The 30 Years War can be divided into five major phases:
Thirty Years War
In 1617 the fiercely Catholic, Ferdinand of Styria, was elected by the Bohemian Estates to become the Crown Prince of Bohemia and the heir to the throne. In May 1618 a group of Bohemian Protestants in Prague seized Ferdinand’s representatives and threw them out of the palace window. This event started the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years’ War. The conflict soon spread across the Holy Roman Empire, and then the whole of Europe, involving Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, and a number of other countries. The war ended in 1648 with the treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, part of the wider Peace of Westphalia.
Swedish Brigade of the Thirty Years War
In the field the Swedes used squadrons (battalions) and brigades (Brzenzinski, 1995). Brigades would have 3 or 4 squadrons.
Painting Guide for the Thirty Years War
I have revamped, and split up, my painting guides for the Thirty Years War.
Protagonists in the Thirty Years War
The 80 Years War (1568-1648) overlapped the 30 Years War (1618-1648) and some protagonists, notably the Spanish and Dutch, fought in both.
Orders of Battle in the Thirty Years War
The 80 Years War (1568-1648) overlapped the 30 Years War (1618-1648). The main protagonists of the Dutch Revolt, Spanish and Dutch, are covered in the Organisation in the Eighty Years War. Other nations (Swedes, French, Imperialist, etc) are covered here.
Firearms of the Thirty Years War
The Spanish were still using the Arquebus in the 30 Years War. DBR annoyed me for several reasons but the fixed ratios of musket to arquebus and the relatively ineffectiveness of the arquebus were two of them, particularly because the Spanish came out badly in this formula. As a result I wanted to find out what the difference was and why the Spanish may have retained the arquebus longer than others (if, in fact, they did).
Coloured Infantry Brigades and Regiments of the 30 Years War
The Swedes, Dutch, Danes and Germans of the Thirty Years War all had uniformed infantry units. Some brigades and regiments also had colour names. Sometimes there two things were related.
Renaissance Battlefield Tactics
I’m not happy with the various renaissance wargaming rules I’ve seen so I thought I’d type up some thoughts about how battlefield tactics. Applies to Italian Wars, Eighty Years War / Dutch Revolt, and Thirty Years War. I’m not sure where it will lead but we’ll see …