How a battle in Bohemia changed the history of Europe
"Entrance of Image of the Madonna into Prague after battle of the White Mountain" by G. D. Cerrini (1675) Shutterstock
On this day, four centuries ago, an event took place which changed the history of Europe: the Battle of the White Mountain. It was the first major engagement of the Thirty Years’ War — the bloodiest continental conflict until the world wars of the 20th century, which devastated Central Europe for three decades until it ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. How did it happen?
At the beginning of the 17th century, peace and quiet ruled over the German states. The principle of cuius regio, eius religio seemed to have resolved religious conflicts. It was up to the Prince. If he was Catholic, his people happily adopted the Catholic religion, if he was Protestant his people, equally happily, opted for the Protestant religion.
Bohemia (not a German state but ruled by Habsburg Kings) was an exception. Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, although a Catholic himself, was a liberal at heart. His Letter of Majesty secured religious freedom for his largely Protestant Bohemian subjects. Ferdinand II, a successor of Rudolf, was less liberal. He was a devout Catholic and a staunch believer in proselytisation. He wanted to convert the Czech nobility to the true faith. The Bohemian nobles saw their religious freedom more and more curtailed. Their discontent led to violence.
In May 1618, a Protestant crowd stormed the Bohemian Chancellery and quickly defenestrated two Catholic Regents and their secretary. Miraculously, all three survived. There are two contrasting explanations for their escape. According to the Catholic version, the rescue operations were undertaken by the Virgin Mary herself who provided some anti-gravity device suspended by a band of angels. The Protestant version is somewhat different. According to that one, the three lucky men fell upon a dung heap.
The defenestration of 1618 led to dire consequences. To be precise, it led to 30 years of bloodshed known as the Thirty Years War, starting in Bohemia. After his regents’ defenestration, Ferdinand wanted to teach the Czech Estates a lesson. He moved into Bohemia with an army of 27,000 men. The army raised by the Czechs was about half the size and short of enthusiasm. The two armies met at the White Mountain, not far from Prague. The battle was over in no time at all. The Czech army was thoroughly defeated. The date of the battle was November 9, 1620, exactly 400 years ago.
The Battle of the White Mountain was a significant event — and not only because it led to great devastation. It has apparently affected the Czech psyche too. There have been no great Czech war heroes ever since. True, they did some fighting, on both sides, in the First World War. Yet they could not claim any military glory on either side. The best example of Czech military prowess is the eponymous hero of The Good Soldier Svejk, the creation of Jaroslav Hasek. Poor, innocent Svejk, a private in the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, had always the best intentions, but somehow never managed to accomplish any military feats. The reluctance to fight manifested itself in more modern scenarios as well: no shot was fired, in anger or otherwise, in 1939, nor in 1968.
There was actually, one more Prague defenestration of historical interest. Jan Masaryk, Foreign Minister and son of Tomas Masaryk, the founder of the Czechoslovak state, was found dead on the pavement in front of the Foreign Ministry in Prague in March 1948, a month after the Communist takeover. It was suicide, said the official report. Hardly anybody believed it at the time and enquiries after the Velvet Revolution did indeed confirm that he did not jump. He was pushed.
Why did the Communists want to get rid of Masaryk? It was very likely related to his announcements, as Foreign Secretary of Czechoslovakia, that his country was ready to accept the Marshall Plan. Stalin was not pleased. He made sure, via Molotov attending the donor conference, that none of the East European countries in the Soviet sphere would sign up. Masaryk’s defenestration was an early indication that Stalin would stop short of nothing to achieve his aims. In 1948 some people in the West still believed that Stalin would adhere to the Yalta agreement. After Masaryk’s murder no illusions were left. The Cold War would last even longer than the Thirty Years’ War — more than forty years, in fact. But this time there would be no battle — only the bloodless revolutions of 1989.
A Message from TheArticle
We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to continue publishing throughout the pandemic. So please, make a donation.
