Gustavus Adolphus (9 December [N.S. 19 December] 15946 November [N.S. 16 November] 1632), also known as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632. He is credited with the rise of Sweden as a great European power (). During his reign, Sweden became one of the primary military forces in Europe during the Thirty Years' War, helping to determine the political and religious balance of power in Europe. He was formally and posthumously given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great (; ) by the Riksdag of the Estates in 1634.Nils Ahnlund/Michael Roberts Gustav Adolf the Great American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York, 1940Anders Fryxell Gustaf II Adolf Norstedts, Stockholm, 1894, p. 435Lis Granlund Riddarholmskyrkan, de svenska konungarnas gravkyrka Riksmarskalksämbetet, 1980 ill. p. 14 (GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS MAGNUS)
He is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in modern history, with use of an early form of combined arms.In Chapter V of Clausewitz' On War, he lists Gustavus Adolphus as an example of an outstanding military leader, along with: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Alexander Farnese, Charles XII, Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte. His most notable military victory was the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. With his resources, logistics, and support, Gustavus Adolphus was positioned to become a major European leader,Stephen J. Lee, Aspects of European History 1494–1789 (2nd ed. 1984), pp. 109–14. but he was killed a year later at the Battle of Lützen. He was assisted in his efforts by Count Axel Oxenstierna, the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, who also acted as regent after his death.
Coming to the throne at the age of 16, Gustavus Adolphus inherited three wars from his father Charles IX of Sweden: conflicts with Russia and Denmark–Norway, and a dynastic struggle with his first cousin, King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland.Svensk Uppslagsbok, 1950, vol 5, column 353, article "Gustav; 2. Gustav II Adolf" Quote: (Swedish) "Av de tre krig, det danska, det ryska och det polska, G. ärvde..." In English "Of the three wars, the Danish, the Russian and the Polish, Gustav II Adolphus inherited... Of these, the Danish war was the most serious.Same source, and the quote continues "hotade det första rikets existens". English "... did the first one endanger the existence of the realm." During his reign, Sweden rose from the status of a Baltic Sea basin regional power to one of the great powers of Europe and a model of early modern era government. Gustavus Adolphus is known as the "father of modern warfare", or the first modern general. Gustavus Adolphus was the main figure responsible for the success of Swedish arms during the Thirty Years' War and led his nation to great prestige. As a general, Gustavus Adolphus employed mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense, and mobility and cavalry initiative were emphasized. He taught a number of other military commanders, such as Lennart Torstensson, who would go on to expand the boundaries and power of the Swedish Empire after Gustavus Adolphus's death. Spoils meant he became a successful bookraider in Europe, targeting Jesuit library collections.
His contributions to Sweden's rise in power included reformation of the administrative structure. For example, he began parish registration of the population, so that the central government could more efficiently tax and conscript the people.T. K. Derry, History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland (1979), pp. 110–24. He is also widely commemorated by Protestants in Europe as the main defender of their cause during the Thirty Years' War, with multiple churches, foundations and other undertakings named after him, including the Gustav-Adolf-Werk. His involvement in the Thirty Years' War gave rise to the nickname "the Lion from the North".
Early life
Gustavus Adolphus was born in Stockholm on 9 December 1594, eldest son of Duke Charles of the House of Vasa and his second wife, Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. At the time, his cousin Sigismund was both King of Sweden and Poland. Charles engaged a prominent Swedish intellectual Johan Skytte as Gustavus's tutor. His studies included history, politics, law, military training and languages. These included the Swedish and German languages, as well as some Latin, French, Dutch and Italian. In 1599, his father, the Protestant Duke Charles fought a war against the Catholic King Sigismund III Vasa (King of Poland-Lithuania and Sweden) to abandon the throne of Sweden. This war was part of the preliminary religious strife before the Thirty Years' War, and reigned as regent before taking the throne as Charles IX of Sweden in 1604. Crown Prince Gustav Adolph had Gagnef-Floda in Dalecarlia as a duchy from 1610.
Upon his father's death in October 1611, a sixteen-year-old Gustavus inherited the throne although the Swedish Riksdag declared he could not formally be crowned King until he reached the age of 24. The Swedish Statesman Axel Oxenstierna acted as regent briefly until Gustavus was declared of age and able to reign himself at age seventeen in January 1612. He also inherited an ongoing succession of occasionally belligerent dynastic disputes with his Polish cousin, Sigismund III, who persisted in his effort to regain the Swedish throne. He also briefly assumed the title of tsar of Russia in the beginning of his reign.
King of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus inherited three wars from his father when he ascended the throne: against Denmark–Norway, which had attacked Sweden earlier in 1611; against Russia, due to Sweden having tried to take advantage of the Russian Time of Troubles; and against Poland-Lithuania, due to King Charles's having deposed King Sigismund III, his nephew, as King of Sweden.
