Crisis Study Guide

Home , 1600s (decade), Edict of Restitution, Hakkapeliitta, Sack of Magdeburg

Table of Contents

WELCOME LETTER FROM THE SECRETARIAT ...... 4

WELCOME LETTER FROM THE CRISIS TEAM ...... 5

WHOM DO I REPRESENT? ...... 6 HOW DOES THE CRISIS MOVE FORWARD? ...... 7

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC ...... 7

CONTEXT: THE LONG 17TH-CENTURY CRISIS ...... 7 MAGDEBURG IN THE THIRTY-YEARS-WAR ...... 8

INTRODUCTION TO THE FRONTROOMS...... 10

MAGDEBURG AND ITS CITIZENS: ...... 10 THE SWEDISH TROOPS: ...... 12 THE IMPERIAL ARMY: ...... 13

FURTHER READING: ...... 15

The Siege of Magdeburg – AD 1631

Oh, Magdeburg, the town! Fair maids thy beauty crown, Thy charms fair maids and matrons crown; Oh, Magdeburg, the town! [...] Now Tilly's at the gate. Our homes who'll hberate? Go, loved one, hasten to the gate, And dare the combat straight! [...] The churches ruined lie, The houses burn on high, The roofs they smoke, the flames out fly, Into the street then hie! /

No safety there they meet! The soldiers fill the street, With fire and sword the wreck complete: No safety there they meet! / [...] The women sorrow sore, The maidens far, far more. The living are no virgins more. Thus Tilly's troops make war! ‘The Destruction of Magdeburg’. 1798 Poem by German national poet J. W. Goethe

Welcome letter from the Secretariat

Distinguished Delegates,

On behalf of the entire EuroMUN Secretariat I would like to welcome you to the Crisis Committee. Our conference is held around the motto ‘FORWARD through System Change’. In recent times several crises have exposed substantial problems and inequalities in our national, international, social and economic systems. At EuroMUN 2021 we aim to give you the space to debate such pressing challenges constructively. You will get the chance to look back into the history of your topic and rethink it within the frame of your committee to come up with new and innovative approach. We hope that your time at EuroMUN 2021 will be a stimulating experience for you, both academically and socially. We wish you success, fruitful debates and an overall good time within your committee session and the conference as a whole.

On behalf of the EuroMUN Secretariat,

EuroMUN 2021 Secretary-General & Conference Manager Julian Schneider

Welcome letter from the Crisis Team

Dear Delegates, On behalf of the entire crisis team we would like to warmly welcome you to our Joint Cabinet Crisis which will revolve around the Thirty-Years-War and the Siege of Magdeburg in 1631. This crisis is designed for all range of delegates, be this your first-time discovering the world of Model United Nations and Crisis, or if this is your twenty-fifth time plotting schemes to grab power and dominate the alternate world as we know it. We would like to thank you for being part of this ambitious crisis project, which we hope to integrate all the aspects of early modern socio-political decision-making and urgent scenarios where variety of choices you made could pan out wildly differently. The focus of this Crisis is to put you, delegates, in the shoes of historical figures, who were key decision makers in the examined conflict. This project also shifts the focus from most crisis scenarios, as it drives all three cabinets directly into an unbalanced conflict, in which time pressure, fragmentation from within and asymmetric information are key challenges to the delegates. Coming from a background in European Studies and both being native German speakers, this topic is also important to the directors Simon and Max personally. Magdeburg and the historical events that ensued in 1631 have become embedded into the German language as synonyms for senseless violence and destruction and marked a sharp divide between Catholics and Protestants that could only be overcome centuries later. Do you have what it takes to alter the past in this simulation? When thinking about a MUN topic with an early modern background, concepts such as “inquisition”, “rising absolutism”, “military revolution”, or “early nation states” might fly by your mind. Such historical concepts are surely helpful to study the era. However, we have assembled the crisis staff from various backgrounds and experiences who are ready to give you a full crisis experience. A holistic ride, that transcends mere war-gaming and negotiating. You will be put in charge of affairs of religious, economic or military nature – perhaps even a combination of these, and will have to make good use of your limited resources to ensure the best possible outcome for your faction and yourself – should those not align, the choice will be yours what to prioritize. We therefore ask each and every delegate to immerse yourself in this experiment. We will challenge each and every one of you on imagining and taking actions on what the alternate future holds in stock for Magdeburg, its citizens and the competing armies around it. And hopefully by the end of EuroMUN you might reflect upon our current worldviews and those of the people involved in 1631. As the old age says, it is easier to envision your goals at the very end and walk slowly backwards to see how to achieve or see them play out. Having said that, the staff is here to facilitate your crisis experience, and we are open to your queries and concerns along the way. The crisis team is here to make you have a great time. We look forward to meeting you all in Maastricht!

