The Revolt Defeated 223which achieved their purpose in wearing down his opponents and leav-
ing them frustrated and discouraged as winter approached, even before
the news of the defeat at the White Mountain reached them on about
20 November. The prince of Orange and his men went home, de Vere
ensconced his English troops in the fortress of Frankenthal, one of the
few places in the Palatinate west of the Rhine still holding out, and
Spinola was able to disperse his men into winter quarters in the occupied
territory.^52
Aftermath
The reprisals in Bohemia and Moravia did not begin immediately, as
Ferdinand bided his time, creating a lull in which many of those who
had been involved in the revolt began to feel safe enough to remain
in Bohemia, or even to return after making a hasty exit initially. Any
who could half-credibly do so were quick to try to distance themselves
from the immediate past. In Moravia ‘barely three or four members
had joined the uprising out of conviction’, or so the Estates claimed
to Vienna. The rest, they said, had only participated because of the
overwhelming force Thurn had brought with him. The previously dis-
credited moderate Zierotin was now a convenient example of Moravian
loyalty.^53 In Prague the immensely wealthy knight Rudolf Trˇcka congrat-
ulated the Imperial government on its successful return, complaining
vociferously of what he had suffered during the revolt, despite actu-
ally having held an official position and been in good standing with
the rebel leadership throughout. Nevertheless he managed not only
to evade any responsibility but to re-establish himself on the winning
side, so that he was able to add to his wealth by participating in the
spoils.^54 The fleet-footedness of the Kinsky brothers was even more
remarkable. One of them, Ulrich, who had died on campaign, could
scarcely have excused himself, as he was one of the five men who threw
Martinitz from the window, but Wenzel and Wilhelm, the latter one
of the original thirty directors, were nevertheless able to minimise and
obfuscate their involvement, to the extent that they were likewise able
to retain their properties and to profit from the misfortunes of others.
Schlick’s cousin Heinrich had fought as a Bohemian colonel at the White
Mountain, but he was equally quick to accommodate himself to the out-
come, and to the Imperialists and their church. As a result he not only
escaped any punishment but was able to continue his military career
in the Imperial army, ultimately reaching the rank of field marshal and
becoming president of the Imperial war council.^55