto von Ageduch

An Italian Spring.


This episode happens in all branches, in slight variations.
Time: Around early April


The door opened slowly with a long-drawn noise, and a gendarme came cautionsly in.
"Your Highness, it's time."
After a pause, Octavio Piccolomini rose with a sigh and joined the small troop
on the corridor. In this moment, his role as a negotiator ended - only to assume
an at least equally important diplomatic role at the same time.
He had come to Italy in the name of the Emperor, to turn last October's fuzzy truce of
Regensburg into a precise peace. After months of negotiations,
his mission seemed fulfilled. The contract had finally been signed by all three potentates.
This was the first time for many years that Octavio could visit a country of his native tongue.
Slowly he paced through the halls of the palace, and the soldiers were following respectfully,
and he stepped out through the mighty wings of the portal.
He was ready to take the last step to end this silly war.

The kings of Europe had tacitly agreed to avoid it - and the local dukes enforced it with their stubborness.
Finally France, originally in a desperate situation, had occupied two really crucial fortresses,
Pinerolo and Casale. France was able to maintain them until the truce because Spain and the Emperor
were impatient to lead their armies back to the North, against the Netherlands and Sweden respectively.

In the yard, which seemed once to have harbored a trim and fashionable garden, Octavio turned around
and looked at the rural palace, for the last time probably. In the cheerful sunlight, he looked back
to the building where he had lived for months now. Did the soldiers understand the man they were guarding,
escorting? He was stretching his stout face into the warm beams of light, his complacent smile on his lips.
What was the driving force in this man? Did he enjoy to grant the Emperor the victories he won in battle?
Did he reciprocate Wallenstein's blind trust in him? Or does he primarily sympathize for his relatives
under French rule and in the Papal Curia? They would hardly find out.

All the guards were standing respectfully still during this pause. Then Octavio stirred and turned around
to the shady side of the once bloomy parade-ground. No sooner had he and four of the soldiers mounted the
waiting coach, it drove away at high speed. It was taking him into even firmer a grip of the French majesty.
Octavio Piccolomini was taken diplomatic hostage. His imprisonment, as well as some others', were to
guarantee that the provisions of the peace treaty were complied with. Like his French counterparts,
he would only be set free when Italy was free of foreign troups.
 
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Boto von Ageduch


Part 7, Branch B: The Union of Leipzig

April 6th, 1631.


The atmosphere in St. Nicholas was enthusiastic. Even the least curious onlooker
felt that something great had happened, was happening, or just prepared to start.
For two months, the rulers and delegates of the Protestant states had confered,
and they had decided to take their fate into their own hands.


Beyond all detail regulations, the main point was impossible to miss:
Saxony had declared itself the leader, the tribune of all Protestants in the Empire,
and the Protestant had accepted its leadership.
The Saxon Elector Johann Georg had proven his power to protect both the Empire
against invaders, and Protestant territories from the Emperor's greed.
Although his army still needed reconstruction, nobody doubted the potential of this
"third position" any more. The support of the fellow-Protestants - though feeble individually -
would soon rebuild an effective army under Saxon leadership.


The main postulation of the Union was simple:
Withdrawal of the Restitution Edict by the Empire, which had delivered the Protestant
states to Liguist disposal (from a Protestant point of view),
and retreat of all Liguist and Imperial forces from Protestant states.
Under this condition, the Union offered military support to the Emperor against foreign armies.

The acceptance of Calvinists as equal to Catholics and Lutherans was not mentioned explicitly
in the manifesto (at the request of Johann Georg), but a consistent implementation of the other
postulations would automatically lead to de-facto equal rights.
It was also understood that that document required the reestablishment of princes deprived
of their states; in particular the Dukes of Mecklenburg, who had to yield for the reward
of Wallenstein. It did not mention these questions in order not to meddle with detail questions
and thus defeating their main point.
The participants of the Convent did not, however, speak up for the rehabilitation of
the Count-Palatinate of the Rhine and the recovery of his Electorate, other than under
the general retreat clause.



Johann Georg had won both the large majority and the most important individual ones
of the Protestant states. For instance, he had gained the loyalty of


  • many of the lesser lords, imperial counts and knights, as were Protestants.
    They were seeking protection, and Saxony was willing to give it.
    Although their territories were each ridiculous in scale, they were forming a significant
    mass when combined;
  • almost all Protestant free cities of the Empire except Hamburg (who preferred the sort of neutrality
    which allowed for fleecing both parties. The citizens of Hamburg were very smart
    at staying out of the conflict, but making profitable deals in arms, equipment, and food supply).
    Winning the cities was particularly important in these days, for this was a war of fortresses rather than in the
    field;

    among the princes of larger claims, most notably
  • all three parts of the Duchy of Brunsvik-Lüneburg joined the coalition, and so did
    the Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, and the disempowered Dukes of Mecklenburg.
    Together, their countries filled most of Northern Germany.
    But they also shared the experience of being oppressed by Imperial and Liguist troups -
    even now most of their countries was;
  • in the Southwest, Johann Georg had convinced the Margrave of Baden-Durlach and the
    Dukes of Württemberg and Palatinate-Zweibrücken to follow him;
  • in the center-South, he had secured the support of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and
    the Prince of Brandenburg-Bayreuth;
  • he also obtained promises from his distant cousins, the Dukes Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar,
    Johann Kasimir of Saxe-Coburg, and Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg, and his other
    neighbors, the Dukes of Anhalt (who feared to get ground between Saxony and Sweden otherwise).

