Fights for Regensburg (1632–1634)

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Fights for Regensburg (1632–1634) describes three military events in the Thirty Years' War : the occupation of Regensburg by Bavarian troops, the conquest of Regensburg by a Swedish army and the recapture of Regensburg by an imperial - Bavarian - ligist army. The three military events that took place in and near Regensburg in the years 1632–1634 followed one another, were closely related in terms of military strategy and occurred before the end of May 1635 the Peace Treaty of Prague was concluded. With this treaty, Saxony left its alliance with the Swedes and switched to the emperor's side . This partial peace treaty, which did not take into account the interests of the foreign powers involved in the war, Sweden and France , was negotiated in secret negotiations in the course of 1634, which influenced the military strategic decisions of the partners involved in the treaty. The following parties and military leaders were involved in the events or battles :

  • Forced occupation of Regensburg by Bavarian troops (April 27, 1632), initiated by the Bavarian Elector Maximilian I , carried out by Generals Cratz von Scharffenstein and Johann von Aldringen , with the participation of Sergeant General Hans Wolf Freiherr von Salis and two-year occupation of the city under the Bavarian city commanders Troibreze . During the occupation and the expansion of the city into a fortress (1633), many of the city's facilities and buildings were destroyed before the warlike events took place.
  • Conquest of Regensburg by a Swedish army under the command of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar . The city was defended by the Bavarian garrison troops under the command of city commander Troibreze . The defense was unsuccessful and the city was handed over to the Swedes in mid-November 1633.
  • Regensburg is recaptured by an imperial-Bavarian-league army under the supreme command of the son of Emperor Ferdinand II , the Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary , who later became Emperor Ferdinand III. Swedish and municipal garrison troops defended the city from May 1634 to July 1634 under the command of the Swedish city commander Lars Kagg . The defense remained unsuccessful, despite two attempts to relieve the city by a Swedish army under the command of Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar . The city was handed over to the emperor's troops at the end of July 1634.
Regensburg, Ostentor, east side, one of the main battle ports

Prehistory (1630–1631)

Baltic Sea with Usedom

In July 1630, the Swedish King Gustav Adolf intervened in the Thirty Years' War . He had landed with an army on the island of Usedom to support the Protestant imperial princes with financial help from France, who after many defeats in the fight against the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II and his general Wallenstein and against the Catholic League under the command of the Bavarian Elector Maximilian I. and his general Tilly were in dire straits. After lengthy negotiations, the Protestant electorates of Saxony and Brandenburg had hesitantly joined the campaign of the Swedish king and many Protestant princes and imperial cities followed. In September 1631 the Protestant army had won a decisive victory in the battle of Breitenfeld and the whole south-west of the empire had come under the influence of the Swedes. After another victory in the following year 1632 in the Battle of Rain am Lech , the Swedish army under Gustav Adolf had moved down the Danube first to Ingolstadt , but then not further down the Danube to Regensburg as expected . Instead, he penetrated south of the Danube via Landshut , which remained unmolested after a ransom was paid, to Munich, which was occupied in May 1632 without a fight against a large ransom payment. From Munich, the Swedish army had to return to the Nuremberg replenishment base, which was threatened by Wallenstein, to stand up to Wallenstein in his camp .

Upper Palatinate, Lower Bavaria with a special ticket for the Regensburg area

While large parts of rural western and southern Bavaria were severely devastated by the Swedish campaign, Regensburg and the Danube region north and east of Ingolstadt were spared. The reason for this was the state fortress of Ingolstadt , which was expanded before the beginning of the war and which could not be captured by the Swedish army in spring 1632. It blocked the Danube supply line for the Swedes, so that the original goal of Gustav Adolf's campaign, to reach Vienna downstream via the imperial city of Regensburg, could not be achieved. In terms of military strategy, however, it was clear that the Swedes - supported by their allies in Electoral Saxony - could also reach Regensburg from the north, from Bohemia via the Upper Palatinate. For the Swedes, the Protestant imperial city of Regensburg, which with the stone bridge even had a permanent Danube crossing, remained a militarily and logistically attractive starting point for a planned attack on the Habsburg hereditary lands .

Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria always had this danger in mind. Since 1631 he had the idea that the imperial city of Regensburg , which was under the special protection of the emperor according to the inheritance protection treaty with the House of Habsburg , would have to accept a Bavarian garrison and then develop it into a fortress against the Swedes. In his view, the city would only then be a key fortress that could effectively protect the Habsburg monarchy as a front wall for Vienna . Wallenstein assessed this danger for Vienna as not threatening. Even after his recall to the post of Commander-in-Chief - at the end of 1631 - he did not offer the Bavarian Elector any support in the defense of Regensburg. Maximilian I was not able to enforce his ideas about the role of Regensburg, behind which there was always the intention to bring the imperial city of Regensburg under the sovereignty of Bavaria, and looked for other ways.

Occupation of Regensburg by Bavarian troops (April 1632)

History and negotiations

In order to increase his influence in the imperial city of Regensburg, Elector Maximilian I used his strong position as district bishop of the Bavarian Imperial Circle , who was responsible for peace in the country . At the beginning of 1631, negotiations of the stationing of Bavarian occupation troops in Regensburg began at district assemblies of the Bavarian Reichskreis zu Landshut in order to secure the imperial city against attacks by Swedish troops. The city council refused to station troops of the Catholic League under the command of the Bavarian elector on its territory. Elector Maximilian I, however, insisted on being able to take military action in the area of ​​the imperial city in his function as district bishop on behalf of the emperor. On October 31, 1631 an agreement was reached on the stationing of 1,500 soldiers of different origins and religions. 600 Catholic, Bavarian soldiers and 600 Protestant soldiers selected by the city were to be quartered in town houses and monitored each other. In addition, 300 soldiers were to be accommodated in the houses of the Catholic clergy. The billeting was delayed until mid-April 1632 because the financing of the stationing and the salary of the troops had not been clarified. The Council of the City of Regensburg insisted that outside the city, the four spiritual, Catholic imperial estates would have to participate who had their territories within the protective walls of the costs, namely the Bishopric of Regensburg , the St. Emmeram's Abbey , the Niedermünster and the Obermünster Abbey .

Forced occupation of the city (April 1632)

Only a few days after the agreement and the billeting, when the city council was pleased with the favorable outcome of the negotiations, a military action ordered by the Bavarian elector and planned by his generals Cratz von Scharffenstein and Johann von Aldringen made all the results of the negotiations obsolete. With the help of soldiers who had already been quartered, the Peterstor was opened from the inside on April 27, 1632 , whereupon around 4,000–6,000 Bavarian soldiers penetrated the city and took control. The soldiers were fleeing Bavarian troops of the Catholic League , who were pursued after the battle of Rain am Lech , which was lost on April 15, 1632, by Swedish troops of General Gustaf Horn , who had advanced to Bad Abbach . Unprepared, the city of Regensburg was completely surprised by the occupation.

Course and consequences of the occupation

After the invasion of the city by Bavarian troops, resisting citizens who had blocked the streets with chains were disarmed and 46 people were killed. The armory and the city gates were occupied and the keys to the city gates confiscated. All protests were put down, a sum of 15,000 Reichstalers confiscated and many town houses looted.

After the occupation, the Catholic clergy no longer adhered to the agreements made to billet soldiers. Bishop Albert von Törring had Protestant churches searched for weapons hiding places, and Elector Maximilian I had the money and silver dishes of Protestant citizens confiscated and melted down and council members arrested. In view of the attacks, the city council appealed to the imperial protection under the Inheritance Protection Treaty . The emperor confirmed the protection, proposed arbitration negotiations and called for moderation. Elector Maximilian accused the city of collaborating with the Swedes and the notorious imperial rebellion and intended not to be driven out of the city. In the conflict with the elector, the emperor considered the removal of the city commander Troibreze , appointed by Maximilian, but did not carry it out because the occupation of Regensburg had brought him military advantages. The plan of the Swedish king to bring the eastern Danube line with Regensburg under his influence had been thwarted. Wallenstein, who had just taken office, was able to force Gustav Adolf and his army from Munich to Nuremberg by threatening the Swedish supply base in Nuremberg. There the Swedish army got into considerable supply difficulties, while the army newly established by Wallenstein in the camp near Nuremberg was well supplied.

