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| Batalla de Rocroi Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau (Source) |
Here's the background ...
This was sparked by the memory of one of my favorite movies ...
I know, it might seem a little ambitious, but I don't intend to cover the entire war. Well, we'll see. (Mustn't be hasty!)
In other news ...
I seem to be on the mend, coughing less, sleeping more, getting through the week fueled by The Missus Herself's hot ginger and date tea with honey. Soothing, helps the cough, eases the wear and tear on the throat.
Though a short week, it felt really long (after two weeks plus off, even a three day week can feel very long). But I got back into the swing of things, my work still fascinates me, and I got to see my colleagues and friends. There are some who I sincerely miss when I'm away. It's good to be back in the saddle with them. They make tolerating the more boorish colleagues much easier.
But a three day weekend is at hand, and I mean to celebrate every minute of it ...
In bed, sleeping!
Oh, the wild life we seniors lead!
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| Een oude man slapend¹ Rembrandt (PD) |
And dontcha know, it's the anniversary of my nuptials. How my lovely wife has tolerated me for nearly half a century remains one of life's great mysteries. But hey, I love it! (And her, of course.)
¹ An old man sleeping (Dutch)
I have always considered that the Thirty Years War is too little studied. It's horrors affected how war was pursued in Europe for many decades up until the Napoleonic wars. Truly an ambitious project, but we should not let doubts restrict our visions. There is a Swedish hard rock/metal band called Sabaton that primarily does songs from military history and they have a few about the Thirty Years War. Being from Sweden, I guess that would be expected. If you don't find their genre offensive I think you'd find their playlist interesting. The album Carolus Rex has songs about that time.
ReplyDeleteI agree! And I enjoy Sabaton, a talented band with an appreciation for history, what's not to like?
DeleteRepercussions felt all the way to modern times. Europeans have very long memories of slights, digs, back-stabbings, attacks, invasions and so forth and so on.
DeleteI have seen the case made that because that war fragmented Germany so badly, it was late to become a united nation and that influenced it's history to a large extent. The suggestion that much of their belligerence and feelings of oppression came about because they were so late to the colonial empire game and suffered a lack of easily available wealth, has some merit.
DeleteBeans - The Treaty of Westphalia has oft been cited as leading to the birth of the nation-state, with all that brought with it. (Good and bad!)
DeleteAny Mouse - That case has a lot of merit, well said.
DeleteEncouraging to read that there's been improvement on the health front, from the description symptoms seem similar to what a neighbor couple are going through, they've been hacking up a storm the last ten days or so. Good luck with your new project Sarge, looking forward to a different era.
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking at how I want to do it but the idea struck me the other day and I'm kind of excited about it.
DeleteWars that were named for how long they went on...
ReplyDeleteThe 30 years war-
The war lasted from 1618 to 1648, starting as a battle among the Catholic and Protestant states that formed the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the Thirty Years' War evolved, it became less about religion and more about which group would ultimately govern Europe.
The 100 years war-
The Hundred Years' War was a long struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, so it might more accurately be called the "116 Years' War." The war starts off with several stunning successes on Britain's part, and the English forces dominate France for decades.
The War of the Roses (Waged between 1455 and 1485) was 30 years long also but it was a civil war.. besides the name "30 years war" was already taken.
Armies marching back and forth across Europe in wars that lasted generations.
If the muse strikes with the inspiration for some new fiction have at it! Your fiction is great reading!
Let us not forget the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) which touched North America where we knew it as the French and Indian War.
DeleteDidn't that war start in the new world and (our) George Washington was involved in the incident?
DeleteEurope was already smoldering but things were already going in North America in 1754. And yes, George Washington was there.
DeleteCrusty Old TV Tech here. Good to hear the lung sludge is shambling for the exits. Lung biscuit coughing-up is no fun.
ReplyDeleteAh, the 30 Years War. Lots of action in what is now Germany. It would be very interesting indeed.
Well, the weather is turning hereabouts this weekend, by Monday, winter comes. Maybe a little freezing precip, who knows? The Weather Guessers may, we'll see. Time to make a big steaming pot of B-52 Chili ("Leaves you feeling Bombed!").
From what I've read, the area now known as Germany lost roughly 50% of its population because of that war.
DeleteFreezing precip? Such fun ...
Coincidentally, one of the causes of the 30 Years' War was a cooling climate leading to issues with harvests. Like freezing precipitation.
DeleteHey, let's talk about that mini Ice Age! (Actually an excellent topic for discussion.)
DeleteIt directly resulted in the return of the Black Plague, which hit England very hard.
DeleteIt wasn't a good time.
DeleteThe Little Ice Age started around 1200... in an interesting coincidence it was around 1200 that the cliff dwellers in the southwest US abandoned their homes and left...
DeleteNow we might guess why!
DeleteAnd here I always thought the Thirty Years War period covered 1914-1944 (or so)
ReplyDeleteOh well! History was never my best subject
You can make an argument for that being the second Thirty Years War!
