I'd just like to take this chance to tell everyone about a book that will make playing "With Fire and Sword" much more satisfying and enjoyable.
It's called "The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe". It's all about the siege of Vienna, the background of the siege, and the aftermath.
The beginning part is a bit slow, so I suggest one starts a few chapters in. The book examines the mistakes the Ottomans made, why the Hapsburgs won, and the relationship between the different countries in 1683, eastern Europe. The book prompted me to research further about the Ottomans and the Poles, and sparked my interest for 'With fire and sword." You can buy "Enemy at the Gate" from amazon for 8.00 dollars used, I believe.
If you know more books that would enhance the playing experience of WF&S then post below!
It's called "The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe". It's all about the siege of Vienna, the background of the siege, and the aftermath.
The beginning part is a bit slow, so I suggest one starts a few chapters in. The book examines the mistakes the Ottomans made, why the Hapsburgs won, and the relationship between the different countries in 1683, eastern Europe. The book prompted me to research further about the Ottomans and the Poles, and sparked my interest for 'With fire and sword." You can buy "Enemy at the Gate" from amazon for 8.00 dollars used, I believe.
If you know more books that would enhance the playing experience of WF&S then post below!
Four centuries ago, the West really was involved in a seminal “clash of cultures” against an aggressive Islamic power, and that struggle reached its zenith at the siege of Vienna in 1683. Wheatcroft has written a fast-moving and exciting account of this sustained conflict and the history-turning siege that may well have preserved the Christian character of Europe. Since their smashing defeat of the Byzantines at Manzikert in 1071, Turkish nomadic warriors had threatened Europe, but the Ottomans had harnessed the power of an efficient state to their superior logistics and mobile cavalry. On the front line opposing the Ottoman advance were the forces of the polyglot Hapsburg Empire. Wheatcroft indicates that the Hapsburgs had their own particular assets, including a superbly trained infantry, and an effective, largely Polish cavalry. Relying to a large extent on contemporary Hapsburg sources, Wheatcroft offers an outstanding blow-by-blow description of the siege, which in the end was decided through a combination of luck and several critical Ottoman blunders.