Yours sincerely on behalf of the entire Crisis team, Simon Pompé and Max Schwaiger – Crisis Directors

How does a Crisis Committee work?

If this is your first time in a crisis committee there may be a lot that is new to you. It can be a bit overwhelming in the beginning, as your possibilities to act seem sheer endless. But in just a few simple steps you will be on your way to glory and great deeds in no time.

Unlike regular General Assembly or specialized committees, a Crisis Committee introduces two features to alter the outcome of your efforts: a non-static timeline and secretive diplomacy. Since a crisis committee is usually divided into 2-3 sub-committees called cabinets, there is plenty of room for political maneuvers. The cabinets represent a group loosely connected by either common interest (Ideology, political alliances, etc) or geography (e.g., arctic council or in our case Magdeburg’s citizens, the Imperial and the Swedish Armies). All cabinets are referred to as the front room. The backroom is where the crisis staff sits. They are in charge of keeping the crisis on track.

Whom do I represent?

While you usually represent a country in a "regular" committee, this is never the case in a crisis. You always represent a character, with a unique portfolio of individual ambitions and skills. This might entail that you lead a country, e.g. as President or Monarch. You could also only be partially in charge of a country's policy (For example as a Minister or General) or not at all. However, you always need to bear in mind that you represent an individual. This means that your individual agenda goes over the agenda of the cabinet you are part of. On the other hand, this also means that your character can be taken out at any time (Thrown into prison, exiled, assassinated, executed... you get it).

An example character could be a lower nobleman from Magedburg’s surrounding area, fiercely supportive of the Catholic Imperials. This noble would have his own personal interests in the form of his wealth and land, as well as moral convictions of loyalty to the Emperor. Additionally, he considers the interests of his wider peer group, i.e. the local gentry. These layers often coincide but can also clash. The mismatch between personal and the group’s interests can be exploited by you or your fellow delegates to craft agreements or deals.

How does the crisis move forward?

Debating is only one aspect of a crisis. The delegates use the possibilities to write directives to drive the crisis forward, while the backroom responds to them, and merely steers the crisis. Should the simulation get too much off track, the backroom will also intervene.

Directives usually are structured into different types: the secretive ones and the public ones. Its core types are outlined in the table attached.

Introduction to the topic

Context: The long 17th-century crisis

The 1600s were a time of civilizational and social unravelling of continental Europe. It was a continent-spanning period of degradation, but much of the suffering was concentrated in the

German lands. The Thirty-Years-War spanning 1618 to 1648 was one of the costliest and deadliest conflicts the world had seen to that date, fueled by colonial exploits and confessional fanaticism. It was mainly fought along religious lines of Protestantism versus Catholicism, but eventually gave rise to the state-driven system of Europe in the Peace-Treaty of Westphalia 1648. While we do not expect you to know the deep intricacies of transnational diplomatic and interpersonal relationships of rulers and military leaders, you should familiarize yourself with the basics of the Thirty-Years-War as an important backdrop to the Siege of Magdeburg.

At the time, the German lands were fraught and disunited politically and culturally, but formally part of the skeleton of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE); a loose amalgamation of tiny duchies, baronies and city-states, who were being pillaged and sacked by the surrounding bigger states of the Habsburg Dynasty, the French or Spanish Empires, or the Danish and Swedish Kings.

The year 1630 was an important turning point in the war, as the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf decided to launch an intervention into the HRE on behalf of the Protestant cause. A young and confident state in the making, Sweden disposed of considerable organizational and military power. It was the king’s ambition to conquer all the lands surrounding the Baltic Sea to make it a ‘Swedish Lake’. This was good news for German Protestants who had thus far been teetering on the verge of total defeat. The balance of war shifted when the Imperials lost numerous battles, until finally putting the Swedish advance to a halt in 1634 (well after the Siege of Magdeburg). While not making the substantial gains it had hoped for, Sweden sat at the roundtable of the peace of Westphalia in 1648 and carved out a significant sphere of influence in Germany.

