Zachary Twamley - For God or The Devil: A History of The Thirty Years War

For God or the Devil: A History of the Thirty Years War

by Zachary Twamley

Cover by Jan Kostka

This edition published in 2020

Winged Hussar Publishing, LLC

1525 Hulse Road, Unit 1

Point Pleasant, NJ 08742

Copyright Zachary Twamley

ISBN 978-1-945430-09-1 Paperback

978-1-950423-41-5 Ebook

LCN 2019954820

Bibliographical References and Index

1. History. 2. Europe. 3. Thirty Years War

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First and foremost, I have to thank the reader for reading, and for joining me at the triumphant end of this long but immensely enjoyable process. Second, I must thank my publisher Vincent W. Rospond of Winged Hussar Publishing for his patience, dedication and attention to detail when dealing with this work. It is thanks to him that this study is now in your hands, following many years of broken promises, delays and apologetic emails on my part. But that is where the simple task of giving thanks comes to an end. It is impossible for me to recall and pay tribute to every kind word, every piece of advice, every conversation over coffee, which I have been privileged to have with people at all times during the creation of this book, whether they were history academics, podcast listeners, my good friends or my family. Each of these innumerable people made a contribution without which this book would not be the same.

Of course, it is our families who we lean on most during the course of constructing such a book, and ever since my wife Anna learned of my history obsession, shes been unfailingly supportive. I would have been lost without her encouragement and support, but also her genuine interest and advice, over innumerable coffee and pub chats as this work came to life. Her patience, obviously, was regularly tested, especially when it seemed as though this tome would never escape the confines of my brain and land on the pages, never mind the bookshelf! To my family, who have heard of few things other than this book over the last few years, I am as always so humbled and thankful for your help. I must thank my parents John and Angela, whose continued faith in me and enthusiasm for my work never ceased. Special thanks to my Dad, who provided me with a printer where I could pour over the enormous physical manuscript, which he was also brave enough to read and provide invaluable stylistic and editing advice for.

A significant contributing factor to this book has been the morass of podcast listeners and supporters the so-called history friends who awaited every bit of news on this books development with enthusiasm and interest. It would be too simplistic to say that these are mere fans of the podcast many are valued friends, and many more still have contributed financially to this work. A few months before this book was released, and just as I was beginning my PhD in History at Trinity College Dublin, I announced a campaign on the crowdfunding platform Patreon, where listeners could sign up to support this podcast at a certain level every month, in return for much-deserved acknowledgement for their support. I called this new support tier PhD Pal, and invited fans of this show and those that wished to receive a signed copy of the book to sign up. I did not expect much traction, but the response I got was nothing short of astounding, as numerous history friends did sign up, and many others also upgraded their existing level of support to the PhD Pal level.

Per the terms of that PhD Pal tier on Patreon, I committed to noting the names of these supporters in the Acknowledgements section of this book. Yet, I do not wish the reader unfamiliar with these concepts to view this merely as a mechanical process. These people are some of the kindest, most generous and most passionate fans of my work that I have ever known. They will never know how much I value their support and vote of confidence in my projects and career, nor will I be able to fully comprehend my good fortune in finding people like them in the first place. This book is very much a product of their making as a result, because it is made for them, and for those that first requested I examine this fascinating conflict so many years ago. I hope I can do you all justice.

Special thanks to the PhD Pals and supporters

who helped to make this book possible

Aaron Barlow, Andreas Haukenes, Andrew Mence, Anthony Klon, Andre F.P. DePlois, Andrew Liffrig, Anto Walsh, Anthony Molloy, Brennan Steele, Bill Carpenter, Brian Frankian, Brian Simmons, Bruce Gudmundsson, Christopher Taylor, Ciaran Murphy, Cody Bronushas , Csaba Suto, Damase Olsson, Darryl Hegel, David Kinsey, David Lund, David Przybyla, Deborah Godspodarek, Deborah Matthews, Derek Upham, Demetrio Munoz, Donna Stevens, Ed Ballinger, Erik Stark, Evan Cannon, Felicity Garde, Francis Luppi-Aquila, Gregory William Troderman, Hamish the Denizen, Ian Perkins, Ira Herniter, James Morphew, Jeff Minor, Jeff Zahnen, Jeremy Curthoys, Jeroen Van Nieuwenhove, Jesper Barnett, Jonas Brandes, John Bauer, John Harding, John Wright, Julie Jones, Kevin Melahn, Khurasan Miniatures, Kim Hamacher, Kyle Walters, Laurence Waring, Laurent Callot, Lee Barkalow, Luke Russell, Madeleine McCrea, Michael Groner, Michael Mulhern, Michael Romahn, Mike Swenson, Paul Doke II, Pawel Lebowa, Philip Idun, Philip Rice, Rebecca Eager, Richard Russell, Rob Caughlan, Rod Sieg, Ronald Henry, Rosa Angelone, Samuel Hettich, Shawn Marincas, Steve DocPinko Cloutier, Sviatoslav Yurash, Tim C, Vidar Stefansson

I will have been history podcasting for nearly eight years by the time this book is released, to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the eruption of the Thirty Years War. For the uninitiated, you may benefit from a definition of the term history podcast. In its simplest terms, a history podcast is an audio programme, recorded and edited and uploaded to the internet. The very potential which history podcasting offered appealed to me from an early stage, and the creative and intellectual freedom to research and share was what first moved me to investigate the medium further, and thereafter create my own in May 2012. When Diplomacy Fails, or WDF as it is often referred to in shorthand, was the result of this process. Since 2012, this podcast has given me the opportunity to explore fascinating conflicts and share some truly remarkable stories. It has also provided me with a platform unparalleled in professional and personal terms; in short, without When Diplomacy Fails Podcast, it is very unlikely that this book would currently be in front of you.