Albrecht von Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War

Albrecht von Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War Born at Heà ¸manice, Bohemia on September 24, 1583, Albrecht von Wallenstein was the son of a minor noble family. Initially raised as a Protestant by his parents, he was sent to a Jesuit school in Olmà ¼tz by his uncle after their death. While at Olmà ¼tz he professed to convert to Catholicism, though he subsequently attended the Lutheran University of Altdorf in 1599. Following additional schooling at Bologna and Padua, von Wallenstein joined the army of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Fighting against the Ottomans and Hungarian rebels, he was commended for his service at the siege of Gran. Rise to Power: Returning home to Bohemia, he married the wealthy widow Lucretia Nikossie von Landeck. Inheriting her fortune and estates in Moravia upon her death in 1614, von Wallenstein used it buy influence. After splendidly fitting out a company of 200 cavalries, he presented it to Archduke Ferdinand of Styria for use in fighting the Venetians. In 1617, von Wallenstein married Isabella Katharina. The couple had two children, though only one, a daughter, survived infancy. With the outbreak of the Thirty Years War in 1618, von Wallenstein declared his support for the Imperial cause. Forced to flee his lands in Moravia, he brought the provinces treasury to Vienna. Equipping a regiment of cuirassiers, von Wallenstein joined the army of Karel Bonaventura Buquoy and saw service against the Protestant armies of Ernst von Mansfeld and Gabriel Bethlen. Winning notice as a brilliant commander, von Wallenstein was able to recover his lands after the Catholic victory at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. He also benefited from the favoritism of Ferdinand who had ascended to post of Holy Roman Emperor in 1619. The Emperors Commander: Through the emperor, von Wallenstein was able to acquire the large estates that had belonged to his mothers family as well as purchased huge tracts of confiscated land. Adding these to his holdings, he reorganized the territory and named it Friedland. In addition, military successes brought titles with the emperor making him an imperial count palatine in 1622, and a prince a year later. With the entry of the Danes into the conflict, Ferdinand found himself without an army under his control to oppose them.  While the army of the Catholic League was in the field, it belonged to Maximilian of Bavaria. Seizing the opportunity, von Wallenstein approached the emperor in 1625 and offered to raise an entire army on his behalf. Elevated to Duke of Friedland, von Wallenstein initially assembled a force of 30,000 men. On April 25, 1626, von Wallenstein and his new army defeated a force under Mansfield at the Battle of Dessau Bridge. Operating in conjunction with the Count of Tillys Catholic League Army, von Wallenstein campaigned against Mansfeld and Bethlan. In 1627, his army swept through Silesia clearing it of Protestant forces. In the wake of this victory, he purchased the Duchy of Sagan from the emperor. The next year, von Wallensteins army moved into Mecklenburg in support of Tillys efforts against the Danes. Named Duke of Mecklenburg for his services, von Wallenstein was frustrated when his siege of Stralsund failed, denying him access to the Baltic and the ability to confront Sweden and the Netherlands at sea. He was further distressed when Ferdinand announced the Edict of Restitution in 1629. This called for the return of several principalities to Imperial control and the conversion of their inhabitants to Catholicism. Though von Wallenstein personally opposed the edict, he began moving his 134,000-man army to enforce it, angering many of the German princes. This was hampered by the intervention of Sweden and the arrival of its army under the gifted leadership of King Gustavus Adolphus. In 1630, Ferdinand called a meeting of the electors at Regensburg with the goal of having his son voted as his successor. Angered by von Wallensteins arrogance and actions, the princes, led by Maximilian, demanded the commanders removal in exchange for their votes. Ferdinand agreed and riders were sent to inform von Wallenstein of his fate. Return to Power: Turning his army over to Tilly, he retired to Jitschin in Friedland. While he lived on his estates, the war went badly for the emperor as the Swedes crushed Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. The following April, Tilly was defeated at killed at Rain. With the Swedes in Munich and occupying Bohemia, Ferdinand recalled von Wallenstein. Returning to duty, he swiftly raised a new army and cleared the Saxons from Bohemia. After defeating the Swedes at Alte Veste, he encountered Gustavus Adolphus army at Là ¼tzen in November 1632. In the battle that ensued, von Wallensteins army was defeated but Gustavus Adolphus was killed. Much to the emperors dismay, von Wallenstein did not exploit the kings death but rather retreated into winter quarters. When the campaign season began in 1633, von Wallenstein mystified his superiors by avoiding confrontations with the Protestants. This was largely due to his anger over the Edict of Restitution and his beginning secret negotiations with Saxony, Sweden, Brandenburg, and France to end the war. While little is known regarding the talks, he claimed to be seeking a just peace for a unified Germany. Downfall: While von Wallenstein worked to stay loyal to the emperor, it is clear that he was seeking to aggrandize his own power. As the talks flagged, he sought to reassert his power by finally going on the offensive. Attacking the Swedes and Saxons, he won his final victory at Steinau in October 1633. After von Wallenstein moved to winter quarters around Pilsen, news of the secret talks reached the emperor in Vienna. Moving quickly, Ferdinand had a secret court find him guilty of treason and signed a patent removing from command on January 24, 1634. This was followed by an open patent charging him with treason which was published in Prague on February 23. Realizing the danger, von Wallenstein rode from Pilsen to Eger with the goal of meeting with the Swedes. Two nights after arriving, a plot was put into motion to eliminate the general. Scots and Irish dragoons from von Wallensteins army seized and killed many of his senior officers, while a small force, led by Walter Devereux, killed the general in his bedroom. Selected Sources Albrecht von WallensteinNNDB: Albrecht von WallensteinThirty Years War