The prolonged military crisis was compounded with the ‘Little Ice Age’ of the 17th century, a period of global cooling in temperatures. Harvests were less bountiful during these years, and thus, disease and hunger became widespread. Major parts of the HRE were either depopulated entirely, or saw up to half of its inhabitants die from famine, plagues or marauding troops. This altogether produced a popular belief that the biblical end of times was near, and Apocalypse imminent. This is important because it explains the intense religiosity of everyday people in the 17th century. Contrary to popular belief, religion was not only a thin excuse to go for war over profit and power, but was a real, tangible concern of both nobles and peasants. The hope for divine salvation and godly favor was an essential concern. Therefore, belonging to the correct confession of Protestantism versus Catholicism was a matter of great personal and political importance. Delegates should act in such a way.

Magdeburg in the Thirty-Years-War

During the Reformation era, the city of Magdeburg located in north-eastern Germany and thus part of the Holy Roman Empire became one of the strongholds of Protestantism. This can be

8 partially attributed to the Catholic Archbishop of Magdeburg excessively dealing in the selling indulgences. From the 1560s to 1600, Magdeburg gradually became a center of protestant scholars and a bulwark of resistance against the counter-reformation, becoming a refuge for many protestants from the south. Furthermore, Magdeburg was of strategic importance as a member of the Hansa and a major trading hub specialized in corn trading. This earned the city the nickname “The Hansa’s granary”.

Fast forward to the 30-years-war, the northern German lands became an epicenter of the conflict between Imperial-Catholic power, northern German strife for greater autonomy, and Swedish ambitions in central Europe. While most other cities in the area were wary of aligning themselves with the protestant Swedes led by their warrior-king Gustav Adolf II., Magdeburg became their firm ally by 1630, after it had already briefly been besieged by Imperial troops. However, the city’s population could roughly be divided into three factions, much like most other large cities of the empire: The wealthy upper-class wanted to remain loyal to the empire out of fear for their influence and wealth. The moderate majority in the city council and a considerable part of the burghers wished to defend the city’s integrity without affronting imperial authority. Finally, the radicalists on the council supported by most lower-class burghers and extreme clergy wanted an all-out war with the Empire and aligned with Swedish ambition. As of 1629, the latter group held the majority of seats on the city council.

As Swedes and Imperials continued clashing, infamous General Tilly started besieging the city in early March 1631. What followed was one of the bloodiest sieges in the 30-years-war, culminating in the sacking and burning of Magdeburg by Imperial troops after nearly three months of siege. In the looting of the town, two-thirds of its inhabitants were killed. The German term Magdeburgisieren (lit. to “Magdeburgize”) for the complete eradication or annihilation of something was coined by this gruesome event.

This crisis temporarily picks off on March 15th 1631 - two months before the city would be stormed in May in real history. Delegates slip into the roles of real historical personas with their private backgrounds and group-based affiliations.

Together, delegates should find an alternative trajectory of history to mitigate the challenges of maintaining discipline and pursuing common interests in the three camps/front rooms: The royal Swedish Army, the Imperial Catholic League, and the besieged City Council of Magdeburg. These camps may work together or plot against each other. However, the front rooms themselves are fraught with infighting and diverging internal interests. A great complexity of individual and common perspectives emerges.

Introduction to the front rooms

Magdeburg and its citizens:

Magdeburg in past conflicts

The citizens of Magdeburg were no strangers to conflict, war, and the power struggle. Due to the city formally being a catholic archdiocese, it was presided over by a roman-catholic archbishop. Governing this large city was an administrative mess. Complicated divisions of power meant that de-facto Magdeburg was ruled by both a city council with one mayor as their leader as well as the archbishop. The city council took care of craft- and trade-related laws, coinage, and taxes, and “low justice”. High Justice, religious laws, and church taxes fell under the domain of the Archbishop. This divide between low and high justice refers to a specific term from feudal law. Low justice included petty crimes and all kinds of offenses that would be punished by fines and light corporal punishments. High justice meant the right to hand down the death penalty or utilize torture or severe mutilations. Ironically, the catholic church itself did not allow priests to pass the death sentence (in line with the 5th commandment “thou shall not murder”).

