The soldiers whom he commanded, mostly utraquists, joined the Bohemians, and Waldstein was obliged to seek refuge at the Imperial court of Vienna, accompanied only by a few horsemen. He thus laid the foundation of the great favour which he long enjoyed at the court of Ferdinand. He took part in the campaign which ended with the battle of the Bila Hora, and was noted for the great severity, and indeed cruelty, with which he maintained order in Prague after the city had capitulated to the Imperialists.
Waldstein seized the opportunity of the vast confiscations of Bohemian estates which took place after the battle of the White Mountain to acquire an enormous fortune. As a favourite of the Emperor he was able to purchase at an almost nominal price vast estates which had belonged to exiled Protestants. The expense incurred by Waldstein was still further diminished by the fact that he had, together with Prince Liechtenstein, Austrian governor of Bohemia, and other Imperial courtiers, authorized the Jew Bassewi to introduce an adulterated coinage into Bohemia, in which all payments were made by those who enjoyed the favour of the court of Vienna. Though he had thus become a very wealthy man and one of the greatest landowners in Bohemia, Waldstein continued to serve in the Imperial army, which principally through his military talent obtained brilliant victories. Waldstein was successful against the Hungarian army of Bethlen Gabor, and also defeated in Moravia and Silesia the forces of the Margrave of Jägerndorf and of Count Thurn. Through these victories the Imperialists, however, obtained but a short respite. The ever-increasing conviction that the total destruction of Protestantism was the real aim of the Habsburg dynasty, induced all Protestant princes consecutively to oppose Ferdinand. When in 1625 the King of Denmark attacked the Emperor, Waldstein not only undertook the command of the Imperial forces, but he also, by granting Ferdinand a very large loan, enabled him to raise a considerable army. As Gindely has well pointed out, the dependence of the Emperor on Waldstein was a result of the continued financial difficulties that confronted Ferdinand. He was always lavish of gifts to all priests and monks, and even in moments of the greatest financial distress insisted on maintaining a large and expensive court and household. Ferdinand may have been impressed by the example of his Spanish kinsmen who had succeeded
