Gustav II Adolf

sweden 6th King of Sweden , Vasa Dynasty , Finland grandee ^{(1611 ~ 1632)} . In the English-speaking world , he was better known by his Latin name, Gustavus Adolphus. His nickname in Sweden is Gustav Adolf den store .

Nickname: The Lion of the North[2] I was called the Golden King .

He was the eldest son of Karl, Duke of Södermanland, who later became King Karl IX of Sweden , and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. He was the grandson of Gustav I Vasa , the founder of Swedish independence, and had a Danish family on his mother's side . He inherited the blood of the Ollenborg Dynasty . The birth of a son was a great joy to Duke Karl, who had already lost two sons with his previous wife, and after gaining a reliable successor, Duke Karl began to plan to expel his nephew Sigismund and ascend to the throne of Sweden himself. Eventually, he staged a rebellion, dethroned Sigismund, and ruled as regent before ascending the throne himself.

Charles IX died suddenly of a stroke during the war with Denmark, and was crowned King of Sweden at the young age of 16. The problem was that, along with the throne of Sweden, he inherited the Swedish throne from his father, and at the same time, Sweden's diplomatic situation was so absurdly bad. At the time of 1611, Sweden was an enemy on all sides. They were immediately engaged in the Kalmar War with King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway over the issue of the Finnmark region , and as Karl IX had usurped Sigismund 's Swedish throne and ascended to the throne, they were also in hostile relations with Poland and Lithuania , and their diplomatic relations with the Russian Tsardom were ruined due to their involvement in the period of turmoil in the Russian Tsardom .[3] To overcome this, he embarked on national reform, and at the same time went to war with Poland -Lithuania , which continued to demand the Swedish throne, and acquired Livonia (currently the Vydsemme region in northern Latvia and southern Estonia), the Altoran of Eastern Europe's international trade .

However, at the Battle of Lützen in 1632, Piccolomini's cavalry charge disintegrated the blue regiment he trusted, and when the Swedish army was in danger, he was killed by Piccolomini's cavalry while relieving it. The battle itself was won by Albrecht von Wallenstein 's misjudgment, but the loss of the king and many of the elite soldiers was painful for the Swedish army. Failing to leave behind his son, his daughter was crowned Queen Christina .

It is known that many innovative tactics could be used in the 30 Years' War . For this reason, he is well known as the father of modern warfare . Clausewitz and Napoleon Bonaparte regarded him as one of the greatest generals in history (but Napoleon also saw him as a bubble), and George S. Patton and others also made the same assessment.

In military administration , it was possible to mobilize large-scale conscripts who were trained to some extent by creating a standing army under the initial public service system. In cavalry warfare, the conventional caracole tactic was abandoned and a doctrine centered on charge was created again to highlight the cavalry again. is said to have been able to defeat In addition, the navy also overhauled the system leading to the modern Swedish army.

In particular, Sweden under Gustav Adolf was important enough to become a model for the Kingdom of Prussia, which later created the German Empire , in terms of the creation of a small power that went beyond making up for material disadvantages such as population and resources through internal system improvement and raised it to the point where it could exercise hegemony . The Russian Empire decisively broke the hegemony of the Swedish Empire through the Great Northern War 70 years after the death of Gustav Adolf. The model for Peter I was, paradoxically, Sweden during this period.

Gustav II has long been known as a military genius who greatly contributed to the establishment of modern warfare, but recent scholars do not view him that way. Roberts and Parker's claim that Gustavus the Great was a pioneer of the military revolution was met with much criticism. According to Pinner H. Wilson, Gustavus's army did not have a significant difference in systematic and qualitative terms that could overwhelm Tilly-Wallenstein's army.[4] According to his book, 『30 Years' War: A European Tragedy』, the Catholic Army was operated in a similar way to a brigade like Gustavus's army, the only difference being that it was not an officially established organization called a brigade, but a temporary use of arbitrarily grouped units. In addition, his army also had a standing army under the national open army system, but like other countries, it relied heavily on mercenaries. At the beginning of the war, it was 50%, but by the Battle of Breitenfeld in the middle of the war , the ratio of mercenaries was about 75%, and it was composed of Germans, Scots, and British, and it is said that the ratio of mercenaries was 90% in the second half of the war. Strategic mistakes were also highlighted in the Battle of Alte Beste and Battle of Lützen , where many elite soldiers were lost due to tactical mistakes. However, it did contribute to some extent to the cavalry 's "contact".[5]

For reference, Napoleon considered Tilly and Wallenstein to be better generals than Gustav Adolf.

Gustav II increased the close contact of the cavalry and charged the cavalry at a slightly faster speed than before. King Gustavus' cavalry also influenced England and France.[6] However, there was no significant difference between Gustav the Great's cavalry and Wallenstein-Pappenheim-Piccolomini's cavalry.[7] , Wallenstein's cavalry also engaged in close combat, and Gustavus did not completely abolish pistol fire, but fired from a close enough distance that the muzzle touched the enemy's armor, and when infantry fired between cavalry ranks, they targeted the gaps left in the ranks and annihilated them. And contrary to the popular perception that the Swedish cavalry was lighter, in reality both sides converged on the Harquebusier style, with only cuirass worn.

