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It's pretty obvious, that it is less the sorft of formation or doctrine, but the ability of the commanders in adapting to what is happening on the battlefield that made or broke the Battle. As long as the "new idea" had a flexible, innovative, creative commander it was unstoppable, but when it stagnated, the leader was lost, new commanders simply copied what they thought was the idea, then it was beatable again by others that were now more adaptable and did change tactics on the fly.
The strategies seen in this era are so interesting. It was such a weird period in history where you had musketeers and cannons fighting alongside pikemen and cavalry using swords and lances. I have no idea how I would have even begun to try to formulate a strategy that employs units with such vast differences in their utilities into a cohesive army.
@Mr Nice Guy History Well said. There is also warfare in the mind of each individual. Power over a man's beliefs is a power over his will, and his future.
The internet is exceedingly full of people who think they know so much better than everyone else that they rarely even bother to assess opposing wievs because they are so much above their opponents. Then they turn out to be wrong.
Gustavus, lion of the North!!!!! Outstanding work as usual, I really appreciate the sourcing. It shows that you put a lot of effort into these videos. In comparison to other such KZcliprs it is clear that you actually have intellectual integrity.
Several of the changes you mention that Gustav made were actually made already during the reign of Axel Oxenstierna who was regent when Gustav was only a child. He really transformed Sweden, not just military but many other things as well :-)
Correct..... Sweden during Gustav the third backed George Washingrong during the civil war.. we in Sweden had a gold backed economy called Daler.. a direct decendant to the DOllar.. its the same..
Napoleon was heavily influenced by theories of the Swedish systems, which was meant to hit harder than the size suggested it could (?). Combing that with Napoleons very large armies.
@Rabbit man its Odens Ravens and i like them in norse religion. What did you mean so i know? Also they gather information and I like knowing stuff, but mostly because they are Odens ravens and I like them.
Thank you for another great video! When I grew up in Sweden in the 90's I think the school system still gave Gustavus Adolphus more time and focus than any other person in history class. It has also been interesting to witness the changing attitude to the caracole during my life.
Another informative and splendid video, the caracole is my favorite passage, impressive cavalry warfare...and not so easy to recreate in our wargames! First class presentation, and video once again! 😍😍👍
Great video, just a small note the swedish riders didnt use sabres. Instead they used straight edged weapons, more simmiliar to a longer scottish broadsword. Keep up the great work!
Today marks the last day of my Course on Military Revolution, taught by Professor Frost, and I honestly cannot think of a better way to end it with a video that would be definitely placed in our curriculum with approval. The subject is incredibly vast and has argumentative lines that can be polar opposites, and I recommend anyone interested in Military History to take a look. Amazing video as always, thank you for the journey through this fascinating topic.
The Military Revolution debate is definitely one of the most interesting topics in Military History and Early-Modern History alike. So much room for different perspectives
9:00 Nördlingen is a lovely town and worth a visit should you ever be in the area. I was on holiday there years ago and for such a small town, there is a lot to see. Very nice medieval fortifications and buildings still intact.
I'd also love to see you talk about the new model army and it's evolution (and comparison of contemporary forces). The strict discipline that was self maintained, coupled with strong ideological motivation seemed to make the rather formidable and unique. It seemed significant enough to check french actions, and enough to threaten Piedmont.
@hedgehog3180 I'd strongly disagree. Now was it the first to conceptualised or practice "modern" systems? no. Sweden gets a lot of credit, but just hired shit ton of German Mercenaries; this undermines its Ideas. The Spanish (the Tercio being quite obsolete at this point however) and Dutch definitely had a lot of development but its not quite the same as what happened in England. The NMA was definitely influenced by the continent. Buut its organisation and structure and methods were fairly unique. Ultimately my point was not whos better, but as said how the NMA did develop, its unique features and that compared to contemporaries. For those with interest in the 1600s the NMA is of note; it scared the shit out of European powers. Piedmontese stop its persecutions as did even the French of the Huguenots. It was of fair size, of proven capability, and at that time unmatched in motivation. The NMA was nothing to snub then, and nor now in historical study. P.s. It should also be noted that The Republicanism of the Army was of staggering threat, keeping that in the British Isles was also considered a key factor in politics; as the sentiment was as great as the army.
The New Model army is not that interesting though because it was more so catching up with the rest of the world not going beyond it. However at the end of the English civil war the English had gained so much fighting experience that they did become somewhat feared in Northern Europe and that almost lead to some sort of Protestant Coalition with England in the lead however the English republic would fall before that could be realized.
Your videos on early modern warfare are amazing and definitely help shed light on how warfare evolved from medieval melee combat to modern mechanized combat. Have you ever considered making videos on naval warfare in the same period or is that too outside your area of expertise?
@Enrique Pascual between the killed and the captured the spanish forces lost more than thrice what the french lost. despit a slight numérical advantage at the begining. And while the french weren"t able to push forward they did stop spanish progress into France and force the war to an halt. Against what was at the time the strongest army in europe that's quite a victory. It could have been conducted more efficiently but a victory none the less.
Yes and it didn't work because after hours of charges the spanish tercio didn't surrender, french offered the spaniards to retreat with all of their flags, the spaniards agreed a and that was it, where is the french victory, ahhhh wait, in french propaganda.
@hedgehog3180 "Artillery wasn't important in battles of that era" Quotes the very war where the Japanese got shredded to bits both on land and sea by Chinese and Korean Artillery tactics.
@hedgehog3180 lmao sure, they fought so well that they got rekt in Korea. The shougunate got so confident about fighting wars against external powers that they secluded the country 😂
@Phantom That's not really relevant in a time period where canons were not very important in battles. And there's no debating that Japan completely dwarfed Europe in terms of firearms, by the end of the Sengoku Jidai 50% of all firearms in the entire world were in Japan, the speed and enthusiasm with which Japan adopted the musket is really unmatched and it lead to the Japanese making many tactical innovations in their use. Other notable innovations was weather proofing and tactics for conducting night battles since in Japanese warfare night ambushes were of vital importance. Also it's just hard to debate that Japanese armies didn't outnumber European ones, in the Imjin war Japan initially landed with over 150k men, not only was that larger than any European army it was a naval invasion that was solely being supplied by sea. In a hypothetical war the Tokugawa Shogunate would easily be able to field larger armies that are better equipped and trained than any European power at the time, and importantly they'd be able to keep this effort up as the fact that the second Japanese wave into Korea was almost as large as the first one shows.
