Gustavus Adolphus - Sweden's Greatest King Documentary

[Music] the man known to history as King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden or Gustav as the second Adolf of the Vasa dynasty was born on the 9th of December 1594 in the Swedish city of Stockholm his mother Christina who was born in the now German city of Kiel in 1573 was the daughter of Adolf the Duke of Holstein got off and was by all accounts a harsh strict and domineering woman who would go on to hold considerable influence over her son during his early years of life gustas father Karl who is also known as Charles was the youngest son of King Gustav the first or Gustav Vasa of Sweden who had founded the Vasa royal dynasty when he claimed the Swedish throne in a rebellion against christian ii or christian the tyrant of denmark in 1523 that ended the Danish controlled Kalmar Union of Scandinavia that was comprised of the kingdoms of Denmark Norway and Sweden as well as others after consolidating his position the Lutheran Protestant Gustaf the first ruled over Sweden until his death in 1560 when he was succeeded by his eldest son Erik or Erik the 14th who was later deposed by his Nobles and replaced by his half-brother and Jukka Finland John or John the third in 1569 however the Ascension of john to the swedish throne would eventually trigger further upheaval across the predominantly Protestant kingdom as his wife and queen consort Katharine who was a member of the younger lowly and dynasty of Poland had raised John's son and heir Sigismund as a Roman Catholic Sigismund was then elected as king of poland in 1587 after the death of his maternal aunt Anna the queen of Poland's husband and co-ruler Steven meaning that when his father and King of Sweden John the third also died in 1592 Sigismund the third became the ruler of vast swathes of Scandinavia as well as Eastern Europe but the prospect of a union with the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth made many people within Sweden extremely nervous particularly as both kingdoms embraced different branches of the Christian faith however when Sigismund promised to respect the religious freedoms of Sweden's Protestant population in the convention of Uppsala in 1593 his ascension to the throne was accepted culminating in his coronation on the 19th of February 15 94 despite the new Kings efforts to appease the Protestant majority many of Sweden's nobles including Gustavus Adolphus his father Charles were discontented with sigismund's ascension who increasingly became more and more authoritarian in his role as he forbade the Swedish parliament or Rick stag to meet without his consent in an effort to maintain control over his northern kingdom from afar the Riksdag itself or Rick stag of the estates was essentially the name given to an assembly of the different classes that then existed within Swedish society that consisted of the nobility the clergy the burghers or middle classes and lastly the peasantry and although ultimate power lay in the hands of the kingdoms monarch this assembly would come to play an important role in the governance of Sweden over the coming decades proof of the importance of the Swedish estates then manifested itself when Gustaf's father Charles who no doubt have been emboldened by the Kings absence held his own assembly of the Riksdag without King sigismund's consent in 1595 where he was proclaimed as the kingdom's regent after which he then tried to extend his authority over Finland and hold further illegal assemblies this de facto attempt at independent rule was effectively treason from sigismund's perspective and he then decided that a use of force was required in order to bring his uncle to heel and therefore gathered an army of around five thousand Hungarian and German mercenaries with which he landed in Sweden in many of 1598 over the coming months both sides sought to deliver a knockout blow until finally Sigismund and Charles faced off against one another at the Battle of stung a brow on the 24th of september 1598 that the rebels emerged from victorious and after the fighting had ceased the king was taken captive by charles who forced him to send his mercenaries home whilst peace negotiations were initiated after this a treaty was finally agreed between the two men in which Sigismund was exiled to poland as a heretic in late 1598 and six months later he was officially deposed by the swedish Riksdag who then formally elected charles as regent until he was finally confirmed as king charles the 9th of sweden on the 22nd of march 1604 but was not officially crowned until 1607 despite him securing the swedish throne charles still lay claim to large areas of land around the baltic sea meaning that he spent the remainder of his short reign fighting in unsuccessful wars with Sigismund for domination for Livonia and estonia combined with the ingrian war with russia which was itself experiencing his own internal tumult that is now known as the Time of Troubles despite his foreign military failures Charles the ninth did have the foresight to educate his son in matters of state and warfare as Gustav accompanied his father during his exploits from the age of five which no doubt helped to forge his later love and affiliation with the Swedish military and also educated him on the geopolitical landscape of the Baltic region that he would have to come to terms with upon his eventual ascension to the throne this indoctrination often involved infant Gustav joining his father in high-level military meetings with his generals whilst on campaign and even though he in his adolescence at least could not have hoped to grasp every aspect of kingship it is certain that this practical training would have familiarized him with military affairs as well as statecraft indeed unlike many royal infants of his day who fought their friends with wooden swords and maneuvered toy soldiers around floors of stately homes in mock battles Gustaf was in the midst of real military campaigns reviewed fleets of powerful warships and was saluted by tens of thousands of his father's troops in the field as well as this he would grill his father's commanders on famous campaigns and battles he had heard of effectively meaning he was in every sense of the