There are claims that King Gustavus was advanced because he used thinner formations and linear tactics compared to the "old-fashioned" Spanish tercio tactics, but this is completely wrong. First of all, tercio is not a tactic, but a term for Spain's elite regiment, and although its musketry ratio was lower than that of King Gustavus's infantry , it was more effective in anti-cavalry warfare. At the Battle of Lützen, Piccolomini's cavalry attacked Caracol.[8] , King Gustavus's infantry was not effective in anti-cavalry warfare, to the extent that Sweden's elite blue regiment lost most of its troops without even being able to properly fight back. In 』30 Years' War: A European Tragedy』, Tersio also did not insist on the existing dense formation and pursued changes such as drastically increasing the number of riflemen and introducing Gustav II's brigade system. Gustavus was also aware of the weaknesses of the existing linear formation, so he strengthened the center and the flanks by forming a 'T'-shaped or wedge-shaped formation with a reserve battalion placed at the rear, but he relied heavily on the king's own command and soldiers' training. After the death of Gustavus, the quality of the Swedish army deteriorated and the quality of the imperial army improved, leading officers such as Lennart Torstensson to eventually abandon this arrangement, adopt a simpler battalion formation, and increase the ranks to become similar in thickness and width to the infantry formation of the Catholic Army.

In the Battle of Breitenfeld, the Swedish artillery was superior to the imperial army's artillery, so some argue that King Gustavus was a pioneer in allowing artillery to play an important role in the field , but artillery was not very important in the field in the 17th century in the first place. The first battle in which artillery played a truly important role in the field was the Battle of Malplaque in 1709 .[9] However, there is a record that Vittorio Amedeo I of the Duchy of Savoy saw the importance of artillery after seeing the Swedish artillery of Gustav II and put effort into fostering artillery, so even if artillery was not important on the front lines in the 17th century, it seems true that Swedish artillery made a deep impression on the European countries of the time. For reference, the leather cannon that Gustav first introduced at the time had the disadvantage of having a thin gun barrel, short lifespan, and being easily heated, and was eventually replaced by a 3-pound light copper cannon. Nevertheless, it is pointed out that the small field guns assigned to the infantry regiment had good mobility, but were not powerful enough to destroy the enemy's solid ranks due to their weak power. His field guns were not invincible weapons, but only showed their power due to the effect of combined arms tactics. In the Battle of Alte Beste, they were not powerful enough to hit the enemy ambushed in highland trenches, and the fact that they suffered greatly from Wallenstein's heavy artillery is highlighted. It is said that the true power of field artillery was not so much its firepower as its ability to respond to various situations by flexibly changing its formation depending on the situation, and its purpose was to provide a psychological advantage through the psychological stability of friendly forces due to the support of the cannon.

According to current revisionist academic circles, the victory in the Battle of Breitenfeld was not simply due to “advanced tactics,” but rather contributed to more complex factors such as field response ability and numerical superiority. This is believed to be due to the fact that the Swedish army quickly reorganized its flanks by demonstrating independent mobility of unit units in preparation for unexpected situations such as the Saxon army's early retreat, and the efficiency of the operational method of organically combining field artillery with infantry units, and focused on exploiting Tersio's weaknesses. The Tercio formation was strong in defense, but once the formation was disorganized, reorganization was very slow.[10] Aiming at this, a method was taken to break down the enemy's line by targeting a shock effect in which three rows of infantry fire at the same time, which is different from the existing salvo shooting method, breaking the enemy's line at once. The superiority of the linear formation is also exaggerated. At the time, muskets had an extremely low accuracy rate, and it was difficult to secure visibility due to smoke. Although continuous fire (salvo) could cause psychological intimidation in the enemy, it did not have the physical killing power to destroy the enemy army.[11] Therefore, the victory in the Battle of Breitenfeld was achieved through hand-to-hand combat and cavalry charging, and it is said that the biggest factors were the soldiers' high discipline and aggressive charging spirit. Continuous shooting (Salvo) takes a long time to reload once fired, making it vulnerable to enemy counterattacks, so the main purpose is to instill fear in the opposing army and break their ranks. Artillery operation also has the advantage of rapid fire rate and flexible deployment, but instead, artillery operation was dispersed as artillery was deployed to each infantry regiment. This was pointed out as a problem in that it undermined the artillery's original principle of concentrating firepower at a decisive point and made it vulnerable to cavalry charges. In conclusion, these doctrines are judged to be the result of “soldier proficiency and training” rather than technological progress, and the imperial army also revised its doctrines based on this experience, arguing that the war at that time was moving forward with complementary progress rather than stagnation with the progress of the other side.

