Once More unto the Breach

Abstract

During the sixteen months between Wallenstein’s dismissal and reappointment the wider political situation became increasingly complicated. Although Gustavus Adolphus was hailed as a prospective saviour by many of the ordinary Protestant people of Germany his arrival was far from welcome to most of their princes. They could see well enough that a new outside intervention could only renew and prolong the war in the Empire, and that they and their lands were likely to suffer heavily in consequence. Sincere though Gustavus assuredly was in his desire to assist the Protestant religion, his record of seizing and holding territories along the Baltic coast of Poland left them in little doubt that he had similar ambitions in Germany. Moreover with the examples of Mecklenburg and the Palatinate fresh in mind the princes feared Imperial retribution should they assist Gustavus, only for him, like Christian of Denmark, nevertheless to be defeated. Neutrality was their preference, but realistically this was only tenable from a position of strength. Hence the electors of Brandenburg and Saxony convened a meeting to discuss the situation, at which almost every significant Protestant ruler in Germany was present or represented, as well as delegates from a number of Imperial free cities. The resulting Leipzig Manifesto of April 1631 provided for the creation of a force of 40,000 men, which was to be used strictly for self-defence if attacked, thereby preserving its legality under the Imperial constitution.