Gustavus Adolphus
King of Sweden (1594–1632)
Biography
Gustavus Adolphus succeeded his father as King of Sweden at sixteen, and the following year the Riksdag declared him of age to rule for himself. He inherited wars with Denmark, Russia and Poland straight away. He had been taught several languages and the art of war from childhood, and once on the throne he worked with his chancellor Oxenstierna to rebuild taxation and administration so that the country could sustain long campaigns.
His deepest mark was on the army itself. European infantry of the day fought in thick squares, but he thinned his lines to about six ranks so that far more muskets could fire at the same moment. He had powder and ball made up into ready-to-use cartridges to speed up reloading, and attached light cannon that a handful of men could push to each infantry unit so the guns moved with the troops. His cavalry, instead of firing pistols and wheeling away, drew swords and charged home.
In 1630 he landed in northern Germany, saying he came to protect the Protestant faith and secure the Baltic; France paid much of the bill. At Breitenfeld in 1631 his new tactics proved themselves against Tilly's army, and the next year he drove into southern Germany and took Munich. In Protestant lands people called him the Lion of the North.
At Lützen in November 1632, facing Wallenstein again, he led a cavalry charge in thick fog, became separated from his men and was killed. The Swedish army held the field that day but had lost its king. The ship carrying his body took a year to reach Sweden, and the anniversary of his death, 6 November, is still marked there today.