During the Bavarian occupation, Regensburg was used as a base of operations for Bavarian troops. The city served as a hospital and supply station for troops passing through, but was completely overwhelmed with the requirements. The Bavarian officer corps demanded an ample supply of bread, meat, beer and wine. Complaints from the city to the Commander-in-Chief Wallenstein were unsuccessful, because for Wallenstein the behavior of the Bavarian soldiers was only the usual typical tyranny of the Soldateska , which had to be accepted in view of the importance of Regensburg as a base of operations against Gustav Adolf von Regensburg.

Construction of fortifications and demolition of houses and craft workshops

A major structural task was to reinforce the existing city walls and gate systems by building external works in front of the southern city walls. The construction work was planned by the fortress builder Johann Carl , who had to cancel the construction of the Protestant Trinity Church shortly before completion because of the occupation of Regensburg .

Old Chapel until Empty Bag Empty bag to Ostentor
Old Chapel until Empty Bag
Empty bag to Ostentor

The outer works comprised eleven large V- and M-shaped horn works in front of the city moat in front of the city walls. During the construction of the external works, the two large Protestant cemeteries St. Lazarus (site of today's city ​​park ) and St. Peter (site of today's Ernst Reuter-Platz) were destroyed. All grave monuments - including the grave monument of Johannes Kepler - were lost and the iron grave grids were melted down. A clear field of fire was created in front of the external works and on the two Danube islands Oberer Wöhrd and Unterer Wöhrd . Houses and bridges that could have provided the attackers with cover or access were burned down. The suburb of Prebrunn went up completely in flames.

Salzstadel, stone bridge (from the east) with south tower and buildings on bridge feet (1630)
Wooden bridge, Oberer Wöhrd on stone bridge (from the west) with central tower and north tower (Stadtamhof) (1630)
Wooden bridge from the city to the Lower Wöhrd (1630)

At the beginning of the siege by the Swedes (beginning of November 1633) the many mill and hammer mills (number approx. 50) that were located on the foot of the stone bridge and on the stone dam ( Beschlächt ), which connects the two Danube islands, were destroyed and burned down. The two wooden bridges that made it possible to ascend from the Upper Wöhrd to the Stone Bridge or the transition from the city to the Lower Wöhrd were also destroyed. The total damage caused by the Bavarian garrison was set at 256,000 guilders. After initial considerations of destroying the entire Stone Bridge, the third yoke of the Stone Bridge on the city side was destroyed on the express instruction of Elector Maximilian I, which only succeeded with one detonation. In addition, the central tower on the bridge was made unusable by being burned out.

Conquest of Regensburg by the Swedes (November 1633)

First plans and first unsuccessful attempt

After the death of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf in the Battle of Lützen (November 1632), the Swedish Chancellor Oxenstierna continued the war. In April 1633 he persuaded most of the Protestant imperial princes (excluding Electoral Saxony ) and some imperial cities to join together in the Protestant alliance of the Heilbronner Bund . The Swedish army was reorganized and tasks were divided. Two armies were to operate in the south of the empire, one under Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar in the south-east on the Danube and one under Gustaf Horn in the south-west on the Upper Rhine. The armies were supposed to bring the two great rivers in the empire - Danube and Rhine - under the influence of Swedes and Protestants. For the strength of both armies combined 43,000 men were assigned, but in fact only a strength of about 24,000 men was achieved.

Bernhard of Saxony Weimar in front of the Marienberg Fortress (Würzburg)

At first it was the intention of Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar to invade the Upper Palatinate with the army of Franconia with the ultimate goal of conquering Regensburg. The first attempt failed when, on March 5, 1633 near Ebermannstadt, two regiments were wiped out during an attack by troops of the Bavarian cavalry general Johann von Werth and only the regiments of Major General Courville were preserved. Werth was stationed with his dragoons in the heavily fortified Amberg and became a dangerous, difficult to predict enemy during the planned march of the Swedes to Regensburg.

Second aborted attempt

Johann von Werth (Bavarian Equestrian General)

For the second attempt, a southern route was chosen for the approach to Regensburg. The army moved south with 13,000 men and 2,200 riders via Höchstadt - which was conquered and destroyed - and reached Ansbach on March 31, 1633 . There the army was reinforced and equipped with cannons. At the beginning of April, the neighboring town of Herrieden was looted because the residents resisted. During the march to Donauwörth on April 3rd at Ornbau near Gunzenhausen there was another battle with the Bavarian riding troops under Johann von Werth , who this time suffered a severe defeat by the Swedish riding troops of Nicholas de Courville . On April 8th, Gustaf Horn's army , which was being pursued by the Bavarian Catholic League Army under Aldringen , united with Duke Bernhard's army between Donauwörth and Augsburg. The united Swedish armies - a total of about 26,000 men - were a great threat to the nearby Bavarian League Army, which therefore wanted to withdraw to Munich and was persecuted in the process. The retreat fled, and the rearguard under Johann von Werth, the wagons with war goods and cannons were lost when crossing the Glonn . The remaining league troops reached Munich on April 13 with heavy losses. The now unprotected town of Landsberg am Lech was bloody conquered on April 20th by a Swedish army under Lennart Torstensson under cruel circumstances and looted for 4 days.

The way down the Danube was free for Duke Bernhard's army and on April 23 they reached the town of Neuburg an der Donau , which was found and occupied without Bavarian occupation. Eichstätt was occupied at the beginning of May . After a short siege, the neighboring castle fortress Willibaldsburg was conquered and occupied by piecework on May 13, 1633. There were many stores and 21 artillery pieces. The planned capture of the state fortress of Ingolstadt, considered to be invincible, did not go as planned . The handover of the fortress was planned in advance by the two Bavarian commanders Johann Philipp Cratz von Scharffenstein and Georg Wolmar von Fahrensbach , because both wanted to defer to the Swedes. However, the conspiracy was discovered before the arrival of the Swedish Army and both commanders were captured.

After this failure, a mutiny broke out in the Swedish army because of non-payment of wages and failure to keep promises that Duke Bernhard had made to the officers before the campaign. The campaign was canceled and the army returned to Donauwörth. Duke Bernhard felt compelled to travel to Frankfurt to see Chancellor Oxenstierna in order to present his demands there with the threat of resigning his command of the mutinous army. Oxenstierna gave in and at a meeting of princes on June 16 in Heidelberg, Duke Bernhard received the enfeoffment of the new Duchy of Franconia that King Gustav Adolf had already promised him . His high officers were also satisfied with the transfer of goods in Franconia and Bavaria.

There were new time delays for the canceled but still planned campaign to Regensburg because Duke Bernhard had to take care of administrative things in his new Duchy of Franconia. The advantage was that he was able to acquire troop reinforcements of 5,000 men in Franconia from the regiments of his brother Wilhelm, who was militarily unsuccessful in Franconia . The cavalry and dragoon regiments of Colonel Taupadel were among the reinforcements , but they remained stationed in Franconia for a few months.

Third successful attempt

Neuburg on the Danube

While Duke Bernhard was still in Franconia, Gustaf Horn von Donauwörth's army broke out on August 28, 1633 to besiege Constance during the naval war on Lake Constance . Duke Bernhard's army remained inactive at Donauwörth, although the Bavarian general Aldringen had become active again and had recaptured the city ​​of Neuburg an der Donau , which was occupied by the Swedes in May 1633, on September 11, 1633. The Swedish commandant Thomas Sigmund von Schlammersdorf offered no resistance and the Bavarian troops were able to demolish bridges and entrenchments and brought the captured officers and men to Ingolstadt. When Duke Bernhard found out about this in Würzburg, he immediately ordered four cavalry and foot regiments from Bamberg to Ansbach. There they were supposed to place themselves under the command of the "lock uter" Claus Dietrich von Sperreuth , whom Duke Bernhard had appointed as governor of Eichstätt and commander of Willibaldsburg . The Sperreuter received the order from Duke Bernhard, who had meanwhile arrived in Lauingen on the Danube, to break the bridges over the Lech between Augsburg and Landsberg in order to secure the hinterland for the planned march of the army down the Danube to Regensburg. The lock udder obeyed the order and plundered the town of Landsberg , which had already been devastated by Lennart Torstensson in April . Together with the stolen booty, his regiment was attacked by the Bavarian cavalry general Johann von Werth at night on October 3rd in the camp near Prittriching . The lock udder lost the entire baggage and 300 horses, but was able to escape himself. His other three regiments, which were camped nearby, were - although they had been warned - also attacked by Johann von Werth on October 11th and suffered heavy losses. Duke Bernhard was about the failures of the barrier udder outraged so that he wanted to dismiss him from the squad.