His standing army also showed steps toward establishing an efficient administrative system through the examples described below. However, as explained above, as the size of the army grew, it reached a level that the Swedish administrative power alone could not handle. Because of this, the Swedish army also suffered from severe supply shortages and had to rely on local plunder. This is not because the system is perfect, but it shows that the attempt to build the system itself was ahead of its time. And modern historians point out that not only the military success of Gustavus the Great but also France's enormous financial support played a big role in the Swedish army's success. By the Treaty of Verwalde signed with France, France contributed to the establishment of French hegemony by reducing Sweden's military influence and making it difficult to establish an independent grand strategy. In order to escape this, Axel Oxenscherna was able to take care of Sweden's national interests through diplomatic efforts. And Wilson's research is highlighting the fact that Europe's standing army system was developed due to the achievements of his archenemy , Albrecht von Wallenstein . While Wallenstein procured armaments and supplies through systematic levies from the occupied territories, Gustav pointed out that it was difficult for a small and medium-sized country like Sweden to continue stationing large troops in the occupied territories, and that it was difficult to secure sufficient rear supply routes to maintain a large standing army due to the limitations of technology at the time, and that mercenaries needed immediate compensation. In addition, Gustave's pursuit of a quick resolution through mobile warfare and all-out war based on this reality also explains why he had no choice but to rely on plunder.

In addition, it is emphasized that the Swedish military analyzed by current academics was operated based on 'professionalism' rather than 'national identity'. This means that the Swedish military at the time evolved into a modern military organization that valued skill and efficiency regardless of nationality. According to Wilson's analysis, the Swedish military officer corps was a multinational group consisting of not only Swedes but also Germans, Scots, and Dutch. They are integrated under the same tactical doctrine and training system regardless of nationality, and are evaluated as having a professional hierarchy in which promotions are based solely on majors and experience. In order to unite mercenaries of different nationalities, strict and standardized 'Articles of War' were applied and went beyond simple punishment, serving as a 'common language' that enabled each unit to move organically during battle. Wilson finds the reason why the Swedish army was able to change its formation so smoothly, as demonstrated in the Battle of Breitenfeld, in the 'independent expertise of each unit'. This is because the small unit commanders were highly trained experts who could make their own decisions and maneuver according to the situation. The Swedish army operated a systematic logistics officer corps to the extent that even exploitation in occupied areas was handled ‘administratively’. This was a professional approach to prevent military discipline from collapsing due to disorderly looting and to keep the huge machine called the army operating for a long period of time. The peculiarity of this military and administrative manual is revealed in the Battle of Lützen , where the army did not disintegrate immediately upon Gustav's death, but rather due to the loyalty and professionalism of the officers who shared their know-how. And unlike other mercenaries, the reason they did not panic and attack him in a frenzy due to his death is believed to be a systematic reason, such as making them fight to collect wages by faithfully carrying out the orders of a leader with whom they share business.

His strategic limitations are also being noted. He blatantly expanded his influence on German territory in pursuit of his country's interests, causing conflict with the feudal lords and instilling anti-Swedish sentiment. He did not advance to Vienna to secure the finances and supply lines mentioned above, but expanded into southern German territory, and developed a detailed strategy by using his status through military victory to negotiate with France and stage a political show to suppress the opposition of the German princes. However, his mobile warfare did not cope with Wallenstein's war of attrition. As a result, the myth of his invincibility was shattered and the limitations of supply and short-term decisive battle strategies were revealed. It is pointed out that after his death, Axel Oxensjerná, Lennart Torstensson, and Johan Vaner managed to overcome this problem. Peter H. Wilson said that his strategy lacked an exit strategy to end the war quickly, and that he went beyond the national goal of securing control of the Baltic Sea and advanced deep into Germany, continuing a dangerous offensive that was almost like a gamble without a specific plan or consistent goal to end the war. This risky strategy is also criticized for his obsession with all-out war, and it is pointed out that a single defeat could have fatal consequences due to the limitations of Sweden's human resources and the lack of a stable supply network.

In summary, Gustave Adolf is certainly one of the great generals that will remain in European history and is a figure that later commanders tried to emulate, but it is difficult to say that he was a person who brought about a revolutionary change in the history of warfare, that is, a cataclysm on the level of Hannibal or Napoleon.[12]

Looking back on what was explained above, you might think that the innovations he made were minimal or lacked influence, but that is not the case at all. In the current academic world, the prevailing view is that he is not a 'revolutionary who changed the paradigm with his own unique ideas and genius', but rather a 'best system integrator' who succeeded in combining and improving the innovations and military, administrative, and technological elements that were sporadically attempted in various parts of Europe at the time, but this does not deny his innovation. At the time, the development of modern warfare was developing in a similar direction in the process of accepting and studying Mauritz van Nassau 's reforms, and Gustav also established a modern national bureaucracy to support this and improved the modern army to suit Sweden's circumstances based on this trend, and began work to standardize the weapon system. Thus, the Swedish army was able to continue winning until the early and mid-war period. However, due to the fact that Sweden was a small and medium-sized country at the time and the technological limitations of the time, it was difficult to maintain his standing army, and the weapon system he applied also had to be modified to some extent to suit the circumstances of the time, unlike in the beginning. In addition, the absorption of the imperial army's tactics and the blind spots in the combined arms technology of the time, which required Gustav to move around and lead, implied the vulnerability of the Swedish army, and as the war continued after Gustav's death, looting in Germany increased and the burden on Swedish farmers became more severe. It is also pointed out that the limitations of his grand strategy and his overconfidence in his own tactical capabilities led to the crisis.