Hey SandRhoman! Eine interessante Video-Idee: Wenn man durch die Zeit und Welt reisen könnte: Was wäre der schlechteste Krieg, für einen Soldaten aller Zeiten ? Vermutlich einer mit hohen Verlusten, aber zum Beispiel als Ritter könnte man zumindest etwas Einfluss nehmen. In Napoleons Zeiten wird man einfach mit Schusswaffen in dreifach-Reihen aufgestellt und der Reihe nach erschossen.
I have only read certain things sporadically about Gustavus and his military advancements, but the biggest things i could point to in modern warfare that he influenced is the importance of artillery, which he used way more than other powers and showed the importance of, mobility of artillery pieces, and that he expanded conscription. His formations of pikes etc, dont seem that important today. Of course, morale and shock is still important though.
As more I learn about Rocroi more I get the feeling that the french victory was a circumstantial one not a real victory. At the end they allow the six tercios to retreat with honors thus makes me wonder to which end was a honorable move or a fancy way to let them go because they knew that to finish them off would have bleed the french army.
Gustavus is one of my favorite characters in history; his transformation of Sweden from the filling in a sandwich between Denmark-Norway and Russia to a major power with an extensive (if short-lived) empire is one of the great military-political stories of the 17th Century. His military reforms, as you outlined, made the Swedes a power with whom other states had to reckon. A great, great pity that his life was cut short so soon. Another fine video; danke!
wow just found your channel! As a swede I've always been interested in swedish military history even thou I dont know alot about it so this was an exelent video :) You've just earned a new sub!
A video on the prevalence of slings, and later their fall from favour would be great! Just an idea, love any content uploaded to this channel if I’m honest haha
Enemies at that time weren't really used to the new system of the light cavalry (The Finnish Hakkapeliitta) . The front line expected the incoming cavalry to fire and retreat as always, but instead they drew their swords and went forward. That must have created a bit of confusion. The Swedish soldiers were also very drilled and many soldiers could instantly step in to a number of roles if needed. Sources say that many soldiers could step in and fire fallen soldiers rifles, go melee or use canons when needed. That made his army very versatile and adaptable. And lets not forget the light, easy to move canons.
I am beginning to realize, that there is more to know and understand for a field commander in the 16th than in Ceasars time. proper explaination, but impossible to grap in 20 minutes of fast talk.
@Ieuan Hunt Well, we do have first-hand accounts from among others Caesar himself. Sure, it was written for propagandistic purposes, but that doesn't mean that he would try to make things look easier :)
Well your not wrong. There are multiple reasons for this but I think the main one is that the 30 years war was so much more recent. Sources are much more reliable
Fun fact: the name of the Lion of the North lives on in Gustavus Adolphus College, a liberal arts university-level school established by Swedish-American Lutherans in the town of Saint Peter, Minnesota in the United States. The college has an undergraduate enrollment of over 2,200 students and is currently affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Often when contemplating the Great War I consider that not only GIIA, but Julius Caesar or Alexander or Sargon or Cyrus would have understood the battles of 1914, but also, that every general since the end of the war would have been at home in the battles of 1918. Those 5 years changed warfare more than all the rest of human history.
@Zantupati Kabūjiya Pasargadae No, and this is important to remember. 1914 is linear warfare and 1918 is combined arms warfare. Everything about battle changed. In 1914 they lined up shoulder to shoulder for volley fire, in 1918 they didn't move without cover fire. It's completely different.
none of the ancient leaders wouldve understood modern warfare in the slightest, especially Sargon and Cyrus. Alexander had a hard time understanding warfare anyway, and Julius Caesar used the Roman legions.
Somewhere in his army there was a or petty officer who prolly came up with those tactics that no ones knows and no one ever wrote about, and the King gets all the credit. Life really is unfair.
It's questionable if he could legitimately be called "the father of modern warfare", since he just made an incremental advance (like all great military leaders before and after him). One of the biggest "fossilized" conventions of antiquated warfare, the conscript/mercenary composition army, was left unchanged, while the immense improvement in skill standard and morale was gained from utilizing a professional citizen army.
Even in Europa Universalis 4 (a swedish videogame) there are lots of strategists like Maurice of Orange, Frederick the Great even Napoleon but the Tercio creator, "The Great Captain", must be considered the real father of Modern Warfare to distinguish from the medieval one
*Gustavus Adolphus revived, sent into the Western fromt of 1914* and asks:,“Where is Sweden fighting?” Will they come soon? The King might be a military genious if my line survived
Thank you very much for the answer, I really love your videos and I hope you will keep up with your excellent content even for the next year, merry Christmas
This is wild to me, I've always heard this name because my mom said she wanted to name me Gustavos Adolphus before I was born. Knew dude was important but this is badass
A time of religion and war legends tell the tale of a lion This beast in the shape of a man with a dream to rule sea and land And all those who stand in his way die by God and victorious arms With the righteous that follows him south once more set ashore to war Legends have taught battles fought this lion has no fear at heart Lion come forth come from the north, come from the north
Very nice video. I have a question. I have always read and heard that the combination of the quicker loading and revolving triple vollys meant that they could achieve a longer period of constant vollys and that this was what shocked the enemy troops and commanders the most when facing Gustavus Adolphus. Is this confirmed or disproved by the contemporary records?
@Alan Coe Thank you. Here in Sweden we are taught that Gustavus Adolphus trained his troops to reload faster and synchronized in three rows thereby achieving non stop fire
This was facilitated by his introduction of the paper cartridge for powder and ball, so that soldiers didn't have to mess around with powder horns in the heat of battle. This made fire more uniform and faster. Prince Maurice of Nassau was another interesting innovator. of the period.
