208 The Origins of the Thirty Years War and the Revolt in Bohemia, 1618
an army of some 10,000 men commenced at the end of the year. How-
ever growing problems within France led to increasing caution in the
early months of 1620, so that it was first decided to mount a diplomatic
initiative towards a settlement in Bohemia in parallel with sending
troops, and then to give the former priority, with the army to follow
only if diplomacy failed. A mission under the duke of Angoulême was
duly despatched, going first to the Protestant Union meeting in Ulm,
where they arrived in early June, although revolts which broke out in
France in the same month caused preparations for a supporting military
intervention to be abandoned entirely.^13
The French mediators were aiming at a comprehensive settlement in
which Friedrich would withdraw from the Bohemian crown, Ferdinand
would be induced to come to terms with the rebels, thus denying him
a military victory, and the latter would have to settle for something
like thestatus quo ante, hence avoiding a successful outcome for the
Protestant revolt. However they made little progress in their initial dis-
cussions with the Union in Ulm after expressing the opinion that the
security of the Palatinate could only be ensured by Friedrich relinquish-
ing the Bohemian crown. Matters came to a head on June 15, when
they went further, describing him as ‘a dangerous aggressor who was
wilfully endangering peace in the whole of Europe’, leading the Union
members to conclude that they were ‘very partisan’.^14 Despite this the
French were still in the city talking to individual representatives when
the Union’s subsequent negotiations with Maximilian reached deadlock
and he asked them to mediate.
Maximilian was already winning the war of nerves, helped by his posi-
tion as sole arbiter of the League’s stance, whereas the Union side had
to contend with their usual internal differences. The French envoys in
Ulm also noted considerable exasperation among the Union members
over Friedrich’s conduct, while the Württemberg archives record that
it was causing great dissatisfaction there, with anger growing month
by month. There had long been tensions over the often high-handed
Palatine leadership of the Union, while sympathy for Friedrich’s accep-
tance of the Bohemian crown had been limited among the membership
from the outset. Many now felt that he had exploited the Union, as well
as misleading them over the attitude of his father-in-law James I. More-
over when Christian of Anhalt had been appointed to command the
Bohemian forces he had taken with him Union troops intended for the
defence of members’ territories in Germany, including a detachment
of Württemberg cavalry, but protests and demands for their return had
elicited only evasions.^15