218 Wallenstein
As a result he was not well placed to take part in any attempt to arrest or
kill Wallenstein. Piccolomini himself became hesitant, perhaps thinking
that he might have overplayed his hand. Although courageous on the
battlefield he was nervous of having to take the leading part in trying to
seize the generalissimo in his own headquarters, surrounded by an army
probably more loyal to him as the source of what little pay it received
than to the Imperial court which provided nothing.^41
The planned move against Wallenstein following the tribunal’s deci-
sion could not long be fully hidden. Some people started to guess;
others correctly interpreted the lack of any apparent action as meaning
that something was being undertaken in secret. Oñate knew by early
February, Maximilian soon afterwards,^ while on 2 February an Imperial
councillor communicated the decision to Aldringer, which he in turn
passed on to Piccolomini.^42 At some point the information reached
Gallas in Pilsen, whereupon seeing which way the wind blew he aban-
doned any reservations he might have had. Nevertheless security was
tight enough for no hint to have reached Ilow, Trcˇka or Wallenstein
himself, and hence they did not demur when Gallas suggested a further
meeting of officers, at which they should all present details of the totals
owed to them by the Imperial treasury for their military outlays. In
fact he intended this meeting as an opportunity to gather supporters
in Pilsen in order to proceed against Wallenstein, and it enabled him to
summon Piccolomini and Aldringer in particular. The latter, however,
once again found an excuse to absent himself, and when Piccolomini
arrived on 11 February he agreed with Gallas, according to his own
account, that the undertaking was too dangerous to be attempted
because the garrison had been changed and the sentiment of the army
was unknown.^43
On the following day Gallas left Pilsen with Wallenstein’s good
wishes, using the excuse that he intended to meet Aldringer and accom-
pany him back to headquarters. On 13 February he despatched confi-
dential orders to those senior officers outside Pilsen whom he regarded
as trustworthy. They were, he said, in future to obey no orders from
Wallenstein, Ilow or Trcˇka, but only those from himself, Aldringer and
Piccolomini. The latter also left Pilsen soon after, reporting to Gallas
that ‘it was not possible’ before he left to distribute copies of his order
to the reliable colonels amongst those there assembled, as he had been
ordered to do.^44 While Gallas and Piccolomini then set about securing
the loyalty of officers and regiments throughout the hereditary lands,
other than those in the Pilsen area, Aldringer went to Vienna to urge
the need for open action, as well as to draw attention to his own loyal