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The transportation route, the source of livelihood and the element of strategy. The Elbe river during the Thirty Years' War

Publication |
2018

Abstract

The aim of the study is to show, how the events of the Thirty Years' War influenced the forms of the transport at the Elbe river and the situation of the towns on the riverside. During the war the river was intensively used for the transport of the nourishment and military material for the troops operating in the Empire; later in the 30's and 40's the Elbe river presented significant element of strategy, as it divided the North-Western Bohemia in two parts.

The study focuses also on the problem of bridges and ferries which were used by the fighting armies for crossing of the river and with the aims of the opponents to prevent it.