These conditions slightly changed in 1567, when the cathedral of Magdeburg became a protestant church, effectively ending all powers the Catholics held over the city. Since that time a protestant “administrator” that was elected executed the powers of the archbishop in his stead. This did not change when imperial troops under Georg of Mecklenburg besieged the city in 1550 already. Instead, when the siege was lifted after successful peace negotiations, the spirits and beliefs of the protestants were strengthened.

Magdeburg in 1630

The burghers (a medieval term for urban residents with a degree of wealth and political influence) formed the backbone of the bulwark of Protestantism in Magdeburg, as they stood to gain the most from this development. The arcane laws enabling the leaders of guilds of craftsmen to hold considerable sway in the city council let them to have their voices heard. They were often rallied by zealous Protestant preachers of low rank who were by far the most radical in their fight against imperial authority. When the 30 years’ war broke out, they aimed to fight alongside the other great protestant nations of Denmark, Sweden, or the young united provinces of the Netherlands. They chiefly count on the support of the Swedish troops under King Gustav Adolf, who has just launched his intervention campaign in the Thirty-Years-War.

Their fiercest opposition within the council was the lower gentry (a term denoting the lower aristocracy of the local lands, holding most of the landownership and therefore mostly agricultural interests), which remained mainly catholic. It was also them who were most adamant about making peace with the imperials before death and famine would be brought to their land by the Empire’s armies. It was due to their efforts that a previous siege of Magdeburg by Wallenstein in 1629 was lifted through negotiations. They also hold considerable power because much of Magdeburg’s power and prestige stems from the agricultural trade with other Hansa cities along the Elbe River like Hamburg.

In between those two blocks were the majority of members of the city council, and the richer merchants and burghers: they wanted to protect the integrity of Magdeburg and defend their privileges as a city without provoking the Emperor. Thus, they favored a protestant alliance but refused to commit to an all-out war. Their plans were threatened by the arrival of Dietrich von Falkenberg, a liaison sent by the Swedish King Gustav Adolf II to mobilize Magdeburg. Falkenberg is an experienced officer and a trusted ally to Swedish King Gustav Adolf, and is determined to convince the Magdeburgers to hold out the attack. His tactical military experience may also contribute to a successful defense against an assault.

In sum, the Magdeburg City Council is divided along the lines of stubborn Protestants versus a few Catholics versus the moderates preferring a peaceful resolution. These fault lines must carefully be maneuvered to avoid infighting and to preserve discipline within the walls. Fundamentally, the question must be debated whether to capitulate on favorable terms,

11 preserving some of the Council’s material interests in the process, or whether to hold out and hope that the walls can withstand an Imperial attack - at least for as long as it takes the Swedish allies to arrive and relieve the city.

A besieged city is an emotional powder keg where the population is under extreme prolonged distress. Resource scarcity exacerbates the problems of riots, malnourishment and desertions. Aside from pursuing individual interests, Council Members must also take care of the city’s governance to maintain food supply, as well as the defenses of the city walls.

By After Jan van de Velde the Elder - (Original text: Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg, Inv. Nr. G216) scanned out of: Matthias Puhle, ...ganz verheeret! Magdeburg und der Dreißigjährige Krieg. Halle(Saale) 1998., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7123261

The Swedish Troops:

Following the Edict of Restitution by Emperor Ferdinand II on the height of his and the Catholic League's military success in 1629, Protestantism in the Holy Roman Empire was seriously threatened. To aid their Lutheran brethren in the Empire, Swedish King Gustav Adolf II launched an intervention, and invaded the lands of the Holy Roman Empire in 1629. There was no official declaration of war, merely an attack on the northern German harbor city of Stralsund, followed by a landing of the main bulk of the Swedish army.

The Swedes at this time were a relatively young large nation. Indeed, the case can be made that Gustav Adolf’s intervention was the true beginning of Stormaktstiden - the time of great power. It’s key players besides their warrior-king was his loyal chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, a skilled diplomat and great strategists. Paired with the military ingenuity of Gustav Adolf, the Swedish armies were soon rushing from victory to victory.

Their armies, albeit being far more homogenous than the imperial forces, were composed of not only Swedes, but northern German nobles, Scottish mercenaries, Baltic conscripts and the

12 fearsome Hakkapeliitta: cavalry regiments from Finland. Due to their innovative use of tactics and equipment as well as a newly introduced drafting system that brought about a standing army, the Swedes could count on their superiority on the battlefield.