word a boy soldier from his earliest days thusly it should be of no surprise that his reign would be shaped not only by warfare but by a degree of leadership and military brilliance which has seldom been matched in the annals of history as well as his hands-on military experience Gustav was schooled by the very best scholars and clergymen the swedish kingdom could muster who not only gave the young prince an excellent education in history but also according to accounts schooled him in as little as seven and as many as sixteen different languages the result of this upbringing was to produce a prince who by the age of ten was able with some confidence to hold intelligent political discussions with his father's generals and advisors but perhaps fearing his son may lapse into arrogance Charles the ninth once wrote to Gustav offering this excellent advice before all things fear God before all honor thy father and mother be tended to thy sisters love those who've served thee faithfully reward them according to their desserts be gracious to thy subjects punish the evil crust all men fairly but only entirely when thou has learned to know them invade no man's privileges provided they clash not with the law diminished not very Galatians in favor of any man except if thou are sure he will recognize the benefit and do the good service in return by the age of 15 Gustav had grown into a considerably tall strong and handsome young man which was important as at the time royalty was not only expected to fit their role intellectually but look the part too as well as this Gustav had also become a skilled fencer and horse rider and was often to be found reading in one of his father's many libraries it could be sent that Gustav spent his childhood preparing to assume the role of a warrior king instead of wasting his time and frivolous childish pursuits which is evidenced by one man stating that he seems more occupied in ruling his kingdom than the ordinary pleasures of youth indeed the successes Gustav would come to enjoy in the following decades could be said to be a testament to Charles the Knights foresight in procuring him such an excellent education even though his own reign was proven to be mediocre by his sons mighty standards when Gustav was 15 his father suffered a debilitating stroke and as he was unable to rule without assistance his son was proclaimed co-regent alongside his father and during this time accounts state that he proved himself to be a liberal and benevolent prince which were qualities that it is fair to state he did not inherit from both his parents as his mother as previously stated was a grim harsh woman whilst his father was strict and domineering to those under him that being said Gustav was an extremely devout Lutheran Protestant which was a branch of the Christian faith that he would uphold with the utmost steadfastness for the rest of his days as he would berate anyone who made any kind of blasphemous jokes and also showed zero tolerance to rudeness or bad manners within his court despite this devout adherence to the Christian faith Gustaf's greatest ambition in life was to test his mettle in the theatre of warfare and during his father's illness he unsuccessfully lobbied him to take part in ingrian war against Russia which child refused to allow however it was not long before Gustav got an opportunity to embark on his first military campaign in 1611 when he was knighted by his father and sent off to fight in Sweden's war against denmark over control of the strait that separated the baltic from the north sea known as the sound that swedish shipping was forced to pay sound jews to sail through in an effort to avoid the sound charles sought an alternate trade route through northern norway which at the time was still under the rule of denmark and its king christian the fourth but as the sound jews with the danes main source of income they could not tolerate the establishment of alternate routes to and from the baltic and as a consequence declared war on sweden in April of 1611 starting the conflict that is now known as the Kalmar war however shortly after the start of the war Charles the 9th died on the 30th of October 16:11 leaving the vacant throne to his 16 year old heir Gustav who then latinized his name as Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and even though Swedish law stated the throne could only pass to the heir at the age of 24 Gustavus evidently so impressed his generals as well as the kingdom's nobility as the Reichstag allowed him to take the crown at the tender age of 17 by the time of his coronation Gustavus had inherited not only a kingdom but three separate conflicts one of which was the war with Denmark another with Russia over ingria and the last with Sigismund of poland who once again set his eyes on the swedish throne which was now occupied by the young and untested Gustavus in short the new king was percent with problems and challenges on all sides as his country which boasted a population of only one and a half million people was at war with kingdoms whose populations numbered in the tens of millions and whose rulers were vastly more experienced than he who were no doubt delighted that the new king of Sweden was so youthful and inexperienced on top of this there were many within Sweden who questioned the decision to allow priests offices ascension to the throne arguing that he was too young thusly the young King felt the need to prove himself from the very start not only to himself but to his subjects and to his foreign rivals who were circling and waiting for him to make a mistake in an effort to win the support of the disaffected members of the Swedish nobility Gustav is proposed to reappoint his Council of advisers with qualified men who would be agreeable to the majority of the kingdom's peers and also agreed to never embark on any undertaking at home or abroad without conferring with them beforehand this at a stroke solidified his position as monarch as it secured the wholehearted support of the vast majority of Sweden's nobles but also as Gustavus had appointed men to his Council who were experienced in the various tasks of government such as diplomacy military affairs and Taxation he was now backed by the most talented