Wab Forum Supplement: Thirty Years War 1618 - 1648ad

WAB FORUM SUPPLEMENT
THIRTY YEARS WAR 1618 – 1648AD
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WAB Forum 1 v 0.1

- if not moved two ranks may shoot (salvoe), but no shoot including next
INTRODUCTION round, enemy units have to make a panic test immediately if they have
casualties
PIKE&SHOT
- units must remain within 2” to support or benefit from this support:
- a unit of shot may use the stand &shoot reaction against enemy units
charging a pike unit nearby, enemy must be within the 90° arc of sight
during the charge, normal penalty for shooting at chargers apply
SPECIAL RULES - a unit of shot in front of a unit of pike will rally automatically after
using fire&flee as charge reaction
- a unit of pike can declare a countercharge to an enemy unit who is
ALLIES charging a unit of shot nearby as long as the enemy is within the 90° arc
Each army only can choose one ally with up to 25%, mixing of different of sight during the charge, pike unit will be moved in front of the shot
ally contingents is not allowed. Subject allies have Ld-1 and cost one unit
point less per model, the subject ally-general 130 points with Ld7 only.
PISTOLS
CHARACTERS EQUIPMENT - range 12”, S3,save modifier -1
Characters may have the equipment of the unit they join at the start of the - models armed with pistols count as armed with an additional hand
battle (free). Any additional equipment available for that unit can also be weapon in melee, using a hand weapon and one pistol
taken but the points are doubled which have to be paid for the character. - cavalry armed with pistols may fire twice per turn, 180° arc of sight
- do not suffer penalties for move&shoot or long range
DRAGOONS
- counts as Light Infantry/Cavalry mixture with a movement rate of 8 STAKES
- fear formed units Stakes must be placed when the unit is deployed on the table. After
- cannot charge formed enemy units in the front deployment is finished and stakes placed the stakes are lost as soon as the
unit moves or flee. Mounted models hit models behind the stakes with -2,
CARBINES cannot use the Ferocious Charge ability and do not gain any weapon
- range 16”, S3, save modifier -1 strength bonuses.
- mounted troops (except Dragoons) may not move and shoot
UNITS
FIELD GUN (75pts) All units may have a leader, standard and musician for 5pts each.
(See rulesbook page 130) All limits for units (like 0-1) are written for armies of 2000 points or less.
Each machine has a four man crew. If you play with armies that have more points simply take those units as
0-1 for each 2000 points e.g.. Always round down if you have an odd
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts number. Exception is the wagon tabor which is 0-1 regardless of army
Crew size.
4 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 7 -
Cannon - - - - 7 3 - - - 75 WAGON TABOR
See WAB Errata for details:
Equipment: Hand weapon. http://warhammer-historical.com/PDF/WAB2%20Errata.pdf
The crew may have light armour (+6).
Range 48”, S7, no save, D6 wounds per hit WAR WAGON
Special Rules: Cannon See WAB Errata for details
http://warhammer-historical.com/PDF/WAB2%20Errata.pdf
FIRELOCKS Some War Wagons may have two war machines with crew instead of 6
- foot and mounted troops with firelocks do not suffer the -1 penalty for missle armed crew members (+80).
move and shoot
GALLOPPER GUN (60pts)

Counts as Light Cannon with M8.
GRENADOES
- one use only
- for each grenadoe place the 3” template within 8” (90° arc of sight)
- roll artillery and scatter dice, S4 hits
- in case of misfire place the template with the center above the thrower
LIGHT CANNON (50pts)

(See rulesbook page 130)
Each machine has a three man crew.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Crew 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 7 -
Cannon - - - - 6 3 - - - 50
Equipment: Hand weapon. The crew may have light armour (+6).
Range 36”, S6, no save, D6 wounds per hit
Special Rules: Cannon
MUSKETS
- range 24”, S4, save modifier -2
- one rank may fire
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realms according to their consciences, and
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND compel their subjects to follow that faith (the
principle of cuius regio, eius religio).
Lutherans living in a prince-bishopric (a state
ruled by a Catholic bishop) could continue to
practice their faith.
Lutherans could keep the territory they had
captured from the Catholic Church since the
Peace of Passau in 1552.
Those prince-bishops who had converted to
Lutheranism were required to give up their
territories (the principle called reservatum
ecclesiasticum).
The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) was fought Although the Peace of Augsburg created a temporary end
primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points to hostilities, it did not solve the underlying religious
involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most conflict. In addition, Calvinism spread quickly throughout
destructive conflicts in European history. Germany in the years that followed. This added a third
The origins of the conflict and goals of the participants major faith to the region, but its position was not
were complex, and no single cause can accurately be recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which
described as the main reason for the fighting. Initially, the only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties.1415
war was fought largely as a religious conflict between The rulers of the nations neighboring the Holy Roman
Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, Empire also contributed to the outbreak of the Thirty
although disputes over the internal politics and balance of Years' War:
power within the Empire played a significant part. Spain was interested in the German states because
Gradually, the war developed into a more general conflict it held the territories of the Spanish Netherlands
involving most of the European powers. 910 In this general on the western border of the Empire and states
phase, the war became more a continuation of the within Italy which were connected by land
Bourbon–Habsburg rivalry for European political pre- through the Spanish Road. The Dutch revolted
eminence, and in turn led to further warfare between against the Spanish domination during the 1560s,
France and the Habsburg powers, and less specifically leading to a protracted war of independence that
about religion.11 led to a truce only in 1609.
A major impact of the Thirty Years' War was the extensive France was nearly surrounded by territory
destruction of entire regions, denuded by the foraging controlled by the two Habsburg states (Spain and
armies (bellum se ipsum alet). Episodes of famine and the Holy Roman Empire), and was eager to exert
disease significantly decreased the populace of the German its power against the weaker German states; this
states, Bohemia, the Low Countries and Italy, while dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led
bankrupting most of the combatant powers. While the to Catholic France's participation on the
regiments within each army were not strictly mercenary in otherwise Protestant side of the war.
that they were not guns for hire that changed sides from Sweden and Denmark were interested in gaining
battle to battle, the individual soldiers that made up the control over northern German states bordering the
regiments for the most part probably were. The problem of Baltic Sea.
discipline was made more difficult still by the ad hoc
nature of 17th-century military financing. Armies were The Holy Roman Empire was a fragmented collection of
expected to be largely self-funding from loot taken or largely independent states. The position of Holy Roman
tribute extorted from the settlements where they operated. Emperor was mainly titular, but the emperors, from the
This encouraged a form of lawlessness that imposed often House of Habsburg, also directly ruled a large portion of
severe hardship on inhabitants of the occupied territory. Imperial territory (the Archduchy of Austria, as well as
Some of the quarrels that provoked the war went Bohemia and Hungary). The Austrian domain was thus a
unresolved for a much longer time. The Thirty Years' War major European power in its own right, ruling over some
was ended with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, eight million subjects. The Empire also contained several
part of the wider Peace of Westphalia.12 regional powers, such as Bavaria, Electoral Saxony, the
Margravate of Brandenburg, the Palatinate, Hesse, the
Origins of the War Archbishopric of Trier and Württemberg (containing from
The Peace of Augsburg (1555), signed by Charles V, Holy 500,000 to one million inhabitants). A vast number of
Roman Emperor, confirmed the result of the 1526 Diet of minor independent duchies, free cities, abbeys, prince-
Speyer, ending war between German Lutherans and bishoprics, and petty lordships (whose authority
Catholics.13 sometimes extended to no more than a single village)
Rulers of the 225 German states could choose the rounded out the Empire. Apart from Austria and perhaps
religion (Lutheranism or Catholicism) of their Bavaria, none of those entities was capable of national-
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level politics; alliances between family-related states were Catholics into banding together to form the Catholic
common, due partly to the frequent practice of splitting a League in 1609, under the leadership of Duke Maximilian.
lord's inheritance among the various sons.
Religious tensions remained strong throughout the second
half of the 16th century. The Peace of Augsburg began to
unravel, as some converted bishops refused to give up
their bishoprics, and as certain Habsburg and other
Catholic rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain
sought to restore the power of Catholicism in the region.
This was evident from the Cologne War (1583–88), a
conflict initiated when the prince-archbishop of the city,
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, converted to
Calvinism. As he was an imperial elector, this could have
produced a Protestant majority in the College that elected
the Holy Roman Emperor – a position that had always
been held by a Catholic.
In the Cologne War, Spanish troops expelled the former
prince-archbishop and replaced him with Ernst of Bavaria,
a Roman Catholic. After this success, the Catholics
regained pace, and the principle of cuius regio, eius religio
began to be exerted more strictly in Bavaria, Würzburg
and other states. This forced Lutheran residents to choose
between conversion or exile. Lutherans also witnessed the
defection of the lords of the Palatinate (1560), Nassau
(1578), Hesse-Kassel (1603) and Brandenburg (1613) to
the new Calvinist faith. Thus, at the beginning of the 17th
century, the Rhine lands and those south to the Danube
were largely Catholic, while Lutherans predominated in
the north, and Calvinists dominated in certain other areas,
such as west-central Germany, Switzerland and the
Netherlands. However, minorities of each creed existed
almost everywhere. In some lordships and cities, the
number of Calvinists, Catholics, and Lutherans were
approximately equal.
Much to the consternation of their Spanish ruling cousins,
the Habsburg emperors who followed Charles V
(especially Ferdinand I and Maximilian II, but also Rudolf
II, and his successor Matthias) were content for the princes
of the Empire to choose their own religious policies. These
rulers avoided religious wars within the empire by
allowing the different Christian faiths to spread without
coercion. This angered those who sought religious
uniformity.16 Meanwhile, Sweden and Denmark, both
Lutheran kingdoms, sought to assist the Protestant cause in
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia.
the Empire, and also wanted to gain political and
He urged the Council of Trent to approve Communion in
economic influence there, as well.
Both kinds for German and Bohemian Catholics.
Religious tensions broke into violence in the German free
city of Donauwörth in 1606. There, the Lutheran majority
Tensions escalated further in 1609, with the War of the
barred the Catholic residents of the Swabian town from
Jülich succession, which began when John William, Duke
holding a procession, which provoked a riot. This
of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, the ruler of the strategically
prompted foreign intervention by Duke Maximilian of
important United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, died
Bavaria (1573–1651) on behalf of the Catholics. After the
childless.18 There were two rival claimants to the duchy:
violence ceased, Calvinists in Germany (who remained a
(1) Duchess Anna of Prussia, daughter of Duke John
minority) felt the most threatened. They banded together
William's eldest sister, Marie Eleonore of Cleves, and who
and formed the League of Evangelical Union in 1608,
was married to John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg;
under the leadership of the Palatine Prince-Elector
and (2) Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg,
Frederick IV (1583–1610), (whose son, Frederick V,
who was the son of Duke John William's second eldest
married Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of James I of
sister, Anna. Duchess Anna of Prussia claimed Jülich-
England).17 The establishment of the League prompted the
Cleves-Berg as the heir to the senior line, while Wolfgang
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William, Count Palatine of Neuburg claimed Jülich- The background of the Dutch Revolt is also necessary to
Cleves-Berg as Duke John William's eldest male heir. understanding the events leading up to the Thirty Years'
Both claimants were Protestants. In 1610, to prevent war War. It was widely known that the Twelve Years' Truce
between the rival claimants, the forces of Rudolf II, Holy was set to expire in 1621, and throughout Europe it was
Roman Emperor occupied Jülich-Cleves-Berg until the recognized that at that time, Spain would attempt to
dispute was decided by the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat). reconquer the Dutch Republic. At that time, forces under
However, several Protestant princes feared the Emperor, a Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases, the
devout Catholic, intended to keep Jülich-Cleves-Berg for Genoese commander of the Spanish army, would be able
himself to prevent the United Duchies falling into to pass through friendly territories to reach the Dutch
Protestant hands.18 Representatives of Henry IV of France Republic; the only hostile state that stood in his way was
and the Dutch Republic gathered forces to invade Jülich- the Electoral Palatinate.19 (Spinola's preferred route would
Cleves-Berg, but these plans were cut short by the take him through the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of
assassination of Henry IV. Hoping to gain an advantage in Milan, through the Val Telline, around hostile Switzerland
the dispute, Wolfgang William, Count Palatine of Neuburg bypassing along the north shore of Lake Constance, then
converted to Catholicism; John Sigismund, Elector of through Alsace, the Archbishopric of Strasbourg, then
Brandenburg, on the other hand, converted to Calvinism through the Electoral Palatinate, and then finally through
(although Duchess Anna of Prussia stayed Lutheran).18 the Archbishopric of Trier, Jülich and Berg and on to the
The dispute was settled in 1614 with the Treaty of Xanten, Dutch Republic).19 The Electoral Palatinate thus assumed a
by which the United Duchies were dismantled: Jülich and strategic importance in European affairs out of all
Berg were awarded to Wolfgang William, while the proportion to its size. This explains why the Protestant
Elector of Brandenburg gained Cleves, Mark, and James I of England arranged for the marriage of his
Ravensberg. daughter Elizabeth Stuart to Frederick V, Elector Palatine
in 1612, in spite of the social convention that a princess
would only marry another royal.
By 1617, it was apparent that Matthias, Holy Roman
Emperor and King of Bohemia, would die without an heir,
with his lands going to his nearest male relative, his cousin
Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria, heir-apparent and
Crown Prince of Bohemia. With the Oñate treaty, Philip
III of Spain agreed to this succession.
Ferdinand, having been educated by the Jesuits, was a
staunch Catholic who wanted to impose religious
uniformity on his lands. This made him highly unpopular
in Protestant (primarily Hussite) Bohemia. The
population's sentiments notwithstanding, the added insult
of the nobility's rejection of Ferdinand, who had been
elected Bohemian Crown Prince in 1617, triggered the
Thirty Years' War in 1618, when his representatives were
thrown out of a window into a pile of horse manure. The
so-called Defenestration of Prague provoked open revolt
in Bohemia, which had powerful foreign allies. Ferdinand
was quite upset by this calculated insult, but his intolerant
policies in his own lands had left him in a weak position.
The Habsburg cause in the next few years would seem to
suffer unrecoverable reverses. The Protestant cause
seemed to wax toward a quick overall victory.
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia.

