The Wheel Is Come Full Circle 131he faced bankruptcy. His letters became increasingly desperate. It was
probably coincidence that the last was written one day after the deci-
sion to dismiss Wallenstein was reached at Regensburg, although de
Witte may have guessed which way the wind was blowing, and in it he
included not only a summary of the full extent of his problems but also
a note that he was unable to continue even the general’s own monthly
advance. News of this last financial blow reached Wallenstein a few days
before the official messengers from the emperor, and with this added to
everything else he had reason enough to be glad to leave the problems
to his successor, and to accept his discharge with some relief. De Witte
committed suicide soon afterwards.^16
The most amazing aspect of the whole Regensburg saga is that it was
played out with total disregard for the threat presented by Sweden. The
emperor sent his opening agenda to the electors on 3 July, and three
days later Gustavus Adolphus landed on the Baltic coast with an army
of 13,000 men, quickly joined by a further 4000 from the Stralsund
garrison. On 17 July the electors sent their initial reply to Ferdinand,
and three days later the city of Stettin (Szczecin) opened its gates to the
invaders. In the following four weeks, while the parties at Regensburg
kept their sights on Wallenstein, Gustavus consolidated his position in
Pomerania and frantically recruited soldiers. For reasons unknown the
commander of the large Imperialist forces Wallenstein had placed in
the area to guard against a landing did not stick to the plan to make an
early attack on the Swedes, preferring a passive strategy of containment.
By the time this news reached Memmingen the decision to dismiss
Wallenstein had been taken but no replacement had been appointed,
so that there was no commander-in-chief to direct the campaign for
the remainder of the season. The emperor notified senior officers of
Wallenstein’s discharge on 13 September, whereupon some officers
began to break up their regiments of their own accord, while men
deserted in large numbers from others.^17 Many of them were only too
glad to obtain alternative employment with the renowned Gustavus,
and by the late autumn, when the emperor and the electors went home
from Regensburg, the Swedes had over 40,000 men and were secure
for the winter.^18 Despite the threat, and then the fact, of the Swedish
intervention, the emperor yielded to the pressure to dismiss his gener-
alissimo and disperse his army. No doubt the Catholic electors calcu-
lated that the war would continue to be fought out in the north, far
from their own domains – as indeed did Gustavus – but a year later the
Swedes took Mainz and six months after that they were in Munich.