and intelligent advisors his kingdom had to offer calculating that he needed to find speedy resolutions to his father's walls a peace treaty was signed with the poles in 1611 as their attention was at this time fixed on dealing with the Ottomans to the south and the Russians to the east and after this Gustav has then moved against the Danes by conducting raids on their territory but when he was confronted by a superior Danish army he retreated back into Sweden but whilst doing so was nearly killed during an ambush and afterwards almost drowned whilst crossing a frozen river during this retreat Gustavus employed scorched earth tactics that denied the invading Danes food and shelter which made further advances into Sweden too costly and soon afterwards a peace treaty was struck with the Danish King Christian the fourth in 1613 that was brokered by the Netherlands and Britain who were concerned that prolonged hostilities would interfere with their trade in the baltic this truce effectively re-established Denmark's control over the Western trade routes and in return it was agreed that Sweden would pay a hefty one-off lump sum of 1 million rikes dollars to the Danes for access to and from the north see which replaced the unpopular sound Jews that have been one of the major causes of the war in the first place this large sum of money was effectively a payment for a free trade agreement which was to the benefit of the Swedes as their merchants could now leave the Baltic without paying for the privilege and as well as this the peace treaty also secured Sweden's western frontier so that Gustavus could turn his attention eastwards towards ingria during this period Russia had been dealing with a succession crisis known as the Time of Troubles that started following the death of the last of the ancient ruins as of Russia Fyodor the first in 1598 that had ignited a ferocious civil war and foreign invasions which were then further compounded by nearly 2 million russian peasants starving to death in the famine of 1601 to 1603 that amounted to one third of its entire population after feared or the first death he was replaced by one of Ivan the terrible's councillors Boris Godunov who ruled until 1605 when his son feared or the second succeeded him however when word reached the Kremlin that a Polish monk had appeared who claimed to be Dmitry Ivanovich who was another of Ivan the terrible's sons Fyodor the second was strangled to death by his Nobles who then placed the Polish back Pretender Dmitri who is now known as forced to me tree the first on the Russian throne however this new Tsar proved to be extremely unpopular with his Nobles in less than 11 months after his ascension he was himself murdered and replaced by a leading Noble or Bowyer who became Vasily the fourth in 1606 whose power remained relatively weak as he was not recognized as czar by the majority of the Russian populace surely after this a second false Demetri appeared a year later who claimed to be the first force Dimitri as well as Dmitri Ivanovich who then started his own insurrection that prompted Vasily the fourth to seek an alliance with gustavus adolphus his father Charles the ninth of Sweden in 1609 who he offered territory in return for his support in Russia's Civil War this in turn prompted the deposed King of Sweden Sigismund the third of Poland Lithuania to invade Russia in what is now known as the Polish muscovite war and after deposing Vasily the fourth he installed his son Vladislav as tsar in september of 1610 meaning that the second Force Dmitri was forced to flee to the south of the country where he ruled for a time before being murdered that December he was this union of Poland and Russia that prompted Charles the ninth of Sweden to break his alliance with Moscow and declare war on Russia and then when in March of 1612 yet another third forced Dmitri appeared the Swedes backed him in his opposition to the newly instated Tsar vladislav however this plan came to nothing as the third forced Dmitri was captured and executed himself in July of 1612 in Moscow it was around this time that the Polish grip over Russia began to weaken as Sigismund refused the proposals the Russian nobility to allow vladislav to convert to the Orthodox Church and in response they then elected Mikhail Romanov or Mike with the first as Tsar on the 22nd of July 1613 whose grandfather was the brother of Ivan the terrible's first wife Anastasia marking the start of the Romanov dynasty that would rule Russia until 1917 Gustavus whose forces had captured large portions of ingria as well as the city of Novgorod by the time of Michael's ascension had previously sought to place his brother Philip onto the Russian throne but after the new czars coronation stability swiftly returned to the kingdom as his nobility and populace had grown tired of the constant foreign intervention realizing that taking the Russian throne was now impossible Gustav was sued for peace in sixth 17 in which ingria on the baltic coast was ceded to swedish control that denied russia access to the baltic sea until it was reclaimed by Tsar Peter the Great a century later and the poles after failing to recapture Moscow around this time were also forced to agree peace terms with the new Tsar themselves in 1619 as part of his peace treaty with the new Russian Tsar that is known as the Treaty of stab although who staffers in return for acknowledging Michael the first rule secured further assurances that Russia would relinquish all previous claims on the Baltic regions Livonia and Estonia and on top of this also forced the Russians to pay nearly twenty thousand roubles in return for a free trade agreement in which trade posts were set up across Sweden's Baltic territories this victory was impressive to say the least as Gustavus was still in his early 20s at the time of the conclusion of the in green war that simultaneously further solidified his position in Sweden and also allowed him to embark on a series of wide-ranging military and political reforms that would spur both he and his kingdom on to even greater glories prior to the swedish king's reign the kingdom's governments and his rick's tanks would meet on an irregular basis or assemble whenever that was convenient thusly