The German Peasants' War: A Catastrophic End
In 1525, an army of revolting peasants seemed unstoppable, but a brutal end was on the horizon. Set alight by Reformation hopes and long-standing grievances, the German Peasants' War looked like it might successfully upend the established order.
In the spring of 1525, the German countryside erupted, with tens of thousands rising in arms, sacking castles and looting monasteries. For a few months, the rebels looked unstoppable, but as summer wore on, their movement collapsed.
“It was a disaster,” says historian Lyndal Roper, “a traumatic event that happens in the very middle of the Reformation.”
The German Peasants' War of 1524-1525 was the largest popular uprising in western Europe before the French Revolution.
Author's summary: The German Peasants' War ended in catastrophe despite initial successes.