The first group that started the trend that Sabaton later did is called Ultimutt tool and they have also a song called lay on it for on Northern which is the lien for north and it has a very great lyrics
A friend once tried to explain the geopolitical complexities of the thirty years war to me by (mis?)quoting: "The thirty years war was a war between France and Spain fought in Germany." Silly as that sounds, it actually sums it up pretty well.
Amazing video as allways! :D Can you maybe do a video on the assault on Copenhagen 1659. It is a very interesting battle, especially how the Danes lost so few compared to the Swedes. Plus I am just a Dane so I am probably just biased xD
16:54 despite imerials were outnumbered by the ten thousands sweds and saxons, a huge part of Gustav's army (10-15.000) was an saxon corps, which fleed after the successful imperial cavalry charge.
You can drop the "us" at the end of those names. His name was Gustaf Adolf. I find it silly that a bunch of people kept adding "us" at the end of their names back in those days. Carolus Linnaeus was really called Carl von Linné, for example.
Hey, yeah I know it weird. There are a couple of reasons why we have to do that. The main ones are the KZclip search algorithm. It simply would not connect the videos as good if we would call him Gustaf. Also the algorithm might falsely connect his second name to a certain person from the 20th century in Germany which might lead to monetization issues.
At one battle during mentioned war between Sweden and Commonwealth, the Sweds held their ground behind fort trenches and walls. Polish hussars, were so furious that their enemy would not stand and fight like a real "man", that one hussar drove close to the swedish positions and shouted: "Chodźcie i walczcie jak nie jesteście skurw*syny" which translates losely to: "Come and fight If you are not motherf*ckers"
The Spanish were actually very impressive military for their time during their golden age of empire before internal and external issues led to their decline as an imperial power. They were for a time, the best. They may have benefited from centuries or Roman Empire rule and Muslim rule perhaps. Even if they are a shell of what they used to be, they along with reorganization, acceptance and implementation of new technologies, techniques, and training after a long period of economic and political recovery they have managed to at least become a more capable and a well respected military force, besides becoming a great tourist destination. Hehe. Interesting video btw. Viva España and Sweden.
It seems to be necessary by you to point out that the Sweden were in a majority at Breitenfeld, when in fact they were in a clear minority after the sachsons fled. On the other hand it doesnt seem to be necessary to do so when the swedes were in a clear minority at Nördlingen, where they lost. Also Gustavus Adolphus trained his men to be able to fight in only three men deep lines and still be able to keep continous fire, back line standing, middle line croching and front line kneeling, so there were no moment in the battle when they were defenceless against attacks.
It's interesting that the swedes were known to be good at digging. In most of Sweden, the soil is intermixed with stones of various sizes. The stones are granite, some of the hardest, oldest and heaviest mineral on the surface of this planet. This is due to the whole country having been covered by ice during the last ice age. The glaciers scraped off all the topsoil and ground down the mountains to rubble, and as they receeded, deposited the rubble all across the landscape that was to become the country of Sweden. You cannot stick a shovel into the ground without hitting stone. Digging a hole takes an enormous effort. At least half of the material dug up will be stones. I always marveled at the trenches of world war one, until I realized that they are mostly dug in just soil. Not that it is a small feat by any stretch of the word, but it would be a task of considerably greater effort to dig those trenches in swedish ground. So I Imagine those Swedish soldiers were delighted how easy it was to dig in to the ground in continental Europe, having spent their youth digging up stones out of their father's fields.
My dad is a yard worker if thats how you say it here in sweden, he allways get very happy when the work is in the southern parts of sweden becuase here were we live is in the middle of sweden were you a drill to dig a pool
Id say Napoleon deserves the top spot since his introduction of the corps system and his ability to wage war on multiple fronts against Europe's greatest powers for 10 years is astonishing just imagine if Hitler and the Nazis fought for another 6 years on and off with Europes major powers.
All I can imagine is walking onto the training field in a chilly, foggy morning to see Gustavus waiting for me with his arms crossed and the first thing he says to me is: *"What kind of a name is Soap?"*
I am a direct relation of Maurice of Nassau. Nassau is my mothers surname and my grandfather looked very like William the silent as an old man. Proud of my family history, Nassau helped the British at Waterloo.
The entire history of military doctrine right up until ww2 consist of trying to wrangle cooperation out of different arms deployed over a large area without relyable communication. Units had to be structured and drilled such, than in the complete abscence of orders from a general they could execute a battleplan, and in abscence of their own officers, they would remain tactically effective and flexible. This problem has bot been solved in a satisfactory level until the mass proliferation of radios. What a line does in comparison with a tercio is trade such brute robustness for flexibility in its ability to focus its offwnsive power. This requires better drilled men, and a more active leadership.
History seems to repeat, the styles and changes from skirmishers to charging shock troops and back again, maybe with the rise of continuous range weapons and support from long distances and the sky changed our cycle.
Even in that Age, most countries just copied each other's tactics even if it was counterproductive. "Battles aren't always won by the genius of the victorious general, but also the mistakes of the defeated" "How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics-that is what the multitude cannot comprehend."
Me: Strange he hasn't mentioned field artillery. I'd heard Adolphus incorporated the use of lightweight, rapidly-deployed field artillery to great effect. SandRhoman History: 20:00 Me Again: Ah, there we are. Should've waited. :-)
EXCELLENT VIDEO - as always! If I may just one question! Are you telling us that Gustavus Adolphus was "de facto" the inventor of what we call nowadays "FIELD ARTILLERY"?? ...(at least "in concept")? PS. I do not have time NOW, but - I would find etremely helpful if You could/"would" reply to a couple of questions of mine (later on obviously or WHENEVER YOU'D LIKE!) - I do not have the time now to put them in a COHERENT & systematic way, but - if You could ...I'd be VERY grateful to You. AS ALWAYS! ONE HELL OF A CHANNEL!