gustav has decided that his first order of business was to move the permanent seat of the government the de facto capital of stockholm where he would meet and decide on policy even if the king was abroad then in 1617 Gustavus introduced the Riksdag ordinance that fixed the number of estates or classes within the Assembly and for being the nobility clergy middle classes and peasantry and he then sought to reorganize local and provisional governments in 1624 by setting up 23 administrative districts each of which were governed by Royal officer and his staff in accordance to Gustavus instructions these reforms gave all levels of society a voice in the government of their respective provinces as well as the country as a whole and removed any reason for dissent or opposition towards the monarchy as it granted Gustavus a greater degree of good favour and thusly support and control over his government than most other European monarchs enjoyed at the time as well as reforming his Kingdom system of government Gustav has promoted foreign immigration to Sweden in an effort to boost the country's economy by recruiting men such as the Dutchman Louis Daguerre who quickly became an important figure in the country's arms industry which combined with the king founding the swedish grammar school system ensured that the swedish armed forces were not only well-equipped but were officered by well-educated men perhaps the most important single figure in the reign of Gustavus Adolphus was the Kings Lord High Chancellor Excel oxenstierna whose brilliance in diplomacy and bureaucratic affairs as well as governance would prove to be invaluable to the king over the coming years as he not only oversaw the kingdom's political reforms but also had a hand in virtually every major peace treaty the Swedes concluded during Gustav is's reign and also took over the governance of many of the Kings captured territories during his forthcoming Wars indeed it was in large part down to auxins Turner who effectively ran Sweden as well as many of Gustavus territories that enabled the king to concentrate on other matters the first of which were his reorganization of the entire Swedish army from the ground up that would come to transform the kingdom's modest Armed Forces into one of the most feared and respected instruments of warfare in Europe over the coming decades at this time in European history many nations were heavily reliant on mercenary armies to fight in their respective walls and although many of the fighting men employed by the continents monarchs were highly skilled professional soldiers they were after all fighting for profit that did not share the common interest of fighting for their homeland Gustavus seeing this method of raising armies as overly expensive and flawed then set about the implementation of a well paid conscription system in which soldiers were recruited and equipped with state-funded armor and weaponry and although the king could not rely on homegrown soldiers entirely due to Sweden's modest population his reforms nonetheless supplemented his mercenary ranks and effectively formed one of the first professional standing armies in Europe this new system of conscription was implemented by means of levying troops from Sweden's various regions with the help of the church and when wars ended men would often return home and take up civilian jobs until their services were required once again and as well as this in order to weed out any men who were physically or mentally unfit for duty rigorous examinations and background checks were rolled out that raised the overall quality of the individual soldier to a much higher standard that was then further increased by thorough training and drills having formed these new Swedish regiments the King also sought to maximize the fighting ability of his paid mercenaries by training them in the Swedish method of fighting in order to create armies that acted as a unified force on the battlefield they were adequately trained well equipped and numerous enough to rival any of the great continental powers of the period however one of the Swedish Kings greatest military assets and innovations would prove to be his Field Artillery as at the time it was commonplace for armies to deploy large cannons or bomb bars that were in the main used to besiege fortifications and towns whereas Gustavus decided to supplement his heavy artillery with lighter more mobile smaller calibre guns that could be easily maneuvered at speed around the battlefield or on the March by a single horse or small number of troops yet another innovation and perhaps his greatest contribution to military tactics on the battlefield was Gustavus is rethinking of the conventional European tercio there was a tactic used at the time in which thousands of pikemen and Musketeers would form up in squares 10 men deep with pikemen positioned in the center and Musketeers around the outside these formations though formidable were also in mobile and inflexible therefore the king decided to redesign his Infantry's tactics instead opting for increased numbers of Musketeers who he had armed with modern spring-loaded will locked muskets instead of the old and heavy matchlock muskets that required a full tres to be driven into the ground to fire accurately as the gunner had to fire the weapon by placing a burning match in the gunpowder field flash pan wheel locked muskets on the other hand ignited the Gunpowder by means of a trigger operated wheel lock that produced a spark via friction and on top of this Gustavus even helped design a new lighter musket which could be fined without the need of a fork rest being driven into the ground meaning that his Musketeers could simply elevate their guns and then aim and fire this meant the Swedish Musketeers were more mobile could fire more accurately and more rapidly than their enemies and the Kingdom added to this man-to-man advantage by changing the square tercio into a more linear infantry formation and trained his men to deliver volley fire in which his Musketeers with fire volleys by rank with the first rank kneeling the second rank crouching and the third standing which gave his regiments a massive advantage in raw firepower it was this innovation that would over the coming