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Phases separate royal thrones of Bohemia and Hungary.20 Some of
the Protestant leaders of Bohemia feared they would be
losing the religious rights granted to them by Emperor
Rudolf II in his Letter of Majesty. They preferred the
Protestant Frederick V, elector of the Palatinate (successor
of Frederick IV, the creator of the League of Evangelical
Union).21 However, other Protestants supported the stance
taken by the Catholics,22 and in 1617, Ferdinand was duly
elected by the Bohemian estates to become the Crown
Prince, and automatically upon the death of Matthias, the
next King of Bohemia.
The war can be divided into four major phases: The

Bohemian Revolt, the Danish intervention, the Swedish
intervention and the French intervention.
The Bohemian Revolt

1618–1621
Vilem Slavata of Chlum, 1618 enamel on copper, by

follower of Dominicus Custos
The king-elect then sent two Catholic councillors (Vilem

Slavata of Chlum and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice) as his
representatives to Hradčany castle in Prague in May 1618.
Ferdinand had wanted them to administer the government
in his absence. According to legend, the Bohemian
Hussites suddenly seized them, subjected them to a mock
trial, and threw them out of the palace window, which was
some 50 feet off the ground. Remarkably, they survived
unharmed.
This event, known as the (Second) Defenestration of
Prague, started the Bohemian Revolt. Soon afterward, the
Bohemian conflict spread through all of the Lands of the
Contemporary woodcut depicting the Second
Bohemian Crown, including Bohemia, Silesia, Lusatia,
Defenestration of Prague (1618), which marked the
and Moravia. Moravia was already embroiled in a conflict
beginning of the Bohemian Revolt, which began the first
between Catholics and Protestants. The religious conflict
part of the Thirty Years' War.
eventually spread across the whole continent of Europe,
involving France, Sweden, and a number of other
Without heirs, Emperor Matthias sought to assure an
countries.
orderly transition during his lifetime by having his
Had the Bohemian rebellion remained a local conflict, the
dynastic heir (the fiercely Catholic Ferdinand of Styria,
war could have been over in fewer than thirty months.
later Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor) elected to the
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However, the death of Emperor Matthias emboldened the
rebellious Protestant leaders, who had been on the verge of
a settlement. The weaknesses of both Ferdinand (now
officially on the throne after the death of Emperor
Matthias) and of the Bohemians themselves led to the
spread of the war to western Germany. Ferdinand was
compelled to call on his nephew, King Philip IV of Spain,
for assistance.
The Bohemians, desperate for allies against the Emperor,
applied to be admitted into the Protestant Union, which
was led by their original candidate for the Bohemian
throne, the Calvinist Frederick V, Elector Palatine. The
Bohemians hinted Frederick would become King of
Bohemia if he allowed them to join the Union and come
under its protection. However, similar offers were made by
other members of the Bohemian Estates to the Duke of
Savoy, the Elector of Saxony, and the Prince of
Transylvania. The Austrians, who seemed to have
intercepted every letter leaving Prague, made these
duplicities public.23 This unraveled much of the support
for the Bohemians, particularly in the court of Saxony. The
rebellion initially favoured the Bohemians. They were
joined in the revolt by much of Upper Austria, whose
nobility was then chiefly Lutheran and Calvinist. Lower
Austria revolted soon after, and in 1619, Count Thurn led
an army to the walls of Vienna itself.
Ottoman support
Frederick V, Elector Palatine as King of Bohemia, painted

by Gerrit von Honthorst in 1634, two years after the
subject's death.
In the east, the Protestant Hungarian Prince of

Transylvania, Bethlen Gabor, led a spirited campaign into
Hungary with the support of the Ottoman Sultan, Osman
II. Fearful of the Catholic policies of Ferdinand II, Bethlen
Gabor requested a protectorate by Osman, so "the Ottoman
Empire became the one and only ally of great-power status
which the rebellious Bohemian states could muster after
they had shaken off Habsburg rule and had elected
Frederick V as a Protestant king".24 Ambassadors were
exchanged, with Heinrich Bitter visiting Constantinople in
January 1620, and Mehmed Aga visiting Prague in July
1620. The Ottomans offered a force of 60,000 cavalry to
Frederick and plans were made for an invasion of Poland
with 400,000 troops in exchange for the payment of an
annual tribute to the Sultan.25 These negotiations triggered
the Polish–Ottoman War of 1620-21.26 The Ottomans
defeated the Poles, who were supporting the Habsburgs in
the Thirty Years' War, at the Battle of Cecora in
September–October 1620,27 but were not able to further
intervene efficiently before the Bohemian defeat at the
Battle of the White Mountain in November 1620.
Bethlen Gabor requested the support of the Ottoman The emperor, who had been preoccupied with the Uskok
Empire against the Habsburgs. War, hurried to reform an army to stop the Bohemians and
their allies from overwhelming his country. Count
Bucquoy, the commander of the Imperial army, defeated
the forces of the Protestant Union led by Count Mansfeld
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at the Battle of Sablat, on 10 June 1619. This cut off Count This defeat led to the dissolution of the League of
Thurn's communications with Prague, and he was forced to Evangelical Union and the loss of Frederick V's holdings.
abandon his siege of Vienna. The Battle of Sablat also cost Frederick was outlawed from the Holy Roman Empire,
the Protestants an important ally — Savoy, long an and his territories, the Rhenish Palatinate, were given to
opponent of Habsburg expansion. Savoy had already sent Catholic nobles. His title of elector of the Palatinate was
considerable sums of money to the Protestants and even given to his distant cousin, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria.
troops to garrison fortresses in the Rhineland. The capture Frederick, now landless, made himself a prominent exile
of Mansfeld's field chancery revealed the Savoyards' abroad and tried to curry support for his cause in Sweden,
involvement, and they were forced to bow out of the war. the Netherlands and Denmark.
In spite of Sablat, Count Thurn's army continued to exist
as an effective force, and Mansfeld managed to reform his
army further north in Bohemia. The Estates of Upper and
Lower Austria, still in revolt, signed an alliance with the
Bohemians in early August. On 17 August 1619,
Ferdinand was officially deposed as King of Bohemia and
was replaced by the Palatine Elector Frederick V. In
Hungary, even though the Bohemians had reneged on their
offer of their crown, the Transylvanians continued to make
surprising progress. They succeeded in driving the
Emperor's armies from that country by 1621.
1621–1625
Contemporary painting showing the Battle of White

Mountain (1620), where imperial forces under Johan
Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly won a decisive victory.
Don Ambrosio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases,
The Spanish sent an army from Brussels under Ambrosio
commander of the Spanish army.
Spinola to support the Emperor. In addition, the Spanish
ambassador to Vienna, Don Íñigo Vélez de Oñate,
This was a serious blow to Protestant ambitions in the
persuaded Protestant Saxony to intervene against Bohemia
region. As the rebellion collapsed, the widespread
in exchange for control over Lusatia. The Saxons invaded,
confiscation of property and suppression of the Bohemian
and the Spanish army in the west prevented the Protestant
nobility ensured the country would return to the Catholic
Union's forces from assisting. Oñate conspired to transfer
side after more than two centuries of Hussite and other
the electoral title from the Palatinate to the Duke of
religious dissent. The Spanish, seeking to outflank the
Bavaria in exchange for his support and that of the
Dutch in preparation for renewal of the Eighty Years' War,
Catholic League.
took Frederick's lands, the Rhine Palatinate. The first
Under the command of General Philyaw, the Catholic
phase of the war in eastern Germany ended 31 December
League's army (which included René Descartes in its
1621, when the Prince of Transylvania and the Emperor
ranks) pacified Upper Austria, while the Emperor's forces
signed the Peace of Nikolsburg, which gave Transylvania
pacified Lower Austria. The two armies united and moved
a number of territories in Royal Hungary.
north into Bohemia. Ferdinand II decisively defeated
Frederick V at the Battle of White Mountain, near Prague,
Some historians regard the period from 1621–1625 as a
on 8 November 1620. In addition to becoming Catholic,
distinct portion of the Thirty Years' War, calling it the
Bohemia would remain in Habsburg hands for nearly three
"Palatinate phase". With the catastrophic defeat of the
hundred years.
Protestant army at White Mountain and the departure of
the Prince of Transylvania, greater Bohemia was pacified.
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However, the war in the Palatinate continued: Famous
mercenary leaders - such as, particularly, Count Ernst von
Mansfeld - helped Frederick V to defend his countries, the
Upper and the Rhine Palatinate. This phase of the war
consisted of much smaller battles, mostly sieges conducted
by the Spanish army. Mannheim and Heidelberg fell in
1622, and Frankenthal was taken two years later, thus
leaving the Palatinate in the hands of the Spanish.
Philip IV, King of Spain, equestrian portrait painted by Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, commander of the
Diego Velázquez. Bavarian and Imperial armies.
The remnants of the Protestant armies, led by Count Ernst Huguenot rebellions (1620-1628)
von Mansfeld and Duke Christian of Brunswick, withdrew
into Dutch service. Although their arrival in the
Netherlands did help to lift the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom
(October 1622), the Dutch could not provide permanent
shelter for them. They were paid off and sent to occupy
neighboring East Friesland. Mansfeld remained in the
Dutch Republic, but Christian wandered off to "assist" his
kin in the Lower Saxon Circle, attracting the attentions of
Tilly. With the news that Mansfeld would not be
supporting him, Christian's army began a steady retreat
toward the safety of the Dutch border. On 6 August 1623,
Tilly's more disciplined army caught up with them 10
miles short of the Dutch border. The battle that ensued was
known as the Battle of Stadtlohn. In this battle, Tilly
decisively defeated Christian, wiping out over four-fifths
of his army, which had been some 15,000 strong. After
this catastrophe, Frederick V, already in exile in The
Hague, and under growing pressure from his father-in-law,
James I, to end his involvement in the war, was forced to
abandon any hope of launching further campaigns. The
Protestant rebellion had been crushed.
Cardinal Richelieu at the Siege of La Rochelle against the
Huguenots, Henri Motte, 1881.
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indirectly led to the assassination of the English leader the
Duke of Buckingham), and also due to the lack of funds
for war, which stemmed from internal conflict between
Charles I and his Parliament, England stopped being
involved in European affairs, to the dismay of Protestant
forces on the continent.29 France remained the largest
Catholic kingdom unaligned with the Habsburg powers,
and would later actively wage war against Spain. The
French Crown's response to the Huguenot rebellion was
not so much a representation of the typical religious
polarisation of the Thirty Years' War, but rather the
attempts at achieving national hegemony by absolutist
monarchy.
Danish intervention (1625–1629)
Count-Duke of Olivares, favourite and minister of Philip

