The world lives in fear of the “incident” that will ignite a conflict on a world or regional basis, but if we look back to the Thirty Years War and fast forward to today, we can conclude that men, not events, determine the fate of nations…
The first battles of the Thirty Years War ranged armies of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Catholic League against those of Bohemia and the Protestant Union. Later, as the war enlarged and politics began to displace religion as the overriding issue, they were joined by the armies of Spain, Sweden,Denmark and France. Of all these, the Swedes- under King Gustavus Adolphus- were probably the best disciplined because the best paid. Most of the others followed what has been called “wolf strategy,” plundering and scavenging and living off the land. As soon as they had eaten up one part of the country, they had to move on- and so another area was consumed, preferably though not necessarily a hostile one. In the Jacques Callot etching below, some of these marauders are seen attacking a rider on the highway, while others are finishing off a fallen man.
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