decades effectively consigned the pike to the rubbish bin of military history especially with the later invention of the bayonet as by the end of the 1600s European armies would almost entirely consists of regiments of musket and later rifle armed infantry that would endure until well into the 1800s as well as this Gustav has also implemented an early form of combined arms during battle by deploying a ratio of five Musketeers to every one pikemen in his regiments who were equipped with shorter and lighter planks than was usual meaning that Gunners were given a measure of protection against cavalry when reloading meaning Swedish regiments could also remain effective during melee reducing the number of pikemen also enabled horsemen to enter infantry formations with ease when required meaning that infantry regiments also had cavalry support and vice-versa and on top of this Gustavus could also incorporate his more mobile artillery pieces within infantry formations as well effectively giving each of his regiments the capability to deal with any scenario yet another innovation Gustavus implemented was the practice of cross training that involved every man within his army being trained in the disciplines about the unit's meaning Horseman could fire muskets musket men could fire cannons and pikemen could ride horses meaning that if a cavalry man lost his horse he could grab a nearby musket or Pike and use it effectively to defend himself that had the effect of making every man feel equal to the next and gave the king's army an even higher degree of flexibility in short whose staff has completely revolutionized his armies equipment training and drilled down to the smallest detail in which each man knew what was expected of him and every regiment was capable of fighting as an independent entity but was at the same time given close support from other unit types as and when they got into difficulty it is this revolutionary approach to warfare that has earned Gustav as the praise and admiration of countless monarchs generals and historians in the centuries since his death and many even credit him as being the father of modern warfare as his innovations the reference to combined-arms is still relevant in warfare to this day indeed perhaps the highest praise Gustavus has received came from none other than Napoleon Bonaparte who ranked him as amongst his seven top commanders of all time as well as this the King also inculcated upon his men a regime of strict discipline in which he forbade them from inflicting any unnecessary harm whatsoever on civilians or enemy soldiers alike meaning that any man found guilty of pillage rape or murder was immediately sent to the gallows this moral code of conduct was not only inspired by Gustaf's his desire to form a disciplined fighting machine but was in large part due to the king's devout faith in the Protestant cause as he made it compulsory for all his men to attend Mass twice a day whilst on campaign during which the phrase god with us was made the official battle cry of the swedish army although he was strict you staffers still earned the respect and loyalty of his men in leading by example whenever possible as he attended as many training drills and religious services as he could and also assisted his troops in the digging of ditches and the construction of fortifications in the field that had the effect of making his men feel that the king was a first amongst equals who would share any burden or tasks no matter how menial yet another source of inspiration for his men but also concern was the king seemingly near total disregard for his own personal safety as he during his campaigns suffered numerous serious injuries including gunshot wounds internal bleeding dislocated joints and paralyzed fingers that were caused but also compounded by his refusal to wear Armour during battle and it is still debated whether this bravery or lack of care was the king's greatest strength or his Achilles heel despite these concerns the King's innovations and reforms would prove to be timely to say the least as his new army would soon be tested in 1621 when Sweden's already strained relations with the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth were stretched to breaking point once again as Gustavus now sought to bring about a final reckoning with his uncle Sigismund since the coronation of Charles the ninth the vasa dynasty had been labeled Braz usurpers by Sigismund the third and as the polish King was occupied in the South at this time fighting the Ottoman Empire Gustaf first saw an opportunity to not only cement his control over the Swedish throne but also diminished the power of the commonwealth at the same time by creating a buffer zone between mainland Europe and Sweden by means of capturing portions of sigismund's northern territories the two rival kingdoms had been at peace in 1611 which had been signed in haste after the death of Charles the ninth as both countries were fighting other enemies on multiple fronts but as Sweden was now at peace with both the Danes and the Russians who star first less than four months after he'd made peace with the zaardon launched an invasion of Polish Estonia in June of 1617 during which he captured the city of riga that was the capital of polish Livonia after this gustav has continued to march through Livonia seizing the estonian coastal city of pärnu after which he was met and forced back by a numerically superior lithuanian army until when it became clear that neither side could gain a decisive victory a two-year truce was agreed in September 1618 in which Sigismund agreed to hand over pärnu to the swedes whilst riga was returned to the lithuanian x' as q' starfish was now in the prime of his years he turned his attention to the matter of the succession or rather in finding a suitable Protestant bride to help him with a succession and during his teenage years he courted a number of ladies the first of which was a Swedish noble woman named Eber bra who became one of the loves of his life as well as the daughter of a Dutch merchant named margarita slots who eventually bought him an illegitimate son however both of these matches were for various reasons proved to be unsuitable and so eventually Gustav Aziz