The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648 and ranks among the most destructive conflicts in European history, with an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians killed by battle, famine or disease, and some German regions losing more than half their population. Its origins lay in religious tension within the Holy Roman Empire left over from the Reformation: the 1555 Peace of Augsburg had tried to fix boundaries between Catholic and Lutheran territory, but that settlement broke down as Protestantism kept spreading, and the war that followed combined this internal religious dispute with the wider geopolitical rivalry between France and the Habsburgs. An anti-Habsburg alliance including Bohemia, Sweden, the Palatinate, the Dutch Republic, Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg-Prussia and Saxony fought a pro-Habsburg alliance of the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire, Bavaria and the Catholic League. The war ended with the Peace of Westphalia, which reorganized territory in favor of France, Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia and recognized Dutch independence.
Facts
CombatantsAnti-Habsburg alliance (Bohemia, Sweden, Palatinate, Dutch Republic, Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg-Prussia, Saxony) versus pro-Habsburg alliance (Holy Roman Empire, Spanish Empire, Bavaria, Catholic League) 1 OutcomePeace of Westphalia, with greater autonomy for states, Swedish gains in northern Germany, and Spain's acceptance of Dutch independence 1 Classification
Death Toll Min Conflict Type Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Falconet (cannon)
Grenade, Weapons Systems Early hand grenades, thrown by specialist grenadiers, appeared on the battlefields of the Thirty Years' War
Pike, Weapons Systems Massed pike formations, fighting alongside musketeers in pike and shot tactics, defined infantry combat in the Thirty Years' War
High angle siege mortars battered fortified towns throughout the sieges of the Thirty Years' War
Wheellock pistols armed cavalry troopers, particularly cuirassiers, during the Thirty Years' War
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Thirty Years' War - Wikipedia
Infobox, date
23 May 1618
Infobox, date [end-year]
24 October 1648
Infobox, combatant1/combatant2
Anti-Habsburg alliance prior to 1635
Body, first paragraph
the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, whose terms included greater autonomy for states like Bavaria and Saxony, Swedish territorial gains in northern Germany, as well as Spain's acceptance of Dutch independence
Infobox, casualties field
Infobox casualties: Total civilian and military deaths: 4,500,000 to 8,000,000
Conflict-type attribute (thirty-years-war)
Its origins lay in religious tension within the Holy Roman Empire left over from the Reformation: the 1555 Peace of Augsburg had tried to fix boundaries between Catholic and Lutheran territory, but that settlement broke down as Protestantism kept spreading, and the war that followed combined this internal religious dispute with the wider geopolitical rivalry between France and the Habsburgs.
View the SourceWikipedia: Falconet (cannon)
WikipediaAssociated With: Falconet, main textQuote, Associated With: Falconet, main text
In 1620s Germany a breechloading version was invented, seeing action in the Thirty Years War.
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