Gustaf Horn (Swedish Field Marshal)

At the beginning of October 1633, Duke Bernhard and Field Marshal Horn agreed in Stockach on Lake Constance to separate their armies. Horn moved with his army to the Upper Rhine and Duke Bernhard again made the decision to finally move down the Danube to Regensburg. He traveled again to Oxenstierna in Frankfurt on October 16, 1633 in order to obtain final approval for this advance. Here the decision was made that the army under the command of Duke Bernhard with approx. 10,000 men, 5,000 horsemen and 50 guns should enclose and conquer Regensburg.

In the meantime, the greatest urgency was required, because on October 15th Johann von Werth had begun to besiege Willibaldsburg fortress, which was occupied by the Swedes in May 1633 , in order to retake it. Duke Bernhard pulled together all the cavalry regiments still available in Ansbach and also ordered the Taupadel dragoon regiments from Bamberg to the Danube. The six regiments of Major General Lars Kagg stationed in the Lower Saxony district had already been ordered to go to Franconia. They arrived in Schweinfurt on October 1st and moved further south. To relieve all the efforts the fortress Willibaldsburg but were in vain, for the Swedish commandant of the fortress, the sperreuterische Lieutenant Colonel Anton Claudius Rasch had the fortress on October 26 - by Duke Bernhard considers premature - passed. The arriving Duke Bernhard was quickly arrested and beheaded on December 9th in Regensburg.

Despite the setback at Eichstätt, the march to Regensburg was continued. On October 29th, Neuburg an der Donau and then Kelheim on November 3rd, also without resistance, were occupied. A ship bridge was built in Neuburg and the majority of the cavalry and a foot brigade with 600 musketeers, 2 cartoons and 3 field guns under Major General Nicholas de Courville were transferred to the southern (right) bank of the Danube. The city of Regensburg, located south of the Danube, had to be enclosed and besieged from the south, as the city could only be reached from the north via the Stone Bridge. When Colonel Taupadel, who had been ordered to Kelheim in advance, found there not only a lot of provisions but also a ferry with which one could cross 60 horses at the same time, the division of the army was continued in Kelheim on November 3rd. Here, too, a ship bridge was built and the supplies of siege material and the heavy cannons from Nuremberg were ordered to Kelheim. Duke Bernhard also crossed here with 4 brigades on the right bank of the Danube.

Georg Christoph von Taupadel, Swedish colonel
Naab estuary in Danube near Orth ; Villages :prüfunging, Winzer, Kneiting

The army detachments under Major General Lars Kagg and the Dragoons under Colonel Taupadel immediately moved on to Etterzhausen on the left bank of the Danube , where the bridge over the Naab , which had been destroyed during the Bavarian occupation of Regensburg, was renewed. After crossing the Naab, the Bavarian villages Winzer and Kneiting could be reached on the northern (left) bank of the Danube, and to the east of it Steinweg and Reinhausen at the confluence of the Regen and the Danube. All the villages were conquered because the city of Regensburg could be well shelled from their heights. The small Bavarian town of Stadtamhof , which encircled the northern bridgehead of the Stone Bridge directly opposite Regensburg , was conquered and occupied. The very successful dragoons of Colonel Taupadel succeeded in several bloody skirmishes on November 4th in conquering the places mentioned and occupying the outlying works and entrenchments there. Two days later the foot troops arrived at Regensburg on both sides of the Danube and brought the heavy artillery into position. To the west and east of the city, two ship bridges were built over the Danube, so that the siege troops in the north could participate in the attacks on the city's gates and walls on the southern bank. The city was encircled and the siege could begin.

Siege, course of the conquest and occupation of the city

The siege army comprised 7 foot brigades with about 10,000 men, 7,000 horsemen and about 2,000 dragoons. Two full cartoons (19 cm caliber; 40-48 pounds of iron, 105 quintals total, 32 horses) and 8 half cartons (24 pounds of iron, 75 quintals total, 25 horses) were available as siege guns, as well as 40 field guns. The city was defended by the Bavarian occupation troops with around 2,000 men under Colonel Johann von Troibreze . The city's disarmed Protestant citizens were not allowed to leave their homes. The Catholic residents, canons and clergymen had the right to supervise these measures and were given permission to kill anyone who did not obey the orders. All the houses on the Danube islands and the mills and hammer mills were set on fire and the third yoke of the stone bridge was blown up.

Regensburg city fortifications Merian-Stich 1644

Already on November 6th, on the south bank in the west of the city at the Prebrunntor and the Jakobstor (see Merianstich 33, 32) there was fighting with the attacking Swedes behind the St. Lazarus Church in what is today Had entrenched city ​​park . On November 8th, the southern Swedish Army Group attacked the Prebrunntor, the entrenchments at the Ostentor and the Ostentor itself. There were casualties on both sides and the Bavarian commander had four wagons with dead people dumped into the Danube. The Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Nordhausen was killed in the almost successful conquest of the Ostentor. His body was handed over to the city council and was the first body to be buried in the corridor next to the church , which was almost completed in the previous year and was then called the New Church .

On November 10th, the Bavarian commander Troibreze was wounded in the Prebrunner Schanze and was no longer operational. On November 12th, the Swedes shot at the Prebrunner Schanze for one day without a break, until in the evening a breach was made in the wall, where the breakthrough took place. There was no prospect of the town being relieved by Bavarian or imperial troops, because the Bavarian army was in Breisach. Wallenstein in Bohemia also missed the chance to horrify Regensburg and misjudged the importance of the city's fall. Therefore, despite the instructions of Elector Maximilian, who threatened Commandant Troibreze with the death penalty when the city was abandoned, the city could not be kept. Regensburg was handed over to the Swedes by piecework on November 14, 1633 and the Bavarian occupation troops withdrew to Ingolstadt on November 15, with half of the soldiers entering the service of the Swedes. Troibreze was imprisoned in Burghausen on the instructions of the Bavarian elector, but was able to justify the city's abandonment and was acquitted in a later court martial. The Swedish troops occupied the city and Duke Bernhard had the Regensburg bishop Albert von Toerring-Stein imprisoned in the Marienberg fortress near Würzburg, from where he was not released until January 18, 1635. His goods were confiscated and a sum of 20,000 Reichstalers was demanded, which was later reduced to 10,000. All prelates and religious were initially imprisoned in the Dominican Church of St. Blaise and later expelled from the city. For the Catholic Church property Niedermünster , St. Emmeram's Abbey , Abbey Prüfening and Carthusian Prüll were employed administrators. Protestant services were held in the cathedral and Protestant officers were also buried.

A strong Swedish garrison was set up to defend Regensburg. It comprised - after the reinforcements on the occasion of the aborted relief attempt by Duke Bernhard at the beginning of June 1634 - at the beginning of the siege 2800 men from various regiments (Hastver, Wulf von Schönbeck, Johann Jacob von Thurn, von den Brincken) under the orders of the city commander Major General Lars Kagg and his deputy, the town major and Scottish captain Alexander Irwing . In addition, 1200 city soldiers had to be provided by the citizens. For this purpose 12 citizen companies were formed under the command of the Scottish Major Johann Affleck from the regiment of Colonel Claus Hastver . In anticipation of an attack by imperial troops from Bohemia from the north, additional strong fortifications and entrenchments were built on the north bank of the Danube in Stadtamhof and many houses were demolished. The bridgehead of the Stone Bridge was also reinforced with a large hornwork with contregarde and three redoubts and a deep moat. The immediately neighboring Katharinenspital was included in the horn factory and was retained.