attention turned to the beautiful daughter of John elector of Brandenburg Maria Eleonora along with her father viewed the young Swedish king with favor however when John died in 1619 his son Maria's brother George William became the new elector and resisted their Union out of fear it would anger Sigismund the third who the Prussians were vassals of at the time despite this the marriage went ahead anyway when the late elector John's wife Anna the Electress Dowager who under Prussian custom had the final word on the matter sailed to Sweden with her daughter regardless and she was then married to Gustavus in Stockholm on the 25th of November 1620 once the Kings lost love ever brah went on to marry one of Sweden's top commanders jacob de la Gardie with whom she parented a staggering 14 children it is evident than the royal union was an ideal political match as the Protestant Maria quickly became devoted to her husband whom she adored and named her hero although as the years went by she often lamented that he was seldom with her but despite this bore him four children only one of whom Christina who was born in 1626 survived till adulthood and would later after her father's death succeed him as Queen of Sweden in the mean time the cessation of hostilities in the polish swedish wars had given both sides time to build up their forces and after the temporary truce ended gustav has left his new bride and crossed the baltic in 1621 with a massive fleet of 148 warships carrying 15,000 infantry 3000 cavalry and 400 cannon with which he landed at pärnu and once again laid siege to the city of riga finally capturing it on the 25th of September along with a number of other fortresses until the following year the Lithuanians counter-attacked in strength that prompted both sides to sign another peace treaty that was due to expire in 1625 in the meantime Sigismund the third ignoring the advice of his commanders to give up his claim to the swedish throne in return of seeking an agreement over his territories in Livonia ordered the building of a fleet of warships that he intended to use to cross the baltic and take back the swedish throne however unbeknownst to Sigismund Gustavus was building up his own naval forces as the modest Swedish Navy had until this time largely consisted of single deck vessels and to rectify this the king who after all was an artillery expert oversaw the designing construction of a number of larger ships with multiple gun decks the most famous of which was the massive 1,200 ton warship Vasa that was launched with great fanfare in August of 1628 but whilst leaving Stockholm Harbor it listed to port in a strong gust of wind and as his gun ports were opened to fire celebratory broadside water poured in and the ship sank despite this embarrassing setback and his Navy experiencing difficulties and defeats against the poles during this period the Swedes never had to encounter the prospect of defending their shores from a Polish invasion as Gustav has decided the best way to counter Sigismund was to continue to fight him on his own territory that would prevent him from invading Sweden and so on the 27th of June 1625 the King once again landed in Livonia along with 20,000 troops this third campaign played out in much the same fashion as the previous two however this time the Swedes were able to take advantage of disunity amongst the Lithuanian commanders as they gain control of fortresses and cities across Lithuania when his enemies finally managed to unified their forces Gustav has rallied his troops and met the Commonwealth forces for the first time in open battle a war HOF on the 7th of January 16:26 in which the Swedes won an important victory against the numerically superior polish army during this confrontation Gustav errs and his army of a thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry ambushed and routed a Commonwealth force of between two and seven thousand of which around 1,000 to 2,000 were killed in return of minimal losses for the Swedes six months after this Gustav has landed at the Protestant Prussian port of Palau where he was welcomed by his inhabitants with open arms and was not met with resistance by his brother-in-law the elector George William but as the Prussians were technically vassals of Sigismund the third George Williams lack of resistance resulted in the polish king accusing him of treachery and he then marched into the region in full strength resulting in Sigismund coming face-to-face with Gustavus for the first time at the Battle of ganar that took place from the 22nd of September to the 1st of October 16:26 although both armies a kinnor were relatively large both being in the region of 10,000 men the battle was largely inconclusive as both sides managed to achieve their objectives with only minor losses as the swedes relieved the town of good north and the poles prevented the capture of Gdansk meaning that the confrontation is largely remembered for being the first time the Swedes withstood charges from the Polish Azar's the war then continued for another three years and the fortunes of both sides Epton flowed with no conclusive outcome with both securing victories over the other and the battles of dirt chow and later Turkey Anna in which Gustavus was captured and held hostage twice however as both nations were now on the verge of bankruptcy and due to pressure from their respective nobilities both Sigismund and Gustavus agreed a truce that was signed at out mark on the 26 of September 16:29 in which the Swedish King was granted large concessions in Navarre Nia and the prussian coast that in terms of trade income surpassed the entire revenue of the whole of Sweden with his kingdoms preeminence in the Baltic finally secured Gustavus turned his attention to the Habsburg Catholic Holy Roman Empire there for over a decade had been embroiled in a bloody religious conflict against the Protestant Germanic states and Catholic France that is now known as the 30 Years War by this time however the conflict was going badly for the Protestant Nations who had suffered a number of crushing defeats that had prompted a wave of Protestant immigration to Sweden and upon hearing of the atrocities that were being perpetrated by the Catholics Gustav has sought