Trends in Human Resource Management

Trends in Human Resource Management Introduction It has been observed that human resource practices are characterized by certain designs and changes based on trends in the working environments. Consequently, the effect of a particular trend has resulted into implementation of a particular human resource management approach to ensure the intended purpose of effective management is realized.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Trends in Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A number of trends have been observed to contribute to the changes in human resource management and their impacts explained on the basis of staffing, training and development, salary allocation, promotion as well as career planning. Discussion Increasing health regulation by government has affected the manner in which human resource management takes place in terms of provision of free health care for employees at work place. Where such services are not offered fo r free, there has been need for the organization to allocate some resources for accomplishing this purpose. Aging workforce has ensured that positions occupied by older people are advertised so that when they retire, new employees take over from where they have left. Thus, human resource personnel have to ensure that any aged employee is replaced at the right time through recruitment and training (Rothwell, 2010). The trend of increasing and outsourcing employees or leasing employees has been applied in situation where the workforce needs to be obtained from a different place or when specific skills which are not available in an organization are needed. Increasing diversity has ensured that a particular type of people is considered when providing employment opportunities. For instance, when a company wants to employ more women than men, there will be need to ensure that more women vacancies are advertised compared to men. The trend of recruitment of multigenerational workforce has b een observed to take effect where a company needs to recruit employees of various ages in different capacities. Companies that need to recruit more youth may need to advertise the maximum age for the applicants in order to prevent certain age groups from dominating the work force (Bernardin, 2002).Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There has also been the need to increase the use of social networks in areas such as job advertisement and employee motivation. As a result, human resource administrators have made their accessibility possible in organizations to assist employees in accessing information regarding the company. It has also ensured vacant jobs are posted on social networks to ensure more potential employees get access to them. When the trends of employment requires that foreign employees are recruited, human resource managers have always ensured that th ey advertise the vacancies by making sure potential foreigners are reached. This has made the personnel in the human resource departments to focus their resources on such channels as internet and online applications to enable applicants from other countries make their applications (Barry and Hollenbeck, 2005). Global warming has contributed to recruitment of staff with pollution management skills to assist the company in making decisions regarding environmental management. These experts have been assigned the task of monitoring the levels of pollution in these companies and provide the right advice for regulation of amount of pollutants. Shortages of labor in a particular field of employment have ensured that human resource department allocate sufficient resources are channeled towards recruitment, training and orientation of employees in these areas. Stagnant economic growth in the U.S and the entire world has ensured that human resources are channeled to areas where there is possi bility of slow growth in an organization. The resources have been allocated for advertisement of goods and services, customer care improvement and quality products and services provision. References Barry, G. Hollenbeck, S. (2005) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. London: McGraw-Hill/ Ryerson Limited. Bernardin, G. (2002). Human resource management: an experiential approach. London: London: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Trends in Human Resource Management specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Rothwell, W. (2010). Human Resource Transformation: Demonstrating Strategic Leadership in the Face of Future Trends. New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

The turtle trading strategys profitability in the current market Literature review

The turtle trading strategys profitability in the current market - Literature review Example It is a complete trading system that is based on mechanical trading hinged on market price signals. The following aspects of the trades were all accounted for and covered by the rules: what to buy and what to sell, or the markets; how much of a particular market to sell or to buy, or the size of the position; the timing of the buying and the selling; the stops, or the timing of bailing out of positions where the trader is in a losing proposition; the exits, or the timing of the bailing out of positions where the trader is winning; and the selling and buying hows, which comprise the tactics for the trading exercises. Moreover, the turtles trading system focused on a number of trading instruments, all of them markets that are considered liquid. In the Chicago Board of Trade, the turtles traded in 30 year and 10 year Treasury bonds and notes. In the New York Exchange for Sugar and Cocoa, the turtles traded in cotton, coffee, sugar and cocoa. In the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the turtl es focused on a select group of currencies, which included the Japanese Yen, the Canadian Dollar, the British Pound, and the Swiss Franc. The list also included the S&P 500 Index of Stocks, as well as the 90 day US treasuries. In the Comex, the focus were gold, copper and silver. Finally, in the New York Mercantile Exchange, the focus were on unleaded gas, heating oil, and crude oil (Faith 2003, pp. 7-11; Carr 2009; Lauer 2007; Adamu and Phelps 2010; Anderson n.d.; FinanceManila 2007; Stockopedia Features 2011; Carr 2009; Business Insider 2013; Kasera n.d.; Au.Tra.Sy 2010; Faith 2003; TradingBlox.com n.d.; Powerstocks Research n.d.; Palantir Technologies 2012; Kowalski 2013; Power 2012; Trading Blox n.d.). The turtles trading system takes its cue from the highs in the prices for 22 days and for 55 days. There are two parts to the trading rules. In system 1, the trader assumes a long position on a market whenever the price goes beyond the high for the preceding 20 days. Conversely, t he trader takes a short position whenever the price goes down below the low for the past 20 days. In the case of the last breakout resulting in a trade that is a win, the breakout signals are ignored. That said, the trader would record an entry on day 55, in order not to miss out on major moves in the markets. The exit for system 1 is when the price is a low for 10 days when the position is long, and the high for 10 days when the position is short. In system 2, the benchmark is 55 days, taking a buy position when the market price goes up beyond the high for the past 55 days, and a sell position when the market price goes below the low for the past 55 days. The exit signal for this system 2 mode is when the price is the low for the past 20 days for the long position, and the high for the past 20 days for the short position (Stockopedia 2013; Business Insider 2013; Kowalski 2013; Kasera n.d.; Au.Tra.Sy 2010; Carr 2009). An example makes the trading rules for the turtle trading system clear. In an instance where the price of a stock, say Nokia, goes up to a level that exceeds a hypothetical 20-day range of 3.40 US dollars on the high side, then that is a signal to buy. When the time comes, on the other hand, that the stock price dips below the low for a ten-day period, then that is the time to sell the Nokia stock. It is easy to see