The war against Denmark–Norway (Kalmar War), during which Gustavus Adolphus fought in minor military actions, — the victorious for Sweden Storming of Kristianopel and the unsuccessful Battle of Vittsjö, — was concluded in 1613 with a peace that did not cost Sweden any territory except for Älvsborg Castle, which Sweden had to pay to get back, but it was forced to pay a heavy indemnity to Denmark–Norway (Treaty of Knäred). During this war, Gustavus Adolphus let his soldiers plunder towns and villages, and as he met little resistance from Danish forces in Scania, they pillaged and devastated twenty-four Scanian parishes. His reputation in Scania has been negative because of these actions. The largest destroyed settlement was the town Væ.Swedish National Archive (the original document can be seen there in Stockholm, and a copy at the same institution at Lund), Kungsbrev 1600-tal, Kings' Letters, 17th Century
The war against Russia (Ingrian War) marked Gustavus Adolphus's involvement in the successful Siege of Gdov and the failed Siege of Pskov and ended in 1617 with the Treaty of Stolbovo, which excluded Russia from the Baltic Sea.
The final inherited war, the war against Poland, ended in 1629 with the Truce of Altmark, which transferred the large province of Livonia to Sweden and freed the Swedish forces for the subsequent intervention in the Thirty Years' War in Germany, where Swedish forces had already established a bridgehead in 1628. In a round of this dynastic dispute, Gustavus Adolphus invaded Livonia when he was , beginning the Polish-Swedish War. In the course of it he won a victory at Wallhof, fought at Gniew, Dirschau, and suffered a defeat at Trzciana. In April 1627, he was made a knight of the Order of the Garter by King Charles I of England.
Thirty Years' War
The electorate of Brandenburg was especially torn apart by a quarrel between the Protestant and Catholic parties. The Brandenburg minister and diplomat baron influenced Gustavus Adolphus to support and protect the Protestant side in Germany. As a result of these negotiations, Gustavus Adolphus launched an invasion of northern Germany and Pomerania in June 1630, marking the Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War. He had just 4,000 troops. He was soon able to consolidate the Protestant position in the north, however, using reinforcements from Sweden and money supplied by France at the Treaty of Bärwalde. Referring to Gustavus Adolphus intervened on the anti-Imperial side, which at the time was losing to the Holy Roman Empire and its Catholic allies; the Swedish forces would quickly reverse that situation. His occupation of Pomerania was carried out according to the Treaty of Stettin (1630). On 25 December 1630, he led an assault on Greifenhagen, resulting in the capture of the city.
After Swedish plundering in Brandenburg (1631) endangered the system of retrieving war contributions from occupied territories, "marauding and plundering" by Swedish soldiers was prohibited. Meanwhile, a Catholic army under Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly was laying waste to Saxony. Gustavus Adolphus met Tilly's army and won a decisive victory at the First Battle of Breitenfeld on 17 September 1631. At Breitenfield, Gustavus Adolphus led a larger force against the Imperialist army and made use of a combined attack of cavalry, well-disciplined infantry and the effect of the more numerous and more mobile Swedish artillery to break the Imperial lines. The battle established Gustavus Adolphus as the leading general of the Thirty Years' war and helped shape the narrative for a new period of definitive warfare, involving coordinated artillery attack. He then marched across Germany, establishing his winter quarters near the Rhine, making plans for the invasion of the rest of the Holy Roman Empire.
In March 1632, Gustavus Adolphus invaded Bavaria, an ally of the Emperor. He forced the withdrawal of his Catholic opponents at the Battle of Rain, marking the high point of the campaign. At Rain, Gustavus Adolphus led an army of 37,500 soldiers against a smaller army commanded by Count Tilly at a site near the Lech River. Tilly's forces were entrenched on the eastern bank of the river. Gustavus Adolphus ordered a sustained artillery bombardment and smoke as cover for his forces to cross the river, along with the use of a prefabricated temporary bridge. At the same time, the Swedish cavalry arrived on the eastern side, having crossed further to the south. Tilly was severely wounded while his army was attacked on both flanks and as a result, the imperial forces were devastated and subsequently retreated, giving Gustavus Adolphus a clear victory and enabling his army to invade Bavaria. Munich fell to his forces on 17 May 1632.
In the summer of that year, he sought a political solution that would preserve the existing structure of states in Germany, while guaranteeing the security of its Protestants. But achieving these objectives depended on his continued success on the battlefield. Some other military actions in the Thirty Years' War with Gustavus Adolphus at the head were: the victorious battles of Frankfurt an der Oder and Werben, the botched Siege of Nuremberg, the Battle of Fürth, and the unfavourable Battle of the Alte Veste. At Alte Veste, Gustavus Adolphus led some 56,000 troops to battle against some 70,000 Imperial and Bavarian troops but was defeated and forced to withdraw northwards.