Before Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, got involved in the 30 Years War, he had already fought wars against Denmark, Poland and Russia

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Warfare engulfs central Europe as Spain and the Dutch renew their war and Christian IV of Denmark invades the Holy Roman empire. Ferdinand II declares the Edict of Restitution to reassert Catholicism and imperial authority

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The Thirty Years war is triggered by a revolt in Bohemia, and the famous Defenestration of Prague 1618. Frederick V of the Palatinate accepts the rebels' invitation to lead them, leading to the Battle of White Mountain for control of Prague.

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The 17th century was one of the most bloody of European history. The Thirty Years War in particular is notorious for the sustained carnage and destruction it caused, and still burns in German memory as the most bloody period in their history before the twentieth century. Today's episode describes the situation on the continent leading up to the conflict. Pictured: Emperor Ferdinand II and Frederick V of the Palatinate. Music: Giovanni Palestrina

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Sultan Osman II leads a massive invasion force to Poland, confident of victory after defeating a Christian army the year before. The Ottomans meet a combined Polish-Cossack army near the Romanian-Polish border by the fortress of Khotytn (pictured). And so commences a month long battle for control of the region.

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Cossacks raid the Black Sea coast as far as Kaffa and Istanbul. King Sigismund III of Poland vies for control of Moldavia, today a region in Romania with the Turks. In response Sultan Osman II declares war on Poland, gaining victory at Cecora in 1620 (pictured). The next year the Ottomans prepare a much bigger army for an invasion of Poland

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A succession of weak rulers begins the gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire. Their fight with the Habsburgs for control of Hungary continues with the Long Turkish War 1593-1606

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Background to the Battle of Khotyn 1621. The Cossacks occupy a central place in the history of Ukraine and surrounding region. They were not so much a distinct race but a way of life, a military caste whose service, though not always loyalty, was brought for concessions of land and limited independence. They inhabited a no-mans land in south-eastern Europe between the Christian states of Poland-Lithuania and Muscovy to the north, and the Ottoman Turks and their vassals to the south east

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The famous Spanish Armada of 1588 was only one of several battles in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604. Elizabeth hoped to take advantage of her victory by striking another blow to the Spanish fleet but in truth her own forces were exhausted. The conflict continued for several more years, and became embroiled in continental affairs; the Dutch Revolt and rise of Henry IV of France. Finally, I look at the legacies of Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth I of England 

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The famous attempted invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588

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