On February 21, 1634, the Saxon field marshal Franz Albrecht von Sachsen-Lauenburg met with his cousin Duke Bernhard in Regensburg. Franz Albrecht left Pilsen on February 19 with 8 horses to get in touch with Duke Bernhard on behalf of Wallenstein . He was to ask Duke Bernhard to move with an army to Wallenstein in Eger and to support Wallenstein against the Emperor together with the Saxons, who were already on the march and allied with the Swedes. His request was coolly rejected by Duke Bernhard because Bernhard did not trust Wallenstein. The Saxons' alleged approach also did not take place because the Saxon commander Arnim hesitated.

Swedish advances from Regensburg to the Upper Palatinate

Place Donaustauf with castle

After the capture of Regensburg, the main Swedish army moved down the Danube via Donaustauf and conquered Straubing on November 23rd by demolishing the city walls. Rich supplies of salt worth 70,000 Reichstalers were confiscated in the city. Parts of it were supposed to be transported to Regensburg and sold there, but were intercepted by the Bavarian occupation troops at Donaustauf Castle . The castle was destroyed on January 21, 1634 by the Swedish Colonel Klaus Havster , who, on the instructions of Duke Bernhard, took part in the occupation of the Upper Palatinate with his regiment stationed in Neumarkt.

From Straubing a Swedish division under Georg Christoph von Taupadel moved north to the Upper Palatinate and occupied Cham on November 21, 1633 , which was destroyed and fortified. All surrounding places were also looted. At the end of November Kötzting was captured and set on fire because the population resisted. Wallenstein made only a half-hearted attempt to protect the Upper Palatinate and advanced with his troops to Furth im Wald, where he set up his headquarters. Duke Bernhard had meanwhile conquered Deggendorf, but immediately moved with the main army to Cham in order to offer battle to Wallenstein. But Wallenstein withdrew to Pilsen. In retrospect, Duke Bernhard's advance from the Danube to the north turned out to be fatal because the three cavalry regiments remaining in Plattling from an imperial corps under General Sergeant Giaccomo von Strozzi , Colonel Johann von Werth and Field Marshal Lieutenant Maximilian von Billehe at night on December 2nd 2 o'clock were attacked and more than 1200 men were lost. After this loss, Duke Bernhard immediately ordered all troops back to the winter quarters in the Regensburg area. Many of these quarters were subsequently attacked by Johann von Werth. In the end, however, he too suffered a violent defeat which ruined his corps.

Matthias Gallas, Imperial Lieutenant General

After the murder of Wallenstein, Duke Bernhard hoped to take over some of Wallenstein's regiments. After the death of Wallenstein at the end of February 1634, Colonel Taupadel set out for Furth im Wald and made great booty in the fortified Eschlkam Castle . He proceeded similarly in the border town of Neukirchen , where his left arm was shot off by a falconet bullet when the town was attacked. At the beginning of March 1634, Duke Bernhard also moved with a corps via Weiden to Waidhaus and then on to Bohemia towards Marienbad , but his hopes of taking over Wallenstein regiments were not fulfilled. He broke off the action and returned to Franconia. From there he made contact with the Saxon general Arnim for the purpose of joint ventures against the emperor. He received no answer and had to endure the Saxons' hesitant attitude even after Wallenstein's death. He shortened the waiting time with the third unsuccessful attempt to conquer the Kronach fortress (March 13-22, 1634). No sooner had Duke Bernhard set off for Franconia when the Swedish troops began to be pushed back from the Upper Palatinate and were continued and completed in April 1634. At the beginning of April 1634, Matthias Galla's new commander-in-chief of the imperial army, who only held office for a short time, ousted the Swedes from Waldmünchen , Rötz and Cham and advanced to Schwandorf . On the Danube, a 10,000-strong Bavarian army under Aldringen , Werth and Maximilian von Billehe had recaptured Straubing on April 1st. The Swedes also had to withdraw from Weiden under Major General Johann Vizthum von Eckstädt to Nuremberg and Ansbach, about which the Nuremberg Council was very worried.

Recapture of Regensburg by an Imperial League Army (July 1634)

History and preparations

Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand of Spain, cousin of Archduke Ferdinand, King of Hungary
Archduke Ferdinand, King of Hungary, from 1637 Emperor Ferdinand III, oil painting by Jan van den Hoecke , 1643

During the six-month Swedish occupation of Regensburg and after the death of Wallenstein, the political and military threat to Regensburg changed at the Emperor's court in Vienna. While the Bavarian Elector Maximilian stuck to his wish to bring Regensburg under his control, the court in Vienna was now determined to recapture Regensburg, but did not want to leave the imperial city to either the Swedes or the Bavarian Elector. On May 2nd, Emperor Ferdinand II had his son, the King of Hungary, Archduke of Austria and later Emperor Ferdinand III. appointed as successor to Wallenstein as the new commander in chief of the imperial army . He was the nephew of the Bavarian elector, was only 26 years old and had no war experience. But he had discussed a comprehensive military plan with his cousin, the Cardinal Infante of Spain Ferdinand , who had thoroughly learned the art of war. With a united Imperial Spanish army, the Rhine was to be freed from the Swedes and the endangered Spanish Netherlands secured for Spain. The reconquest of Regensburg was compatible with this plan and thus the support of the Bavarian Elector was secured, who, as leader of the Catholic League, was to assist in the implementation of the plan. Regensburg was on the planned approach route of the imperial army from the Bohemian location in Pilsen to the Upper Rhine and there was a good opportunity to cross the Danube with the stone bridge . For the planned unification of the imperial army at the end of the march with the Spanish army approaching from the south via the Alps and Lake Constance, adherence to the schedule was important. Both armies should meet at the same time in late summer 1634 on the Upper Rhine.

On the imperial side, the preparations for the march to Regensburg after the expulsion of the Swedes from the Upper Palatinate began with the establishment of stores with provisions in Cham , Straubing and Ingolstadt . On May 22, 1634 the new Commander-in-Chief Archduke Ferdinand and Lieutenant General Matthias Gallas inspected the army in the Pilsen camp. It consisted of a total of 40,000 men, divided into 28 regiments on foot with 10 companies each, 14 regiments on horseback, 4 regiments of dragoons and 5 regiments of Crabaten . Of the total army, 8 regiments on foot and some horsemen were ordered to Silesia, so that the army had a strength of 24,000 men for the train to Regensburg, 16,000 of them on foot and 8,000 on horseback. The huge number of 116 artillery pieces was available: 4 whole (48 pounders) cartoons and 16 half (24 pounders) cartoons, as well as siege guns 12 mortars and 24 large regimental pieces, as well as 2 light regimental pieces for each regiment. There were also 300 powder wagons fitted with leather tarpaulins. The ammunition could be brought in by ship across the Danube, which was no longer threatened by the Swedes.

Approach, deployment and beginning of the siege

Generals at Reinhausen; King Ferdinand (1), Elector Maximilian of Bavaria (2), Lieutenant General Gallas (3)
Weinberg, Pfaffenstein; Life guard of King Ferdinand

The outbreak of the mighty imperial war power took place after the draft. On May 26, 1634, an interim storage facility was built at Nabburg 50 km north of Regensburg . A vanguard of the army under the command of Gallas had moved ahead and was involved in a skirmish with Swedish dragoons on May 25 near Nabburg. The dragoons under the orders of Taupadel and Rosen had been sent to Regensburg in advance by Duke Bernhard, who was still in Roth near Nuremberg, in order to investigate the developing situation and to establish an emerging union of the imperial army with the league army , which from Straubing from upstream of the Danube was about to prevent it. In view of the enormous superior force approaching, the Swedish dragoons had to retreat to Velburg . The League Army, which broke out on May 24, 1634 in Straubing, led by the Bavarian Elector Maximilian and under the command of Aldringen, united east of Regensburg on the northern bank of the Danube near Reinhausen with the imperial advance division under Gallas . The Bavarian-dominated league army comprised 8,000 men, in 7 regiments with 4,500 men on foot (in 10 companies each) and 9 regiments on horseback (in 69 companies) and 10 companies of dragoons, a total of 3,000 riders in 79 companies. Some regiments were not ready for action, so that at the beginning of the siege of Regensburg only about 5,000 army men were present, some advanced later, but others were withdrawn earlier. The imperial-league army, united at the beginning of the siege, comprised 23,000 men on foot and 10,000 men on horseback. A few weeks later, after reinforcements arrived on June 12, the total force for the siege of Regensburg was 28,500 men on foot and 10,000 men on horseback, plus an unknown number of dragoons, so a total of around 40,000 men.

