Workshop Programme
The Impact of the Thirty Years' War
Old Class Library, South Street, St Andrews
4 June 2011
9.00 - 9.30
Welcome: Steve Murdoch/ Kathrin Zickermann
Introduction: Allan Macinnes
9.30 - 11.00
Session 1: The Archaeological Perspective
1) Anja Grothe, Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege: 'The Impact of War: The mass grave and related finds from the Wittstock Battlefield (1636)'
In 2007 the “Wittstock Battlefield Project” was initiated with an excavation of a mass grave found on the site of the historical battlefield near Wittstock in the state of Brandenburg/Germany. The archaeological excavations undertaken by the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeological Museum (BLDAM) uncovered 88 skeletons in situ. The burial may have once contained the bodies of up to 125 soldiers who fell during the battle on September 24th/October 4th 1636. The corpses, mostly rid of their personal belongings and without any trace of clothing, lay in neat rows of several layers in the grave.
The main focus of this paper investigates the patterns of injuries and lesions found on the skeletal remains, thus giving an insight into personal fates, the impact of interpersonal close combat, fighting on the battlefield and the use of weaponry. It will also discuss the evaluation of contemporary records and the results of the metal detecting field-surveys in the general area of the battlefield. These, started in 2009, aim to find the extent the battlefield arena and retrieve more information about the battle itself, e.g. the course of the fighting, the weapons used and post-battle processes such as retreat and plundering.
2) Andre Schürger, University of Glasgow: 'Archaeology of the Thirty Years War: New Results from the Battle of Lützen (16.11.1632)'
The archaeological survey of the battlefield of Lützen is carried out since 2006. The research on the imperial left wing has already been presented on the Fields of Conflict Conference in Ghent (2008). Since then, new areas were surveyed on the left wing and the centre with a total of 1.000.000 m² and 100% coverage (i.e. search grid of 1,8 m). 17.000 small finds were recovered from the battlefield, from which 3500 relate to the battle.
The interpretation of the small finds distribution is based on the 2500 lead bullets. Their allocation to the weapon classes (musket, carbine and pistol) allows a general interpretation of fire combat and troop movement of infantry and cavalry. As Lützen was a static battle, many attacks and counterattacks took place in the same areas. Therefore the result of the lead bullet distribution according to weapon classes is confusingly dense and difficult to interpret. Also, both sides used mostly similar musket types and their lead bullets are indistinguishable.
With the identification of some of the weapon types, in particular the 19,7 mm Swedish musket we are now able to locate the areas of fire combat and movement of a single unit in consideration of the historical sources – the assault of Mitzlaff’s Brigade on the imperial windmill battery.
While the musket shots indicate infantry fire combat some of the close combat areas of the cavalry were identified by concentrations of pistol bullets and uniform pieces: The counterattack of the imperial cuirassier regiment Götz, which leads to the death of Gustav II Adolf and the skirmish of Isolani’s Croats and Stalhandske’s Finns which started the battle.
This paper will examine the problematic of lead bullet allocation to weapon classes and types on a Thirty Years War battlefield and the interpretation of their distribution along with other battlefield related artefacts.
3) Tony Pollard, University of Glasgow: 'The Home Front: Archaeology, the Thirty Years War and the War of the Three Kingdoms'
Over recent years, archaeological projects focussing on battlefields from the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), including Lutzen (1632) and Wittstock (1636) in Germany, have grown into some of the most intensive investigations of their kind. This would seem entirely appropriate given the scale of this pan-European conflict, but by 1642 the bloodiest war ever to occur in the British Isles had also seen its first major engagements. Although largely understood as a domestic affair, the English Civil War, which can be defined as a prolonged series of conflicts (1639-1651) and more accurately referred to as the War of the Three Kingdoms, was to involve numerous veterans of the Thirty Years War, with British troops having fought with distinction in many of the continental battles, including Lutzen and Wittstock. This experience undoubtedly influenced the way the British battles were fought and this presentation will provide an overview of the contribution which archaeological research has made to our understanding of battle sites from this conflict. Recent findings from the Historic Scotland Battlefields Inventory project, which included a number of sites from the period within its remit, will also be presented.
11.00 - 11.15 Coffee Break
11.15 - 12.45
Session 2: The Political Impact
1) Adam Marks, University of St Andrews: 'The Siege of Frankenthal: Soldiers defeated by Politics?'
