The Wild Boars of Zellberg - Sweeney R. Mingo

Spanning two world wars, The Wild Boars of Zellberg is a riveting saga of two European dynasties--the Renesbourgs and the Zellbergs--struggling for supremacy over a small, mountainous kingdom on the Bavarian border. Centered on Erich von Zellberg and his best friend, Jean, heir to the Renesbourg crown, the story begins with a tragic betrayal, a deadly duel, and a palace coup-de-état. Before dying from an illness, Jean makes Erich the duke of Zellberg and names his son his heir. Erich had already become one of the richest men in Europe and had married the aristocratic Italian beauty, Irena Malatesta di Rimini. But soon an ambitious Renesbourg descendant, battle-hardened and fresh from the Eastern front, appears to challenge his son's claim and take over Renesbourg by force. Erich hires some Cossacks to protect his duchy. As the two sides prepare for war, a mysterious Jewish doctor intervenes to reveal an unexpected path to peace. With his son poised to ascend the Renesbourg throne, Erich launches a desperate plan to rescue his faithful Cossacks from being sent to their deaths in the USSR--a plan that will demand from him the ultimate sacrifice.