Regensburg is recaptured by an imperial league army
Part of: Swedish War, Thirty Years War
Siege of Regensburg by a united imperial-league army.
Siege of Regensburg by a united imperial-league army.
date May 25. bis 25. July 1634
place Upper Palatinate
Casus Belli Recapturing the city
output Victory of the Imperial-Bavarian League Army.
Withdrawal of the Swedish occupation
consequences Sweden loses Eastern Bavaria and Upper Palatinate
Peace treaty Piecework agreement guarantees Regensburg as an imperial city
Parties to the conflict

Imperial Army Catholic League

Sweden
city ​​soldiers

Commander

Archduke Ferdinand, King of Hungary
Matthias Gallas
Elector Maximilian I
Johann von Aldringen

Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar , City Commander
Lars Kagg

Troop strength
40,000

60 guns

4,000
losses

8,000 dead
6,000 deserted

800 dead (Sweden)
400 city soldiers

Swedish relief attempt (beginning of June 1634)

In spring 1634 Duke Bernhard was confronted with the drastically deteriorating military situation in Regensburg and the Upper Palatinate. Before an army group set out for the threatened region, it was necessary to procure provisions from Thuringia, weapons and war material from Nuremberg and Würzburg. 45 quintals of fuses, 50,000 musket balls and around 2,000 iron balls for cartoons were purchased. On April 14th, the main army was mustered at Herrieden and, together with the corps of Count Palatine Christian von Birkenfeld, who had been driven out of the Upper Palatinate, was distributed to quarters in Rothenburg , Dinkelsbühl , Donauwörth and Bopfingen . The headquarters was set up in Nördlingen . Since the population complained about the billeting, Duke Bernhard was asked on May 8 by the Protestant princes gathered in Frankfurt to support the endangered Regensburg with his army. He then traveled to Dinkelsbühl and raised an army of 20,000 men. On May 22nd, negotiations were held in Roth with envoys from Nuremberg about the rescue of Regensburg and the provision of food for the army needed for it. Duke Bernhard asked Nuremberg to deliver 1 million pounds of bread and 150 quintals of powder, but the Nuremberg residents only wanted to deliver half of it. Duke Bernhard was very angry about this, because it jeopardized the planned strength of the relief army for Regensburg.

On May 26th, Duke Bernhard set out with the relief army for Regensburg in Roth, strengthened himself in Neumarkt with Colonel Hastver's regiment to approx. 12,000 men and moved via Dietfurt to Kelheim , where on May 30th the ship's bridge was built over the Danube has been. The army crossed over to reach Regensburg from the south, because the north bank of the Danube east of Regensburg was already occupied by imperial troops.

On the south bank of the Danube :Checking Abbey, west of the city (Castle Peace Column) (1630)

The Bavarian equestrian general Johann von Werth , who was able to cross the Danube east of Regensburg near Schwabelweis on a ship bridge built by Bavarian pioneers and camped on the south bank, 2 km west of the city wall of Regensburg, with 1,300 men in the convent ofChecking , tried to translate the to prevent the Swedish relief army at Kelheim. However, he came too late and when he wanted to retreat in view of the overwhelming Swedish force in order to reach his own bridge at Schwabelweis, he only partially succeeded in withdrawing. At the monastery of Prüll the rearguard of his department with 400 Croats was surrounded by the Swedes, cut down and the high officers were taken prisoner. The rest of Johann von Werth's department only barely managed to reach the north bank of the Danube and destroy their own ship's bridge behind them. The abandoned quarters of the Bavarian cavalry who had fled in the Monastery ofprüfunging were taken over by the teams of Duke Bernhard.

Northern bank of the Danube east of Stadtamhof. Swedish Regenschantz (9) at the camp of Bavarian troops (10)

On the north bank of the Danube opposite Regensburg, east of the confluence of the Regen river into the Danube, the imperial-league siege army, which had drawn up via Regenstauf, had quartered itself and set up camps at Sallern , Weichs and Reinhausen . On June 1, the day after his arrival, Duke Bernhard led a group of 300 horsemen and 200  musketeers under Colonel Hastver from the city over the Stone Bridge to the north bank of the Danube to the Swedes' entrenchments on the western bank of the Regen River. This rain shelter also included a bridge over the rain and was secured on the eastern bank of the rain with a hornwork as a bridgehead. The Swedes made a sortie into the camp of the imperial league troops near Reinhausen out of this rain . They were able to initially drive out the imperial troops, but in the end had to withdraw against reinforcement troops advancing. In order to prevent further of these dangerous attacks by the Swedes, imperial troops occupied the hill on the left (eastern) bank of the river Regen and set up battery positions there. This resulted in an artillery battle with a Swedish gun emplacement that had been erected shortly before on the vineyard on the right (western) bank of the Rain River, in which the Swedish Major General Nicholas de Courville was killed. The Swedish gun emplacement could not be held against the overwhelming number of imperial guns, was dismantled and the terrain was then immediately taken over by imperial troops. They posted a total of 40 guns, including 30 half cartoons, in the positions they had captured. Already on Friday, June 2nd and also on the following day, these guns fired at the city for the first time, the hornworks in front of the northern bridgehead of the Stone Bridge at Stadtamhof and the Stone Bridge. Two bullets are said to have even hit the episcopal residence in the city, which served as quarters for Duke Bernhard and was about 3 km away.

On June 3, Duke Bernhard left the besieged city with his army because it was feared that imperial troops would soon also occupy the south bank west of Regensburg and thus block the possibility of retreating to Kelheim for the Swedish relief army encamped in the convent. In addition, the army's catering situation had become very critical. To strengthen the Swedish garrison in Regensburg, however, some companies from the Hastver, Brincken and Berghofer regiments with a total of approx. 2300 men were left in the besieged city, so that at the beginning of the siege the total strength of the defenders was approx. 4,000 men. On the retreat, the remaining army was pursued by a squad of 2,000 men of imperial cavalry and was therefore not able to cross the Danube in Kelheim, but only on the 6th of June at Vohburg on the ship's bridge. On June 10th, the remaining army was back in Neumarkt. Lack of food had considerably reduced the strength of the army.

Siege, bombardment and capture of Regensburg

North view of the siege and conquest of Regensburg by an imperial league army under Ferdinand III and Aldringen, June – July 1634. View from the Reinhausen and Winzerer heights onto Stadtamhof. Background: Stone Bridge with Regensburg Old Town

The bombardment of the city and the Swedish entrenchments in the surrounding foreland of Stadtamhof reached a high point on Whitsunday, June 4th. With around 70 guns - including mortars and entire cartoons - the city and fortifications were so permanently bombarded that the noise could still be heard in Weiden. In the afternoon of the day there was a general assault of imperial-league troops on the entrenchments in Stadtamhof under the command of Colonel Breuner in which several high officers - including Count von Dietrichstein - and soldiers of the attackers were killed. In three attempts a total of 2,400 men tried to storm the hill, but were refused each time by the 600 defenders under the command of Johann Jacob von Thurn . On the fourth attempt, only 400 men stopped because others refused. The Swedish defenders were not intimidated and defended themselves by throwing fuses with hand grenades. The following night the besieged made a counter-strike, in which again many besiegers were killed.