IV, painted by Diego Velázquez.
In France, the Protestant Huguenots, mainly located in the

southwestern provinces, revolted against the central Royal
power of the French government. The uprising followed
the death of Henry IV, who, himself originally a Huguenot
before converting to Catholicism, had protected
Protestants through the Edict of Nantes. The new ruler
however, Louis XIII, under the regency of his Italian
Catholic mother, Marie de' Medici, became more
intolerant of the Protestant religion. The Huguenots tried
to respond by defending themselves, establishing
independent political and military structures, establishing
diplomatic contacts with foreign powers, and openly King Christian IV of Denmark, General of the Lutheran
revolting against central power. The Huguenot rebellions army.
came after two decades of internal peace under Henry IV,
following the intermittent French Wars of Religion of Peace in the Empire was short-lived, however, as conflict
1562–1598. The rebellion led to major military encounters, resumed at the initiation of Denmark. Danish involvement,
which ended in defeat for the Huguenots: the Siege of referred to as Low Saxon War or Kejserkrigen
Montauban in 1621, the Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de- ("Emperor's War"),30 began when Christian IV of
Ré on 27 October 1622, the Capture of Ré island in 1625, Denmark, a Lutheran who was also the Duke of Holstein,
and the Siege of La Rochelle in 1627-1628 which became a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, helped the
an international conflict with the involvement of England Lutheran rulers of neighbouring Lower Saxony by leading
in the Anglo-French War (1627-1629). The House of an army against the Imperial forces.31 Denmark had feared
Stuart in England had been involved in attempts to secure that its sovereignty as a Protestant nation was threatened
peace in Europe (through the Spanish Match) and had by the recent Catholic successes. Christian IV had also
intervened in the war against both Spain and France. profited greatly from his policies in northern Germany. For
However, due in part to the scale of the defeat (which instance, in 1621, Hamburg had been forced to accept
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Danish sovereignty and Christian's second son was made some months later of illness, apparently tuberculosis, in
bishop of Bremen. Christian IV had obtained for his Dalmatia.
kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually Wallenstein's army marched north, occupying
unmatched elsewhere in Europecitation needed. This stability Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and ultimately Jutland itself.
and wealth was paid for by tolls on the Oresund and also However, he was unable to take the Danish capital on the
by extensive war reparations from Sweden.32 Denmark's island of Zealand. Wallenstein lacked a fleet, and neither
cause was aided by France which, together with England, the Hanseatic ports nor the Poles would allow an Imperial
had agreed to help subsidize the war. Christian had himself fleet to be built on the Baltic coast. He then laid siege to
appointed war leader of the Lower Saxon Circle and raised Stralsund, the only belligerent Baltic port with the
an army of 20,000 mercenaries and a national army 15,000 facilities to build a large fleet. However, the cost of
strong. continuing the war was exorbitant compared to what could
possibly be gained from conquering the rest of Denmark. 35
Wallenstein feared to lose his North German gains to a
Danish-Swedish alliance, and Christian IV had suffered
another defeat in the Battle of Wolgast, so both were ready
to negotiate.36
Negotiations were concluded with the Treaty of Lübeck in
1629, which stated that Christian IV could keep his control
over Denmark if he would abandon his support for the
Protestant German states. Thus, in the following two years
more land was subjugated by the Catholic powers. At this
point, the Catholic League persuaded Ferdinand II to take
back the Lutheran holdings that were, according to the
Peace of Augsburg, rightfully the possession of the
Catholic Church. Enumerated in the Edict of Restitution
(1629), these possessions included two Archbishoprics,
sixteen bishoprics, and hundreds of monasteries. The same
year, Gabriel Bethlen, the Calvinist Prince of
Transylvania, died. Only the port of Stralsund continued to
hold out against Wallenstein and the Emperor.
Swedish intervention (1630–1635)
Catholic General Albrecht von Wallenstein.
To fight him, Ferdinand II employed the military help of

Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Bohemian nobleman who had
made himself rich from the confiscated estates of his
countrymen.33 Wallenstein pledged his army, which
numbered between 30,000 and 100,000 soldiers, to
Ferdinand II in return for the right to plunder the captured
territories. Christian, who knew nothing of Wallenstein's
forces when he invaded, was forced to retire before the
combined forces of Wallenstein and Tilly. Christian's poor
luck was with him again when all of the allies he thought
he had were forced aside: England was weak and
internally divided, France was in the midst of a civil war,
Sweden was at war with the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth, and neither Brandenburg nor Saxony
were interested in changes to the tenuous peace in eastern
Germany. Wallenstein defeated Mansfeld's army at the
Battle of Dessau Bridge (1626) and General Tilly defeated
the Danes at the Battle of Lutter (1626).34 Mansfeld died
WAB Forum 11 v 0.1

of the lost Protestant territory. During his campaign he
managed to conquer half of the Imperial kingdoms.
Swedish forces entered the Holy Roman Empire via the
Duchy of Pomerania, which served as the Swedish
bridgehead since the Treaty of Stettin (1630). After
dismissing Wallenstein in 1630, Ferdinand II became
dependent on the Catholic League. Gustavus Adolphus
allied with France in the Treaty of Bärwalde (January
1631). France and Bavaria signed the secret Treaty of
Fontainebleau (1631), but this was rendered irrelevant by
Swedish attacks against Bavaria. At the Battle of
Breitenfeld (1631), Gustavus Adolphus's forces defeated
the Catholic League led by General Tilly.40 41 A year later
they met again in another Protestant victory, this time
accompanied by the death of Tilly. The upper hand had
now switched from the league to the union, led by
Sweden. In 1630, Sweden had paid at least 2,368,022 daler
for its army of 42,000 men. In 1632, it contributed only
one-fifth of that (476,439 daler) towards the cost of an
army more than three times as large (149,000 men). This
was possible due to subsidies from France, and the
recruitment of prisoners (most of them taken at the Battle
of Breitenfeld) into the Swedish army. The majority of
mercenaries recruited by Gustavus II Adolphus were
German42 but Scottish mercenaries were also common.
With Tilly dead, Ferdinand II returned to the aid of
Wallenstein and his large army. Wallenstein marched up to
the south, threatening Gustavus Adolphus's supply chain.
Gustavus Adolphus knew that Wallenstein was waiting for
the attack and was prepared, but found no other option.
Wallenstein and Gustavus Adolphus clashed in the Battle
of Lützen (1632), where the Swedes prevailed, but
Gustavus Adolphus was killed.
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain, commander of the

Spanish and Imperial armies.
Some within Ferdinand II's court did not trust Wallenstein,

believing that he sought to join forces with the German
Princes and thus gain influence over the Emperor.
Ferdinand II dismissed Wallenstein in 1630. He was to
later recall him after the Swedes, led by King Gustaf II
Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus), had invaded the Holy Roman
Empire with success and turned the tables on the
Catholics. His contributions made Sweden the continental
leader of Protestantism until the Swedish Empire ended in
1721.
Gustavus Adolphus, like Christian IV before him, came to
aid the German Lutherans, to forestall Catholic aggression
against their homeland, and to obtain economic influence
in the German states around the Baltic Sea. In addition,
Gustavus was concerned about the growing power of the
Holy Roman Empire. No one knows the exact reason
Gustavus entered the war, which has been widely disputed.
Like Christian IV, Gustavus Adolphus was subsidized by
Cardinal Richelieu, the Chief Minister of Louis XIII of
France, and by the Dutch.39 From 1630 to 1634, Swedish-
led armies drove the Catholic forces back, regaining much Gustavus II Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
WAB Forum 12 v 0.1

The treaty also provided for the union of the army of the
Emperor and the armies of the German states into a single
army of the Holy Roman Empire (although Johann Georg
of Saxony and Maximillian of Bavaria kept, as a practical
matter, independent command of their forces, now
nominally components of the "Imperial" army). Finally,
German princes were forbidden from establishing alliances
amongst themselves or with foreign powers, and amnesty
was granted to any ruler who had taken up arms against
the Emperor after the arrival of the Swedes in 1630.
This treaty failed to satisfy France, however, because of
the renewed strength it granted the Habsburgs. France then
entered the conflict, beginning the final period of the
Thirty Years' War. Sweden did not take part in the Peace
of Prague and it continued the war together with France.
Initially after the Peace of Prague, the Swedish army under
Johan Banér was pushed back by the re-inforced Imperial
A model of a section of a pike and shot formation from the
army up north into Germany.
Thirty Years' War on display at the Army Museum in
Stockholm.
French intervention (1635–1648)
Ferdinand II's suspicion of Wallenstein resumed in 1633,
when Wallenstein attempted to arbitrate the differences
between the Catholic and Protestant sides. Ferdinand II
may have feared that Wallenstein would switch sides, and
arranged for his arrest after removing him from command.
One of Wallenstein's soldiers, Captain Devereux, killed
him when he attempted to contact the Swedes in the town
hall of Eger (Cheb) on 25 February 1634. The same year,
the Protestant forces, lacking Gustav's leadership, were
defeated at the First Battle of Nördlingen by the Spanish-
Imperial forces commanded by Cardinal-Infante
Ferdinand.
The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of

Breitenfeld (1631).
By the Spring of 1635, all Swedish resistance in the south

of Germany had ended. After that, the Imperialist and the Although a Catholic clergyman himself, Cardinal
Protestant German sides met for negotiations, producing Richelieu allied France with the Protestants.
the Peace of Prague (1635), which entailed a delay in the
enforcement of the Edict of Restitution for 40 years and
allowed Protestant rulers to retain secularized bishoprics
held by them in 1627. This protected the Lutheran rulers of
northeastern Germany, but not those of the south and west
(whose lands had been occupied by the Imperial or League
armies prior to 1627).
WAB Forum 13 v 0.1

German princes sued for peace with the German emperor,
as Sweden's ability to continue the war alone appeared
doubtful, Richelieu made the decision to enter into direct
war against the Habsburgs. France declared war on Spain
in May 1635 and the Holy Roman Empire in August 1636,
opening offensives against the Habsburgs in Germany and
the Low Countries. France aligned her strategy with the
allied Swedes in Wismar (1636) and Hamburg (1638).
Initially after the Peace of Prague, the Swedish army under
Johan Banér was pushed back by the re-inforced Imperial
army up north into Germany. The pursuit of the Swedish
army led to desertions and other losses in the Imperial
army, and finally they met in the Battle of Wittstock in
1636. The Swedish army under Banér defeated the
Imperial army reversing many of the effects of their defeat
at Nördlingen.
French military efforts met with disaster, and the Spanish
counter-attacked, invading French territory. The Imperial
general Johann von Werth and Spanish commander
Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain ravaged the French
provinces of Champagne, Burgundy and Picardy, and even
threatened Paris in 1636 before being repulsed by
The Battle of Lens, 1648. Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. Bernhard's victory in the Battle
of Compiègne pushed the Habsburg armies back towards
the borders of France. Widespread fighting ensued, with
France, although Roman Catholic, was a rival of the Holy neither side gaining an advantage. In 1642, Cardinal
Roman Empire and Spain. Cardinal Richelieu, the Chief Richelieu died.
Minister of King Louis XIII of France, felt that the After the battle of Wittstock, the Swedish army regained
Habsburgs were too powerful, since they held a number of the initiative in the German campaign. In the Second
territories on France's eastern border, including portions of Battle of Breitenfeld in 1642, outside Leipzig, the Swedish
the Netherlands. Richelieu had already begun intervening Field Marshal Lennart Torstenson, defeated an army of the
indirectly in the war in January 1631, when the French Holy Roman Empire, led by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm
diplomat Hercules de Charnace signed the Treaty of of Austria and his deputy, Prince-General Ottavio
Bärwalde with Gustavus Adolphus, by which France Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi. The Imperial army suffered
agreed to support the Swedes with 1,000,000 livres each 20,000 casualties. In addition, the Swedish army took
year in return for a Swedish promise to maintain an army 5,000 prisoners and seized 46 guns. 4,000 Swedes were
in Germany against the Habsburgs. The treaty also killed or wounded. The battle enabled Sweden to occupy
stipulated that Sweden would not conclude a peace with Saxony. His defeat made Emperor Ferdinand III more
the Holy Roman Emperor without first receiving France's willing to negotiate peace, not only with France, but also
approval. impressed on him the need to include Sweden.
In 1643, Louis XIII died, leaving his five-year-old son
Louis XIV on the throne. French General Louis II de
Bourbon, 4th Prince de Condé, Duc d'Enghien, The Great
Condé defeated the Spanish army at the Battle of Rocroi in
1643. The chief minister of Louis XIII, Cardinal Mazarin,
facing the domestic crisis of the Fronde in 1645, began
working to end the war.
In 1643, Denmark made preparations to again intervene in
the thirty-years war, but on the Imperial side (against
Sweden). The Swedish marshal Lennart Torstenson
expelled Danish prince Frederick from Bremen-Verden,
gaining a stronghold south of Denmark and hindering
Danish participation as mediatiors in the peace talks in
Westphalia.43 Torstensson went on to occupy Jutland, and
after the Royal Swedish Navy under Carl Gustaf Wrangel
inflicted a decisive defeat on the Danish Navy in the battle
Torstenson 1642 of Fehmern Belt in an action of 13 October 1644 forcing
them to sue for peace. With Denmark out of the war,
After the Swedish rout at Nördlingen in September 1634 Torstenson then pursued the Imperial army under Gallas
and the Peace of Prague in 1635 where the Protestant from Jutland in Denmark down to Bohemia. At the Battle
WAB Forum 14 v 0.1