Well, artillery was used in the field before Gustavus; but not as a regiment and not as "mobile" artillery! Well ask away (word of caution: if you answer to this thread I might not see it because KZclip usually only notifies me for "fresh comments" for some reason). If you want to know a lot of things maybe do it via Twitter PMs!
Maurits of Orange and Frederick the Great were also considered 'fathers of modern warfare'. And napoleon's moves have long been used in teachings in warfare...
Imagine if gustavus became also King of commonwealth, at these years they had same dynasty and swedish Kings were popular to be elected and later almost Polish King also from vasa dynasty became swedish King it was very close if first or second option would happen nothing could compete with eachother because of superior Polish Lancer cavalry swedish innovative tactics and just big nation
It was a whole big story about how Russians exchanged a large batch of rye on a single Swedish cannon caster, who organised the production of the light cannons in Russia.
as a swede i know quite a lot of this, and as myself who have been studiyng these warkings, there are better books on swedish, so consluison, u should learn swedish ;) BUT on the otherhadn, fun that u talk about gustav adolph! :)
LOL, I remember when I was a kid, seeing those old small cannon and thinking: huh, they don't look very impressive/effective. However, after growing up, I can imagine the horror when advancing soldiers found that enemy defenders were quickly bearing down their 'small cannon' on them. You don't need a big or even medium cannon. A small cannon ball will slice through enemy ranks just as easily a a big one.
Well, WW1 warfare on the western front uses the same weapons essentially, but upgraded versions of them. What Gustav would have a hard time to learn would probably be the trench warfare doctrine. It also depends on the time. A 1918 army would WIPE THE FLOOR with any 1914 army. For example, the german stormtroopers. Essentially the only reason the kaiserschlachtt wasn't a failure bigger than stalingrad in ww2.
There are very few RTS games where Sweden is a playable faction. Empire: Total War comes to mind but they screwed that one up by only giving Sweden one unique unit which was technically finnish. Sweden needs more love in strategy video games.
@Zalazar I think that's a misconception about light cavalry in ETW. Light Cavalry is by far the best form of cavalry in the game as long as it's used correctly. Use it for getting rid of artillery behind enemy lines, killing generals, light infantry etc... Heavy cavalry can also do this at a slower pace but are better kept in reserve to aid your frontline units.
@GameLore Yes, but my point still stands. The way he formed his sentence is according to my point. He could restate it like: There are very few RTS games where Sweden is a playable faction developed by non swedish devs.
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It's pretty obvious, that it is less the sorft of formation or doctrine, but the ability of the commanders in adapting to what is happening on the battlefield that made or broke the Battle. As long as the "new idea" had a flexible, innovative, creative commander it was unstoppable, but when it stagnated, the leader was lost, new commanders simply copied what they thought was the idea, then it was beatable again by others that were now more adaptable and did change tactics on the fly.
Pike and shot era is really good
@Kasen Wade Happy to help :D
@Anakin Rudy It worked and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy!
Thanks so much, you saved my account :D
The strategies seen in this era are so interesting. It was such a weird period in history where you had musketeers and cannons fighting alongside pikemen and cavalry using swords and lances. I have no idea how I would have even begun to try to formulate a strategy that employs units with such vast differences in their utilities into a cohesive army.
@Mattias Olsson
Games such as Wargame Red Dragon does make that concept more widespread, but there isn't anything similar for this time period
@Loki of Asgard Very thoughtful perspective. You're right. Access to education and technology has made our lives easier, as well as more complex.
@Mr Nice Guy History Well said. There is also warfare in the mind of each individual. Power over a man's beliefs is a power over his will, and his future.
@Mr Nice Guy History like yes. We’re significantly bigger and more advanced. Thank you 😂
I love how you always try to display the facts as best you can, especially when you mention how not everyone agrees on something. It's very scholarly
The internet is exceedingly full of people who think they know so much better than everyone else that they rarely even bother to assess opposing wievs because they are so much above their opponents.
Then they turn out to be wrong.
"Where were you when gustavus die?"
"I was eating pickled herring when doorbell ring"
"Gustavus is kill"
"Nej"
@Quakefan99 you so edgy.
@Carolus Rex that's fermented harring.
@Robert Bowen You're the only goofy American I understood it right away
Gustavus, lion of the North!!!!!
Outstanding work as usual, I really appreciate the sourcing. It shows that you put a lot of effort into these videos. In comparison to other such KZcliprs it is clear that you actually have intellectual integrity.
Katya Kozlova nah
@Ero Patissier no bait only wait
@Assum Jongkey nice bait
@Ero Patissier no lion on sweden
@Assum Jongkey Lion of the North was a nickname
I bet 10 swedish crowns that the crew of Sabaton is watching this video
*cough* lion from the north *cough*
@Mr Moth yeah
Ah yes, that equals to about 1 dollar, Wich i don't use but that's neat.
They play it on a loop. Sound through their biggest PA system 🤘
Several of the changes you mention that Gustav made were actually made already during the reign of Axel Oxenstierna who was regent when Gustav was only a child. He really transformed Sweden, not just military but many other things as well :-)
@Jocke Häggström This was about Gustav II Adolf, not Gustav III ;-)
Correct..... Sweden during Gustav the third backed George Washingrong during the civil war.. we in Sweden had a gold backed economy called Daler.. a direct decendant to the DOllar.. its the same..
Napoleon was heavily influenced by theories of the Swedish systems, which was meant to hit harder than the size suggested it could (?). Combing that with Napoleons very large armies.
Gustavus just time traveling as a military advisor
@gri som Funny, it's not Gustavus that's doing the time travelling but something like that happened in the Ring of Fire 1632 series.
Have fun trying to contradict it.
That's just what great people in Civilization are like.
Or student.
But that's a very interesting premise for someone willing to pick it up.
Can you do a video on Cromwell's "New Model Army" and how their organizational structure and weapons decisively defeated the Royalists?
That would be a real cool idea
Cromwell was strongly influenced by the Swedish army when he created the new model army.
My all time favorite historical military character. Wish more of my countrymen knew about him.