During the period of siege that followed, the Imperial League Army carried out seven more assault attacks, all of which were repulsed. During the siege, 15,000 cannon and mortar rounds were fired on the city and 2,000 bullets of 100 pounds and more fell on the city and its fortifications. The Swedish defenders of the city made a total of 465 failures. Failures of the besieged from the entrenchments at Regen (Regenschantz) proved to be very effective . Over the bridge secured with a horn on the eastern bank of the Regen one could break deep into the positions of the imperial league troops near Reinhausen. The night missions on June 5th and 24th led to great losses among the imperial league troops. After the Swedish Regenschantz could not be captured by the besiegers in several assault attempts, the generals of the imperial-league troops changed their strategy and on June 8th relocated the majority of the siege army using the two ship bridges built by Bavarian pioneers to the west and east of the city the southern bank of the Danube facing the city. The new headquarters of King Ferdinand was relocated to the Prüll Monastery .

South view of the siege of Regensburg by an imperial-league army under Ferdinand III and Aldringen, June – July 1634. Foreground: camp near Kumpfmühl (center: Prüll monastery ). Background: City of Regensburg, Danube River, the mouth of the Regen river on the right, hills from Winzer in the west to Reinhausen in the east.
Former infirmary
Alt St. Niklas
Adolf Schmetzer Str.

On the south bank there were also new artillery positions at the Kumpfmühl field camp , at the gate of St. Emmeran and at the Peterstor (Merian engraving 31, 30). After the army was relocated, the city was encircled with a siege ring of entrenchments, battery positions and trenches. The focus of the siege was in the western area between the Prebrunntor and the Jakobstor (today Stadtpark), in the middle area between the Bavarian village of Kumpfmühl, over the Emmeraner Tor to the Peterstor and in the eastern area the section between the Eastern Bastion with the Ostentor (Merian stitch 29) beyond the St Niklas church, which was destroyed when the city was conquered in November 1633, to Einhausen (today Pürkelgut Castle ). In the western area, the Bavarian League troops had built a horn factory, the Troibreze factory. There was an artillery position with 7 guns that had the Jakobstor in their sights. The focal point of the entrenchments of the imperial troops formed the so-called Fernemontische Werke in the middle area , which stretched from the village of Kumpfmühl to the east for about 3 km (along today's Friedensstrasse) to the Ostentor. Most of the imperial artillery positions were installed here to fire at the Emmeraner Tor and the Peterstor. Several imperial regiments were entrenched here, among them the regiment of Colonel Johann Franz von Barwitz Freiherr von Fernemont . In the eastern area the eastern bastion and the entrenchments in front of the eastern gate were fiercely contested. There, among others, was the Imperial Regiment Alt Schaumburg under the command of the Scotsman Walter Leslie , which had holed up in the ruins of the burned down church of St. Niklas and suffered heavy losses when the Swedish occupation failed several times.

Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria

On June 25th, the Bavarian Elector Maximilian I arrived as the supreme commander of the league troops in the camp of the Bavarian siege troops and moved into his headquarters in the convent in front of the walls in the west of the city. He immediately tried to inspect the military facilities and rectify grievances, but remained very isolated because none of the higher imperial officers had received and accompanied him. This was an indication that the plans of the Bavarian elector of how to proceed with Regensburg during and after the reconquest differed significantly from the ideas that prevailed at the imperial court in Vienna and that Archduke Ferdinand as the son of the emperor and military commander in chief had taken over. These differences only fully erupted when the piecework contract was signed and then lasted for years. During his visit to the camp, the Bavarian elector only received information from the commander of the league troops, Johann von Aldringen, about the bad mood among the allied besiegers, namely that the young, inexperienced, imperial commander-in-chief, Archduke and King of Hungary Ferdinand, claimed absolute supreme command and reinforced it would be from his scheming assistant councilor and military strategic advisor Johann Kaspar von Stadion , the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order known as the German Master . On the imperial side, the Bavarian League officers would not be heard by King Ferdinand's second advisor, Lieutenant General Matthias Gallas , and would always have to do the most unpleasant and dangerous tasks.

Regensburg city fortifications Merian-Stich 1644

June 26th saw the largest and most successful failure of the Swedish defenders of the besieged city under the command of city commander Lars Kagg , led by Colonel Hastver. The entire riders of the garrison and 15 men from each company - a total of 1,000 men - stormed out of the Jakobstor at 6 a.m. and penetrated the Fernemontic works of the imperial troops and also into the camp and the trenches of the Bavarian troops. There, trenches had already been driven up to the city wall to the Prebrunn Gate in order to blow up the protective hornwork. Many of the Bavarian besiegers were cut down in the trenches with battle swords, and hand grenades ignited with fuses were again used here, and the soldiers were rewarded with hand money for their dangerous use. Several Bavarian officers and 400 soldiers were killed.

Stone bridge, northern bridgehead and Stadtamhof

Also on the north bank at Stadtamhof there was tireless digging. With the help of prisoners of war, the Bavarian-League besiegers had dug trenches ( appraised ) with which they wanted to approach the Hornwerk in Stadtamhof, which protected the northern bridgehead of the Stone Bridge, starting from Steinweg . On June 28, the target was so close that attackers and defenders could reach each other with pikes. The Swedish commander in command there, Johann Jacob Graf von Thurn , was able to maintain the bastion by defending himself there with hand grenades.

Northern bank of the Danube near Prebrunn. Relocation of artillery to the prepared hill for the attack on the Upper Wöhrd
Prebrunn, Palisade barrier to the Oberen Wöhrd, where the landing of enemy troops takes place under artillery protection.
Gunboat

On July 4th, the artillery position of the besiegers on the north bank was moved down from the vineyard to lower positions in order to be able to bombard the city and the Danube islands better. Eight horses were required to transport a small cannon (caliber 12 cm, barrel weight 1.5 tons) and even 20 horses for a large cannon (half kartaune, caliber 12 cm, barrel weight 3.5 tonnes). The laborious relocation of the guns was the preparation for a planned attack by the besiegers on the Danube Islands. This decisive attack by the Imperial League Army took place on the morning of July 6 at 7 a.m. During a bombardment of the islands, the attackers reached the Obere Wöhrd with the help of 2 large and 12 small ships over the narrow northern arm of the Danube and started a surprising attack there after an agreed signal by a kraudenfeuer (powder set on fire). The under-manned Swedish entrenchments were overcome and the defenders, who bravely defended themselves, overwhelmed. From Oberen Wöhrd the attackers reached the middle of the stone bridge and stood behind the Swedish troops who were lying on the north bank of the Danube in the fortifications in Stadtamhof and on the Regen. After conquering the Stone Bridge, these troops were cut off from the city and had to vacate their positions. They only got back to the city with heavy losses over the stone bridge and lost a total of 450 men. After this success the imperial troops occupied both Danube islands and the stone bridge up to the blasted 2nd yoke on the city side. Guns were posted all over the islands, which could now bombard the city and especially the Prebrunn bastion from close by (50-100 m). The conquest of the strategically important Danube Islands was the breakthrough on the way to the conquest of the entire city and with it began the final phase of the struggle.

Despite the loss of the stone bridge and the fortifications on the northern bank of the Danube, all further assault attacks remained unsuccessful until July 21, 1634. But the bombardment of the fortifications was all the more violent. The tower of the Prebrunnbastei was completely shot down on July 7th and the bridge tower of the stone bridge was so destroyed that the small guns of the defenders placed there on the upper floor had to be removed because they threatened to crash. On July 14th, the tower at Emmerantor collapsed after 63 hits. On July 12th, 100 pound fireballs and demonized grenades, producing disease and poisonous fumes , were shot into the city. The besiegers even built a kind of gunboat with which they wanted to bring 2 guns on the Danube very close to the walls of the city. However, the attempt failed because the boat capsized.

It was only when there were only 39 quintals of powder in the city that it became apparent that the Swedish garrison would soon no longer be able to fight due to a lack of powder. In addition, food and water became scarce and no news with information about the approaching Swedish relief army, which was already at Landshut, came out of or into the city. Since the city commandant Lars Kagg could not expect relief from Duke Bernhard or Field Marshal Gustaf Horn , he had to agree to the beginning of piece negotiations on July 21 after a two-month siege. The piece contract was signed on July 26, 1634 by both sides. An unknown war diary writer in Regensburg literally recorded the following as the quintessence: " After the handover of the city it was found that Hertzog Bernhardt zu Landshut was about to horrify the city, which would have happened if only the handover had been held back for 2 days ."

