134 Wallenstein
turned on Saxony, where the elector had been building up a significant
if raw army of his own in order to be able to defend a position of armed
neutrality. Seeing this as a threat, the emperor had demanded that
he either disband his forces or join them with the Imperialist armies,
and Tilly now issued an ultimatum. Quite why he took this hard line
is uncertain, although it may have been forced on him by the need
to move his army into unspoiled country where his men could find
food, but whatever the reason the outcome was predictable. Tilly’s
forces moved into Saxony in the first days of September, the elector
almost immediately allied himself with the Swedes, and two weeks
later the battle of Breitenfeld put the Imperialist cause into full retreat.
Wallenstein may justifiably have felt that he could have handled things
better, but during the time he had kept himself on the sidelines neither
he nor anyone else had expected such a startling Swedish success.
The course of the war also affected Wallenstein personally. First to
go was Mecklenburg, most of which had fallen to the Swedes by May
1631, while Gustavus presided over a triumphant reinstallation of the
previous dukes in July. The resulting loss of income further strained
Wallenstein’s resources, and his correspondence with his officials in this
period shows him concerning himself anxiously with sums of money
which previously he would scarcely have noticed.^22 He knew that Sagan
would probably be next, although in the event Gustavus’s decision not
to march into Silesia provided a respite. Instead the Saxon invasion of
Bohemia brought with it raids on Friedland properties by returning
exiles. By then it was obvious to Wallenstein that unless there was a rapid
revival of Imperialist fortunes he was likely soon to become a landless
refugee, the same danger which had threatened him in 1624–25 and
which he had actually experienced in 1619. His response was the same.
He re-entered Ferdinand’s military service.
Before tracing the course of this renewed commission it remains to con-
sider what Wallenstein was doing during his period of unemployment.
Although he long declined the blandishments of Vienna he by no
means distanced himself from the situation. On the contrary he kept
himself very well informed. His correspondence was as voluminous as
before. Senior officers wrote to him, sent him reports, grumbled about
the handling of the war, and expressed their eagerness to serve under
him again should he resume the command. Moreover his household,
whether in Gitschin or in Prague, retained the capacity to resume the
functions of a military headquarters and secretariat. This has been seen
as indicating that he intended all along to regain his position, but more
likely is that at the back of his mind he never entirely ruled out the