Lothar Höbelt was until 2021 Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Vienna, Austria. Pavel Marek is Director of the Historical Institute of the Faculty of Arts at Pardubice University, the Czech Republic.

• Introduction: "Why not a Five Years' War?" - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekPart I: The Central European Perspectives1. Bavaria and the Establishment of the Imperial Army in the Thirty Years' War - Robert Rebitsch2. Pied Piper and "Flying Squadron": The Ambivalent Character of Wallenstein's Mission in 1625 - Lothar Höbelt3. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Thirty Years' War: Wallenstein's Rise (1623-25): An Attempt at Systematisation - Aleksandra Ziober4. Gabriel Bethlen in the Thirty Years' War - Gábor KármánPart II: The West European Perspectives5. The Motives Behind King Christian IV's Decision to Enter the Thirty Years' War in 1625 and His Ensuing Defeat - Michael Bregnsbo6. "Warr kindled in the very bowells of Christendom." England and the Opening of the Thirty Years' War - Thomas G. Otte7. French Perceptions of the Rise of Wallenstein, 1624-26 - David ParrottPart III: The Mediterranean Perspectives8. Italy in Turmoil: Habsburg Hegemony Threatened (1624-25) - Gianvittorio Signorotto9. Valtellina as a Breaking Point? Reflection of the Nuncio Carlo Caraffa and the Context of the Politics of Pope Urban VIII, - Tomáš Černušák10. The Count Duke of Olivares, the Union of Arms, the Turn of 1624-25 - Manuel Rivero Rodríguez11. Wallenstein, the Improbable Spanish Client - Rubén González CuervaPart IV: Wallenstein and Bohemia12. The Rise and Fall of Wallenstein through the Eyes of His Aristocratic Contemporaries from Bohemia and Moravia, 1624-48 - Vítězslav Prchal13. Albrecht von Wallenstein and His Monetary Policy - Petr Vorel14. Wallenstein's Files in the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv: What We Have and How to Find It - Zdislava RöhsnerSummary: Escalation, Prolongation, Intensification of the War - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekNotes on ContributorsIndex

Lothar Höbelt was until 2021 Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Vienna, Austria. Pavel Marek is Director of the Historical Institute of the Faculty of Arts at Pardubice University, the Czech Republic.

• Introduction: "Why not a Five Years' War?" - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekPart I: The Central European Perspectives1. Bavaria and the Establishment of the Imperial Army in the Thirty Years' War - Robert Rebitsch2. Pied Piper and "Flying Squadron": The Ambivalent Character of Wallenstein's Mission in 1625 - Lothar Höbelt3. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Thirty Years' War: Wallenstein's Rise (1623-25): An Attempt at Systematisation - Aleksandra Ziober4. Gabriel Bethlen in the Thirty Years' War - Gábor KármánPart II: The West European Perspectives5. The Motives Behind King Christian IV's Decision to Enter the Thirty Years' War in 1625 and His Ensuing Defeat - Michael Bregnsbo6. "Warr kindled in the very bowells of Christendom." England and the Opening of the Thirty Years' War - Thomas G. Otte7. French Perceptions of the Rise of Wallenstein, 1624-26 - David ParrottPart III: The Mediterranean Perspectives8. Italy in Turmoil: Habsburg Hegemony Threatened (1624-25) - Gianvittorio Signorotto9. Valtellina as a Breaking Point? Reflection of the Nuncio Carlo Caraffa and the Context of the Politics of Pope Urban VIII, - Tomáš Černušák10. The Count Duke of Olivares, the Union of Arms, the Turn of 1624-25 - Manuel Rivero Rodríguez11. Wallenstein, the Improbable Spanish Client - Rubén González CuervaPart IV: Wallenstein and Bohemia12. The Rise and Fall of Wallenstein through the Eyes of His Aristocratic Contemporaries from Bohemia and Moravia, 1624-48 - Vítězslav Prchal13. Albrecht von Wallenstein and His Monetary Policy - Petr Vorel14. Wallenstein's Files in the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv: What We Have and How to Find It - Zdislava RöhsnerSummary: Escalation, Prolongation, Intensification of the War - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekNotes on ContributorsIndex

Lothar Höbelt was until 2021 Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Vienna, Austria. Pavel Marek is Director of the Historical Institute of the Faculty of Arts at Pardubice University, the Czech Republic.

• Introduction: "Why not a Five Years' War?" - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekPart I: The Central European Perspectives1. Bavaria and the Establishment of the Imperial Army in the Thirty Years' War - Robert Rebitsch2. Pied Piper and "Flying Squadron": The Ambivalent Character of Wallenstein's Mission in 1625 - Lothar Höbelt3. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Thirty Years' War: Wallenstein's Rise (1623-25): An Attempt at Systematisation - Aleksandra Ziober4. Gabriel Bethlen in the Thirty Years' War - Gábor KármánPart II: The West European Perspectives5. The Motives Behind King Christian IV's Decision to Enter the Thirty Years' War in 1625 and His Ensuing Defeat - Michael Bregnsbo6. "Warr kindled in the very bowells of Christendom." England and the Opening of the Thirty Years' War - Thomas G. Otte7. French Perceptions of the Rise of Wallenstein, 1624-26 - David ParrottPart III: The Mediterranean Perspectives8. Italy in Turmoil: Habsburg Hegemony Threatened (1624-25) - Gianvittorio Signorotto9. Valtellina as a Breaking Point? Reflection of the Nuncio Carlo Caraffa and the Context of the Politics of Pope Urban VIII, - Tomáš Černušák10. The Count Duke of Olivares, the Union of Arms, the Turn of 1624-25 - Manuel Rivero Rodríguez11. Wallenstein, the Improbable Spanish Client - Rubén González CuervaPart IV: Wallenstein and Bohemia12. The Rise and Fall of Wallenstein through the Eyes of His Aristocratic Contemporaries from Bohemia and Moravia, 1624-48 - Vítězslav Prchal13. Albrecht von Wallenstein and His Monetary Policy - Petr Vorel14. Wallenstein's Files in the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv: What We Have and How to Find It - Zdislava RöhsnerSummary: Escalation, Prolongation, Intensification of the War - Lothar Höbelt and Pavel MarekNotes on ContributorsIndex