of Jankau near Prague, the Swedish army defeated the of the destruction of civilian lives and property was caused
Imperial army under Gallas and could occupy Bohemian by the cruelty and greed of mercenary soldiers, many of
lands and threaten Prague as well as Vienna. In 1645, whom were rich commanders and poor soldiers.55 Villages
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé defeated the were especially easy prey to the marauding armies. Those
Bavarian army in the Second Battle of Nördlingen. The that survived, like the small village of Drais near Mainz,
last Catholic commander of note, Baron Franz von Mercy, would take almost a hundred years to recover. The
died in the battle.44 Swedish armies alone may have destroyed up to 2,000
On 14 March 1647 Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden castles, 18,000 villages and 1,500 towns in Germany, one-
signed the Truce of Ulm. In 1648 the Swedes (commanded third of all German towns.56 The war caused serious
by Marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel) and the French (led by dislocations to both the economies and populations of
Turenne and Condé) defeated the Imperial army at the central Europe, but may have done no more than seriously
Battle of Zusmarshausen and Lens. The Battle of Prague in exacerbate changes that had begun earlier.
1648 became the last action of the Thirty Years' War. The Pestilence of several kinds raged among combatants and
Swedish general Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, civilians in Germany and surrounding lands from 1618 to
commanding Sweden's flying column, entered the city and 1648. Many features of the war spread disease. These
captured Prague Castle on the western bank of the Vltava included troop movements, the influx of soldiers from
river. These results left only the Imperial territories of foreign countries, and the shifting locations of battle
Austria safely in Habsburg hands. fronts. In addition, the displacement of civilian populations
and the overcrowding of refugees into cities led to both
Peace of Westphalia disease and famine. Information about numerous
Over a four year period, the parties (Holy Roman epidemics is generally found in local chronicles, such as
Emperor, France and Sweden) were actively negotiating at parish registers and tax records, that are often incomplete
Osnabrück and Münster in Westphalia.45 The end of the and may be exaggerated. The chronicles do show that
war was not brought about by one treaty but instead by a epidemic disease was not a condition exclusive to war
group of treaties such as the Treaty of Hamburg. On 15 time, but was present in many parts of Germany for
May 1648, the Peace of Munster was signed ending the several decades prior to 1618.
Eighty Years' War. Over five months later, on 24 October, However, when the Danish and Imperial armies met in
the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück were signed. Saxony and Thuringia during 1625 and 1626, disease and
infection in local communities increased. Local chronicles
repeatedly referred to "head disease", "Hungarian disease",
and a "spotted" disease identified as typhus. After the
Mantuan War, between France and the Habsburgs in Italy,
the northern half of the Italian peninsula was in the throes
of a bubonic plague epidemic (see Italian Plague of 1629–
1631). During the unsuccessful siege of Nuremberg, in
1632, civilians and soldiers in both the Swedish and
Imperial armies succumbed to typhus and scurvy. Two
years later, as the Imperial army pursued the defeated
Swedes into southwest Germany, deaths from epidemics
were high along the Rhine River. Bubonic plague
continued to be a factor in the war. Beginning in 1634,
Dresden, Munich, and smaller German communities such
as Oberammergau recorded large numbers of plague
casualties. In the last decades of the war, both typhus and
Chapelle of Moncourt, the last vestige of a village dysentery had become endemic in Germany.
destroyed during the war.
Political consequences
Casualties and disease One result of the war was the division of Germany into
So great was the devastation brought about by the war that many territories — all of which, despite their membership
estimates put the reduction of population in the German in the Empire, won de facto sovereignty. This limited the
states at about 15% to 30%.48 Some regions were affected power of the Holy Roman Empire and decentralized
much more than others.49 For example, Württemberg lost German power.
three-quarters of its population during the war.50 In the The Thirty Years' War rearranged the European power
territory of Brandenburg, the losses had amounted to half, structure. The last decade of the conflict saw clear signs of
while in some areas an estimated two-thirds of the Spain weakening. While Spain was fighting in France,
population died.51 The male population of the German Portugal — which had been under personal union with
states was reduced by almost half.52 The population of the Spain for 60 years — acclaimed John IV of Braganza as
Czech lands declined by a third due to war, disease, king in 1640, and the House of Braganza became the new
famine and the expulsion of Protestant Czechs.5354 Much dynasty of Portugal (see Portuguese Restoration War, for
further information). Meanwhile, Spain was forced to
WAB Forum 15 v 0.1

accept the independence of the Dutch Republic in 1648, Landsknechts, and ushered in the age of well-disciplined
ending the Eighty Years' War. Bourbon France challenged national armies.
Habsburg Spain's supremacy in the Franco-Spanish War
(1635-59); gaining definitive ascendancy in the War of
Devolution (1667–68), and the Franco-Dutch War (1672–
78), under the leadership of Louis XIV.
Central Europe at the end of the Thirty Years' War,

showing the fragmentation that resulted in
decentralization.
The war also had consequences abroad, as the European

powers extended their fight via naval power to overseas
colonies. In 1630, a Dutch fleet of 70 ships had taken the
Reduction in Germany's population as a percentage rich sugar-exporting areas of Pernambuco (Brazil) from
the Portuguese but had lost everything by 1654. Fighting
From 1643–45, during the last years of the Thirty Years' also took place in Africa and Asia. The destruction of the
War, Sweden and Denmark fought the Torstenson War. Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee in 1624 and
The result of that conflict and the conclusion of the great Ketheeswaram temple accompanied an extensive
European war at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 helped campaign of destruction of five hundred Hindu shrines, the
establish post-war Sweden as a force in Europe. Saraswathi Mahal Library and forced conversion to
Roman Catholicism in the Tamil country conducted by the
The edicts agreed upon during the signing of the Peace of Portuguese upon their conquest of the Jaffna kingdom. The
Westphalia were instrumental in laying the foundations for country witnessed battles of the Thirty Years' War and
what are even today considered the basic tenets of the general hostilities of the Eighty Years' War; Phillip II and
sovereign nation-state. Aside from establishing fixed III of Portugal and later the Dutch and English used forts
territorial boundaries for many of the countries involved in built from the destroyed temples, including Fort Fredrick
the ordeal (as well as for the newer ones created in Trincomalee, to fight sea battles with the Dutch, Danish,
afterwards), the Peace of Westphalia changed the the French and English which saw the beginning of the
relationship of subjects to their rulers. In earlier times, loss of the sovereign Tamil nation-state on the island.6162
people had tended to have overlapping political and
religious loyalties. Now, it was agreed that the citizenry of Source:
a respective nation were subjected first and foremost to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War
laws and whims of their own respective government rather
than to those of neighboring powers, be they religious or
secular.
The war also has a few more subtle consequences. The
Thirty Years' War marked the last major religious war in
mainland Europe, ending the large-scale religious
bloodshed accompanying the Reformation, which had
begun over a century before. There were other religious
conflicts in the years to come, but no great wars. 60 Also,
the destruction caused by mercenary soldiers defied
description (see Schwedentrunk). The war did much to end
the age of mercenaries that had begun with the first
WAB Forum 16 v 0.1

INFANTRY
ARMY LISTS
PEASANTS
V/16. WALLACHIAN OR MOLDAVIAN (1500-1648) AND Levy
TRANSYLVANIAN (1533-1629AD) 4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 5 3
Equipment: Hand weapon

CHARACTERS: Up to 25%
May have halberd (+1), double-handed weapon (+2) or javelins (+1)
CAVALRY: Up to 50%
Special Rules: Levies
INFANTRY: At least 25%
ALLIES: Up to 25%
ARMOURED VOYNUKS
CHARACTERS Voynuk 4 4 3 3 3 1 4 1 7 14
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, halberd
General 4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 May have shield (+1), partial or full plate armour (+2/+3)
Sub-Gen. 4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85 May be Stubborn (+2), Drilled (+2) and Veterans (+2)
Ally-Gen. Special Rules: Only before 1606AD
4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140
ARCHERS
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10 Archer 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 6
(+50). One sub-commander can be designated as Army Standard Bearer
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- Equipment: Hand weapon, bow
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied May have light armour (+2). May have BS4 and Ld7 (+4)
contingent. May ride a horse (+8, M8). Special Rules: Light Infantry, Only before 1606AD
CAVALRY MERCENARY CROSSBOWMEN

RICH BOYARS Crossbowman 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
Horseman 8 4 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 24 Equipment: Hand weapon, crossbow. May have light armour (+2).
Special Rules: Light Infantry, Only before 1606AD
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear
May have shield (+2) and cloth (+4) or plate (+6) barding. MERCENARY ARQUEBUSIERS
Special Rules: Ferocious Charge, May count rank bonus up to +1 M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Arquebusier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
LESSER BOYARS AND VITEJI
Equipment: Hand weapon, handgun.
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 24
May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
Special Rules: Light Infantry, Only before 1606AD
Equipment: Hand weapon, bow, light armour
May have shield (+2)
TRANSYLVANIAN HAIDUKS
Until 1533AD: May upgrade to Expert Horsemen (+2) and Feigned
Flight (+2)
Arquebusier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
After 1533AD: Downgrade to BS3 and Ld6 (-4)
Special Rules: Skirmishers
SZEKELERS May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Special Rules: Only after 1606AD
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 24
TRANSYLVANIAN PEASANT HORDES
Equipment: Hand weapon, bow, light armour M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
May have shield (+2). Arquebusier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 8
May upgrade to Expert Horsemen (+2) and Feigned Flight (+2)
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Only from 1606AD Equipment: Hand weapon, handgun.
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Only from 1606AD
MERCENARY CUIRASSIERS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts WALLACHIAN SEIMENI
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26 M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Dragoon 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 11
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols
May be Veterans (+2)
Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, handgun.
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only from 1606AD Special Rules: Dragoons, Only from 1606AD
MOUNTED HARQUBUSIERS
WALLACHIAN DOROBANTI
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22
Arquebusier 4 2 4 3 3 1 3 1 8 14
May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3) Equipment: Hand weapon, handgun.
Special Rules: Only from 1606AD May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: Only from 1606AD
WAB Forum 17 v 0.1

MERCENARY PIKEMEN
Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.

May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only from 1606AD
MERCENARY MUSKETEERS
Musketeer 4 2 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 15
Equipment: Hand weapon, musket.

Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only 0-1 per two Mercenary pikemen units
0-2 FIELD GUNS

ALLIES
Ottoman Allies, V/9

Only Moldavians: Crimean Tartar Allies, V/36
Only Moldavians: Polish Allies, V/35
WAB Forum 18 v 0.1

V/75. DUTCH REBELLION (1568-1648AD) INFANTRY
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% BURGHER GUARD

CAVALRY: Up to 50% M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
INFANTRY: At least 25% Burgher 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 8
ALLIES: Up to 25%
Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, buckler
May have heavy armour (+2)
CHARACTERS
DUTCH LEVIES
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
General 4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 Arquebusier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
Sub-Gen. 4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Ally-Gen. Equipment: Hand weapon, handgun.
4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140 May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: Only in 1568AD
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10 GERMAN LANDSKNECHT PIKEMEN
(+50). One sub-commander can be designated as Army Standard Bearer M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied
contingent. May ride a horse (+8, M8). Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only before 1577AD
CAVALRY
GERMAN LANDSKNECHT ARQUEBUSIERS
GERMAN REITERS M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Arquebusier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear , pistols May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Only after 1622AD: Have musket instead of handgun (+1)
Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only 0-1 per two Landsknecht pikemen units
CARABINS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts DUTCH, ENGLISH, SCOTS OR WALLOON FOOT
Trooper 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 8
Equipment: Hand weapon, carbines
May have light (+2) or heavy armour (+3) Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Feigned Flight May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
The first rank may be armed with handgun (+2) or musket (+3)
DUTCH, ENGLISH AND SCOTS DEMI-LANCERS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts DRAGOONS
Dragoon 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, shield, lance
Special Rules: Ferocious Charge and may have a +1 rank bonus if
mounted, Only from 1577AD Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines.
Special Rules: Dragoons, Only 1606-1621AD
HUGUENOT VOLUNTEERS
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26 ALLIES
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Only 1585-1594AD: English Allies, V/71
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only from 1577AD
CUIRASSIERS
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26

Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only from 1590AD
WAB Forum 19 v 0.1

V/78. CHRISTIAN IV DANISH (1588-1648AD)
GUARD FIRELOCKS
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
CAVALRY: Up to 25% Guard 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 8 16
INFANTRY: At least 50%
ALLIES: Up to 25% Equipment: Hand weapon, musket.
CHARACTERS Special Rules: Firelocks, Only from 1625AD
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts 0-1 DRAGOONS

General M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 Dragoon
Sub-Gen. 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Ally-Gen. 4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140 Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines
May have heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: Dragoons, Only from 1625AD
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- ALLIES
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied
contingent. Only in 1626AD: Transylvanian Allies, V/16
Only in 1626AD: Mansfeld Allies, V/85
CAVALRY Only in 1644AD: Imperialist Allies, V/84
CUIRASSIERS AND CHEVAUX LÈGERS

Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26

Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols
CARABINS
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22

May have light (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Feigned Flight, Only before 1614AD
GERMAN MERCENARY REITERS

Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear, pistols

Special Rules: Light Cavalry
HARQUEBUSIERS
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26

Only after 1632AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2)
Only Saxony or Baden: Upgrade to BS4, Ld8 and no spear (+3), may be
Veterans (+2)
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only after 1614AD
INFANTRY
FOOT
Trooper 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 8
Equipment: Hand weapon, pike. Up to half may have handgun (+5).

Only from 1625AD: Up to half may have musket (+7)
Special Rules: Combinded Formation
0-3 FIELD GUNS
WAB Forum 20 v 0.1

V/79. FRENCH THIRTY YEARS WAR (1600-1648AD) VIEUX CORPS
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% Trooper 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 7
CAVALRY: Up to 25%
INFANTRY: At least 50% Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
ALLIES: Up to 25% May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
The first rank may be armed with handgun (+3)
Only after 1622AD: The first rank may be armed with musket (+4)
CHARACTERS Only from 1637AD: Upgrade to Ld7 (+1)
Special Rules: Combined Formation
General 4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 0-3 FIELD GUNS
Sub-Gen. 4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Ally-Gen. 4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140
DRAGOONS
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour Dragoon 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- May have heavy armour (+3).
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied Special Rules: Dragoons
contingent.
BERNARDINE FOOT
CAVALRY M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Trooper 5 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 6 8
CHEVAUX LÈGERS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 25 May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Special Rules: Combined Formation , Only 1636-1645AD
May be Veterans (+2).
May downgrade to BS3 (-2) NEW FOOT
Only from 1637AD: Upgrade to WS4 (+2) M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Trooper 5 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 10
CARABINS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22 May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
The first rank may be armed with musket (+6)
Equipment: Hand weapon, carbines May be Veterans (+2)
May have light (+2) or heavy armour (+3) Special Rules: Combined Formation , Only from 1636AD
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Feigned Flight
GENDARMES ALLIES
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26 Only until 1636AD: Venetian Allies, V/4
Only from 1637AD: Swedish Allies, V/88
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Only from 1637AD: Dutch Allies, V/75
May be Veterans (+2) Only from 1637AD: Hesse-Kassel Allies, V/85
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only until 1636AD
BERNARDINE CAVALRY
Horseman 8 4 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 26

Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only 1636-1645AD
INFANTRY
GARDES
Guard 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 9

Only after 1622AD: The first rank may be armed with musket (+6)
Special Rules: Combined Formation
WAB Forum 21 v 0.1

V/84. GERMAN CATHOLIC (1609-1648AD) CARACOLING HARQUEBUSIERS
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22
CAVALRY: Up to 25% Equipment: Hand weapon, pistols
INFANTRY: At least 50% May have light (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
ALLIES: Up to 25% Only after 1632AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2)
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Feigned Flight, Only after 1616AD
CHARACTERS
INFANTRY
General DRAGOONS
4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Sub-Gen. 4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85 Dragoon 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
Ally-Gen. 4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140 Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour May have heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10 Special Rules: Dragoons
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- MUSKETEERS
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
contingent. Musketeer 4 2 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 15
Equipment: Hand weapon, musket.
CAVALRY May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
After 1632AD: May have Swinefeathers (+20, count as Stakes)
CUIRASSIERS Special Rules: Pike&Shot
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26 PIKEMEN
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
May be Veterans (+2) Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
Only until 1632AD: May have WS4 instead of BS4, lance, Ferocious Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Charge and may count rank bonus up to +1 instead of Light Cavalry (+2) May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Only after 1632AD: Downgrade to Ld7 (-2) Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only 0-1 per two musketeer units
CARACOLING REITERS 0-4 FIELD GUNS

Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear, pistols TARGETEERS
Only after 1632AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2) M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Targeteer 4 4 3 3 3 1 4 1 8 14
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, halberd
CARABINS May have plate armour (+2)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts May be Stubborn (+2), Drilled (+2) and Veterans (+2)
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22 Special Rules: Only if Imperial or combined
May have light (+2) or heavy armour (+3) GRENZER
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Feigned Flight, Only until 1616AD M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Arquebusier 4 2 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 13
BAVARIAN CUIRASSIERS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Equipment: Hand weapon, handgun.
Horseman 8 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 28 May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3)
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Special Rules: Skirmishers, Only if Imperial Eastern Frontier
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only if Bavarian-led LEVY WITH MORGENSTERN OR HALBERD
CatholicLeague or combined M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Levy 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
CROAT Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, halberd
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Special Rules: Only if Imperial Eastern Frontier
Horseman 8 4 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 25
Equipment: Hand weapon, lance.May have light armour (+2)
Special Rules: Feigned Flight, Only if Imperial or combined 0-4 BATTALION GUNS
Special Rules: Only after 1632AD
POLISH COSSACKS
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 20 ALLIES
Equipment: Hand weapon, thrusting spear, bow
Special Rules: Feigned Flight, Only if Imperial or combined Spanish Allies, V/72
HUNGARIAN HUSSARS
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 25
Equipment: Hand weapon, lance, bow. May have light armour (+2)
Special Rules: Feigned Flight, Only if Imperial Eastern Frontier
WAB Forum 22 v 0.1

V/85. GERMAN PROTESTANT (1609-1648AD) INFANTRY
CHARACTERS: Up to 25% DRAGOONS

INFANTRY: At least 50% Dragoon 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
ALLIES: Up to 25%
Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines
CHARACTERS Special Rules: Dragoons
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts MUSKETEERS
General 4 5 5 4 4 3 5 2 9 150 M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Sub-Gen. Musketeer 4 2 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 15
4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Ally-Gen. 4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140 Equipment: Hand weapon, musket.
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour Only Saxony in 1631AD: Downgrade to BS3 (-3)
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10 Special Rules: Pike&Shot
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- PIKEMEN
General acts as Army General but only for units from his allied M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
contingent. Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9

CAVALRY May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Only Hesse-Kassel from 1631AD: Only 0-1 per two units of musketeers
CUIRASSIERS Only Saxony in 1631AD: Downgrade to Ld6 (-2)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Special Rules: Pike&Shot, Only 0-1 per unit of musketeer
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols 0-4 FIELD GUNS

Only until 1632AD: May have WS4 instead of BS4, lance, Ferocious
Charge and may count rank bonus up to +1 instead of Light Cavalry (+2) OUTRAGED PEASANTS
Only after 1632AD: Downgrade to Ld7 (-2) M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Levy 5 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 5 3
CARACOLING REITERS OR HARQUEBUSIERS Equipment: Hand weapon

M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Special Rules: Levies
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26
BOHEMIAN RAW LEVY FOOT
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear, pistols M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Only after 1632AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2) Levy 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 4
Only Saxony or Baden: Upgrade to BS4, Ld8 and no spear (+3), may be
Veterans (+2) Equipment: Hand weapon. Up to half may have handgun (+3).
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Special Rules: Levies, Combinded Formation, Only Bohemian Revolt
from 1618-1623AD
DUTCH CAVALRY
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts MOUNTED JÄGER
Dragoon 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 14
Up to half may have BS and WS3 placed in the rear ranks
Special Rules: Pistols, Only Bohemian Revolt from 1618-1623AD Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, carbines
HUNGARIAN HUSSARS Special Rules: Dragoons, Only Hesse-Kassel from 1631AD
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 25 0-1 GRENADIERS
Equipment: Hand weapon, lance, bow. May have light armour (+2) Grenadier 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 12
Special Rules: Feigned Flight, Only Bohemian Revolt from 1618-
1623AD Equipment: Hand weapon, Grenadoe
Grenadoe: Grenadoe template
FEUDAL HORSE Special Rules: Skirmishers, Only Hesse-Kassel from 1631AD
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22
0-1 WAGON TABOR
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Special Rules: Only Saxony or Baden
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only Saxony in 1631AD
ALLIES
Only Bohemian Revolt from 1618-1623AD: Transylvanian Allies, V/16

WAB Forum 23 v 0.1

V/86. EARLY GUSTAVIAN SWEDISH (1618-1629AD) INFANTRY


CHARACTERS May have heavy armour (+3). May be Veterans (+2)
Special Rules: Dragoons
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts MOUNTED JÄGER

Sub-Gen. Dragoon 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 8 16
4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour May have heavy armour (+3). May be Veterans (+2)
Special Rules: General is Army General and may be upgraded to Ld10 Special Rules: Dragoons
(+50. One sub-commander can be designated as Army Standard Bearer
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. May ride a SWEDISH AND FINNISH MUSKETEERS AND CALIVERMEN
horse (+8, M8). M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Musketeer 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 15
CAVALRY Equipment: Hand weapon, musket. May have light armour (+2)
0-1 SWEDISH ADELSFANA CUIRASSIERS Special Rules: Pike&Shot
Mounted 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 25 SWEDISH AND FINNISH SUPPORTING PIKEMEN
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
LANDSRYTTARE May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Only after 1626AD: Upgrade to WS4 (+3) and my be stubborn (+2)
Mounted 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 24 Special Rules: Pike&Shot, 0-1 per unit of Musketeers or Calivermen
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols FINISH SKIRMISHERS
Only after 1621AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2). May be Veterans (+2) M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Special Rules: Light Cavalry Skirmisher 4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 6
FINNISH “HACKAPELLS”
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Equipment: Hand weapon, bow
Mounted 8 4 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 26 May have crossbow or handgun instead of bow (+3)
Special Rules: Skirmishers
Only after 1600AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2). May be Veterans (+2) GERMAN AND SCOTS MERCENARY FOOT
Special Rules: Light Cavalry M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
Trooper 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
LIVONIAN CUIRASSIERS
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts Equipment: Hand weapon, pike. May have light armour (+2) or heavy
Horseman 8 3 4 3 3 1 4 1 8 26 armour (+3). The first rank may be armed with handgun (+4)
Only after 1626AD: Upgrade to WS4 (+3) and my be stubborn (+2)
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols Special Rules: Combined Formation
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Only after 1621AD
0-3 FIELD GUNS
GERMAN MERCENARY REITERS
Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26

Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Only after 1622AD
GERMAN MERCENARY HARQUEBUSIERS

Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 22

WAB Forum 24 v 0.1

V/88. SWEDISH THIRTY YEARS WAR (1630-1648AD) INFANTRY

ALLIES: Up to 25%
May have heavy armour (+3). May be Veterans (+2)
CHARACTERS Special Rules: Dragoons
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts 0-1 MOUNTED JÄGER

Sub-Gen. Dragoon 8 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 8 16
4 5 5 4 3 2 5 2 8 85
Ally-Gen. 4 5 5 4 4 2 5 2 8 140 Equipment: Hand weapon, light armour, handgun.
May have heavy armour (+3). May be Veterans (+2)
Equipment: Hand weapon, shield, light armour Special Rules: Dragoons
(+50). One sub-commander can be designated as Army Standard Bearer MUSKETEERS
(+15) and one as Army General (+25) if no General is taken. The Ally- M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts
General acts as Army General. Musketeer 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 15
Equipment: Hand weapon, musket. May have light armour (+2)