If these states were all strong and free, they would have been able to bar Habsburg and Bavarian
access to Northern Germany. But many of these princes were not the lords of their land,
governing over their city of residence - if they were lucky.
And there were also important gaps and weaknesses in the signature list:


  • Of course the Danish king Christian, in his capacity as Imperial Duke of Holstein, did not attend;
    he could not afford, as a king, to follow an imperial leud; nor could he let Johann Georg
    show him how to win the war he himself had lost. Moreover, it was advisable to stay out of
    incalculable military and diplomatic confusions right after he had made peace with the Emperor.
    .
    But the Union could rely on his benevolent neutrality, as was evident from the join of
    his nephew Friedrich III., Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, and his cousin and brother-of-brother-
    in-law, Johann Friedrich, Protestant prince-bishop of Lübeck, who also laid claim to the League-held
    prince-bishopric of Bremen.
  • The Elector of Brandenburg, Georg Wilhelm, did sign the manifesto,
    but his support was questionable, as he was already heavily dependant on Gustav Adolph.
  • Likewise, Landgrave Wilhelm V. of Hesse-Kassel had joined the Union.
    but being a close relative to Gustav Adolph and having a unstable position as a Calvinist
    (on both accounts similarly to Georg Wilhelm of Brandenburg), he entertained a considerable
    sympathy for the Swedish king, and had already closed an alliance with him -
    openly, in contrast to Georg Wilhelm.
  • Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar also tended to support Sweden alone, and was jealous
    of any claim of priority from his electoral grand-grand-cousin. He even refused to sign.
  • The city of Magdeburg and the Duke of Pomerania did not even attend the convent -
    probably much to the liking of the Swedish forces in their respective realms.
  • Although a loss of prestige, it was a relief in practical terms that the
    former Elector and Count-Palatine of the Rhine, the Bohemian rebels' "Winter King"
    Friedrich V., sent a letter of denial from his Dutch exile, hoping for Sweden as well.
    A union with him would have multiplied the cause for confict with Bavaria without much gain.
    [\LIST]


    The stage was set. Now it was the princes' turn to get the military project going.
    The time was short: Sweden would soon recover, and Saxony might be undefendable
    without quick help.
 

Boto von Ageduch

Remarks (on post # 37):

1. The manifesto is quite similar to the Manifesto of Leipzig IOTL,
but there is a subtle difference in its effect:
The Protestant states postulate the withdrawal of the Restitution Edict -
but ITTL, it has already been adjourned for two years half a year ago.
They plan to build a common military force under Saxon leadership -
but ITTL, Saxony has already shown its potential in this field.
Therefore, the Union has a much better outlook than IOTL;
and hence I expanded the circle of subscribers somewhat.

2. In Part 7, Branch A (Post # 35) I changed the term "Union of Leipzig" into "Swedish-German Union"
(it is understood that it only involves a few German states).
I know the term is not perfect and I would have called it "First Swedish-German Union"
to indicate there might be several waves of alliances, but who knows whether
a second one would still be going to happen?
The Union that takes place in Branch A is completely different from that in B, C, and OTL,
so I reserved OTL's name to the things that come close to it.
Although it is one of the spices of AH to use common names in alienating meaning,
I do not want to confuse by superimposing several meanings on the same notion.

In more generality, I would like the branches to be easily recognized.
I hope I manage to create some atmosphere in each branch so that the events are not
mixed up ...

And finally:

3. Can anybody tell me why my second list environment is not working?
 

arctic warrior

Still reading this although once again a little confused - but things did clear up by the second read.

Your assessment of Christian 4 not joining in on Union of Leipzig is correct for reasons stated. The position of Sweden in retreat may be whats prompts his moral support he being short of money at this time due to the German expedition 1626-29.
 

Boto von Ageduch

Sure Denmark was broke, but so were Spain and England, and all
significant German states except Bavaria. But in contrast to
Spain (competely broke), Austria (worsening all the time), and
the Netherlands (stably tense, slightly improving financial situation),
Christian had the luxurious opportunity to stay out of the war in the
future. ;)

I also had in mind that a gain of influence of the Union of Leipzig
might seem as a good thing to Christian. It would check Swedish expansion
and, at the same time, reduce imperial power in Germany.
Although Christian had lost his campaign, he had reached a remarkably
comfortable peace with the Emperor, so there is no need for direct revenge.
The Christian's main elementary political desire is still having the prince-episcopacy
of Bremen in his own family. And a strong Union of Leipzig might grant that -
at least, the aspirant Johann Friedrich is hoping so ...
 
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