Forged in War

Gustav von Altenburg and his company of Greatswords are hired to protect a town near the Harz Mountains. They arrive to find disease, fear and surrounding villages already weakened by raids from a ruined castle. Before Gustav can restore the defences, a large force of Landsknecht mercenaries begins moving through the region, burning settlements and threatening to overwhelm the town.

Forged in War is a swashbuckling military novel set in the violent political landscape of sixteenth-century Germany. Its action draws on the specialised role of greatsword troops within mercenary armies and on the uneasy relationship between professional soldiers and the civilians who depended on them. Gustav’s central problem is whether men trained to sell their service can be persuaded to risk everything for a community that cannot match the enemy’s strength.