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<Tag>TXT_KEY_LEADER_GUSTAV_PEDIA</Tag>
<English>[H1]Gustavus Adolphus[\H1][NEWLINE][BOLD]King of Sweden[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lion of the North[\BOLD][NEWLINE][BOLD]Lived:[\BOLD] 1594 - 1632[NEWLINE][PARAGRAPH:2][BOLD]Background:[\BOLD][PARAGRAPH:1]Gustavus Adolphus's death at the battle of Lützen at the moment of victory was a fitting end for a man who devoted himself to war. As the ruler of a Protestant country he became involved in the Thirty Years War in Germany, but he also fought against Denmark and Russia for control of the Baltic. He served his military apprenticeship in Poland, where he learnt valuable lessons about strategy and tactics, which he was later to employ in his German campaigns. Also, although not so often highlighted, as the ruler of a country with a seaborne tradition, Gustavus took a great interest in developing Sweden's navy to defend her shores and extend his authority over the Baltic Sea and its littoral.[PARAGRAPH:2]Only 16 when he assumed the throne in 1611, Gustavus first had to defend his country against Danish invasion. He also became engaged in a war with Russia which lasted until 1617. In the 1620s he began a series of successful campaigns to win control of the southern Baltic shore. He captured Riga in 1621, after a siege of only eleven weeks. From 1626-9 he launched annual attacks upon Polish Prussia, winning his first victory in open field at Wallhof (1626). Despite a setback at Hammerstein the following year, when his German mercenaries surrendered (18 May), Gustavus again defeated the Poles at Dirschau (8 August) although he was severely wounded in the neck. Helped by imperial Habsburg forces, the Poles were able to achieve a six-year truce in 1629.[PARAGRAPH:2]Gustavus learnt valuable lessons in his earlier wars which were to stand him in good stead for his invasion of Germany in 1630-2. First, he learnt not to rely entirely on mercenaries. Although the Swedish population was small, a system of conscription (Utskrivning), a tithe of the male population over 15 years old, organized by his chancellor, Oxenstierna (from 1617), yielded a field army theoretically up to 30,000 strong. In addition, mercenary troops largely recruited from Protestant Germans (but including a scattering of Scots and other exotic types) still played an important role, especially the 'Coloured Regiments' (Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green in order of seniority). The infantry were also reorganized tactically upon the model of Maurice of Nassau. Company sizes were halved from 250 to about 140, with a 2 : 1 proportion of muskets to pikes (administratively eight companies to a regiment). In the field, they were deployed as small brigades of three or four squadrons (400-600 men) which anticipated later battalions. They were formed-up with one squadron thrown forward in a T-shape, which made the best use of their firepower, and allowed them to outmanoeuvre the larger tercios of the Spanish manner still used by the Imperialists. Gustavus's experience against the Poles had taught him the value of a mobile cavalry at a time when caracole tactics had reduced most western European horse to the role of mounted pistoleers. He taught them to charge with the sword, restoring their battlefield shock function. Finally, through the inspired developments of his master gunner Tortensson, the artillery became lighter and more numerous. In addition, each regiment was given a pair of rapid-firing and mobile 4-pounders to boost its firepower.[PARAGRAPH:2]In July 1630, Gustavus led only 13,000 men into Germany to rescue the Protestant cause, captured Stettin, and spent the rest of the year consolidating his position in Pomerania. The following spring, reinforced to 30,000 men, he swept south in a devastating campaign which included the destruction of enemy cavalry forces by night attack at Burgstall (27 July). In September he outmanoeuvred the imperial general Tilly and forced a battle at Breitenfeld. By now commanding over 40, 000 men, including 10, 000 Saxon allies, he matched Tilly's forces and outnumbered the enemy artillery by two to one (54 to 26 guns). Although the Saxons on the left wing were scattered by the charge of the imperial cavalry, the flexibility of the Swedish formations and their determination won the day. Galled by artillery fire, the imperial cavalry under Pappenheim charged and was taken in the flank by Baner's quickly manoeuvred mixed squadrons of horse and musketeers. Responding rapidly to the situation Gustavus advanced his foot and seized the enemy guns. When these were turned on the close-packed imperial foot, a massacre ensued. Tilly lost a third of his army. The following spring, after a brilliant and unexpected crossing of the river Lech, Gustavus defeated him again and Tilly was killed.[PARAGRAPH:2]When Gustavus attempted to drive the imperial army, now commanded by the able Wallenstein, from a fortified camp at Nuremberg, he suffered a bloody repulse (3 September). Wallenstein then outmanoeuvred the Swedes and forced Gustavus into a desperate encounter at Lützen, in which the Swedish king was killed leading a cavalry charge. Even without his leadership his army won another victory in 1633, but was defeated at Nordlingen (6 September 1634).[PARAGRAPH:2]Gustavus's ambition and will to war had made Sweden, briefly, a major player on the European stage both on land and at sea, but at an unsustainable cost. The system of conscription, bringing over 10, 000 men to the colours every year, saw numbers of men aged 15-60 fall by almost half in an already underpopulated nation.[PARAGRAPH:2]Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the Battle of Lützen, when, at a crucial point in the battle, he became separated from his troops while leading a cavalry charge into a dense smog of mist and gunpowder smoke. After his death, his wife initially kept his body, and later his heart, in her castle for over a year. His remains (including his heart) now rest in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm.</English>
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