Schmalkaldic War

Schmalkaldic War Timeline

Below is a timeline outlining the key events surrounding the Schmalkaldic War and their effects.

Schmalkaldic War Summary

Let's look at a summary of the causes of the Schmalkaldic War.

The Schmalkaldic League

The Holy Roman Empire's two most prominent Protestant princes, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse, officially founded the Schmalkaldic League on 27 February 1531, in the town of Schmalkalden, Thuringia.

Fig. 1 - John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony

It began as a defensive religious alliance, with the members pledging support to one another should Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, decide to launch a military campaign against them. The idea of such an alliance was not new, however.

Fig. 2 - Philipp I of Hesse

The Schmalkaldic League drew heavily from a previous alliance, the League of Torgau, an alliance also formed by John Frederick I and Philipp of Hesse in 1526. The drawback of the League of Torgau had been that it presented no real threat to the Emperor, and was merely a consortium of Lutheran princes who protested against the Edict of Worms. The Schmalkaldic League, however, would soon force Charles V to make truces with France and the Ottoman Empire during the Italian Wars (1542-1546) to deal with this rising Lutheran threat within his domain.

Schmalkaldic War Causes

In 1544, Charles V signed the Treaty of Crépy with France and with it, the Holy Roman Empire withdrew from the Italian War of 1542-1546. Upon his return, Charles V swiftly secured an Imperial alliance with Pope Paul III and Maurice of Saxony. Charles V wanted total control over his domains, and Pope Paul III was more than willing to pay for a campaign which would undermine the rising Lutheran threat.

Meanwhile, the Schmalkaldic League had a plan of their own. With the return of Charles V to domestic affairs, the League launched a preemptive strike against the southern German Catholic town of Füssen. The stage was set, with the emperor also readying his armies; the Schmalkaldic War would soon erupt.

Schmalkaldic War Definition

Let's now define and outline the course of the Schmalkaldic War.

The year was 1546. By the time Charles V gathered an army of over 50,000 men, the Schmalkaldic League had already begun their campaign to take the town of Füssen, where they did not meet significant resistance.

It has been estimated that the Schmalkaldic army was greater in number than that of the Imperial force. However, what we know for certain is that the Schmalkaldic armies were plagued with subpar leadership. This would ultimately prove to be the cause of their eventual downfall. While the dust of taking Füssen was settling, Maurice and Charles V's younger brother, and future emperor, Ferdinand (at the time the King of Bohemia), had joined forces and had begun occupying Saxon territories. This forced John Fredrick I and his army to turn around and fight his cousin Maurice.

Fig. 3 - The document bringing into force the Schmalkaldic League

John Frederick I eventually managed to expel the imperial forces from Saxon lands and with it, the Schmalkaldic army achieved its second and final victory over the Empire. However, subpar leadership showed its head once more. This time it was none other than John Frederick I himself, who, proud of his achievement of having dispelled the imperial forces with his own might, overstretched himself.

John Frederick I decided to gather allies by "encouraging" them to fight against their Imperial overlord and dispatched a large portion of his own army to Bohemia to do so. This was a mistake as Bohemian Lutherans refused to become involved with the Schmalkaldic League.

Blinded by pride, John Frederick I deemed it impossible for Imperial forces to want to challenge him again and did not make adequate preparations. Due to such incompetence, in March 1547, Frederick I found himself alone, challenged by the might of the Imperial force led by Emperor Charles V, Ferdinand, the Duke of Alba (chief of Charles V's army), and Maurice of Saxony.

John Fredrick I gathered his army to face the Imperial might, but it proved futile. At the Battle of Mühlberg (24 April 1547), due to inadequate preparation and poor leadership, the imperial forces defeated the Saxons. John Frederick I was captured and imprisoned by Charles V, and the Schmalkaldic League collapsed.

Fig. 4 - Emperor Charles V during the Battle of Mühlberg

Schmalkaldic War Significance

As the leaders of the Schmalkaldic League, John Frederick I of Saxony and Philipp of Hesse were the ones to be punished. John Frederick was imprisoned and lost his title of Prince-Elector to his cousin Maurice. As for Philipp of Hesse, Philipp went to the Emperor and begged for his forgiveness, but this act of humility did not work. He too was imprisoned.

Ironic as it may sound, the Schmalkaldic War did not end there. In 1552, the Second Schmalkaldic War began, this time the war saw the Emperor pitted against his old ally Maurice, who had partnered with Charles' rival, King Henry II of France.