Albrecht Wallenstein was a legendary military commander and generalissimo of the Habsburg forces, yet was eventually assassinated on the orders of Emperor Ferdinand II. This accessible modern biography of Wallenstein for the English-speaking reader dispels the many historical myths surrounding this central character of the Thirty Years War.
A minor Bohemian nobleman who within the space of a few years became a prince and one of the greatest landowners of his age; a military entrepreneur who twice saved the Holy Roman Emperor from disaster with armies he raised, financed and led, but was then twice dismissed; an able general who rescued the Empire from invasion by the Swedish King Gustavus II Adolphus, but was accused of planning to defect to the self-same Swedes; the emperor's commander-in-chief, but assassinated on the emperor's orders; a successful soldier who fell because he tried too hard to make peace; Wallenstein was all these things. Contemporary legends and propaganda were taken up by early biographers of this fascinating character to create a historical myth, elements of which are still present in many more recent accounts. In this book, Geoff Mortimer sets out to clarify the picture and to resolve the enigma.
A concise and accessible biography of Albrecht Wallenstein, legendary military commander and generalissimo of the Habsburg forces in the Thirty Years War and a major figure in European history
Inhaltsverzeichnis
List of Illustrations Conventions and References A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery inside an Enigma No Great Expectations Early Manhood A Scandal in Bohemia Richer Than All his Tribe The Fault Is Not in our Stars Some Achieve Greatness Go, Captain, Greet the Danish King At the Parting of the Ways The Wheel Is Come Full Circle Once More unto the Breach From the Fury of the Norsemen Deliver Us Of Peace and Other Demons Decline and Fall Assassination Is the Quickest Way But Brutus Says He Was Ambitious References Bibliography Index