CAVALRY May be Veterans (+2)
Special Rules: Pike&Shot
SWEDISH LÄTTA RYTTARE
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts PIKEMEN
Pikeman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 9
May be Veterans (+2) Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.
Only from 1635AD: Upgrade to WS4 (+2) May have light armour (+2) or heavy armour (+3).
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols Only until 1634AD: May upgrade to WS4 (+2)
Only after 1635AD: Upgrade to M5 (+1)
FINNISH “HACKAPELLS” Special Rules: Pike&Shot, 0-1 per unit of Musketeers or Calivermen
Horseman 8 4 4 3 3 1 3 1 7 28
0-2 BATTALION GUNS
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols 0-3 FIELD GUNS
LIVONIAN AND GERMAN CUIRASSIERS

M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts RAW REGIMENTS OF MIXED SCOTS AND IRISH
Trooper 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 8
May be Veterans (+2) Equipment: Hand weapon, shield
Only from 1635AD: Downgrade to Ld7 (-2) Special Rules: Warband, Only until 1634AD
GERMAN VETERAN CAVALRY

ALLIES
Horseman 8 4 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 28
Hesse-Kassel Allies, V/85
Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, thrusting spear, pistols Only until 1634AD: Saxon or Brandenburg Allies, V/85
Only from 1635AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2) Only from 1635AD: French Allies, V/79
Special Rules: Light Cavalry, Pistols, Veterans
NEW GERMAN HARQUEBUSIERS AND REITERS

Horseman 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 26

Only from 1635AD: Upgrade to BS4 (+2)
0-1 LAPPS WITH REINDEER OR REINDEER SLEDGES

Skirmisher 8 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6 16
Equipment: Hand weapon, bow

Special Rules: Skirmishers, Only until 1634AD
WAB Forum 25 v 0.1

properties seized by King Ferdinand’s royal throne. None
Battle of White Mountain were as rebellious as the Protestant Hungarian subjects in
Transylvania. However it was Bohemia which became the
first to act on these religious and domestic interests in
fomenting a rebellion. The conflict known as the Second
Defenestration of Prague was a dispute between Bohemian
Nobles and the crown in 1618 over a royal guarantee made
by one of King Ferdinand’s predecessors Rudolf II
ensuring religious freedom throughout Bohemia.4 This
conflict resulted in Bohemian nobles throwing King
Ferdinand’s appointees and his secretary out of a window
in the royal castle in Prague. They survived only because
they fell into a heap of manure thus saving their lives. This
incident sparked a national struggle known as the
Bohemian Revolt.
The Battle of White Mountain, 8 November 1620 (Bílá Battle

hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech) was an The Bohemian estates organized an army of 30,000 men in
early battle in the Thirty Years' War in which an army of determination to fight for their liberties, as they saw them.
30,000 Bohemians and mercenaries under Christian of Ferdinand II set to make an example of this Bohemian
Anhalt were routed by 27,000 men of the combined armies Revolt and countered the Bohemian Army by sending
of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor under Charles 25,000 men, many of them seasoned soldiers, to crush the
Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy and of the revolt. They included the future philosopher Renee
German Catholic League under Johann Tserclaes, Count Descartes. These trained soldiers were under the
of Tilly at Bílá Hora, near Prague (now part of the city).2 leadership of Catholic Spanish-Flemish nobleman, Field
The battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Marshal Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. The army made
Thirty Years' War. straight for Prague, the capital of Bohemia, which was in
the hands of the rebels. The Bohemian army attempted to
block the Imperial army by setting up a defensive position
Prelude on a hill. The Imperial army simply ignored the Bohemian
Emperor Matthias wanted his dynastic heir Ferdinand II army however, and bypassed the hill. Christian of Anhalt
appointed to the royal throne of Bohemia and Hungary. then force-marched the Bohemian army and managed to
Ferdinand was duly elected by the Bohemian estates to get ahead of the Imperial army just before Prague. The
become the Crown Prince in 1617, and automatically upon Bohemian army again tried to set up a defensive position,
the death of Matthias, the next King of Bohemia. This did but had little time, and morale was low. As the Imperial
not sit well throughout the Protestant population in army approached, Tilly divided his men into two distinct
Bohemia because they thought that they would lose the squads: The Imperials and the Catholic League (German)
rights given to them because of the new Catholic King. troops. The Catholics, Ferdinand’s army, pushed forth
Ferdinand II viewed Protestantism as the main problem in without great bombardment of artillery. Anhalt opened the
his realms. King Ferdinand was also the Holy Roman battle by sending forward infantry and cavalry, led by
Emperor and since he held this title he took seriously the Anhalt's son. The cavalry charged into the Imperial
duties which came with it. For him, the preservation of infantry, causing significant casualties. Tilly however,
The Roman Catholic Church was most important as Holy quickly brought up his own Cavalry, forcing the Bohemian
Roman Emperor. He viewed the Protestant political stature cavalry to retire. The Bohemian infantry, who was only
in his realm as an issue involving 'protests' or rebellion now approaching the Imperial army, saw the Cavalry
against imperial authority. He hoped to bring about the retreating, at which they fired one volley at extreme range
conversion of subjects of the Catholic Lords from before retreating themselves. The Catholic Imperial
Protestantism back to the Catholic Church. The dissension Cavalry, amounted to 400 or so, circled the Protestant
within his estates was an ever daunting domestic issue. forces pushing them closer into the middle of the battle.
Most of his realms in Bohemia were primarily Protestant. With the Bohemian army already at a low morale,
These areas under King Ferdinand’s rule were under company after company started retreating, most without
separate individual constitutions thus giving them separate having even entered the battle. With the Protestant forces
regional traditions.3 With the majority of his subjects being steadily diminishing Tilly and his 400 Imperial
of the Protestant faith, they had apprehended their lands cavalrymen moved with the 2000 hussars which the
from the Roman Catholic Church in their initial Bavarians had brought to the battle. Tilly’s men steadily
confiscations of monastic properties at the beginning of pushed the rebel forces back to the Star Palace where the
the Reformation; they were resistant to their newly elected rebels tried to establish a final defence but failed. The
Catholic King and his tendency to favor the centralization Battle of White Mountain was more of a skirmish than a
of their region. Catholicism was no longer proscribed but fully-fledged battle. The Bohemian army was no match for
was being actively promoted and both church and local King Ferdinand II trained soldiers, and the actual battle
WAB Forum 26 v 0.1

only lasted an hour and left the Bohemian army The number of inhabitants decreased from 3 million to
devastated. The Protestant army was non-existent by the 800,000.9 The Thirty Years War had still another 28 years
end of the battle. Some 4,000 Protestants were killed or to run, and Bohemia was often the scene of much
captured. The Catholic losses amounted to roughly 800. bloodshed.
But there was still a strong Protestant army in Silesia
Aftermath under the command of Johann Georg of Hohenzollern,
Duke of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf which continued fighting
the Imperial army in Moravia and in what today is
Slovakia until 1623.
In 1621, the Emperor ordered all Calvinists and other non-
Lutherans to leave the realm in 3 days or to convert to
Catholicism. Next year, he also ordered all Lutherans (who
primarily had not been involved in the revolt) to convert or
leave the country. By 1627, Archbishop Harrach of Prague
and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice set out to peacefully
convert the heretics as they were termed; most Bohemians
converted, but a significant Protestant minority remained.
Spanish troops, seeking to encircle their rebellious Dutch
provinces, seized the Palatinate electoral lands. With the
The 27 tributary crosses. prospect of Protestantism being overrun in Germany,
Denmark entered the struggle. Sweden was to join the
Survivors of the battle soon reached Prague, causing a Protestant forces in 1630.
general panic. Some rebel commanders tried to set up a
defense, but they received little support. Frederick V of
Bohemia and his entourage, leaving the crown jewels
behind, slipped out of Prague quietly, disappearing into the
stream of refugees who were fleeing the imminent
Imperial takeover of Prague. When the Imperial army
arrived, it was able to enter Prague without resistance.
As the victor of the battle, King Ferdinand immediately
turned to his council on questions arising from extravagant
success of the recent battle on the international situation
and on internal (Bohemian and Palatinate) politics.
Ferdinand’s council believed in the centralization of power
in all regions of his lands. It was sought to use the defeat at
the Battle of White Mountain as a defense of his ultimate
goal of centralized power in the Estates of the realm. The
defeat left the estates lacking in self-confidence and left
them without any defensive stand. Ferdinand’s council The execution of the leaders of the Bohemian rebellion in
wanted to declare the throne hereditary thus removing the Prague.
election liberties of the estates and to expel several
Protestant Lords from the estates thus leaving the religious
and domestic and political rebellion inactive. Source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_White_Mounta
With the Bohemian army destroyed, Tilly entered Prague in
and the revolt broke down. King Frederick with his wife
Elizabeth fled the country (hence his nickname the Winter
King), and many citizens welcomed the restoration of
Catholicism. Forty-seven noble leaders of the insurrection
were tried, and twenty-seven were executed on what is
called "the Day of Blood" by Protestants at Prague's Old
Town Square. Amongst those executed were Kryštof
Harant and Jan Jesenius. Today, 27 crosses have been
inlaid in the cobblestone as a tribute to those victims. An
estimated five-sixths of the Bohemian nobility went into
exile soon after the Battle of White Mountain, and their
properties were confiscated.8 Before the war about
151,000 farmsteads existed in the Lands of Bohemian
Crown, while only 50,000 remained after the year 1648.
WAB Forum 27 v 0.1

When he had planned this invasion in 1629, after peace
with Poland, with money in his pocket, and promises of
Battle of Breitenfeld French subsidy, Gustav ruled an orderly and loyal country;
he possessed reserves of war material; and he had at his
command an effective, well disciplined fighting force
made up of recruits from Sweden and Finland and thus
theoretically loyal to him. Gustav's efforts in Poland and
Lithuania did not secure his Baltic possessions, nor did
they solve his kingdom’s security issues; Polish,
Lithuanian and English ships continued to prey upon
Swedish trade, and Gustav considered his engagement in
the Protestant causes in the German states to be part and
parcel to securing his own interests in the Baltic. Initially,
Sweden’s entrance into the war was considered a minor
annoyance to the Catholic League and its allies; his only
The Battle of Breitenfeld (German: Schlacht bei battles to this point had been inconclusive ones, or fought
Breitenfeld; Swedish: Slaget vid Breitenfeld) or First against generals of modest military ability, such as at
Battle of Breitenfeld (sometimes First Breitenfeld and in Honigfeld, a minor affair in eastern Prussia against
older texts Battle of Leipzig) , was fought at the Imperial troops under Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg
crossroads villages of Breitenfeld, Podelwitz, and to aid Sigismund III of Poland-Lithuania, which ended in
Seehausen, approximately five miles northwest of the Fall 1629 with the Truce of Altmark.67
walled city of Leipzig on September 17 (new style, or Consequently, when Gustav Adolph and his force of
Gregorian dating), or September 7 (by the older Julian 13,000 landed at Peenemünde in 1630, the Imperial
calendar, in wide use at the time), 1631.1 Breitenfeld Commander of the German Catholic League, Tilly, did not
represented the Protestants’ first major victory of the immediately respond, being engaged in what seemed to be
Thirty Years War. more pressing matters in northern Italy.8 Gustav's sole ally
The Protestant victory ensured that the German states was the city of Stralsund, and over the ensuing months, the
would not be forcibly reconverted to Roman Catholicism. situation did not improve. While he could claim the
The victory further confirmed Sweden’s Gustavus support from German princes, these were the
Adolphus of the House of Vasa as a great tactical leader “dispossessed” like Mecklenburg and Saxe-Weimar, the
and induced many Protestant German states to ally expectant like the claimants to Brunswick-Lüneburg, the
themselves with Sweden against the German Catholic occupied, like Magdeburg, and the threatened, like Hesse-
League, led by Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, and the Kassel. In terms of real support of money, men, supplies
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Austria. and arms, these alliances meant little. External alliances
o were little better: Russia offered duty free grain to be sold
in Amsterdam, a scheme that raised only 78,000 thalers,
Prelude to the Swedish phase of the Thirty Years War
If the first phase of the Thirty Years War, or Wars, as and France hedged its bets.9 The difficulty in developing
some historians call it,3 hinged on the Palatine inheritance, concrete alliances with German states was understandable.
this phase hinged on the liberties of various bishoprics in Unthreatened Lutheran princes saw the advantage in using
Lorraine, and the autonomy of several Lutheran princes, the Swedish "menace" to wrest terms from Vienna, rather
including imperial Electors of Electoral Saxony and than commit what amounted to acts of treason.10 French
Electoral Brandenburg. The issue was not only about reticence at entering an alliance was less understandable
religion, although the issue manifested itself in the for, like Sweden, France had been engaged in several
princely religious autonomy. 4 At issue was the larger decades of fighting, so peace and demobilization offered
problem of imperial rule versus princely autonomy: at its significant advantages; like Sweden, though, there were
most basic, the argument was over the nature of power and significant and concrete gains to be achieved in territory,
authority in the Holy Roman Empire. influence, and prestige, if they were to be on the winning
side of the renewal of fighting in northern Europe. In early
1631, imperial forces captured Mantua, effectively ending
Swedish phase of the Thirty Years War
The Swedish phase of the 30 Years War began with the the Mantuan war, and the ensuing peace treaty at Cherasco
Swedish landing at Peenemünde. The Swedish campaign (February 1631) insured that the large imperial army tied
in central Europe gained control of great deal of up in northern Italy was now free to expend its energy in
territory.There were 3 major battles: Breitenfeld, the Battle the German states.67
of Lech, and the Battle of Lützen. France was Sweden’s
ally and paid most of the Swedish campaign expenses. Creating alliances
This marked a major shift away from a religious-based At the same time, the Protestant princes showed little
conflict, as the French were also Catholic.5 interest in attaching themselves to the Swedish cause;
Gustavus opted for “rough wooing.”11 In the ensuing
months, his troops moved south into Brandenburg, taking
Gustav's plan
and sacking the towns of Küstin and Frankfurt an der
WAB Forum 28 v 0.1

