Once More unto the Breach 151bring reinforcements. Frustrated, Gustavus turned on the undefended
Bavarian hinterland and the city of Munich, ravaging the former and
plundering the latter during the month of May. Profitable enough in
terms of loot, this contributed nothing to his military position, and
while he was making himself at home in the electoral palace in Munich
and playing tennis on Maximilian’s court Wallenstein was starting to
move.
The generalissimo had maintained his contacts with the Saxon com-
mander during the spring, but his repeated peace feelers had elicited
no positive response from the elector.^15 Hence his first priority was
to secure his rear by driving the Saxons out of Bohemia and Silesia, a
task readily enough accomplished by confronting Arnim with twice as
many men as the latter could muster. Starting in the middle of May,
Wallenstein’s forces were in Prague late in the month, and by mid-June
the reoccupation of the two Imperial territories was completed with a
minimum of serious fighting. Elector John George fully expected him
to press on to attack Saxony itself, and Gustavus became very anx-
ious about his ally. He had been kept informed of the contacts with
Wallenstein, and naturally he suspected that there was more to them
than Arnim reported, while the latter’s brisk evacuation of Bohemia and
Silesia added to his concern. Was Saxony on the point of making a sepa-
rate peace, or was it about to be invaded and occupied by Wallenstein?
Either way Gustavus had a problem, as Wallenstein, together with
Pappenheim’s army in northern Germany, would then threaten his
lines of communication and possible retreat to the Baltic. Although his
armies elsewhere were still making progress, especially on the Rhine,
Gustavus seemed uncertain what to do next himself. With problems in
his rear, advancing along the Danube into Austria was no longer feasi-
ble, particularly as in addition to Ingolstadt and Regensburg being in
enemy hands Wallenstein had taken the precaution of reinforcing the
border city of Passau. Instead Gustavus first turned west from Munich
to Memmingen, but in view of Wallenstein’s threat to Saxony and John
George’s appeals for help he divided his forces in mid-June, leaving part
to hold his conquests in the south while he turned north and marched
back towards Nuremberg with the remainder.
But Wallenstein did not invade Saxony. That was not his objective.
Instead he gathered together a large part of his reconstructed forces
into a formidable army and headed south-west from Bohemia to seek
out Gustavus. The Bavarians took the opportunity to break out from
Regensburg, and although the Swedes attempted to intercept them
they slipped past and met up successfully with the Imperialist army,