However, his legacy had a great influence on nations and military commanders across Europe. Although his standing army through the national draft system may have had limitations at the time, it later had a great influence on the development of each country to establish a modern military state system through the systemization of the country's logistics and bureaucracy and a conscription system through a social contract, and France, England, Russia, and Austria later went on to systematize it. In particular, Prussia was most influenced by this, and the aggressive doctrine he pursued and the concept of paralyzing the opposing army with shock power using his cavalry were inherited in their own way. Also, in the case of Napoleon, he contributed to establishing modern warfare by further systematizing his combined arms coalition and national open arms system.

And the point that his strategy cannot be said to have completely failed is that the Swedish army showed continuous activity even in an environment where he was not in his control due to the results of his reforms, and it served as an opportunity to form the Heilbronn Alliance with the support of Protestant princes in the name of protecting Protestantism. There is no doubt that he was a master general who used a meticulous strategy despite many limitations. It is acknowledged that this would not have been possible without Axel Oxensjärna's performance, but it was he who hired him as an administrator in charge of the Swedish army's logistics and an outstanding diplomat, and ultimately succeeded in gaining hegemony in the Baltic Sea and northern German territory.

As a result, his military reform was not simply his original strategy; he also showed limitations in his military capabilities and was unable to bring about change at the level of a revolution. However, under the influence of his reforms and tactics, it can be seen that later commanders were motivated to establish modern warfare, and he can be seen as a master general who contributed to some extent to changing the paradigm of modern warfare.

For a while, in order to explain military developments in the 16th and 17th centuries, Michael Roberts supported this claim by citing Gustavus' reforms as an example to prove the theory of military revolution. However, it turned out that Gustavus also did not create these reforms solely from his own original ideas, but also absorbed technologies that had independently developed in the armies of each European country and reflected them in his military reorganization. First of all, he inherited the Dutch reform and accepted the linear formation, systematic drill (ritual and repetitive training), and subdivision of units established by Mauritz and reflected them in the Swedish military according to the actual situation. He organized a linear formation into a diamond-shaped brigade, which was a significant military advance, but at the time, the brigades in Europe, including Tercio, were merely 'tactical units' temporarily grouped together just before battle. In the case of Tercio, one of the formations of the Spanish Army and the Imperial Army at the time , the reform of the Dutch Army was reduced and the ratio of pike soldiers from 60% to 70% was reduced to 50%, similar to the ratio of musketeers, and the unit of troops was set at 1,500. The brigades of other countries were also a concept composed of regimental troops and had different sizes, but Gustavus standardized the size of regiments, identified units with color-coded uniforms, developed existing brigades by combining different arms at the battalion level, and gave trained troops and commanders discretion to respond flexibly according to the situation. This was to maximize firepower density by separating the regiment, which was an administrative unit, and the battalion, which was a tactical unit. The advantages of this organization led to the maximization of firepower and impact power through the combined arms combination of infantry, cavalry, and artillery that he pursued, and had a great influence on the early Swedish army's victories, such as the Battle of Wallhof . In addition, he adopted Dutch engineer technology to dig trenches and built a defensive line with portable stakes called Swedish feathers. In the Battle of Gniew and the Battle of Berben , he combined terrain and firepower to block the enemy's offensive and pressurize the supply line. The Salvo shooting method also changed from the existing Dutch method of firing sequentially while switching between the front and back rows to a method of firing all three rows at once, and adhered to the method of compensating for gaps in shooting due to instantaneous firepower in combination with light guns.

Regarding the standing army , he also referred to previous cases. His grandfather Gustav I Vasa 's existing method of hiring mercenaries came to be distrusted due to the cost and the mercenary rebellion, and Sweden changed the tradition of farmers fighting directly due to population issues to the tradition of expanding troops through the administrative power of the centralized state and census. This conscription system was called Utskrivning, which means selection in Swedish . After establishing the bureaucracy with Axel Oxenscherna, Gustav, in cooperation with the church, used the personal records (ledgers) of Lutheran parishes to conduct a census to identify and conscript men between the ages of 15 and 60, and built a standing army through training even in normal times through unity through community spirit and the Lutheran faith.

Shock-oriented cavalry tactics using the Hakkapelitat cavalry were used from the time of the Third Polish-Swedish War, learning from the defeat of his father Karl IX in the Battle of Kirholm. Although he was active, including a major victory in the Battle of Wallhof , he struggled greatly with the army led by Stanisław Koniecpolski , fighting in the Battle of Tsarnae and the Battle of Dyrschau, where Gustav was almost killed in the Battle of Tszczyana . However, with this, Gustave recognized the importance of superiority through the shock power of cavalry and the cooperation of all arms to support this, and established it as a core doctrine.

Combining these advantages, it showed its results in the Battle of Breitenfeld and the Battle of the Lech River during the 30 Years' War. However, there were limits to his reforms. First, his method of operating brigades and handling battalions required elite soldiers who had undergone considerable training, and as the war was prolonged, a significant number of elite soldiers were lost, making the complex transitional formation he created difficult to operate. In addition, the thin ranks of only six lines collapsed in front of the reformed Tersio, which adopted battalion-based spear guns, in the Battle of Nordlingen. By identifying the weaknesses of the existing Swedish army, they neutralized the Swedish army by combining the defense through depth and the Swedish army's terrain and defense line with firepower, meaning that the tactical gap between the two armies disappeared.