A video about the other Polish-Lithuanian cavalry types would be interesting to see in the future! Also, good video! :)
@Rabbit man ok now i know. There was also two swedish planes in the 50s that had those nickname also but thats diffrent.
@Hugin Munin Ace Combat, go figure
@Rabbit man its Odens Ravens and i like them in norse religion. What did you mean so i know? Also they gather information and I like knowing stuff, but mostly because they are Odens ravens and I like them.
@Hugin MuninExplain where did you get the idea of "Hugin Munin" from if you have no idea what I'm saying
@Rabbit man what are you talking about? And what do you mean by AIs? You think im a bot? And what do you mean by "three strikes" tigger?
Thank you for another great video! When I grew up in Sweden in the 90's I think the school system still gave Gustavus Adolphus more time and focus than any other person in history class.
It has also been interesting to witness the changing attitude to the caracole during my life.
Another informative and splendid video, the caracole is my favorite passage, impressive cavalry warfare...and not so easy to recreate in our wargames! First class presentation, and video once again! 😍😍👍
But this was nothing new at all. It had often been used before by the spanish cavalry and even, using bows instead of guns, by the muslims
Great video, just a small note the swedish riders didnt use sabres. Instead they used straight edged weapons, more simmiliar to a longer scottish broadsword.
Keep up the great work!
Today marks the last day of my Course on Military Revolution, taught by Professor Frost, and I honestly cannot think of a better way to end it with a video that would be definitely placed in our curriculum with approval. The subject is incredibly vast and has argumentative lines that can be polar opposites, and I recommend anyone interested in Military History to take a look.
Amazing video as always, thank you for the journey through this fascinating topic.
The Military Revolution debate is definitely one of the most interesting topics in Military History and Early-Modern History alike. So much room for different perspectives
9:00 Nördlingen is a lovely town and worth a visit should you ever be in the area. I was on holiday there years ago and for such a small town, there is a lot to see. Very nice medieval fortifications and buildings still intact.
Because the Americans and the British destroyed every large town in Germany.
@Dontenty And I will bring the Tercios just to make sure you behave.
Im Swedish so is it ok if i bring some muskets, pikes and my army?
I'd also love to see you talk about the new model army and it's evolution (and comparison of contemporary forces). The strict discipline that was self maintained, coupled with strong ideological motivation seemed to make the rather formidable and unique.
It seemed significant enough to check french actions, and enough to threaten Piedmont.
@hedgehog3180 I'd strongly disagree. Now was it the first to conceptualised or practice "modern" systems? no. Sweden gets a lot of credit, but just hired shit ton of German Mercenaries; this undermines its Ideas. The Spanish (the Tercio being quite obsolete at this point however) and Dutch definitely had a lot of development but its not quite the same as what happened in England.
The NMA was definitely influenced by the continent. Buut its organisation and structure and methods were fairly unique.
Ultimately my point was not whos better, but as said how the NMA did develop, its unique features and that compared to contemporaries.
For those with interest in the 1600s the NMA is of note; it scared the shit out of European powers. Piedmontese stop its persecutions as did even the French of the Huguenots. It was of fair size, of proven capability, and at that time unmatched in motivation. The NMA was nothing to snub then, and nor now in historical study.
P.s. It should also be noted that The Republicanism of the Army was of staggering threat, keeping that in the British Isles was also considered a key factor in politics; as the sentiment was as great as the army.
The New Model army is not that interesting though because it was more so catching up with the rest of the world not going beyond it. However at the end of the English civil war the English had gained so much fighting experience that they did become somewhat feared in Northern Europe and that almost lead to some sort of Protestant Coalition with England in the lead however the English republic would fall before that could be realized.
The imagery is beautiful, you can tell the individual who made them loves what they are doing.
Your videos on early modern warfare are amazing and definitely help shed light on how warfare evolved from medieval melee combat to modern mechanized combat. Have you ever considered making videos on naval warfare in the same period or is that too outside your area of expertise?
naval warfare is definitely on the list.
Another excellent video. Amazing amount of research, knowledge and common sense (quite unusual in historians). Many thanks again!
You know you’re awesome when people already see you as the stuff of legend during your lifetime.
A video about the much feared, Croatian light cavalry from the same time would be a treat. Thanks for this one!
I would like to see a video on the french army of the 30 years war , paticularly on the infantry . What system did they use ?
Napoleonic wars is a good explanation video of the French war tactics!
when I read about Marshal Turenne, they mentioned that the french adopted the swedish tactics
@Enrique Pascual between the killed and the captured the spanish forces lost more than thrice what the french lost. despit a slight numérical advantage at the begining. And while the french weren"t able to push forward they did stop spanish progress into France and force the war to an halt.
Against what was at the time the strongest army in europe that's quite a victory.
It could have been conducted more efficiently but a victory none the less.
Yes and it didn't work because after hours of charges the spanish tercio didn't surrender, french offered the spaniards to retreat with all of their flags, the spaniards agreed a and that was it, where is the french victory, ahhhh wait, in french propaganda.
@Fanbuoy To be fair, Conde used that to great effect at Rocroi.
Regarding volley fire I have read that it was in use in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, most famously at Nagashino in 1575.
@Phantom you're mad but the dude just wanted to include facts, lmao wtf?
@hedgehog3180 "Artillery wasn't important in battles of that era"
Quotes the very war where the Japanese got shredded to bits both on land and sea by Chinese and Korean Artillery tactics.
@hedgehog3180 lmao sure, they fought so well that they got rekt in Korea.
The shougunate got so confident about fighting wars against external powers that they secluded the country 😂
@Phantom That's not really relevant in a time period where canons were not very important in battles. And there's no debating that Japan completely dwarfed Europe in terms of firearms, by the end of the Sengoku Jidai 50% of all firearms in the entire world were in Japan, the speed and enthusiasm with which Japan adopted the musket is really unmatched and it lead to the Japanese making many tactical innovations in their use. Other notable innovations was weather proofing and tactics for conducting night battles since in Japanese warfare night ambushes were of vital importance.
Also it's just hard to debate that Japanese armies didn't outnumber European ones, in the Imjin war Japan initially landed with over 150k men, not only was that larger than any European army it was a naval invasion that was solely being supplied by sea. In a hypothetical war the Tokugawa Shogunate would easily be able to field larger armies that are better equipped and trained than any European power at the time, and importantly they'd be able to keep this effort up as the fact that the second Japanese wave into Korea was almost as large as the first one shows.
@Shenordak they wouldn't dwarf shit: japanese artillery was hot garbage compared to western cannons.
Hey SandRhoman!
Eine interessante Video-Idee:
Wenn man durch die Zeit und Welt reisen könnte: Was wäre der schlechteste Krieg, für einen Soldaten aller Zeiten ?
Vermutlich einer mit hohen Verlusten, aber zum Beispiel als Ritter könnte man zumindest etwas Einfluss nehmen. In Napoleons Zeiten wird man einfach mit Schusswaffen in dreifach-Reihen aufgestellt und der Reihe nach erschossen.
I have only read certain things sporadically about Gustavus and his military advancements, but the biggest things i could point to in modern warfare that he influenced is the importance of artillery, which he used way more than other powers and showed the importance of, mobility of artillery pieces, and that he expanded conscription. His formations of pikes etc, dont seem that important today. Of course, morale and shock is still important though.
Gustavus Adolphus, libera et impera
Acerbus, et Ingens
AGUSTA PER ANGUSTA
As more I learn about Rocroi more I get the feeling that the french victory was a circumstantial one not a real victory. At the end they allow the six tercios to retreat with honors thus makes me wonder to which end was a honorable move or a fancy way to let them go because they knew that to finish them off would have bleed the french army.
Gustavus is one of my favorite characters in history; his transformation of Sweden from the filling in a sandwich between Denmark-Norway and Russia to a major power with an extensive (if short-lived) empire is one of the great military-political stories of the 17th Century. His military reforms, as you outlined, made the Swedes a power with whom other states had to reckon. A great, great pity that his life was cut short so soon. Another fine video; danke!
Muscovy was no threat to Sweden at all, in fact conversely.
Swede here; He's a national hero for a reason ^_^ He was frightiningly intelligent when it came to warfare. Star fortresses? His idea.
wow just found your channel! As a swede I've always been interested in swedish military history even thou I dont know alot about it so this was an exelent video :) You've just earned a new sub!
@Zipcot tack😃👍
@Big Mac Latin*
Varför kallas han Gustavos Adolfus på engelska?
A video on the prevalence of slings, and later their fall from favour would be great! Just an idea, love any content uploaded to this channel if I’m honest haha
Enemies at that time weren't really used to the new system of the light cavalry (The Finnish Hakkapeliitta) . The front line expected the incoming cavalry to fire and retreat as always, but instead they drew their swords and went forward. That must have created a bit of confusion.
The Swedish soldiers were also very drilled and many soldiers could instantly step in to a number of roles if needed. Sources say that many soldiers could step in and fire fallen soldiers rifles, go melee or use canons when needed. That made his army very versatile and adaptable. And lets not forget the light, easy to move canons.
I am beginning to realize, that there is more to know and understand for a field commander in the 16th than in Ceasars time. proper explaination, but impossible to grap in 20 minutes of fast talk.
@Ieuan Hunt Well, we do have first-hand accounts from among others Caesar himself. Sure, it was written for propagandistic purposes, but that doesn't mean that he would try to make things look easier :)
Well your not wrong. There are multiple reasons for this but I think the main one is that the 30 years war was so much more recent. Sources are much more reliable
A truly extraordinary man. Cut down well before his time.
I really wish someone made videos as detailed as this about Napoleonic tactics
Fun fact: the name of the Lion of the North lives on in Gustavus Adolphus College, a liberal arts university-level school established by Swedish-American Lutherans in the town of Saint Peter, Minnesota in the United States. The college has an undergraduate enrollment of over 2,200 students and is currently affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Often when contemplating the Great War I consider that not only GIIA, but Julius Caesar or Alexander or Sargon or Cyrus would have understood the battles of 1914, but also, that every general since the end of the war would have been at home in the battles of 1918. Those 5 years changed warfare more than all the rest of human history.
@LanguishViking They were not volley firing out of cover, line battling. I have never heard of this in my life, and I ask that you provide a source.
@Zantupati Kabūjiya Pasargadae No, and this is important to remember. 1914 is linear warfare and 1918 is combined arms warfare. Everything about battle changed. In 1914 they lined up shoulder to shoulder for volley fire, in 1918 they didn't move without cover fire. It's completely different.
@LanguishViking Yes, it is.
@Zantupati Kabūjiya Pasargadae I agree. However 1914 wasn't modern warfare.
none of the ancient leaders wouldve understood modern warfare in the slightest, especially Sargon and Cyrus. Alexander had a hard time understanding warfare anyway, and Julius Caesar used the Roman legions.
Somewhere in his army there was a or petty officer who prolly came up with those tactics that no ones knows and no one ever wrote about, and the King gets all the credit. Life really is unfair.
It's questionable if he could legitimately be called "the father of modern warfare", since he just made an incremental advance (like all great military leaders before and after him). One of the biggest "fossilized" conventions of antiquated warfare, the conscript/mercenary composition army, was left unchanged, while the immense improvement in skill standard and morale was gained from utilizing a professional citizen army.
the title isnt from those advanced but the combiend arms doctrine that its later used by every other European power.
Good point.
Even in Europa Universalis 4 (a swedish videogame) there are lots of strategists like Maurice of Orange, Frederick the Great even Napoleon but the Tercio creator, "The Great Captain", must be considered the real father of Modern Warfare to distinguish from the medieval one
*Gustavus Adolphus revived, sent into the Western fromt of 1914* and asks:,“Where is Sweden fighting?” Will they come soon? The King might be a military genious if my line survived
*no one wants to tell him that the swedish people wont join the war and that his line isnt in power*
Could you make a video about the ottoman military tactics of the 16th and 17th century? Excellent job, as usual
Thank you very much for the answer, I really love your videos and I hope you will keep up with your excellent content even for the next year, merry Christmas
We'd like to. Maybe some time next year, maybe later on.
This is wild to me, I've always heard this name because my mom said she wanted to name me Gustavos Adolphus before I was born. Knew dude was important but this is badass
@Göran Jules after my grandfather definitely not as bad ass but gotta give it to the ancestry
A time of religion and war legends tell the tale of a lion
This beast in the shape of a man with a dream to rule sea and land
And all those who stand in his way die by God and victorious arms
With the righteous that follows him south once more set ashore to war
Legends have taught battles fought this lion has no fear at heart
Lion come forth come from the north, come from the north
This channel is such a hidden gem, I have no idea how there are fewer than 90k subscribers!
Very nice video.
I have a question. I have always read and heard that the combination of the quicker loading and revolving triple vollys meant that they could achieve a longer period of constant vollys and that this was what shocked the enemy troops and commanders the most when facing Gustavus Adolphus.
Is this confirmed or disproved by the contemporary records?
@Alan Coe Thank you. Here in Sweden we are taught that Gustavus Adolphus trained his troops to reload faster and synchronized in three rows thereby achieving non stop fire
This was facilitated by his introduction of the paper cartridge for powder and ball, so that soldiers didn't have to mess around with powder horns in the heat of battle. This made fire more uniform and faster.
Prince Maurice of Nassau was another interesting innovator. of the period.
So well researched and cited!
Couldn't read the Title of the video without starting to sing Lion from the North:
"Gustavuuus Adolfuuuus"
Katya Kozlova Do people really not know that?
The future of warfare unveiled show the way that we still walk today
@Exu acerbus et inges
Agusta per agusta
The first group that started the trend that Sabaton later did is called Ultimutt tool and they have also a song called lay on it for on Northern which is the lien for north and it has a very great lyrics
THE POWER OF ROME WON’T PREVAIL SEE THE CATHOLICS SHIVER AND SHAKE
A friend once tried to explain the geopolitical complexities of the thirty years war to me by (mis?)quoting: "The thirty years war was a war between France and Spain fought in Germany." Silly as that sounds, it actually sums it up pretty well.
france and spain didn't fight in germany, they fought in the netherlands, asturia hre and sweden fought in germany.
Amazing video as allways! :D
Can you maybe do a video on the assault on Copenhagen 1659. It is a very interesting battle, especially how the Danes lost so few compared to the Swedes. Plus I am just a Dane so I am probably just biased xD
No shit that a defending army will inflict more casualties on the attacker. That's common sense.
Or the march across the belts in 1658?
Very thorough analysis! Great content.
I really appreciate ur effort to include relevant sources within the video. Thank you for that
Every like under this video is very well deserved. Keep up the good work.
Much appreciated!
The first time I heard of this guy was in Civilization V. Truly an underrated educational game.
You should also do a video on Charles XII and the caroleans with the gå-på tactic.
And Charles XI
16:54
despite imerials were outnumbered by the ten thousands sweds and saxons, a huge part of Gustav's army (10-15.000) was an saxon corps, which fleed after the successful imperial cavalry charge.
You can drop the "us" at the end of those names. His name was Gustaf Adolf.
I find it silly that a bunch of people kept adding "us" at the end of their names back in those days. Carolus Linnaeus was really called Carl von Linné, for example.
Hey, yeah I know it weird. There are a couple of reasons why we have to do that. The main ones are the KZclip search algorithm. It simply would not connect the videos as good if we would call him Gustaf. Also the algorithm might falsely connect his second name to a certain person from the 20th century in Germany which might lead to monetization issues.
Thank you for this video. It is an area of history that is often overlooked..
One of the most interesting and influential figures of the Thirty Years War.
fantastic video, answered lots of questions I had about musket & pike warfare
0:18 That's probably the highest praise one can receive as a renowned militarist .
@Mr Nice Guy History well on his grave it says Gustavus adolphus Magnus (the great)
@Mr Nice Guy History tbh it's better then "the great" there will always be more the greats but their will be few "father of modern warfare"
Almost as good as having "The Conqueror" or "The Great" appended to your name.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend!
At one battle during mentioned war between Sweden and Commonwealth, the Sweds held their ground behind fort trenches and walls. Polish hussars, were so furious that their enemy would not stand and fight like a real "man", that one hussar drove close to the swedish positions and shouted: "Chodźcie i walczcie jak nie jesteście skurw*syny" which translates losely to: "Come and fight If you are not motherf*ckers"
The Spanish were actually very impressive military for their time during their golden age of empire before internal and external issues led to their decline as an imperial power. They were for a time, the best. They may have benefited from centuries or Roman Empire rule and Muslim rule perhaps. Even if they are a shell of what they used to be, they along with reorganization, acceptance and implementation of new technologies, techniques, and training after a long period of economic and political recovery they have managed to at least become a more capable and a well respected military force, besides becoming a great tourist destination. Hehe. Interesting video btw. Viva España and Sweden.
excellent video rhoman, each one of your videos is a masterpiece
hey, thank you! much appreciated!
Would love to see an episode on The french millitary reforms in the aftermath of the 30 years war
It seems to be necessary by you to point out that the Sweden were in a majority at Breitenfeld, when in fact they were in a clear minority after the sachsons fled. On the other hand it doesnt seem to be necessary to do so when the swedes were in a clear minority at Nördlingen, where they lost. Also Gustavus Adolphus trained his men to be able to fight in only three men deep lines and still be able to keep continous fire, back line standing, middle line croching and front line kneeling, so there were no moment in the battle when they were defenceless against attacks.
Amazing as always, animations keep getting better too! :)
Thanks a bunch!
the definition of modern warfare is constantly evolving through out history.
The "modern" man is my favorite phrase.. The mordern man hasnt changed for thousands of years. Only tools has evolved.