the support of the Riksdag to embark on an invasion of the Holy Roman Empire by stating it is the god-given duty of the Swedes to save the German Protestants from the evils of their enemies I am not falsely engaged in this war that calls me far from you heaven is my witness and that it is not my personal satisfaction nor my personal interest that I go into this conflict the German Protestants stretched their hands to us if it please God we will give them aid and protection I am NOT ignorant of the dangers that await me I've already been in many others and by the grace of God have come happily out of them but I feel I may lose my life there farewell from the depths of my heart and perhaps forever although Gustav has publicly claimed his intervention in Germany was due to the persecution of his Protestant population there were more important strategic reasons for the swedes to become involved as if the catholic powers were allowed to hold sway over the whole of germany sweden itself could potentially be attacked by both the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth and if Scandinavia fell to the Catholics the entire Protestant faith itself could be in danger meaning the hearts and minds of the whole of Europe would once again be ruled by the Pope and the leading Catholic powers such as the Hapsburgs in Vienna so it was with these grim prospects in mind that the king along with a 15,000 strong force sailed from Sweden crossed the Baltic and landed on the Pomeranian coast on the 4th of July 16 30 and after securing the region over the following months tried and failed to gain the support of his brother-in-law the elector of Brandenburg George William who was once again wary of supporting the Swedes as he feared the wrath of the powerful Holy Roman Empire as well as Sigismund the third however this lack of support for Gustavus would eventually have long reaching consequences as he was unable to march through George Williams territory into central Germany and to compound things the elector of Saxony John George the first who like George William was also a Protestant was wary of committing to the war especially as he previously supported the holy roman emperor ferdinand ii this delay in Gustavus is advanced then resulted in the city of Magdeburg being sacked on the 20th of May 16:31 by an imperial army under yo.hannes oklet's count of Tilly in which around 20 to 25 thousand of the city's inhabitants were slaughtered that is now considered to be the single worst atrocity of the entire 30 Years War after this Tilly and Gustavus sought to gain a strategic advantage over one another but as they had both been refused access to Saxony but John George neither side could advance on one another however when Tilly grew impatient and crossed the Saxon border anyway after which his men began to pillage the countryside the Saxon elector finally agreed in alliance with Gustavus and they then turned to face the Imperial forces in battle that would cement the swedish king's reputation as being arguably the greatest military commander of his day this confrontation that is today known as Bryden failed occurred on the 17th of September 16:31 and pitted the combined Swedish and Saxon armies that consisted of between 35 to 39 thousand men against the Imperial Army under the count of Tilly whose own force numbered in the region of 35,000 men after drawing up opposite one another hostilities began with an artillery exchange followed by an imperial cavalry charge on the swedish right flank that was held but on the opposite side of the battlefield a second Imperial cavalry charge against the Saxons proved to be effective as it quickly routed the majority of Gustav as his allies Tilly then sought to take advantage of the Swedes exposed left flank by ordering his entire army to wheelwright which gave him a numerical advantage at his enemy's weakest point but upon seeing this who star first then ordered the Reformation of his left in return that then proceeded to hold the massed Imperials when they attacked in force the turning point of the confrontation then came when the Imperial cavalry which until this point had been fighting the Swedish cavalry on their right broke and routed from the field and the King seeing his enemy's flanks were now wide open then took command of his cavalry in person and led a mass charge that captured the Imperial artillery and because they were trained to fire cannons to staff as his horsemen then turned the new guns against their former owners seeing he was outflanked Tilly ordered a withdrawal to a fresh position but as his army was now being pounded by the combined Swedish and captured Imperial artillery his army soon folded under the barrage culminating in a full-scale rout meaning that in total the Imperial was lost a staggering 27,000 men or 80% of their total numbers during the battle frightened feld is today considered as one of the most important military victories of the 30 Years War as it marked a turning point in the conflict that had hitherto largely resulted in gains for the catholic powers and also proved the effectiveness of the military reforms Gustavus had implemented over the preceding years but also proved the Swedish king to be one of the most talented commanders of his day as well as this the Swedish victory also revitalized the Protestant cause as it had the effect of bringing several German states into cursed Offices growing coalition and the Swedish king then after overwintering near the Rhine marched into the Imperial heart lands the following year rallying his new German allies as he went before turning his attention to the subjugation of Bavaria which was a staunch supporter and Ally of the Holy Roman Emperor once the winter weather had eased and the campaign season dawned once more whose staff has continued his advance into Bavaria once again defeating the count of Tilly in the Battle of reign on the 15th of April 1632 that forced the holy roman emperor ferdinand ii to record a retired veteran commander Albrecht von Wallenstein who quickly raised an army in order to halt the protestant advance culminating in him meeting and engaging Gustavus at the Battle of Alta Vesta in September of 1632 in which he successfully relieved the swedish