Additionally, the Combined Arms Coalition also showed its limitations. First of all, the fact that he led directly throughout the war was not because he was simply a reckless commander or because of his desire for military service. In the thick smoke and chaos on the battlefield at the time, remote command was impossible, and in order for him to utilize such a sophisticated command system to cope with changes in the situation, he had to lead directly to some extent. Although it was a means to strengthen his political influence, the problem of paralyzing the decision-making of the army and the nation due to his decision-making authority as the general commander of the army led to the tragedy of the Battle of Lützen .

However, the Swedish military also tried to cope with these changes. Johan Vaner abandoned the complex Swedish traditional brigade system and introduced a simple battalion system, allowing even untrained mercenaries to wage war. In order to prevent and control the deviation of mercenaries, strict military discipline was introduced, looting was systematized to replenish supplies, and damage was reduced by taking advantage of favorable terrain through mobile warfare. Accordingly, Lennart Torstensson reformed the army after Vanner's death. He operated the artillery as an independent branch, reduced unnecessary military supplies to strengthen the army's mobility, and combined cavalry and artillery to force the cavalry to abandon guns and attack with only swords. This type of mobile warfare was passed down to Carl Gustave Branel and his maternal nephew Carl X Gustav . However, the risk to cavalry and artillery also increased, and it also consumed a lot of supplies. Therefore, when Gustav Horn returned after being released from captivity after the defeat in Nörtlingen, he supported Torstensson from the rear, secured supply routes, occupied major bases such as highlands, and supported him by utilizing reserve units. On the other hand, in the case of Bernhard von Saxony-Weimar, he adopted Gustav's existing brigade organization into his Weimar army based on a significant number of skilled soldiers and introduced a Japanese-style mercenary system, and adhered to the method of using this for offensive purposes. Hans-Georg von Arnim , who fought the war under Gustavus , unlike Bernhard, accepted change and reformed the army in the same direction as the Swedish army.

The imperial army also accepted Gustave's innovations. Albrecht von Wallenstein used a battalion system like Sweden's rather than the existing tercio, and took advantage of Gustav's combination of engineers, terrain, and firepower to wage a war of attrition, and stopped Gustav with these clear-field tactics. In addition, Wallenstein was a genius in logistics and military administration and used the contribution system to turn mercenaries into an army equivalent to a standing army, leading the war to his advantage based on superior supply. By independently interpreting the shock tactics of using Caracol and Gustav's cavalry, they used a tactic of charging while withstanding fire from the pistols of cuirassiers instead of using light weapons, and used a war of attrition utilizing heavy artillery to deny the enemy access by deploying heavy artillery on high ground or key strategic points. This tactic of utilizing the terrain recognized the vulnerability of the Swedish army, which had only six rows, to changes in terrain, and won the Battle of Alte Beste .

Franz von Mercy inherited Wallenstein's tactics of using these fortresses and used regimental artillery in the field to block enemy charges and also used them in mobile warfare. Matthias Gallas and Melchior von Hatzfeld also adopted this approach.

As mentioned above , Fernando de Austria of the Spanish Army led the change by organizing the tercio, which consisted of spear guns at the battalion level. At the time of Breitenfeld, Tilly's troops were about 60-65% rifle soldiers, but he raised the ratio of rifle soldiers to 66%, drastically reduced the ranks from 20-30 to 10-12, and utilized thick depth to absorb damage and then counterattack.

The French army also reformed its existing weak army and changed it to be able to stand up to the imperial army. In the case of the Great Condé, while accepting the reforms of the Swedish army, he insisted on the traditional linear tactics used by the French army, and used an offensive-oriented strategy, considering a reckless charge of infantry and cavalry when the enemy's ranks collapsed as the key to victory. To this end, in order to completely exclude factors that slow down the cavalry and maximize the impact of the infantry's salvo, they approached as close as possible, about 50 to 100 meters away, and then when the artillery's supporting fire and the infantry fired a salvo, which disrupted the ranks, the musketeers and pikemen raised their spears and swords at the same time and charged . In the Battle of Rocroix , the enemy was crushed by a diversionary maneuver through the cavalry and a three-sided strike with the infantry. Viscount Turenne was a general who actively developed the combined arms cooperation and mobile warfare of the Swedish army, including Gustavus, Vanner, and Torstensson, and worked hard to establish the supply system and discipline they used to counter this. An example of this is the mobile warfare shown at the Battle of Jusmarshausen , which shows his later developed strategic tactics.

After the Thirty Years' War , the Swedish army's standing army system was studied in Europe, and the Kingdom of Prussia , the Habsburg monarchy , England , the Kingdom of France , the Russian Empire , etc. adopted it to suit their own circumstances. Sweden also attempted to change from its existing methods.

