The Battle of the White Mountain 1620 and the Bohemian Revolt, 1618-1622: 25 (Century of the Soldier)

It is rare to come across a book with this level of detail on the Early Thirty Years war. Whilst suffering from the usual annoying editing errors that so many modern history publications seem to have, this did not detract from the flow of the book which pulled together more information about skirmishes, units and even politics than I had come across in more general books on the Thirty Years War where the early years are glossed over. Well illustrated and footnoted throughout, and well worth the money.

A brilliant book explains why the war started covers the armies excellently how they recruited and tactics

One of the drawbacks with books on the military side of the TYW is that they tend to centre on the 'Swedish Period' of 1628-35......Well, this work certainly goes someway towards redressing the balance with it's extensive, but very readable, account of the initial campaigns.Full of information on individual regiments of all the armies concerned, and with details of some of the lesser-known actions, it opens up new scope for the period's numerous wargamers and re-enactors, as well as for enthusiasts of the period generally.....Some nice illustrations too!

This is a silk purse of a book, heavy, glossy paper, nicely illustrated, and, I'm sorry to say, a bit of a sow's ear of a text. It doesn't seem to have been proof read at all. Some examples; "...the Cossacks retreated, but this was just a faint..." (P.62), "...he would continue to fight for Frederick until his death in 1626, which suggests that the negotiating were just a ruse..." (P.72), "Pisek held out until 6 December when it also surrender..." (P.86), and "...news arrived at Pilsen that the Bohemian Army's had been defeated..." (P.91). On page 97 we are told that "Bautzen was the capital city of Lusatia and consisted of an old and new town...Within these walls were several churches...a guildhall and a large mill. To the east of the city was a hospital...", then, a paragraph later, "...Bautzen, which consisted of 1,136 houses...five churches, two hospitals and two towers" (P.98). Later on, we are told that of an original 1,600 houses in Bautzen, only106 remained standing, and that "...Lusatia had almost been completely destroyed" (P.100). Lusatia?. Or just Bautzen?. On page 95, "The army of Saxony was strong as it would later become in the war". Is there a 'not' missing?.The author also has an annoying habit of mentioning people's names without explaining who they were, so, "On 27 September Theobald Maurice wrote to William Trumbull... (P.41), "...when Chamberlain wrote to Carleton..." (P.67), and "Sir Frances Nethersole also reported this attack..." (P.98). This happens a lot. Is it too much to ask for something like 'Sir Frances Nethersole, who was the Electress Elizabeth's secretary'? (Thanks Wikipedia!). There are also some fairly long quotes from contemporary sources that would, I think, have been better summarised by the author, but others may actually enjoy wading through seventeenth century prose (I don't, but I'm a lazy reader, I'll admit it).The book's worst failing, however, is the lack of an index, which greatly reduces its usefulness as a reference work.There are some good points . The account of the battle itself is actually pretty good, (and error free), and, as other reviewers have noted, there are detailed accounts of skirmishes and sieges that are not mentioned or glossed over in other books on the Thirty Year's War. The disposition of the various units on the day of the battle is clearly laid out and discussed. The colour illustrations are nice, too. However, this is, as another reviewer has put it, a 'clunky' read, and one that I found a chore to finish. With a bit of re-writing, a read through before going to print, and the addition of an index this could be the definitive text on the subject, so let's hope for a revised edition.

What a tremendously informative book. I knew very little about this battle and the wider Bohemian Revolt before reading this. The author uses a vast range of sources to take the reader through the events leading up to the revolt, the revolt itself, the Battle of White Mountain and the bloody aftermath. For wargamers there are complete detailed orders of battle for all the armies, many potted unit histories and an excellent account of the battle. I for one had no idea that the English and Scots involvement supporting the Bohemians was such that they provided several regiments of privately raised Foote and horse. As well as a great many contemporary illustrations the book contains some beautiful colour illustrations, in particular several pages of hand painted flags by Mark Allen. Highly recommended.

This is a really superb book. Could have done with it a few years ago when I was wargaming the TYW in 15mm when all you could get was general histories in English - serious studies were all in Czech. Now we have this taken from both sides a well researched and illustrated book. Book starts off with a detailed analysis of the two armies and then takes the reader from the Defenestration in 1618 to the campaigns of 1619-1620. Illustrations of the troops involved are by the talented Bruno Mugnai and the flags by Mark Allen. Participants of White Mountain came from all over Europe, Spain, England, Hungary, Poland - troops were drawn from all over including Hopton and Waller who would be enemies in the Civil War. So with the 400th anniversary of this battle approaching this is a very useful resource. I may even try again to wargame it.

I'd like to give this book a much higher score as it covers the whole campaign well with lots of detail so that there should be something for everyone in it. That said, like all too many Helion publications, this one suffers from either not being proof-read or a really poor proof reader which makes it a clunky read. So many sentences read as if the writer changed his mind half-way on how to express himself but failed to go back and amend the beginning; this often results in tense changes, double-negatives and even missing key words like "not" which can throw the reader. This is a shame as Helion are pushing many really informative books at present that could also be a good read if properly proof-read.

First complete description of the battle that I am aware of.

fast delivery. excellent product

The back cover says that this book is the first in English to cover this battle. If that claim is true, the book and the author merited better editing. Typos and grammatical glitches are irksome; one can read past them to get the information, but the pleasure of reading is spoiled. Among many problems, I will cite two only, lest this review become tiresome. Page 77: Concerning the fog on October 28 that prevented combat, “This is not to say that both armies were not idle.” Somewhere behind that double negative is the idea that both armies fortified their positions. An editor might have requested a clear expression of that idea. Page 80: “One of the probably for the Catholic armies that their supply lines stretched all the way back to Bavaria….” No verb ever appears in this sentence. The simplest computerized grammar checker would have caught the problem. Although this monograph has color plates and a slick presentation, the reader soon discovers that the publisher spent little effort on clear transmission of information. Most of the illustrations are black and white reproductions from the period. Two inadequate maps, for a four-year campaign with several engagements, fail to show the nature of the terrain, nor even the political boundaries of the theater.