The foregoing rebellions coincided with the five months' presence of Thomas Muenzer in the Highland.Though there are no direct proofs of his influence over the outbreak and the course of the movement, it is, nevertheless, indirectly ascertained.The most outspoken revolutionaries among the peasants were mostly his disciples, defending his ideas.The Twelve Articles, as well as the Letter of Articles of the Highland peasants, were ascribed to him by all the contemporaries, although the first was certainly not composed by Muenzer.Already, on his way back to Thuringia, he issued a decisive revolutionary manifesto to the insurgent peasants.
Duke Ulrich, who, since 1519, had been an exile from Wuerttemberg;was now intriguing to regain his land with the aid of the peasants.Since the beginning of his exile be had been trying to utilise the revolutionary party, and had supported it continuously.In most of the local disturbances taking place between 1520 and 1524 in the Black Forest and in Wuerttemberg, his name appeared.Now he armed himself directly for an attack on Wuerttemberg to be launched out of his castle, Hohentweil.However, he was only utilised by the peasants without influencing them, and without enjoying their confidence.
The winter passed without anything decisive happening on either side.The princely masters were in hiding.The peasant revolt was gaining scope.In January, 1525, the entire country between the Danube, the Rhine and the Lech, was in a state of fermentation.In February, the storm broke.
While the Black Forest Hegau troops, under Hans Mueller of Bulgenbach, were conspiring with Ulrich of Wuerttemberg, partly sharing his futile march on Stuttgart (February and March, 1525), the peasants arose on February 9 in Ried above Ulm, assembled in a camp near Baltringen which was protected by marshes, hoisted the red flag, and formed, under the leadership of Ulrich Schmid, the Baltringen troop.They were 10,000 to 12,000 strong.
On February 25, the Upper Allgaeu troops, 7,000 strong, assembled at Schusser, moved by the rumour that troops were marching against the dissatisfied elements who had appeared in this locality as everywhere else.
The people of Kempten, who had conducted a fight against their archbishop throughout the winter, assembled on the 26th and joined the peasants.The cities of Memmingen and Kaufbeuren joined the movement on certain conditions.
The ambiguity of the position of the cities in this movement was already apparent.On March 7, the twelve Memmingen articles were proclaimed in Memmingen for all the peasants of Upper Allgaeu.
A message from the Allgaeu peasants brought about the formation on Lake Constance of the Lake Troop under Eitel Hans.This troop also grew fast.Its headquarters were in Bermatingen.
The peasants also arose in Lower Allgaeu in the region of Ochsenbausen and Schellenberg, in the localities of Zeil and Waldburg, and in the estates of Truchsess.The movement started in the early days of March.This Lower Allgaeu troop, which consisted of 7,000 men, camped near Wurzach.
All these troops adopted the Memmingen articles, which, it must be noted, were still more moderate than the Hegau articles, manifesting, as they did, a remarkable lack of determination in points relating to the attitude of the armed troops towards the nobility and the governments.
Such determination, wherever manifested, appeared only in the later stages of the war, when the peasants learned to know from experience the mode of action of their enemies.
A sixth troop was formed on the Danube, simultaneously with the others.From the entire region, Ulm to Donauwoerth, from the valleys of the Iller, Roth and Biber, the peasants came to Leipheim, and opened camp there.From fifteen localities, every able-bodied man had come, while reinforcements were drawn from 117 places.The leader of the Leipheim troop was Ulrich Schoen.Its preacher was Jakob Wehe, the priest of Leipheim.
Thus, at the beginning of March, there were between 30,000 and 40,000 insurgent peasants of Upper Suabia in six camps under arms.The peasant troops were a heterogeneous lot.Muenzer's revolutionary party was everywhere in the minority but it formed the backbone of the peasant camps.The mass of the peasants were always ready to venture compacts with the masters wherever they were promised those concessions which they hoped to force upon their enemies by their menacing attitude.Moreover, as the uprising dragged on and the princes' armies began to approach, the peasants became weary.Most of those who still had something to lose, went home.
Added to all the difficulties was the fact that the vagabond masses of the low grade proletariat had joined the troops.This made discipline more difficult, and demoralised the peasants, as the vagabonds were an unreliable element, coming and going all the time.This, alone, is sufficient explanation why, at the beginning, the peasants remained everywhere on the defensive, why they were becoming demoralised in their camps, and why, aside from tactical shortcomings and the rarity of good leaders, they could not match the armies of the princes.
