TYW002
First Legion
The Thirty Years War was from 1618 to 1648 and was one of the bloodiest, most destructive conflicts in human history. The roots of the war grew out of conflict between Catholics and Protestants but over time the war spread to involve most of the great European powers of the age and became much less about religion and much more about political hegemony. The destruction brought by the war had a far reaching effect and was one of first examples of the concept of total war where civilian loss of life far outpaced battlefield losses through a combination of disease and famine. In some nations, total population had been reduced by as much as 25% over this thirty year period.