In some initial maneuvers, the Royal Swedish Army, led directly by their king instead of a general, had seized most of the Duchy of Pomerania and slowly crawled closer to the Oder River, on which Magdeburg was located. In order to mobilize the locals, they had sent the noble Dietrich von Falkenberg as a military liaison.

The Swedes dispose of a well-trained fighting force of mostly professional soldiers in direct service to the crown. At the time of the siege, no continental army could compare itself with the discipline and tactical supremacy of Gustav Adolf’s troops in open confrontation. However, the army is also accompanied by auxiliary mercenary troops, whose discipline and willingness to fight is much more in question. They mostly fight for the prospect of looting and ransacking, and may abandon the army if their hopes are disappointed.

As a fundamental challenge, the Swedes have to decide whether to head for Magdeburg straight away and face the Imperials in a dangerous and open-ended confrontation, or whether they should first pillage and conquer the surrounding lands for profit and for increasing the troops strength from new recruits. On the one hand, the men are tired and a long way from home, and demand pay and booty. On the other hand, Magdeburg is essential to the Swedish intervention campaign in the Thirty-Years-War due to its strategic position on the Elbe River, and an important ally to the Protestant cause.

The Imperial Army:

Just as Magdeburg was a city divided, there were several camps within the imperial army as well. It starts with the immense diversity of people that the army closing in on Magdeburg was composed of. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, commonly referred to as the HRE or just the “Empire”, stretched from Istria in the south to Kiel in the north and from Silesia in the east as far as Dunkerque in the West at the time. This, combined with the complex political status of the empire and the ever-shifting alliances of this period lead to a fascinating blend of origins for the soldiers that made up imperial armies. Social differences of both class and culture mark the experience of the besieging camp.

In the case of this particular army, or rather these armies, the composition is a bit unclear. From primary sources, we know that both Croatians, as well as Flemish soldiers, served under the dual leadership of the Generals Tilly and Pappenheim. Due to their origin, it is safe to assume that the majority of their troops were mercenaries from mostly southern Germany. Most notably however was Pappenheim’s own regiment of infamous cuirassiers. Robbed of the military genius of the Catholics’ legendary General Wallenstein, who at this point in history had stepped down from his military positions due to political intrigues, General Tilly and General Pappenheim were the most important military leaders of the catholic league and the empire. These two towering figures of Imperial warfare significantly determine the course of action.

Magdeburg was extremely important to the Catholic cause due to its strategic position by the Elbe river and wealth. They had to control Magdeburg at all costs if they wanted to prevent the Swedes from marching along the river into Silesia and Bohemia, from where they could threaten the very heartland of the Empire. Furthermore, they knew that an Army marches on its stomach and thus they had to refill the imperial coffers and replenish their soldier’s provisions posthaste. A further incentive for them was the symbolic position that Magdeburg held as the bulwark of Protestantism. If conquered, the empire would be able to paint the taking of the “Magdeburg Maiden” as a great divine punishment for the sinful ways of Protestantism.

The Imperial front room is composed by the leaders in charge of the respective factions composing the army. This includes the generals Tilly and Pappenheim, but also mercenary leaders, influential officers, and religious clerical leaders. Their fundamental challenge is negotiating the divergent interests of the factions; while the foreign mercenary armies might prioritize the prospect of loot and ransacking the riches of Magdeburg’s citizens, the Imperial troops under Tilly or Pappenheim may prioritize the strategic success in subjecting the city to the Emperor’s sphere of influence. The more time passes, the higher the risk that rowdy mercenaries and bored soldiers will demand pay and break discipline. Thus, order and peace among the factions is delicate and must be maintained. Otherwise, the siege may very well fall apart before it even begins.

As a central issue, the Imperial factions must decide whether they negotiate with the Magdeburghers and aim for a peaceful capitulation (saving the troops from losing men and potentially shortening the siege), or whether they should assault early on, risking defeat and high costs. Sieges were risky ventures for both attackers and defendants, but more often than not, a well-fortified city such as Magdeburg could withstand attacks for a very long time. And time is a finite resource for the Imperials, since the ever-looming threat of the approaching Swedish Army of Gustav Adolf could mean the Imperials’ end. Attack too soon, and Magdeburg’s desperate citizens and soldiers may comfortably fend off the attack. Wait too

14 long, and the Imperials are ground to dust between Magdeburg’s walls and the well-trained Swedish army. But perhaps the Protestant Swedes could be negotiated with…?