650 Outlines of European History Swedish, Spanish, and German soldiers ravaged an already exhausted country for a decade longer. The dearth of provi- sions was so great that the armies had to move quickly from place to place in order to avoid starvation. After a serious de- feat by the Swedes, the Emperor (Ferdinand III, 163 7-1 65 7) Fig. 222. Portrait of Cardinal Richelieu, from a Contemporaneous Painting France suc- ceeds Spain in the military supremacy of western Europe sent a Dominican monk to expostulate with Cardinal Richelieu for his crime in aiding the German and Swedish heretics against Catholic Austria. The cardinal had, however, just died (December, 1642), well content with the results of his diplomacy. The French were in possession of Roussillon and of Lorraine and Alsace. The military exploits of the French generals, especially Turenne and Conde', during the opening years of the reign of Louis XIV