The Swedish army was reorganized through the reforms of Horn and Torstensson based on war lessons learned during the Thirty Years' War, and showed its results in the Torstensson War against the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway . In particular, Wrangel demonstrated an innovative strategy of integrating sea-land and forming a multinational alliance with the Dutch army, while Horn and Torstensson secured Sweden's hegemony by complementing each other's command capabilities. Afterwards , Karl​​​​ In the Battle of Warsaw , he achieved victory through joint operations with Friedrich Wilhelm , including a flank attack utilizing the joint arms coordination and command system of the linear formation . During the war, upon hearing the news of Denmark's declaration of war, he made the strategic decision to cross the frozen sea. This was an operation called the Crossing of the Welt Strait . This was an example of the Swedish engineers overcoming geographical disadvantages through skilled engineers and supply capabilities who checked the thickness of the ice, widened the gap between cavalry, infantry, and artillery, and ground horses to prevent slipping. However, as he continued the war, he had to experience frequent rebellions in occupied territories due to the limitations of the plunder-centered supply system, checks by European countries that were wary of such expansion, diplomatic isolation, and financial deterioration. Therefore, as part of strengthening royal authority, Karl They used a tactic called Ga -Pa, which was a frontal assault. Afterwards, based on these military reforms , Charles Sweden was defeated through large -scale firepower operation .

General Raimondo Montecucoli of the Habsburg Monarchy planned the imperial army's standing army system and critically accepted the Swedish army's method, combining the methods used by predecessor generals such as Wallenstein. Recognizing the confusion after the collapse of the single linear arrangement, he adopted a three-line deep deployment where the first line engages, the second line provides support and replenishment for flank defense, and the third line is used as a reserve. Additionally, it can be seen that his theory reflects considerations from the time of the 30 Years' War.

Scottish mercenaries who had served in the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War were active in the English Civil War and influenced the British army by joining Oliver Cromwell 's army. In order to maintain this standing army, Cromwell used the method of uniting the discipline of the army with Puritan beliefs and voluntarily submitting soldiers who shared the same faith. After William III came to the throne, he introduced the standing army system and the doctrine of the Swedish army, while also introducing the sequential firing method of the platoon unit. Later, John Churchill systematized the military administration and established platoon fire and mobile warfare. In the Battle of Blenheim , he made use of linkage through combined arms and a cavalry charge using only the sword.

In the case of Prussia, it was the country that most fully accepted the Swedish military reform mentioned above. Frederick the Great spread his infantry in three lines, demonstrated excellent change of direction and increased rate of fire through systematic training, combined mobility and diagonal formation, and maximized firepower through sequential firing by platoon. Prince Henry used tactics that utilized defensive use of the terrain, infantry support from artillery, and maneuver to cut off the enemy's supply routes. Prussia was able to overcome the geographical limitations of Prussia, which was concentrated in border areas , through various innovations such as conscription through the canton system , increased loading speed through the use of iron sweepers, and operation of mounted artillery .

Lastly, the French army grew into a powerful nation through reforms by commanders such as Condé and Turenne before and after the Thirty Years' War, and the establishment of an absolute monarchy after Louis General François-Henri de Montmorency won the Battle of Nerwinden using the existing methods of his predecessors, but his method of conducting the battle resulted in the problem of dependence on personal charisma, strategic fatigue, and manpower depletion. This was a method that deepened France's financial difficulties, and the incompetent generals who took over as parachute appointees of Louis Accordingly, Maurice de Saxe wrote Mes Rêveries to break away from the existing rigid methods of waging war, such as rejecting the dogmatic command method, insisting on the revival of spearmen to strengthen close combat in order to systematically manage soldiers and strengthen offensive shock power, and developing the concept of regimental artillery, which provides immediate firepower by moving with the infantry ranks through transitional weapons such as the Amusette. At the time, this concept was very unconventional, but existing generals were skeptical. However, everything changed with the advent of Napoleon Bonaparte . He established the division and corps system and organized infantry, cavalry, and artillery to be used in combination under the division system, and organized the artillery corps separately to make it an independent branch and use it as the main force. He is the person who created the concept of annihilation warfare by collapsing the front line through column formations and mixed formations to break through existing thin linear formations, and utilizing them all.

In this way, we can see that modern warfare was not simply decided by one person, but was re-established by the creativity and national-political purposes of several commanders.

In Korea, he is known as a key commander of the Thirty Years' War , but in Sweden, his domestic reforms are more highly regarded. The problem is that all of the national capabilities that had been built up were poured into the war, and Sweden did not have an insane national power that was capable of both war and internal affairs at the same time like France at that time, but its national power was at a level where it was possible to squeeze everything it had from the war immediately. The golden age of victory and reform did not last long.

By establishing courts across the country, the foundation of the rule of law was laid, and Uppsala University , which was on the verge of closure due to frequent wars, was revived, while Estonia The University of Tartu was established in Tartu to cultivate talented people. In addition, copper mines were developed in places such as Falun with a loan from the Netherlands , which was important in both economic and military terms. This is because it served as a driving force in greatly increasing military power by increasing Sweden's trade scale by nearly 10 times and at the same time enabling the possession of large quantities of cannons. At that time, cannons had their barrels cast in bronze due to their heat resistance.

For reference, there were cast iron cannons, but they were much cheaper than bronze cannons, but they were unreliable and were initially only used by pirates. However, such cast iron cannons were developed rapidly by Henry VIII and were put to good use in defeating the Armada during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. A cannon with a steel barrel was first made by the German company Krupp in the 19th century and presented at the World's Fair.