Oder. It was too late and too far to save one of Gustav’s relative balance, with the cavalry having much greater
“occupied” allies, Magdeburg, from a horrific sack by strength offensively than defensively and the infantry the
imperial troops, which began on May 20, and in which a opposite. Mostly, artillery was a supporting branch,
major portion of the population was murdered and the city delivering a slow rate of fire at very long range, and highly
burned. The sack of Magdeburg, though, could be turned immobile.
to good use: the broadsides and pamphlets distributed
throughout Europe assured that prince and pauper alike Infantry
understood how the Emperor, or at least his troops, treated Infantry had 2 basic types, light and heavy, from the
the Protestant subjects.1213 Over the next few months, ancient classical period until the late 17th century. Light
Gustav consolidated his bridgehead and expanded across troops used primarily ranged weapons while heavy
northern Germany, attracting support from German princes infantry specialized in melee combat. Generally, light
but mostly building his army from mercenary forces along troops had less armor than heavy troops, but the types are
the way. By the time he reached the Saxon border, his not classified by armor. Some units of mixed type
force had expanded over 23,000. employed ranged or close weapons depending on the
tactical situation, but they were a minority. There were
dozens of specific types in use in every period. Most
nations or regions commonly specialized in fielding
specific variations, differing in specific weapons, armor,
and tactics used. The forces employed at Breitenfeld on
both sides used mostly one type of light infantry,
musketeers armed with matchlock muskets. Matchlock
muskets of the period were still a heavy weapon, not the
lighter flintlock variety that would eventually evolve,
typically with barrels about four feet long and propelling a
ball weighing about 2 ounces(˜55 grams), the gun itself
weighing between 15 and 17 lbs. The rate of fire was
comparatively slow, typically around 1 round per minute,
and musketeers were typically deployed in six or more
ranks to allow for a continuous stream of fire. Musketeers
"Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle at Breitenfeld", painting typically lacked any form of protection, although some
in the Musée historique de Strasbourg. might have worn light helmets and buff coats; they carried
cheap swords as sidearms, although the butt stock of a
Strategic importance of Electoral Saxony reversed musket was often more effective in close combat
In order for Swedes to attack the imperial troops in the
situations. The Swedes and the imperials also used mostly
south, they needed to pass through Saxony. In order for
the same type of heavy infantry, pikemen. Pikemen of the
Tilly’s forces, now freed from northern Italy, to attack period employed ˜16-18 foot pikes and wore heavy half
Gustav's army, they too needed to pass through Saxony. armor, ideally consisting of a breast and backplate with
Electoral Saxony had not been touched by the war, at least thigh-protecting tassets and a light helmet, and also a short
not directly, and it hung like a ripe plum between the two
sword for close combat. Combined together these mixed
combatants, full of hogs, cattle, horses, grain, fruit, all the
infantry units were very strong defensively against any
stuff that the hungry Imperial and League troops craved. In
form of cavalry attacks. The musketeers had a greater
midsummer, General Tilly asked John George I for range and rate of fire then a mounted man with a
permission to pass through the territory; the elector wheellock pistol, while pikes too have greater reach
declined permission, noting that Saxon sweetmeats had not
compared to cavalry swords and lances, without even
yet been touched. Tilly invaded Electoral Saxony because,
taking into account the fact that horses would not naturally
first, it was the shortest distance between himself and
crash into dense formations of men.
Gustav’s flank; second, because he hoped to force its ruler
Historically most infantry were organized with units of a
to abandon any planned alliance with Gustav; and third, single type, but in this case, both sides fielded units with a
because the Saxon territories offered plenty of food and mixture of light and heavy troops. The imperials deployed
sustenance for his exhausted army.814 His plan was to
their infantry in modified Spanish tercios. These units
avoid contact with the Swedes, and ultimately the Saxons,
were rectangular, about 1500 men, with a dense center of
until his troops could unite with the units near Jena (about
pikemen and four "sleeves" of musketeers deployed on
5000 seasoned professionals), and the larger force of each sides or corners. Such a formation had very powerful
Count Otto von Fugger, en route from Hesse.14 Gustav and all around defenses against cavalry, but was very slow
John George united their forces, planning to meet Tilly moving and lacked firepower since at best only half of the
somewhere near Leipzig.
available muskets could be brought to bear. The Swedes
deployed in a linear formation developed by Maurice of
17th Century forces Nassau. Swedish infantry were deployed with 6 ranks of
This period of warfare had 3 basic branches in military musketeers to the front and 5 ranks of pikemen behind.
land forces: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. They had a The Swedish musketeers had also perfected the salvo
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firing technique, in which three ranks of musketeers would shape Western military doctrine until the early 19th
fire simultaneously, with the front rank kneeling, the century.
second rank crouching and the third rank standing. The
massive disruption caused by such a wall of lead slamming
into the enemy was capable of stopping cavalry charges
without the aid of pikes on many occasions, and allowed Artillery
the Swedish pikemen or cavalry to immediately gain The artillery of the period used no explosive projectiles.
advantage over their opponent in the subsequent close Cannon generally fired directly at low angle with solid
combat. The tactical preferences of the two armies resulted metal or stone shot. Artillery was mostly used for siege
from different operational philosophies: the imperial operations as it was very slow to maneuver. Used against
infantry were typically more static and defensive in battle, opposing troops, a common tactic was the "grazing shot",
while the Swedish were more capable of offense but more aimed to skip off the ground in front of the enemy and
vulnerable to flanking attacks. Most of the Saxon units bounce upward through the massed troops, causing many
were various heavy types deployed in unmixed squares; more casualties than level fire could. The Swedes had
with only a few companies of musketeers. developed more modern models for their siege artillery
that were easier to maneuver and load, using only three
Cavalry different weight of ordnance: 24, 6 and 3 pounders.
There were many different types of cavalry in the period. Additionally the Swedes had some of their lighter pieces
Similarly to the infantry, they differed in the weapons, integrated into their infantry formations at brigade and
armor and tactics employed. With cavalry, especially, unit regimental level. These 3pound pieces (3 assigned to a
names such as "heavy cavalry" are often misleading. The brigade) were much smaller, lighter and less powerful than
cavalry of both sides at Breitenfield were mostly units of the siege guns. The 3 pound pieces could maneuver with
cuirassiers. This was a heavy type of cavalry armed with the infantry to a limited degree. 3 pounders could also be
wheel-lock pistols and broadswordsdisambiguation needed and reloaded much more quickly than siege pieces and had
ideally clad in heavy three-quarter armor with a greater range and firing rate than the infantry's muskets,
bulletproof cuirass. The second type of cavalry commonly greatly increasing the Swedish infantry's firepower.
used in Western Europe at the time was the harquebusier;
a light, firearm-equipped cavalryman named after the long Tactical Overview
firearm they used. Theoretically, in battle the The Battle of Breitenfeld I (1631) was overall a meeting
harquebusiers would provide supporting fire for the engagement with both combatants agreeing to battle on the
cuirassiers' charge, and their role was otherwise confined field. The forces all had different structural organization.
to skirmishing, scouting and other irregular operations. Mostly the technology was about the same level, with a
The cuirassiers themselves typically employed caracole slight advantage to the Swedish troops in newer and lighter
tactics, advancing to the charge at a trot, often in a dense cannon and matchlocks. Both Armies were well supplied
formation six or ten ranks deep. At about ten paces from and the terrain was relatively equivalent between the
the opposing formation the troopers would discharge their dispositions. Key differences between the Swedish and
pistols and wheel around to reload, allowing the next rank imperial forces (and the Swedish allies) were in the
to also fire. Only after an enemy had been substantially training and structure of infantry troops, and the Swedish
weakened or disordered would they draw their swords and different philosophy in using their cavalry.
charge.
Practical realities faced by the Swedish, however, resulted Forces Deployed
in their cavalry being uniquely different. Sweden's lack of The strengths of forces deployed were about relatively
manufacturing capability at the time resulted in her cavalry equal. The Protestant coalition, including the Swedes and
lacking in armor and wheellock pistols; the Swedish Germans, fielding about 42,000 troops (18,000 from
cuirassiers were only armored up to the standard of the German Allies) and the imperial forces at about 35,000.
typical imperial harquebusier, except for a few units raised The Protestants had a considerable edge in cavalry
in Livonia and recruited among the German mercenaries, numbers, about 13,000 (5,000 from Allies) to 9,000. The
while their Finnish light horse were often completely numbers for the siege artillery were relatively equivalent
unarmored. Initially they were also largely outnumbered with the Swedes having a slight edge in quality and the
by their imperial counterparts, and thus often were forced imperials having a marginal advantage in quantity. The
to form up only two or three ranks deep to avoid being Swedes had additional small artillery pieces (3 and 6
outflanked. The Swedes also had plenty of experience pounders) integrated into their infantry brigades and
fighting against the vaunted Polish cavalry, which taught regiments. This gave the Swedes an overall advantage in
them the value of a full gallop charge using cold steel the number of tubes. The Catholics had a considerable
only. Also, to compensate for the lesser quality and advantage in the number of trained infantry deployed;
quantity of his cavalry against the Poles, Gustavus also about 25,000 to the Swedes 15,000. The Saxons (Swedish
started using detached companies of musketeers to provide allies) fielded about 9,000 additional untrained infantry,
fire support for his horsemen. These tactical developments which mostly consisted of conscripts or militia. The
would prove extremely effective, and while not Swedish Swedish Allies fielded very few muskets. The Swedish
by invention were brought into renown by them and would Linear Formation had a higher ratios of matchlock and
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much fewer pikemen than the imperial forces tercio. infantry in wedge formation with units in squares, and
Overall the Unionist fielded about the same number cavalry on their flanks. With their Saxon allies extending
matchlocks as the imperial troops. the Swede’s line, the Unionists had cavalry at the center
and their flanks.
Force Assessment
The overall balance was relatively even. The disparity in
overall numbers resulted from large levies of untrained
soldiers. The number of heavy cannon was relatively close
with the Swedish having newer models and light cannon
compensating for the disparity in heavy field pieces. The
Unionist had a considerable advantage in cavalry while the
imperials had a considerable advantage in trained infantry.
With the forces deployed, the key difference was the
light/heavy infantry ratio of Swedes. The Swedes fielded
considerably more muskets by ratio, had more advanced
equipment, and better drills to increase their rate of fire.
More important, the Linear Formation that allowed most
musketeers to engage, while less than half in a tercio could
engage.
Disposition of forces
Battle of Breitenfeld - Initial dispositions, 17 September
1631.Swedish-Saxon forces in Blue, Catholic army in Red
Battle Summary
The battle started in the middle of the day and lasted over
6 hours. The first 2 hours consisted of an exchange of
artillery fire. This was followed by an imperial attack with
cavalry from both wings to both ends of the Unionist line.
The cavalry attack routed the Saxon troops on the Unionist
left flank. The imperial army then conducted a general
attack to exploit the exposed left flank. The Swedes
repositioned their second line to cover the left flank and
counter attacked with their cavalry to both imperial flanks.
The attack on the imperial left was led personally by the
Swedish King. It captured the imperial artillery and
enveloped the imperial left flank. The Swedish now had
much greater weight of fire from their artillery, infantry,
and the captured imperial artillery. The imperial line was
disorganized under the heavy fire and enveloped. The
imperial line collapsed and over 80% of the imperial
forces were killed or captured. 120 standards of the
Imperial and Bavarian armies were taken (and are still on
display in the Riddarholm church in Stockholm);15 and
Gustav's innovations in military operations and tactics
were confirmed.
Opening gambits
Pappenheim
The Swedes deployed their 15,000 infantry in 2 lines. The

