Summary

Tyll, something of a celebrity known for his juggling and his tightrope walks, is collared by army officers looking to conscript eligible men into army service. Desperate to avoid military service and the horrors of the battlefield, Tyll volunteers to work as a miner. That backbreaking and dangerous work is perceived to be important in sustaining the military campaign to resist the invasion of powerful Swedish forces. Like most Germans, Tyll believes the Swedes will head to Prague to take the capital city. Tyll volunteers to work the coal mines outside Brno, some 200 miles from the capital city, certain that there he would be safe. However, the miners are stunned when they realize the Swedes are in fact attacking Brno in an effort to blow up the fortifications in the city and, in turn, cripple the mining operations that are the life...