“This is a thorough and deeply-researched book that ultimately convinces. The step-by-step study of the chronology and events do much to shed light on these crucial decades and Meško makes use of a vast array of secondary literature in a huge range of languages … . This book is anything but niche, and will serve as an exemplar of how to write pre-industrial military history at the operational level.” (Lucas R. McMahon, International Journal of Military History and Historiography, Vol. 45 (1), 2025)