During the European wars of the 17th/18th century, were the minor European states just seen as "campaigning ground" for the bigger players or was there any backlash against violating their territorial integrity?

by bob08

Mostly asking about all the tiny, tiny Holy Roman Empire states or the minor Italian states here. Many of them seem to lie "in the way" of the major powers. Did they just move through them, without any repercussions? Did any of the minor states fight back in any way or did they just give in to their fate?

tyler3794

I'm not a historian and not trying to provide the answer or anything but more of a follow up - this was kind of the point of the Holy Roman Empire, no?