king siege of the city of nürnberg during this period two staffers attempted to find a political resolution to the war in germany by seeking guarantees from the holy roman emperor for the religious freedoms of the regions Protestant population however when it became clear he had not yet inflicted enough reversals on his enemies to bring them to the negotiating table he was forced to continue the war which he would ultimately never see the end of it was perhaps this failed attempt to end the conflict that lay at the root of the swedish king continuing his campaign well into the winter months of 1632 in which he sought to bring the armies of Albrecht von Wallenstein to battle until on the morning of the 16th of November 1632 the swedish king finally saw an opportunity to ambush the imperial army in the town of lützen southwest of the city of Leipzig after forming up opposite their enemy across a fog field plane and waiting in vain for the mystic lair the Swedes mounted attacks on the entrenched Imperials across their front line that ultimately resulted in a prolonged battle of attrition in which both sides attacked one another with no immediate victor until as the day passed the Swedes started to gain the upper hand as they led by the king mounted consistent infantry and cavalry attacks on the Imperial left which over time began to have an effect it was at this point when Gustavus who due to a gunshot wound to his shoulder he had received years before was unable to adorn Armour led a cavalry charge on the wavering Imperial left flank during which he lost his way in the fog and after wandering too close to enemy positions received a crushing bullet wound to his left arm after which his horse was also shot in the neck that made the animal difficult to control the king who could still not find his way in the veil of mist then found himself behind enemy lines and was attacked by force of Imperial chorus A's who shot him in the back and in the ensuing melee delivered several stab wounds to the Kings torso gustavus mortally wounded then fell from his horse and whilst lying helpless on the ground was shot in the head and killed while his troops not knowing that the king had fallen continued to fight on and eventually force von Wallenstein and the Imperials to retreat from the field it is said of Gustavus that after receiving the fatal wound to his head he cried out one last message with his dying breath I and the king of Sweden and this day I seal with my blood the liberties and religion of the Swedish nation despite the Kings demise the Swedes secured another valuable victory at the Battle of lützen but over the coming months the Protestants having lost Gustav is's energetic leadership lost their direction that enabled their enemies to regain several of the swedish king's territorial gains and for the rest of the conflict the french became the dominant partner in the anti-imperial alliance however the Swedes would once again return in the later stages of the 30 Years War when they invaded Bavaria in 1648 when they advanced to its capital of prague and looted the city's castle ultimately the 30 Years War finally concluded with the Peace of Westphalia on the 24th of October 1648 in which Northern Europe's Protestant states retained their religious freedom and as part of the treaty the Swedes also gained major concessions in northern Germany as well as the Baltic coast that transformed the kingdom from a local Scandinavian power into a major European nation as well as the dominant power in the Baltic until the rise of the Russian Empire nearly a century later after his death the Kings preserved body was taken back to Sweden after which the Queen and Anor of the unknown reasons did not allow the burial of her husband for nearly two years before which she requested the removal of her husband's heart until finally in 1634 or the Kings mortal remains were interned at the Ritter home Church in Stockholm where they remained this very day Gustavus Adolphus is today known by many titles the line of the north the line of midnight the golden King the father of modern warfare and perhaps most grand of all Gustavus Adolphus the great during his lifetime in rain he transformed the small and unstable Swedish Kingdom into an economic and military empire which combined with his military innovations and successes make him the most venerated and popular monarch in his nation's history as to this day the anniversary of his death is marked by people in Sweden and across the Baltic baking and consuming so-called Gustavus Adolphus pastries that are made of chocolate marzipan and cream and carried the Kings likeness as well as this Gustavus is also widely regarded as being one of the most important single figures in the modernization of warfare as the tactics and doctrines he introduced persisted for well over 250 years after his death and were studied used and perfected by some of the greatest commanders of all time including Napoleon Bonaparte who regarded the Swedish King as one of the greatest generals in history what do you think of Gustavus Adolphus was he a reckless war loving king who needlessly risked the lives of his countrymen as well as himself in the search of victory or was he a truly great commander who revolutionized warfare and in doing so catapulted his kingdom to glories that it is not known before nor since let us know in the comment section and until next time thank you very much for watching [Music] you you you

Channel: The People Profiles

Views: 133,769

Keywords: Biography, History, Historical, Educational, The People Profiles, Biography channel, the biography channel

Id: Zwo_mQnyUug

Length: 52min 31sec (3151 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 27 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/PrestoVivace]

Documentary: Battle of Lützen - 1632 (The 30 Years War) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRpk4ESKum0&list=PLlRU8NuS9rKDL57ZssMagmwPfAOezced_&index=6

[u/PrestoVivace]

The Campaigns of King Gustavus Adolfus of Sweden https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb7vnBXXbAJZ8dNpAqhtv_yyRVeTwoolc

[u/PrestoVivace]

Making Gustavus Adolphus - chocolate heads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwCKBjTpIkg