The famous Defenestration of Prague in May 1618 marked the beginning of a massive war that would claim millions of lives and last for three decades. To this day, this unprecedented historical catastrophe is shrouded in myths. Georg Schmidt, one of the great experts of the era, presents a comprehensive account of the Thirty Years' War, updated to the latest research, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary. "The Riders of the Apocalypse" – these were war, famine, and plagues that brought about countless deaths and devastated large parts of Central Europe. In his extensive history of the Thirty Years' War, Georg Schmidt skillfully intertwines the political and military events with diary entries, sermons, and other contemporary sources that vividly illustrate how the war was experienced and endured: as a punishment from God, as a struggle for German freedom.