Samuel Rawson Gardiner remains a respected source on the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which began as a civil conflict between Protestant princes and the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II. Lack of unity on both sides, soon drew in outside powers and the war became a struggle for European dominance. In this short book, Gardiner describes the famous battles and the daring generals: Mansfeld and Wallenstein, Tilly and Gustavus Adolphus, Bernard and Turenne. While, behind the scenes, working through secret subsidies and wily diplomacy, frail, indomitable Cardinal Richelieu gained control of crucial supply lines, crippling Austria and Spain, and setting the stage for the golden age of France. (Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.)
Chapters
1
Ch. 1: Causes of the Thirty Years' War, Section 1: Political Institutions of Germany (1440-1517) Read by Pamela Nagami 14:07
2
Ch. 1, Section 2: Protestantism in Germany (1517-1570) Read by Pamela Nagami 11:03
3
Ch. 1, Section 3: Reaction Against Protestantism (1570-1596) Read by Pamela Nagami 4:57
4
Ch. 1, Section 4: Three Parties and Three Leaders (1596-1612) Read by Pamela Nagami 17:43
5
Ch. 2: The Bohemian Revolution, Section 1: The House of Austria and its Subjects (1600-1618) Read by Pamela Nagami 12:09
6
Ch. 2, Section 2: The Revolution at Prague (March-May 1618) Read by Pamela Nagami 5:21
7
Ch. 2, Section 3: The War in Bohemia (May 1618-February 1619) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:59
8
Ch. 2, Section 4: Ferdinand on his Defence (March-November, 1619) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:31
9
Ch. 3: Imperialist Victories in Bohemia and the Palatinate, Section 1: The Attack upon Frederick (November 1619-January 1621) Read by Pamela Nagami 16:05
10
Ch. 3, Section 2: The War in the Upper Palatinate (January-October 1621) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:12
11
Ch. 3, Section 3: Frederick's Allies (October 1621-May 1622) Read by Pamela Nagami 13:21
12
Ch. 3, Section 4: The Fight for the Lower Palatinate (April-July 1622) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:29
13
Ch. 4: Mansfeld and Christian in North Germany, Section 1: Mansfeld's March into the Netherlands (July-November 1622) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:23
14
Ch. 4, Section 2: Christian of Brunswick in Lower Saxony (November 1622-August 1623) Read by Pamela Nagami 5:05
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Ch. 4, Section 3: Danger of the Lower Saxon Circle (August-December 1623) Read by Pamela Nagami 5:11
16
Ch. 4, Section 4: England and France (October 1623-August 1624) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:08
17
Ch. 4: Section 5: Rise of Richelieu (August 1624-September 1625) Read by Pamela Nagami 12:14
18
Ch. 5: Intervention of the King of Denmark, Section 1: Christian IV and Gustavus Adolphus (1624) Read by Pamela Nagami 13:01
19
Ch. 5, Section 2: English Diplomacy (August 1624-July 1625) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:41
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Ch. 5, Section 3: Wallenstein's Armament (July 1625-February 1626) Read by Pamela Nagami 14:54
21
Ch. 5, Section 4: Defeat of Mansfeld and Christian IV (February-August 1626) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:09
22
Ch. 6: Stralshund and Rochelle, Section 1: Fresh Successes of Wallenstein (August 1626-October 1627) Read by Pamela Nagami 10:47
23
Ch. 6, Section 2: Resistance to Wallenstein in the Empire (October 1627-February 1628) Read by Pamela Nagami 11:25
24
Ch. 6, Section 3: The Siege of Stralsund (August-February 1628) Read by Pamela Nagami 6:55
25
Ch. 6, Section 4: The Siege of Rochelle (1625-1628) Read by Pamela Nagami 12:55
26
Ch. 7: The Edict of Restitution, Section 1: Oppression of the Protestants (March 1628-May 1629) Read by Pamela Nagami 9:17
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Ch. 7, Section 2: French Intervention in Italy (1628-1630) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:47
28
Ch. 7, Section 3: Wallenstein Deprived of his Command (March 1629-September 1630) Read by Pamela Nagami 11:44
29
Ch. 7, Section 4: The Swedes Establish Themselves on the Coast of the Baltic (July 1630-January 1631) Read by Pamela Nagami 5:44
30
Ch. 7, Section 5: The Fall of Magdeburg (January-May 1631) Read by Pamela Nagami 11:14
31
Ch. 8: The Victories of Gustavus Adolphus, Section 1: Alliance between the Swedes and the Saxons (June-September 1631) Read by Pamela Nagami 6:39
32
Ch. 8, Section 2: Battle of Breitenfeld (September 1631) Read by Pamela Nagami 13:52
33
Ch. 8, Section 3: March of Gustavus into South Germany (October 1631-May 1632) Read by Pamela Nagami 9:51
34
Ch. 8, Section 4: Wallenstein's Restoration to Command (September 1631-June 1632) Read by Pamela Nagami 11:06
35
Ch. 8, Section 5: Struggle between Gustavus and Wallenstein (June-October 1632) Read by Pamela Nagami 9:18
36
Ch. 8, Section 6: The Battle of Lützen (October-November 1632) Read by Pamela Nagami 9:48
37
Ch. 9: The Death of Wallenstein and the Treaty of Prague, Section 1: French Influence in Germany (November 1632-April 1633) Read by Pamela Nagami 10:16
38
Ch. 9, Section 2: Wallenstein's Attempt to Dictate Peace (April-December 1633) Read by Pamela Nagami 10:01
39
Ch. 9, Section 3: Resistance to Wallenstein's Plans (January-February 1634) Read by Pamela Nagami 6:17
40
Ch. 9, Section 4: Assassination of Wallenstein (February 1634) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:47
41
Ch. 9, Section 5: Imperialist Victories and the Treaty of Prague (February 1634-May 1635) Read by Pamela Nagami 13:51
42
Ch. 10: The Preponderance of France, Section 1: Open Intervention of France (May 1635) Read by Pamela Nagami 7:45
43
Ch. 10, Section 2: Spanish Successes (May 1635-December 1637) Read by Pamela Nagami 6:17
44
Ch. 10, Section 3: The Struggle for Alsace (January 1638-July 1639) Read by Pamela Nagami 4:14
45
Ch. 10, Section 4: French Successes (July 1639-December 1642) Read by Pamela Nagami 9:03
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Ch. 10, Section 5: Aims and Character of Richelieu (December 1642-May 1643) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:37
47
Ch. 10, Section 6: More French Victories (May 1643-August 1645) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:56
48
Ch. 11: The End of the War, Section 1: Turenne's Strategy (June 1645-October 1648) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:58
49
Ch. 11, Section 2: The Treaty of Westphalia (October 1648) Read by Pamela Nagami 8:46
50
Ch. 11, Section 3: Condition of Germany Read by Pamela Nagami 8:37
51
Ch. 11, Section 4: Continuance of the War between France and Spain (1648-1660) Read by Pamela Nagami 12:38
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens archive.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