On July 29, 1634, the garrison troops were given free retreat to Neumarkt, where they arrived on July 30. When leaving the city, the regimental commander Johann Jacob Graf von Thurn refused to dismount his horse, which the imperial court resented because he was a vassal as an emigrant from Moravia. The city commandant Kagg was so disappointed with the lack of relief from Duke Bernhard that he no longer wanted to speak to his generals and moved on to Würzburg via Nuremberg. He then gave up military service and traveled to Sweden.

In total, the Imperial League troops fired 15,000 cannon shots during the siege and lost more than 8,000 men in seven unsuccessful assault attacks, including 87 senior officers. In addition, 6,000 men had deserted. The Swedish crew lost 586 dead in 465 casualties, including 64 officers. Of the 1,200 soldiers deployed by the city, 711 were injured and 400 perished, including the commander, Scottish Colonel John Affleck .

Unsuccessful Swedish relief attempt (end of July 1634)

After the only partially successful relief attempt for Regensburg at the beginning of June 1634, Duke Bernhard took up a plan that had already been discussed with the commander of the second Swedish army, Field Marshal Gustaf Horn , operating in the south . Both had planned to unite their armies if necessary. While Horn, who had operated in Wuerttemberg and on Lake Constance in the spring of 1634, always expected his army to move to Bavaria to secure Augsburg and Regensburg, Duke Bernhard did not behave as consistently as it would have been necessary. He continued to operate other projects in his Duchy of Franconia, such as the unsuccessful siege of Kronach and the conquest of Forchheim , where he arrived with his army on June 20 to conquer the city and the large stocks of food and ammunition stored there. Due to various difficulties, the siege did not get underway and at the same time such bad news came from Regensburg and from Kelheim, which is strategically important for the access to Regensburg, that on June 28th he set off loaded with 1,000 sacks of flour to hold Kelheim. However, he did not find out that Kelheim had fallen into the hands of imperial troops on June 26th after being defended by Colonel Friedrich von Rosen . When Duke Bernhard found out about this, he returned, but after his withdrawal the siege of Forchheim under the command of General Johann Philipp Cratz von Scharffenstein had developed into a disaster after the siege fell on July 1st and had to do so on August 14th, 1634 canceled without success.

In the meantime Field Marshal Gustaf Horn left Memmingen with his army on June 14th and was moving to Augsburg . He knew the problems of Duke Bernhard in Franconia and the threatening situation in Regensburg, but he too hesitated to leave Württemberg because he had received information about the Spanish army of Cardinal Infante Ferdinand of Spain approaching from the south . Duke Bernhard was not helpful in deciding what to do next. From him only vague ideas came because he was not clear about a strategy to save Regensburg after the loss of Kelheim. In order not to lie idly by Augsburg, Horn had Aichach occupied on June 21, 1634 under cruel circumstances . On June 23, he received the news from Duke Bernhard that he had decided not to horror Regensburg because otherwise his Duchy of Franconia would be exposed. A few days later, however, Duke Bernhard had changed his mind and wanted to horror Regensburg. Both generals met in Donauwörth and agreed to rush to Regensburg with a united army to help. Both armies united on July 11 at Aichach. The combined army had a strength of around 23,000 men, 13,000 of them on foot and 10,000 on horseback.

On July 12th the Swedish army broke out, but despite the threatening situation did not take the shortest route to Regensburg, but moved via Freising , which was captured on July 16, and Moosburg , where the army after repairing a bridge on the right bank the Isar translated to Landshut . It is uncertain what the motive was for choosing the route, but the choice is a sign of a lack of planning and disagreement between the two Swedish generals. They were also not informed about the situation in Regensburg and chose routes with possibilities for looting. Strategically, the generals probably not only thought of the relief of Regensburg, but also saw opportunities to invade the land above the Enns in order to carry the war into the Habsburg hereditary lands .

Count von Aldringen, Field Marshal Catholic League

The renewed advance of a Swedish army into Bavaria had caused the Bavarian Elector Maximilian to withdraw the Bavarian Field Marshal Aldringen with three regiments of dragoons from the siege of Regensburg on July 18 and to order him to Landshut, where there were only 3 companies of dragoons and 2 companies of infantry. On the evening of July 20, 1634, the two opposing armies met at Landshut. The Swedes immediately began to storm the poorly fortified Landshut, which succeeded within 2 days. On July 22nd, the city and castle were conquered and Colonel John Henderson was captured along with other officers . During the forced retreat of the Bavarian cavalry over the Isar bridge, Field Marshal Johann von Aldringen was killed when he tried to swim across the Isar with his horse and was shot dead. In Landshut, the Swedes found large amounts of food that would have been enough to feed the army for three weeks. Although it would have been possible to move to Upper Austria, the Swedish generals decided to relieve Regensburg, but spent eight days completely plundering Landshut before moving on. Only on July 30th did the army leave for Regensburg. At this time Regensburg had already been given up by the Swedish garrison, but this had not penetrated to Landshut because of the perfect enclosure of the city. The Swedish relief army reached about 10 km from Regensburg when a messenger arrived with the news that the city had already fallen to the imperial on July 26th. The Swedish army returned to Landshut and received the news that the imperial army, which had recaptured Regensburg, had marched further up the Danube to reach Württemberg via Ingolstadt in the Nördlinger Ries and there to unite with the approaching Spanish army. Both Swedish generals were now forced to set off for Württemberg immediately to prevent the planned unification of the two great Catholic armies. A strong unit of their cavalry was sent ahead as the advance guard to secure cities on the march route. During the march back, heavy rain set in, which made the march very difficult. Completely exhausted, the Swedish army reached Augsburg on August 6, with great losses of men and horses due to illness. For the Swedes, this attempt to rescue Regensburg was the unsuccessful prelude to the heavy defeat in the battle of Nördlingen . For Bavaria: "This was one of the most devastating military campaigns, which bared the area from the Lech to the Isar, from Donauwörth to Regensburg of people and cattle and destroyed everything."

Johann Jakob Wolff von Todenwarth

The piecework contract and its aftermath

The process and result of the piecework negotiations are remarkable. In addition to the Imperial, the Bavarian and the Swedish official of the Council of the City of years for Regensburg at all levels diplomatically active and experienced many years of sides was syndic Johann Jacob Wolff of Todenwarth involved, "the continued efforts to decidedly kaisertreuem course that To secure imperial city Protestantism and the imperial immediacy of the city of Regensburg legally and politically ”. In the interests of the imperial city of Regensburg, Todenwarth had to keep the balance between the threats and demands of the Bavarian elector and the secret peace plans of the emperor with Electoral Saxony and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt , of which Todenwarth also held the embassy. It was also difficult to make concessions to the other imperial cities, which - initiated by the Swedes but without the active participation of Regensburg - had joined together in the Heilbronner Bund . Todenwarth behaved rather obstructively towards the Swedes during the deliberations in the Heilbronner Bund and was therefore so suspicious that they took him prisoner before the conquest of Regensburg in autumn 1633 and kept him prisoner until January 1634.

The piecework contract signed at the end was very favorable for Regensburg, as it provided that the city would not be occupied by Bavarian, but exclusively by imperial troops. Behind this was the intention of the emperor to keep Regensburg as an imperial imperial city ​​under the umbrella of the inheritance protection treaty of the House of Habsburg and to leave the status of the city unchanged from before the war. In doing so, the emperor prevented Elector Maximilian's plan to annex Regensburg with the consent of the emperor in a Habsburg-Wittelsbach arrangement. Maximilian wanted Regensburg to compensate for the high war damage caused by the city under Swedish occupation in the Bavarian suburb of Stadtamhof, which was completely destroyed after the withdrawal of the Swedes. Maximilian was also not ready to take into account the damage caused during the two-year Bavarian occupation and he had no understanding for the cautious approach of Emperor Ferdinand II and his son Archduke Ferdinand III. Even during the siege, sheer hatred of Regensburg had clouded the Bavarian elector's view. He had even brought up the option of the complete destruction of the city, that is, the Magdeburgization of Regensburg, in the event that the takeover of the city through its mediatization were refused.

