GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS OF SWEDEN

'Gustav II Adolf' (9 December 1594 – 6 November 1632 O.S.), widely known by the Latinized name 'Gustavus (II) Adolphus' and sometimes as 'Gustav Adolf the Great' (), was King of Sweden from 1611 until his death.
Gustav II Adolf was born in Stockholm as the oldest son of King Charles IX of Sweden of the Vasa dynasty and his second wife, Christina of Holstein-Gottorp. He inherited the throne at his fathers death, at the age of seventeen. His reign was marked by the Swedish participation in the Thirty Years' War, where he entered the war on the Protestant side. He was married to Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and chose the Prussian city of Elbing as the base for his operations in Germany. He died in the Battle of Lützen in 1632. His participation in the Thirty Years' War also earned him the nickname '"the Lion of the North"'.
Gustav II Adolf was known as a skillful military commander. His innovative skills in the tactical integration of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and logistics, earned the title of the "Father of Modern Warfare". Future commanders who studied and admired Gustav II Adolf include Napoleon I of France and Carl von Clausewitz. His advancements in military science made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years (''see Swedish Empire''). He is also the only Swedish monarch to be styled "the Great".

Contents

Military commander

Alternative views

Timeline

Fictional appearances

Ancestors

See also

External links

Military commander

As a general, Gustav Adolf is famous for employing mobile artillery on the battlefield, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense and mobility emphasized over the usual linear tactics. His musketeers were widely known for their shooting accuracy and reload speed, three times faster than any contemporary rivals. Carl von Clausewitz and Napoleon Bonaparte considered him one of the greatest generals of all time. He was famed for consistency of purpose, and amity with his troops.
Gustav Adolf 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.
In February 1633, following the death of the king, the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates decided that his name would be styled Gustav Adolf the Great (or ''Gustaf Adolf den Store'' in Swedish). No such honor has been bestowed on any other Swedish monarch since.
The crown of Sweden was inherited in the Vasa family, and from Charles IX's time excluded those Vasa princes who had been traitors or descended from deposed monarchs. Gustav Adolf's younger brother had died years ago, and therefore there were only female heirs left. Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government on behalf of Gustav Adolf's underage daughter Christina on her father's death. He left one other known child, his illegitimate son Gustav, Count of Vasaborg.

Alternative views

The German Socialist Franz Mehring (1846–1919) wrote a biography of Gustavus Adolphus with a Marxist analysis of the actions of the Swedish king during the Thirty Years' War. In it, he claimed he makes a case that the war was fought over economics and trade rather than religion.
The Swedish historian and author Peter Englund states in his book "Ofredsår" ("Years of Warfare") that there was not a single all-dominant reason for the King deciding to going into war, instead it was probably a combination of mainly religious, geopolitical safety as well economical reasons.

Timeline

★ July 1626. Gustav Adolf and his army disembark at Pillau, Prussia during the Polish-Sweden War of 1625-1629.

★ August 18, 1627. The King is seriously wounded by a Polish soldier in the battle of Tczew.

★ May 1630. Gustav Adolf lands with his army in Pomerania. On July 6 he lands in Germany.

★ September 1631. At the Battle of Breitenfeld, Gustav Adolf decisively defeats the Catholic forces led by Tilly, even after the allied Protestant Saxon army had been routed and fled with the baggage train.

★ April 1632. At the Battle of Lech, Gustav Adolf defeats Tilly once more, and in the battle Tilly sustains a fatal wound.

★ May 1632. Munich yields to the Swedish army.

★ September 1632. Gustav Adolf attacks the stronghold of Alte Veste, which is under the command of Wallenstein, but is repulsed, marking the first defeat in the Thirty Years' War of the previously invincible Swedes. This leads to defection of some mercenary elements in the Protestant army.

★ November 1632. At the Battle of Lützen, Gustav Adolf is killed but the Swedes win the day, thanks to Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, who assumed command, and defeat Wallenstein. The Swedish war effort was kept up by generals Gustav Horn, Johan Banér, Lennart Torstenson and chancellor Axel Oxenstierna until the Peace of Westphalia.
A history of Gustavus Adolphus' wars was written by Johann Philipp Abelin.
Gustav Adolf Day is celebrated in Sweden each year on November 6. On this day only a special pastry, with a chocolate or marzipan medallion of the king, is sold. The day is also an official flag day in the Swedish calendar. In Finland, the day is celebrated as ''svenska dagen'' or ''ruotsalaisuuden päivä'', "swedishness day", and is a customary flag day. In both countries, November 6 is the name day for Gustav Adolf, one of the few exceptional name days in the year.

Fictional appearances

★ Gustavus Adolphus plays an important supporting role in Eric Flint's 1632 series.

★ In Sid Meier's game '', Gustavus Adolphus makes the appearance of a Great General.

Ancestors

' Gustavus Adolphus's ancestors in three generations'

See also

★ History of Sweden — Rise of Sweden as a Great Power

★ Axel Oxenstierna

★ Gustav Gustavsson af Vasaborg

★ Descendants of Gustav II Adolf

★ Gustavus Adolphus College

External links

★ Gustavus II Adolphus