The siege of Frankenthal between March 1621 and April 1623 marked one of the most significant English engagements of the Thirty Years’ War. The besieged English troops were the last out of the Palatinate and this was a significant military achievement but even then the surrender of Frankenthal was both a military and a political decision. Indeed, the surrender was in fact only temporary, a period of 18 months, though when after the allotted time the imperial forces left the town there was no English army to replace them and they simply re-captured it! The achievements of the English garrison at Frankenthal is one which is all too often ignored in favour of discussing the English military failures of Cadiz and La Rochelle.
The implications of this siege was felt far beyond those Englishmen who directly participated. Commemorative plates and poems were commissioned within England and the role the English troops had played remained a matter of pride for a number of years. The impact went to the highest levels of government and in 1621 triggered a political crisis caused by the demands made to parliament by the experienced English soldiers. That is not to say that there was no financial assistance for those present, but that more extensive funding would be required if the Palatinate was to be held indefinitely. The clash between the Crown and Parliament, primarily related to the ‘Spanish match’, meant that this proposal was not carried out in favour of supporting the expedition of Count Mansfeld and subsequently the naval assault on Cadiz. Ultimately, by undertaking a systematic analysis of the English military diaspora across Europe the significance of Frankenthal has emerged and a more complete understanding of Stuart policy, Parliamentary politics and public opinion has come to light.
2) Steve Murdoch,University of St Andrews: 'The Impact of the Battle of Stralsund: Local, Regional and International Perspectives'
The Battle for Stralsund in 1628 was something of a defining moment in the Thirty Years’ War. The siege represented the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, with Albrecht von Wallenstein hoping to secure a base in the Baltic from which he would become actual, rather than notional ‘General of the Ocean and the Baltic Sea’. Had he succeeded there were obvious implications at the military, political, commercial and confessional levels. That his designs were thwarted was in no small part due to the actions of an international coalition which placed indigenous Stralsunders alongside troops drawn from the armies of Denmark-Norway and Sweden. The two usually hostile Scandinavian powers considered combined operations at sea for sure, but arguably it was the role of Scots in both maritime forces which secured the city from Imperial domination. The implications of the siege were many and manifest: The human cost on the local population was the most immediate to understand. The military actions of the incumbent governor (who ‘left’ the siege to find reinforcements) showed the weakness among many of the allies of the ‘Protestant’ cause: The siege marked the end of Denmark-Norway as a significant player in the conflict while it introduced the Imperialists to a new adversary much more potent than Christian IV. The siege also showcased the potential of the Scottish volunteers in both the Danish and Swedish armies to work together, but at a staggering cost in terms of casualties. Even the impact of this was two-fold. Militarily the Scots once more demonstrated a different set of motivations to many of those they fought alongside, but tragically their efforts left many dead soldier, crippled veterans and grieving families at home. This paper will consider these ‘multiple impacts’ of one particular siege and draw together scholarship already conducted by Scottish, Danish, Swedish and German historians of this monumental struggle.
3) Björn Nordgren, University of St Andrews: 'An Alternative ending to the War?: Leipzig 1642'
In Swedish historiography much has been written on the Peace of Westphalia as the official end to the war, choosing to emphasise the benefits that the war had brought rather than the process from which it was created. Whilst important, it is crucial to emphasise that the Peace was the result of five years of negotiation, a catalyst and instigator of which was the Swedish victory at Leipzig. This battle is much less celebrated than Field Marshall Lennart Tortensson's other victories, historians choosing instead to focus on his campaign in Denmark from 1643 to 1645 which often takes his name, or the battle of Jankow in 1646.
This paper will analyse its significance in terms of impact for the Swedish government. The victory had given Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna significant room for maneuvre in Germany, making an ending to the war more tangible. The death toll for Leipzig on the part of the Swedes was around 4,000 whilst 9,500 of the Imperial soldiers were killed or captured, so was a massive victory and carried with it substantial clout for negotiations. However, the paper will also focus on not just the political aspects but also explore the plight of three of the regiments involved and its impact on these; the Dal regiment under Carl Gustav Wrangel in the center; Västgötadalens regiment under Nils Kagg; and Torsten Stålhandske's Finnish cavarly located on the left wing, who were decisive in bringing an end to the battle.