However, the outcome of the negotiations with the insensitive negotiating partner Maximilian, desired by the emperor and the city of Regensburg, could only be achieved through a fraudulent ruse by the imperial emissaries. Under the pretext of extreme urgency - allegedly the enemy was at the gates, which was not the case, because he was still standing in front of Landshut during the negotiations - the Bavarian plenipotentiary Otto Heinrich Fugger was presented with the version of the contract desired by the emperor and city during the decisive ratification phase of the contract Signing before, which Elector Maximilian had not approved. The negotiator of the Bavarian Elector signed this copy and thus the intention of the Elector to use the victory over Regensburg to bring the city under Bavarian rule and to punish it with sanctions was foiled. The emperor disregarded the subsequent complaints of the elector, because the emperor was no longer up because of the prospect of the peace between Prague and the Electorate of Saxony and the favorable military situation for Habsburg, which led to the heavy defeat of the Swedes at Nördlingen at the beginning of September 1634 instructed the military support of Maximilian and the Catholic League.

The anger of the Bavarian Elector was immense. Years of legal disputes between Emperor, Elector and Regensburg at the Reichshofrat in Vienna were the result. The economic development of Regensburg and the city's population suffered for years from the economic and traffic blockades with high tariffs and import restrictions imposed by the Bavarian Elector.

literature

  • Max Neubauer: Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria, the Habsburgs and the imperial city of Regensburg in the struggle for their sovereignty (1594 / 98–1648 . Dissertation. Philosophical Faculty III History, Society, Geography) of the University of Regensburg, 2011.
  • Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. The Thirty Years' War in Franconia Swabia and the Upper Palatinate 1631–1635. Verlag Späthling, Weißenstadt 2007, ISBN 978-3-926621-56-6 .
  • Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. The battle of Nördlingen - turning point of the Thirty Years' War. Verlag Späthling, Weißenstadt 2009, ISBN 978-3-926621-78-8 .
  • CV Wedgwood: The 30 Years War . Licensed edition for Cormoranverlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-517-09017-4 . Paul List Verlag, Munich 1967.
  • Bernhard Lübbers (Ed.): War - Pest - Sweden Not. The Thirty Years War in Regensburg . Accompanying volume to a series of exhibitions on the history of the Thirty Years War in Regensburg. Regensburg State Library. Morsbach Verlag, Regensburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-96018-052-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Max Neubauer, Dissertation, University of Regensburg, 2011, p. 102f, footnote 534.
  2. a b Max Neubauer, Dissertation, University of Regensburg, 2011, p. 109f, footnotes 576, 580.
  3. Wolfgang Hahn: Ratisbona Politica II. Studies on the political history of the imperial city of Regensburg in the 17th century up to the beginning of the everlasting Reichstag . Negotiations of the Historisches Verein Regensburg, Vol. 126 (1986), p. 27, 28. ISSN  0342-2518 .
  4. Max Neubauer: Dissertation, University of Regensburg 2011, p. 113.
  5. Max Neubauer: Dissertation, University of Regensburg 2011, p. 109, footnote 572.
  6. Max Neubauer: Dissertation, University of Regensburg 2011, p. 114.
  7. ^ Max Neubauer: Dissertation, University of Regensburg 2011, p. 111, footnote 584.
  8. ^ Karl Bauer: Regensburg Art, Culture and Everyday History, MZ Buchverlag, Regensburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-86646-300-4 . P. 536.
  9. Wolfgang Hahn: Ratisbona Politica II. Studies on the political history of the imperial city of Regensburg in the 17th century up to the beginning of the everlasting Reichstag . Negotiations of the Historical Association Regensburg, Vol. 126 (1986), p. 98, ISSN  0342-2518 .
  10. ^ A b c Klaus-Peter Rueß: Regensburg in the Thirty Years War. Military strategies, processes and events in the years 1631–1634. In: Bernhard Lübbers, State Library Regensburg (Ed.): War, Pest, Schwedennot. Regensburg in the Thirty Years War . 1st edition. tape 16 . Morsbach, Regensburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-96018-052-4 , pp. 61-84 .
  11. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, p. 193.
  12. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 25, 26.
  13. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 26-29.
  14. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 29–30.
  15. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 31–32.
  16. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 32–33.
  17. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 33–35.
  18. Klaus-Peter Rueß: The ambassador's cemetery at the Dreieinigkeitskirche in Regensburg, its origin and its construction history. State Library Regensburg, Regensburg 2015, p. 13 156.
  19. CV Wedgwood: The 30 Years War. 1967, p. 308.
  20. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 33–35.
  21. ^ Gumpelzhaimer, Chr. C .: Regensburgs history, sagas and oddities. Regensburg 1830-1837. Pp. 1209-1229.
  22. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrnčiřík: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, p. 68.
  23. Artur Dirmeier: Looted and destroyed by friend and foe. The Regensburg hospitals at the time of the Thirty Years' War . In: Bernhard Lübbers (Hrsg.): Catalogs and writings of the State Library Regensburg . 1st edition. tape 16 . Morsbach Verlag, Regensburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-96018-052-4 , p. 99-118, 103 .
  24. CV Wedgwood: The 30 Years War. 1967. p. 314.
  25. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, pp. 210-212.
  26. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, pp. 232-252.
  27. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, pp. 258-260.
  28. CV Wedgwood: The 30 Years War. Pp. 300-302.
  29. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 64–65, footnote 74.
  30. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. pp. 65, 66, footnotes 74, 75.
  31. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen , 2007, pp. 260–262.
  32. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, p. 66.
  33. Peter Engerisser A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634 . In: Negotiations of the Historical Association for Upper Palatinate and Regensburg, 148th Volume Regensburg 2008; Pp. 66, 67; ISSN  0342-2518 ( online ; PDF; 2.1 MB).
  34. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 66, 67.
  35. Peter Engerisser A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634 . In: Negotiations of the Historical Association for Upper Palatinate and Regensburg, 148th Volume Regensburg 2008; Pp. 55-83; ISSN  0342-2518 .
  36. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, p. 268.
  37. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. In: Negotiations of the historical association for Upper Palatinate and Regensburg. Volume 148, Regensburg 2008, pp. 75-77, ISSN  0342-2518 .
  38. a b Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009; P. 69 f.
  39. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 69, 70.
  40. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 65.
  41. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 69, 60.
  42. Max Neubauer, dissertation, Regensburg 2011, p. 123 f.
  43. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 72.
  44. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 80, 81.
  45. Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 73–74.
  46. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, pp. 280-282.
  47. a b Peter Engerisser: A previously unknown view of the siege of Regensburg in 1634. P. 81, 82.
  48. Christine Gottfriedsen: God preserve us in the future for all such dangerous war adversities. Two reports about the Thirty Years War in Regensburg . In: Negotiations of the historical association for Upper Palatinate and Regensburg . tape 159 . Historical Association for Upper Palatinate and Regensburg, 2019, ISSN  0342-2518 , p. 265-295 (p. 292) .
  49. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009. pp. 59, 61, 73, 74 f.
  50. Peter Engerisser: From Kronach to Nördlingen. 2007, p. 270.
  51. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 62, 63.
  52. ^ A b Christian Pantle: The Thirty Years War. When Germany was on fire . Propylaen Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-549-07443-5 , p. 181 .
  53. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634 . Pp. 77-79.
  54. Peter Engerisser, Pavel Hrncirik: Nördlingen 1634. 2009, pp. 77ff, 79, after J. Heilmann: War history of Bavaria, Palatinate and Swabia ; Munich, Cotta 1868; P. 477.
  55. ^ Neubauer, dissertation Regensburg 2011, p. 101.
  56. ^ Neubauer dissertation, Regensburg 2011, pp. 102ff, 133.
  57. ^ Neubauer, dissertation Regensburg 2011, p. 116.
  58. ^ Neubauer, dissertation, Regensburg 2011, p. 121 f.
  59. ^ Neubauer, dissertation, Regensburg 2011, p. 123.