In addition, in conjunction with military reform, military districts were created and the foundations of today's states in Sweden and Finland were laid. Also Gothenburg , Umeå and Luleå in Sweden, and Užikaupungki and Sortavala in Finland .[13] set up

The reforms of Axel Oxenscherna, a prominent minister and one of his subjects, also played a big role in this. He legislated a centralized bureaucratic organization to ensure that the country could run smoothly even in the king's absence. The authority of five ministries, including military affairs, foreign affairs, finance, judiciary, and the navy, was clarified and the five major government offices system was completed, with professional officials managing them. This was the first modern written constitution in Europe, and firmly fixed the military as the property of the state. After the king's death, he took over real power as plenipotentiary ambassador in charge of the Swedish military and diplomacy on the German front. He comforted the confused German princes and formed the Heilbronn League, allowing Sweden to maintain its position as the head of the Protestant camp in Germany. In order to administratively realize the principle that "war must feed war," he established an administrative network that systematically collected contributions (Kontribution) from German occupied territories while ensuring subsidies from France. The 1634 Bill of Government he led allowed the national bureaucracy to operate on its own even if the king was killed or underage (Queen Christina). Wilson analyzes that thanks to this, Sweden was able to fight large-scale wars much more stably than other European countries at the time.

The Swedish bureaucracy built by these two geniuses and the conscription system of conscription and land exchange[14] The social contract resulting from ideological integration through Lutheranism and the role of the Riksdag in the Swedish parliament to reflect the opinions of farmers later led to the concept of the People's House (Folkhemmet) and became the ideological and structural foundation of the modern Nordic Model.

Sweden's territory was expanded through frequent wars of conquest. Due to a dispute over the succession to the Swedish throne with his cousin, Sigismund III, the Swedish-Polish War took place, effectively taking over Livonia, including Riga, by making it Swedish Livonia. In 1660, when the Polish Vasa Dynasty's claim to the Swedish throne was abolished through the Peace Treaty of Oliva, its possession was officially recognized.

This little-known fact is that he was the one who delayed Russia 's entry into the Baltic Sea by 100 years. Due to the Ingrian War, which occurred as a continuation of the period of chaos, he nominated his younger brother, Duke Carl Philip, as a candidate for tsar , and used the excuse of withdrawing his nomination to pressure the newly elected first tsar of the Russian tsardom, Michael I , to Kexholm.[15] and Ingermanland were ceded, blocking the route to the Baltic Sea. Therefore, Tsarist Russia had no choice but to use the White Sea trade route through Arkhangelsk to communicate with Western Europe , but because the White Sea was frozen most of the year, it had difficulty communicating with Western Europe. Later, only after Michael I 's grandson , Peter I, ascended the throne and St. Petersburg was built during the Great Northern War , were Russians able to use the Baltic Sea to interact with Western Europe .

Vorpommern, a German territory in Sweden obtained by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648[16] In the same case, it was possible to obtain thanks to Gustav II's advance device. The Greifen family, originally the ruling family of Pomerania , agreed to inherit Pomeran from Brandenburg if the family line was cut off under the Treaty of Grimnitz concluded in 1532. In the end, in the Treaty of Westphalia, Sweden took Pomeran as well as Stettin, the capital of the Duchy of Pomerania , and fucked the Hohenzollern family .

It is said to have a fiery personality .[17] A close associate of the time said of his personality, "If everyone were as hot as Your Majesty, they would all burn out and there would be nothing left." He also said, Due to such a personality, there is also a record that says, "He could not tolerate anyone speaking equivocally or stuttering in front of him, and even if it was an envoy from an enemy country, he would chase it away." There is also a record that says, "He slapped a servant when he hesitated and became frustrated in front of him." Because of this fiery nature, there is a saying, "If Gustav II Adolf had not died, the Thirty Years' War could have lasted longer than 30 years." Unlike the Protestant princes who tried to end the war by signing a treaty with the emperor in a slightly advantageous situation, in the case of Gustav II, "If you are not going to do as I say, I will just kill you and let me live!!" It was such an extreme position that it caused a lot of friction even with Protestant princes who were on the same side. If Gustav II had a fiery personality to the point where he was at odds with his allies, you can guess his ability and personality to the point where he remained on the same side even after taking his personality into account.

As was the beginning of the modern standing army, he probably had a lot of affection for the standing army he raised. There is a record that he "shared room and board with his soldiers, and even in the sinking mud, he personally inspected them and asked about their well-being." There is also a mention that "if possible, the mistakes of the soldiers were overlooked." At that time, it could be said that non-payment of soldiers' salaries was a daily occurrence.[18] In the case of Gustav II Adolf, it is recorded that he tried to improve the treatment of the standing army, saying, "When money was tight, he even provided supplies." Considering that we live in an age where non-payment of compensation is natural and supplies must be provided at one's own expense, this can be said to be quite an incredible feat.[19] There is also a record of how good he was to the soldiers: “ When the king died on the battlefield, the soldiers were filled with rage and charged , not just because they were devastated by the news . ” So, despite the death of the king nationally and the general commander militarily, the battle was won.