13.00 - 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 15.00
Session 3: The Local Population and Foreign Communities
1) Jörg Rathjen, Independent Researcher: 'Rural Society and the Thirty Years War in the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein - the Exampel of the Ämter Reinbek and Trittau'
In 1625 king Christian IV of Denmark intervened in his capacity as Duke of Holstein in the Thirty Years War (Danish-Lower Saxon phase). After the Danish defeat in the battle of Lutter at Barenberg in 1629, the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein became a theatre of war and were finally occupied for two years by the armies of the Emperor and the Liga. After some peaceful years the population of these territories was affected again by military events of the Thirty Years War, when Swedish and Imperial armies invaded the duchies during the Danish-Swedish War (1643-1645). However, both military campaigns were just the beginning of a martial era for the people in the duchies. In the framework of the struggle of the northern powers for predominance in the Baltic Sea area between 1625 and the end of the Great Northern War in 1720 no generation was untroubled by experiences with military conflicts and their effects. In the regional historiography of Schleswig-Holstein, this period is therefore called the 'century of wars and crisis'. The paper is based on a case study dealing with the impact of wars and military conflicts on the rural society in the duchies during the 17th and 18th century. This investigation relies on a local example: the Ämter Reinbek and Trittau, located in the southern parts of the duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. The paper will discuss the results of the study in terms of the impact of the Thirty Years War in these Ämter and present methods and sources.
2) Thomas Brochard, University of Aberdeen: 'The Impacts of the Thirty Years’ War on Scotland’s Northern Territories'
The participation of Scottish far northerners in the Thirty Years’ War can be viewed within the perspective of a ‘civilizing process’ and its dual core of social discipline from above and social regulation from below. Indeed, the Government promoted this armed emigration as a way to channel clan militarism. It intended to relocate the potential offered by private armies into the public sphere ― i.e. as an official, governmental institution ― and regulate it. The rationale behind this policy points towards its own ‘civilizing’ agenda. In terms of impact, the clan military force and network survived by its transposition into an official body, equally military in its nature. The experiences of returning soldiers proved just as multifarious as their reasons for joining the army and as a result remoulded both individuals and communities in a process of social regulation. The military co-optation allowed the élite, this middling sort (at the State level), both abroad and on their return to Britain to position themselves for the promotion of their own interests and that of the clan. They used their various kinship ties and other networks to the full for a constant re-alignment according to their respective interests. Hence, social transformations operated from below as well. This helps redefine and re-assess the perception of an immovable and immutable society solely immersed in clan warfare. The result is a picture less of a retrograde, stultified, and monolithic society, though with some elements of this remaining, but more of a slowly moving and diverse one engaged in and selectively responding to a pre-existing but amplified early-modern multi-cultural process. In fine, this remained an ongoing process best studied over the longue durée and with significant variations both in terms of geography and, within communities, within clans and families themselves.
15.00 - 15.15 Coffee Break
15.15 - 16.15
Session 4: The Archival Situation
1) Ingrid Karlsson, Krigsarkivet Stockholm: 'The Swedish Military Archives and documents relating to the Thirty Years War'
Sweden - during the reign of Gustavus Adolphus - intervened in the Thirty Years War in 1630, but the Military Archives have illustrations of events during the whole war, from 1618 to 1648. These are to be found in the collections entitled Utländska krigsplaner, Historiska planscher and Ordres de bataille (Foreign war plans, Historical prints and Orders of battle). The Foreign war plans differ very little from the Historical prints. Both are usually monochrome. With few exceptions they show the battlefields and the camps of the troops. Some of them are contemporary. The Orders of battle show, schematically, how Sweden´s and other countries´ armies were deployed. Another collection – Sveriges krig (Sweden´s Wars) - contains plans, drawings, prints and orders of battle to do with the Swedish military operations in the Thirty Years War. They are usually coloured and even some of these are contemporary. When the regiments had mobilised, muster rolls were compiled. These are to be found in the collection Rullor (Rolls) 1620-1723. Here we find Scottish regiments serving in the Swedish army.
War costs money. Militieräkenskaper (Military accounts) and the collection Förslag och besked över svenska armén under Trettioåriga kriget (Inventories and accounts relating to the Thirty Years War) contain specifications of expenditure on provisions, accountrements, munitions, wages and so forth.
2) Jörg Rathjen, Independent Researcher/ Kathrin Zickermann, University of St Andrews: The North German Repositories
This paper will give a very short overview over available documents relating to the Thirty Years War in North German repositories. In particular the paper will focus on collections in various state archives in Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen.
16.15 - 16.45
Concluding Remarks: Robert Frost, University of Aberdeen
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