Explore the epic conflict and contrasting leadership styles of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, two titanic figures in the Thirty Years War whose strategic brilliance and dramatic deaths shaped the course of modern warfare, analyzed in vivid detail by the author. The conflict, personal rivalry and contrast in personality, generalship and command, between the two iconic commanders in the Thirty Years War, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden for the Protestant powers, and Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland. More than just commanders at the tactical level they were statesmen, military organizers and strategists on a continental scale. Both commanders represented the 17th-century ‘military revolution in action’. The writing is vivid, graphic and detailed, without overloading, and readers can feel ‘involved’ in the action, from strategic planning to battlefield tactics, and even the melee. Both generals are titanic figures come, and their respective deaths - Gustavus heroically in battle and Wallenstein, murdered with the Emperor’s compliance – were dramatic highpoints in the long war. This is no hagiography, and the author analyses the contrasting reputations of two of the greatest military figures in modern history and analyses mistakes as well their triumphs. Both commanders’ understanding of the role of the modern state and finance as vital factors in the military revolution and modern warfare. A major contrast was Gustavus’s constant search for the tactical and strategic initiative compared to Wallenstein’s caution and patience and development of counter-punch defensive tactics. Exceptional for the period, a young warrior like an ‘Alexander’, Gustavus excelled in inspired battlefield leadership even at huge risk. Despite his death at Lutzen in 1632, he and his steadfast chancellor Oxenstierna, had decisively defeated the Emperor’s attempt to subjugate the Empire and introduce the Catholic counter-reformation. Gustavus contributed hugely to the ending of Habsburg supremacy while advancing new concepts in modern war. His death ushered in his acolytes including generals Baner, Saxe-Weimar and Torstensson. Gustavus or Wallenstein, the greater of the two? The reader must judge but Napoleon included Gustavus in his list of ten greats with Julius Caesar, Hannibal Barca, and Alexander the Great.

The Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 by Samuel Rawson Gardiner is a work of historical significance. A vivid and riveting account of one of Europe's most catastrophic religious conflicts, the epic Catholic-Protestant battles that killed at least 40% of Germany's population. The work's literary style transforms it from a dry history to a dramatic and captivating story, beginning with an explanation of the beginnings of the conflict and how these disagreements spun out of control into what was perhaps Europe's most catastrophic war at the time. Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1829-1902), an English historian specializing in seventeenth-century European history, wrote it. He also taught contemporary history at King's College London, where he earned the most recognition for his studies of the English Civil War period.

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German authors that were geniuses of their time and continue to inspire us today. German literature is rich in beautifully crafted stories, especially from the eras of Sturm und Drang, Romanticism, and Realism. Certain German books are an excellent introduction not only to German literature but to German culture and the history of Germany too. This book contains: Sebastian Brandt The Ship of Fools E. T. A. Hoffmann Nutcracker and the King of Mice Friedrich Schiller The Robbers The Death of Wallenstein Turandot: The Chinese Sphinx Wilhelm Tell The Maid of Orleans The Thirty Years War Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe Faust The Sorrows of Young Werther Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis Unhappiness The Judgment Before the Law A Report to an Academy Jackals and Arabs A Country Doctor In the Penal Colony A Hunger Artist The Trial The Castle Amerika A Little Fable The Great Wall of China The Hunter Gracchus The Burrow Rainer Maria Rilke Letters To A Young Poet Presaging Autumn Silent Hour The Angels Solitude Kings In Legends The Knight The Boy Initiation The Neighbour Song of the Statue Maidens. I Maidens. II The Bride Autumnal Day Moonlight Night In April Memories of a Childhood Death The Ashantee Remembrance Music Maiden Melancholy Maidens at Confirmation The Woman Who Loves