The queen is Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg and is from the Hohenzollern family . There is an episode during his marriage when he went to the Electorate of Brandenburg to woo her, hiding his identity, and when Johann Sigismund, Maria Eleonora's father and the Elector of Brandenburg at the time, learned of his identity, he was very satisfied with his future son-in-law. However, as Johann Sigismund died soon after due to alcoholism and Georg Wilhelm , who was hostile to Gustav II , ascended the throne, the marriage between the two parties was considered virtually broken up. At this time, Maria Eleonora's mother, Anna of Prussia, who had met Gustav II, was determined to proceed with this marriage unconditionally, so she traveled all the way from Berlin to the Principality of Prussia to negotiate the marriage, and they were able to get married. The relationship between Gustav II and the queen was good, but Maria Eleonora was unable to adapt to the cold weather in Sweden and suffered from the pressure of giving birth to a prince, which eventually led to her becoming mentally ill . Later, after giving birth to Queen Christina, Gustav II almost gave up on having a son and raised his only daughter by dressing her in men's clothes after hearing the doctor's words that "it would be difficult to conceive any more ." The problem is that Gustav II himself died before completing the 30-year war, and Queen Christina was a child less than 10 years old when he ascended the throne. Even the war was beyond the point of being unfinished, and it was like dying with the work multiplied many times over. Until the end of the 30 Years' War , Sweden had to expend a considerable amount of the national power that Gustav II had developed in ending the war and overcoming its aftereffects.

Queen Christina, the only daughter, is famous for her strong academic zeal. He developed Swedish culture and scholarship by interacting with many famous people, including the famous French philosopher Descartes , and working on his studies.[20] . In addition, Count Per Brahe was sent to Finland to expand the infrastructure of major cities such as Ovo , Helsingfors , Tabastheus , Vilmanstrand , and Nysslod . In 1640, Finland's first university, the Oboe Academy , was founded. Afterwards, she converted to Catholicism and left for Rome , abdicating in favor of her maternal cousin Charles Gustav of Palatinate-Webrückenkleburg, who had once been a strong candidate for marriage , thus ending the Swedish Vasa dynasty. The Vatican widely publicized the fact that Gustav II Adolf's daughter had converted to Catholicism, treated Christina as an honored guest, and provided her with a tomb in St. Peter's Basilica after her death.

Gustav II Adolf always fought at the forefront when battles broke out, and because of this he was on the verge of death several times, but he did not quit his father's reign until the moment of his death. While fighting at the forefront in the war against Poland and Lithuania, he was hit in the shoulder by a gun from a Polish sniper and suffered damage to his arm and fingers.[21] Afterwards, he was unable to wear heavy metal armor, so he had to wear only a buff coat made of cow leather. Of course, it cannot be viewed as a bad thing considering that his actions were the reason why his army always boasted of excellent morale and fighting ability, but it was also the cause of his death at the age of 37 in the above-mentioned Battle of Lützen .[22]

When Gustavus II Adolf rose to power in the Thirty Years' War, there was a movement among the Protestant princes: " Let us make him Holy Roman Emperor ." There was also discussion. According to records, Gustav himself once said informally to the dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Gustro, "If I become emperor..." However, the project was aborted due to the desperate opposition of the imperial princes, who said that a German emperor, even a crazy person, would be better than electing a Swedish emperor.[23] Gustav II Adolf was welcomed as a protector of Protestantism in Germany , but he was not well-regarded as a candidate for emperor because he shouted at the German Protestant princes who had become scum, and called them cowards. However , it is necessary to take into account that before Gustavus landed in Germany, the Protestant princes had been crushed to dust by the Catholic forces and were on the verge of surrender, so they had no choice but to become cowards or fools . Before Gustav II's landing in Pomerania, not only the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, but also the King of Denmark, who had participated in the war on the Protestant side and suffered a crushing defeat, suffered a crushing defeat. Even Christian IV thought they had lost, never thinking that they would eventually turn the tables and defeat the Catholics.

As the title suggests, The Lion From The North by Swedish metal band Sabaton is a song about this person. It was covered again in 2025 with the new song “Till Seger.”

In Civilization 5 , he appears as the leader of Sweden . See Civilization 5/Civilizations/Swedish article. In Civilization 6 , he appears as a great general, but in the expansion pack , the leader of Sweden was dropped as his daughter Christina, so he did not appear as a leader.

He appeared as the leader of Sweden in Age of Empires III: The Definitive Edition .

It also appears in Paradox Interactive 's Europa Universalis 2 , a game covering the history from 1419 to 1819 . His stats as a monarch are 9, 9, 9[24] As a commander, his abilities are 6/6/5/1, and he boasts the dignity of beating commanders of the Thirty Years War, such as Albrecht von Wallenstein at the same time. In 4 as well, he comes out as a monarch with a maximum value of 6, 6, 6.[25]

She appears in various quests and events in Age of Discovery Online , and also appears as a Ganadol NPC.

In the Korean mobile game Last Origin , a character named Iron-Blooded Leona appears, modeled after this person .

In the novel The Personality Merchant of Venice, he is briefly mentioned as the nemesis of Albrecht von Wallenstein, who appears as an acquaintance of the protagonist Antonio Correa. It is also mentioned in connection with the Vasa .

In the alternative historical novel Goryeo Falls to the New World, Yi Sun-sin, who appears as Lee Yun-sin in the work, appears as a contemporary figure who evaluates him as an unprecedented great general.

In Age of Discovery Origin, he appears as an A-class navigator. It has high artillery stats and many good skills related to artillery, so the evaluation is very good. There is also a small advantage of being able to receive a language bonus in cities such as Stockholm because the Swedish level is as high as 5 .