DeleteI feel your pain, Sarge. I started coughing in July 2021, and still have it. Named it Commander Tos. Dry, unproductive, part of the IPD I got. On the plus side, my abs are rock hard. I have to keep a layer of fat over them to keep from wearing out my shirts from the inside. ;) Trying to keep positive attitude. Yeah, I positively hate it.
ReplyDeleteQuite a few people I know have been fighting whatever this bug is.
DeleteJoe Lovell - you might want to check out the "Ring of Fire" series by Eric Flint. The first book is titled "1632." By a strange cosmic accident a small town in WV is transported to Thuringia in the year 1632.
ReplyDeleteI keep forgetting to pick that up, now I can call it research!
DeleteFirst few books are really good, then the series kind of gets stupid (at least to me.)
DeleteI'll bear that in mind.
DeleteColor me interested on your take on the 30 Years War as well. Ditto the Ring of Fire. Great opening, but it has lost its way. With the passing of Eric Flint last year I see little coordinating effort to bring it back to an interesting story line.
DeleteOnce the original author is gone, most series get progressively worse. (Tom Clancy springs to mind.)
DeleteSarge,
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the book. Glad you're feeling somewhat better. Continue to take it easy and sneak naps in whenever possible. (That's not medical advice, just a goal I try to attain and usually fail miserably.)
juvat
Didn't get up until ten today, was in bed before midnight. Glorious!
DeleteApprobation on the medical front.
ReplyDeleteI confess total ignorance on the 30 years war, although I have heard of it. One does ponder the wisdom of the human race which seem to find incessant excuses for waging war with others. Perhaps understandable in primitive tribal societies, but less so in "civilized" eras where most people would likely be content to just be left alone to live their lives.
But, no, "leaders" historically satiate their lust for power, greed for that which others have achieved or acquired, or avenge past wrongs from generations ago. Throw in some theological beliefs and it can all get real ugly. Of course, there is a difference between the aggressor and their target, and self defense is a natural right.
I'm open to learning about that era, far out of my usual American history lane.
John Blackshoe
It's a fascinating period to study from afar, wasn't so great to live through. Many didn't make it.
DeleteThe lust for power is humanity's biggest problem.
War is just taking stuff from others (free stuff!) on a large scale when you get down to it...
DeleteAnd really, that's all it is.
DeleteIt's a strange period of warfare, and some could say the same fever of stupidity touched England and led to the English Civil War. Of which there's an excellent miniseries by the BBC called "By The Sword Divided."
ReplyDeleteStarted one way, which led to a "side quest" if you will, which escalated into "war for war's sake." I'll have to track down that series!
DeleteThere are two seasons, the first shows how fun nails can be in combat and deals with the 1st ECW, the second season deals with the 2nd and 3rd ECWs and the Restoration. Gorgeous cinematography, costuming and all else is excellent. And they're sad. Really sad. Characters you meet die, people die and change and things go to hell.
DeleteSounds pretty realistic.
DeleteSarge, the 30 Years War would be a great series! To the points above, it is a pretty obscure piece of history for most Americans (heck, even I know only the vague outlines) that really did set the pace for the following 300 years (in face, I watched The Last Valley on your recommendation).
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you are on the mend. I am happy that one unexpected benefit of being without a job at the moment is a reliable 8 hours of sleep a night, which is a luxury.
I like delving into the lesser known conflicts of history (at least lesser known from an American viewpoint).
DeleteNothing seems to salve the morale more than a good night's sleep.
Asa sort of primer, try The Warwolf by Herman Lons. It is fictional but gives a good insight into the period. A really clean and free download here:
ReplyDeletehttps://zlib.pub/book/the-warwolf-3bnd6l2od9l0
Ay 160 odd pages, not along read.
Phil B
I'll give it a look!
DeleteHappy Anniversary! Any big plans? Those would require braving the weather you're going through though. I'm not looking forward to below freezing temps in DC next week.
ReplyDeleteWeather was fine today, unfortunately both of us are under the weather. No plans.
DeleteSeeing your post reminded me that I had seen a film depiction of the Battle of Rocroi, the film was called Captain Alatriste, the Spanish Musketeer and starred Viggo Mortensen. If you search on You Tube for Alatriste Battle of Rocroi you should find it. As far as I can see it's a gritty representation of a Spanish Tercio in action. It's not a period of history I know much about but the Thirty Years War produced a loss of life in the civil population that in percentage terms equalled WW2. I wouldn't want to have been alive then and I can only imagine the misery of everyday life for all but a few. Rocroi is on the Franco-Belgian border and as such has seen more than its share of conflict.
ReplyDeleteRetired
I shall track that down.
DeleteThank you!
I also discovered 'The General Crisis of the 17th Century'. Search for that and you're into another series of rabbit holes.
DeleteRetired
I shall seek it.
Delete