imperial army deployed 25,500 infantry in a single line of
17 tercios (1,500 infantrymen in each). The German allies
extended the Protestant front to be overall slightly longer
than the catholic. The imperial line had its cavalry evenly
distributed on its flanks. The Swedes had their cavalry
weighted to their right. The German allies fielded their
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Battle of Breitenfeld - Opening moves, 17 September 1631 Battle of Breitenfeld - Stopping the attack, 17 September
Swedish-Saxon forces in Blue, Catholic army in Red 1631, Swedish forces in Blue, Catholic army in Red
The combined Swedish-Saxon forces were oriented to the
north of Leipzig centered around hamlet of Podelwitz, As Tilly was ordering his infantry to march ahead
facing southwest toward Breitenfeld and Leipzig. The diagonally to the right, looking to roll up the Swedish line
battle began around mid-day, with a two hour exchange of on its abandoned left flank, Gustavus reordered his second
artillery fire, during which the Swedes demonstrated fire line, under the capable and steady General Gustav Horn,
power in a rate of fire of three-to-five volleys to one into an array at a right angle to the front, in a maneuver
Imperial volley.16 Gustavus had lightened his artillery known as refusing the line. With this maneuver, the
park, and each colonel had four highly mobile, rapid Swedish line developed a strong angle, anchored in the
firing, copper-cast three pounders, the cream of Sweden’s new center under General Lennart Torstenson, whose men
metallurgical industry.17 When the artillery fire ceased, were able to deliver an artillery barrage with an
Pappenheim's Black Cuirassiers charged the Swedish line overwhelmingly high rate of fire for the era.citation needed
seven times, and were consistently beaten back by Tilly's right flank cavalry preceded his infantry across the
harquebus and pikemen. Gustavus had trained his men to field. Except for his musketeers, the infantry had yet to
aim for the cavalry mounts, and the falling animals made engage. Tilly's seventeen Tercios could only angle across
holes in the Catholic formations. The same tactics would the field. Tercios cannot turn easily, owing to the length of
work an hour or so later when the imperial cavalry charged pikes extending through the faces of the essentially square
the Swedish left flank. Following the rebuff of the seventh formations. As they advanced obliquely, it left the
assault, General Banér sallied forth with both his light Swedish right uncovered and free.
(Finnish and West Gotlanders) and heavy cavalry
(Smalanders and East Gotlanders). Banér’s cavalry had Annihilation of the Imperial force
been taught to deliver its impact with the saber, not to
caracole with the hard-to-aim pistols or carbines,17 forcing
Pappenheim and his cavalry quit the field in disarray,
retreating 15 miles northwest to Halle.
During the charges of the Cuirassiers, Tilly's infantry had
remained stationary, but then the cavalry on his right
charged the Saxon cavalry and routed it towards
Eilenburg. There may have been confusion in the imperial
command at seeing Pappenheim’s charge; in their
assessment of the battle, military historians have wondered
if Pappenheim precipitated an attempted double
envelopment, or if he followed Tilly’s preconceived
plan.15 At any rate, recognizing an opportunity, Tilly sent
the majority of his infantry against the remaining Saxon
forces in an oblique march diagonally across his front.
Thwarting the Imperial attack

Battle of Breitenfeld - Annihilation, 17 September 1631
Swedish forces in Blue, Catholic army in Red
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While this was taking place, the Swedish cavalry re- Short term impact: command decisions and rebuilding
formed, and, preceded by the Finnish light cavalry the imperial army
(Hakkapeliittas), which Gustavus led personally, attacked After the battle, the Catholic League or Imperial army
across the former front to capture the Imperial artillery, under Tilly could field an army of only 7,000 men. The
followed in short succession by Banér's heavy cavalry and army had to be rebuilt. Gustavus Adolphus, on the other
three regiments of infantry. This not only freed the hand, had a larger army after the battle than before. The
Swedish field guns from an ongoing artillery duel, but battle's outcome had the political effect of convincing
allowed Gustavus's cross-trained cavalry to turn the Protestant states to join his cause and convinced France to
captured Imperial guns upon Tilly's seventeen own throw its whole-hearted support to the militarily strong but
Tercios, now outflanked and badly out of position. 18 economically weak Sweden. Finally, with the seventy-two
Gustavus’ soldiers redeployed the captured artillery into a year old Tilly's recovery far from certain (and he did
new line and angled so it could fire on the Catholic forces. indeed die within six months while crossing the Lech
Its position lay slightly to the rear of the Catholics on what river), and with no alternative commander at hand,
had become the extreme right flank of a developing Emperor Ferdinand II had no choice but to rehire
infantry battle. The unwieldy Catholic infantry was Wallenstein.
trapped in a crossfire of grazing artillery balls which were
aimed to bounce and careen into the rank and files Intermediate impact: Gustav's military innovations
between knee and shoulder height—killing and wounding His success against the well-trained Imperial and League
dozens with each ball. With these guns cutting into one forces at Breitenfeld endorsed Gustav's linear tactics. In
end of Tilly's line, and the Swedish center showing no traditional battle tactics, the cavalry lined up on either side
signs of breaking, the exchange of gunfire soon wore of the primary infantry force, theoretically protecting its
down the Imperial troops, and their lines ground to a halt flanks, but in actuality, cavalry would attempt to drive off
against Horn's infantry. the opposing force, leaving the infantry’s flank exposed.
After several hours of punishment, nearing sunset, the Gustav mixed infantry heavily weighted with musketeers
Catholic line finally broke. Tilly himself was injured twice among the cavalry in their "starting positions" on the
by a so-called "piece of battle"—artillery propelled debris, flanks. As opposing cavalry attacked, the musketeers could
such as a careening pikehead. Although the first time he pick them off, long before the cavalryman’s pistols could
remounted his horse, the second wound was more severe; be useful. The thinner pike wall sufficiently prevented
unconscious, he was carted off to safety under the cover of breakage of the line, but it could also be easily shifted, to
night during the ensuing retreat, which quickly became a allow Gustav’s cavalry to pass through. Normally
rout as the Catholic forces reached the nearby woods. The detached infantry would be easily run down, but by being
totally disorganized and demoralized Imperial and placed in the midst of the cavalry, if the opposing force did
Catholic League force effectively lost all cohesion with the charge, they would do so right into the Swedish cavalry's
fall of night, and the desertion rate was consequently own pistols. It was Gustavus' policy to have each arm
higher than the battle losses themselves. In effect, Gustav support the other, so demonstrating an early appreciation
had entirely destroyed the only army the Catholics had in of the benefits of combined arms tactics, though long
the field, placing the Imperial side on the defensive. before the term was coined.
After the battle, Gustav moved on Halle, following the
same track that Tilly had taken coming east to enforce the
Edict of Restitution on the Electorate of Saxony. Two days
later Gustav's forces captured another 3,000 men after a
brief skirmish at Merseburg, and took Halle two days after
that.
Aftermath
The outcome of the battle had a significant impact, in the
short, intermediate, and long term. In the short term, the
Catholic and imperial forces were significantly hampered
by the loss of most of the force. The totality of the victory
confirmed Gustav's military innovations, and guaranteed
that the Swedes would remain engaged in the war for the
foreseeable future. In the long term, the significant loss of Gustavus's victory at Breitenfeld
force, the shift in command, the realignment of alliances
creating a strong Protestant, or anti-imperial force, In the traditional square, muskets at the rear or sides of the
required the Emperor and the Protestant and Catholic formation could not fire effectively due to the ranks in
princes, to rethink on the operational conduct of the front. The Dutch had thinned out their formations to place
warfare, and the diplomatic avenues they would pursue more men at the front, a concept Gustav adapted by
prior to using armed force. converting his formations into rectangles only six ranks
deep (as opposed to ten or more). This became known as a
WAB Forum 33 v 0.1

linear formation, and in historical terms, by one the cavalry paraded back around and came up again. citation
needed
modification or another, it persisted in warfare to World
War II.Additionally, whereas the typical pike-and-shot
formation placed the shot on the flanks of a full pike Long term consequences: realignment of alliances and
square, to overcome the friendly fire issue, Gustav placed extension of Swedish influence into Germany
most of the shot at the front, with the pike at the sides Gustav's success encouraged several other princes to join
strictly in support, with a smattering of pike to keep the cause of the Swedish king and his few allies. By the
charging cavalry at bay. In the common tercio of the day, month's end, Hannover, the Hessian dukes, Brandenburg
the ratio of pikes to shot was generally about 2:1; and Saxony were officially aligned against the empire, and
Gustavus' armies were recast to ratios between 3:2 and France had agreed to provide substantially greater funding
sometimes approached 1:1—giving his forces a much for Gustav's armies. Although Gustav was killed a year
greater amount of long range fire power.18 later at the Battle of Lützen, the military strength of the
Along the same line of rate of fire thinking, he also placed alliance had been secured through the addition of new
small cannons, or so called infantry guns among the units. armies. Even when Swedish leadership faltered, it did not
These were mobile, lightweight three-pound brass cannon, fail, and the influx of French gold insured that the
by some called the first field artillery. Loaded with hostilities could continue.3 The reconstituted imperial and
canister or grapeshot, they were devastating, like huge Catholic league forces and the opposition forces were so
shotguns capable of gutting an opponent's formations. At evenly matched that neither side could force a concession
long ranges, they fired solid shot aimed to bounce through from the other. Wallenstein's efforts to negotiate a
the enemy's ranks doing nearly as much damage. The conclusion to the conflict ended in his own conviction of
integration of small cannons among infantry gave his treason, and his assassination. This realization, confirmed
battalions cannon support even if they became separated at Westphalia fundamentally changed the balance of power
from the main force, or if they were away from the massed within the Holy Roman Empire.
artillery at the center of the field.
Source :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Breitenfeld_(1631)
BATTLE REPORT
MANUFACTURERS
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Map of Europe in 1648
These changes also made Gustav's formations easier to COMMUNITY

maneuver on the battlefield; the line formations he fielded
could easily turn to face a new direction, compared to the http://wabforum.co.uk (english)
squares Tilly and the Saxon Elector had been using— http://wab-portal.forumperso.com/ (french)
where the line of march was typically fixed (or else the http://www.wab-forum.de (german)
unit would spear each other in turning the unwieldy pikes),
once a unit took up positions in the field—his forces were
able to change facings and march a different direction.
Gustav's main formations could be re-aligned, even under SPECIAL THANKS
fire, and even those where his mixed units used his
concept of combined arms, although at the cost of some Many thanks to WAB Forum members for providing the
confusion while the pikemen reformed on the shot's flanks, template and their great support.
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How did Gustav Adolph reform his army's formations?

How did Gustav Adolph reform his army's formations?

What tactics did Gustav Adolph employ with his army?

What tactics did Gustav Adolph employ with his army?

WAB FORUM SUPPLEMENT

THIRTY YEARS WAR 1618 – 1648AD

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GALLOPPER GUN (60pts)

LIGHT CANNON (50pts)

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Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia.

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The war can be divided into four major phases: The

The Bohemian Revolt

Vilem Slavata of Chlum, 1618 enamel on copper, by

The king-elect then sent two Catholic councillors (Vilem

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Frederick V, Elector Palatine as King of Bohemia, painted

In the east, the Protestant Hungarian Prince of

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Contemporary painting showing the Battle of White

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Danish intervention (1625–1629)

Count-Duke of Olivares, favourite and minister of Philip

In France, the Protestant Huguenots, mainly located in the

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Swedish intervention (1630–1635)

Catholic General Albrecht von Wallenstein.

To fight him, Ferdinand II employed the military help of

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Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain, commander of the

Some within Ferdinand II's court did not trust Wallenstein,

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The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of

By the Spring of 1635, all Swedish resistance in the south

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Central Europe at the end of the Thirty Years' War,

The war also had consequences abroad, as the European

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Equipment: Hand weapon

CAVALRY MERCENARY CROSSBOWMEN

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Equipment: Hand weapon, pike.

Equipment: Hand weapon, musket.

0-2 FIELD GUNS

Ottoman Allies, V/9

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CHARACTERS: Up to 25% BURGHER GUARD

Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols

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M WS BS S T W I A Ld Pts 0-1 DRAGOONS

CUIRASSIERS AND CHEVAUX LÈGERS

Equipment: Hand weapon, heavy armour, pistols

Equipment: Hand weapon, carbines