Thanks for your support on Patreon, Ed Bollinger. Ed was the first soldier through the gates of Riga during that successful, triumphant siege of Riga for the Swedish king.

Well done, Ed. What a glittering start to a 17th century soldiering career. I'm sure you'll do very well.

This, of course, is all a lie, but if you would

like me to lie about you, you know where to go. Head on over to patreon.com forward slash when diplomacy

fails, but more on that later on in the show. For now, let's get into episode 48 of the 30

Years' War.

Hello and welcome history, friends, patrons all to episode 48 of the 30 Years' War.

Last time, we wrapped up our examination of the Holy Roman Empire just before the Swedish storm arrived. More specifically, we looked at the road to Regensburg and we saw how that Regensburg meeting during the summer of 1630

created more problems than it actually solved.

This was especially disconcerting for those that looked to Sweden as the next instigator of conflict in the

empire, but the truth was that Sweden's issues with the Holy Roman Emperor, and with Albert of

Wallenstein in particular, went back further than 1630. In this episode then, oh boy, we're tasked

with setting the scene. What was the King of Sweden up to from 1625, and how important

to his later intervention was that unending war he waged against his Polish cousin? What kind of

diplomatic acrobatics freed him from that Polish war, and what kind of beef did he have with

Wallenstein and why? These are all questions. I'm looking

forward to unwrapping, so I hope you're sitting comfortably as we're about to drop some fascinating

knowledge on you guys. Our story will take us from France to Russia to Constantinople to the Hague,

so let's get down to it as I take you back to 1625.

In 1625, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden made a choice.

Rather than intervene in Germany as part of a coalition of powers which included Denmark,

England and the Dutch,

...