Gustavus Adolphus is my second favorite Adolph in history.
It's interesting that the swedes were known to be good at digging.
In most of Sweden, the soil is intermixed with stones of various sizes. The stones are granite, some of the hardest, oldest and heaviest mineral on the surface of this planet.
This is due to the whole country having been covered by ice during the last ice age. The glaciers scraped off all the topsoil and ground down the mountains to rubble, and as they receeded, deposited the rubble all across the landscape that was to become the country of Sweden.
You cannot stick a shovel into the ground without hitting stone. Digging a hole takes an enormous effort. At least half of the material dug up will be stones.
I always marveled at the trenches of world war one, until I realized that they are mostly dug in just soil. Not that it is a small feat by any stretch of the word, but it would be a task of considerably greater effort to dig those trenches in swedish ground.
So I Imagine those Swedish soldiers were delighted how easy it was to dig in to the ground in continental Europe, having spent their youth digging up stones out of their father's fields.
My dad is a yard worker if thats how you say it here in sweden, he allways get very happy when the work is in the southern parts of sweden becuase here were we live is in the middle of sweden were you a drill to dig a pool
Id say Napoleon deserves the top spot since his introduction of the corps system and his ability to wage war on multiple fronts against Europe's greatest powers for 10 years is astonishing just imagine if Hitler and the Nazis fought for another 6 years on and off with Europes major powers.
All I can imagine is walking onto the training field in a chilly, foggy morning to see Gustavus waiting for me with his arms crossed and the first thing he says to me is:
*"What kind of a name is Soap?"*
Someone should make that a mod
I am a direct relation of Maurice of Nassau. Nassau is my mothers surname and my grandfather looked very like William the silent as an old man. Proud of my family history, Nassau helped the British at Waterloo.
What can I say? Simply awesome!
0:20 Idk why but this always cracks me up just seeing him stiff breaking through the coffin and then standing next to a unamused german soldier XD
"I was the King of Sweden" a bad ass in death to :) i like him very very much
You can always cement your badassness by having witty one liners
The entire history of military doctrine right up until ww2 consist of trying to wrangle cooperation out of different arms deployed over a large area without relyable communication.
Units had to be structured and drilled such, than in the complete abscence of orders from a general they could execute a battleplan, and in abscence of their own officers, they would remain tactically effective and flexible.
This problem has bot been solved in a satisfactory level until the mass proliferation of radios.
What a line does in comparison with a tercio is trade such brute robustness for flexibility in its ability to focus its offwnsive power.
This requires better drilled men, and a more active leadership.
Best history channel uploads - i watch & i upvote! Thank you
Yeah but it doesn't explain how these tactics were taught to people by our alien overlords so it's not real history like the history channel is...
This isn’t Reddit
History seems to repeat, the styles and changes from skirmishers to charging shock troops and back again, maybe with the rise of continuous range weapons and support from long distances and the sky changed our cycle.
Even in that Age, most countries just copied each other's tactics even if it was counterproductive.
"Battles aren't always won by the genius of the victorious general, but also the mistakes of the defeated"
"How victory may be produced for them out of the enemy's own tactics-that is what the multitude cannot comprehend."
Me: Strange he hasn't mentioned field artillery. I'd heard Adolphus incorporated the use of lightweight, rapidly-deployed field artillery to great effect.
SandRhoman History: 20:00
Me Again: Ah, there we are. Should've waited. :-)
EXCELLENT VIDEO - as always!
If I may just one question! Are you telling us that Gustavus Adolphus was "de facto" the inventor of what we call nowadays "FIELD ARTILLERY"?? ...(at least "in concept")?
PS. I do not have time NOW, but - I would find etremely helpful if You could/"would" reply to a couple of questions of mine (later on obviously or WHENEVER YOU'D LIKE!) - I do not have the time now to put them in a COHERENT & systematic way, but - if You could ...I'd be VERY grateful to You.
AS ALWAYS! ONE HELL OF A CHANNEL!
Well, artillery was used in the field before Gustavus; but not as a regiment and not as "mobile" artillery! Well ask away (word of caution: if you answer to this thread I might not see it because KZclip usually only notifies me for "fresh comments" for some reason). If you want to know a lot of things maybe do it via Twitter PMs!
Maurits of Orange and Frederick the Great were also considered 'fathers of modern warfare'. And napoleon's moves have long been used in teachings in warfare...
Gustavus reintroduced the martial discipline of Bronze Age antiquity
Your pronunciation of different languages is just so satisfying to listen to.
LEGENDS HAVE TAUGHT!, BATTLES FAUGHT
@Country Boy LIBERA ET IMPERA
Gustavus adolphus
@Ailius LION COME FORTH, COME FROM THE NORTH, COME FROM THE NOOOOOOOOOOOOORTH
THIS LION HAS NO FEAR AT HEART
love any and all videos on Gustavus Adolphus wish he was well know I've had difficulty finding good books on him what would you suggest
He’s the lion from north! In my town we have a bus stop him he founded it in 1632
Seria bueno que estuviese subtitulado en español.
Imagine if gustavus became also King of commonwealth, at these years they had same dynasty and swedish Kings were popular to be elected and later almost Polish King also from vasa dynasty became swedish King it was very close if first or second option would happen nothing could compete with eachother because of superior Polish Lancer cavalry swedish innovative tactics and just big nation
It was a whole big story about how Russians exchanged a large batch of rye on a single Swedish cannon caster, who organised the production of the light cannons in Russia.
nice, finally a video on my favourite king from my favourite niche history period!
as a swede i know quite a lot of this, and as myself who have been studiyng these warkings, there are better books on swedish, so consluison, u should learn swedish ;) BUT on the otherhadn, fun that u talk about gustav adolph! :)
Arthur Currie is my pick as the guy who changed Modern Warfare forever.
🇨🇦
LOL, I remember when I was a kid, seeing those old small cannon and thinking: huh, they don't look very impressive/effective.
However, after growing up, I can imagine the horror when advancing soldiers found that enemy defenders were quickly bearing down their 'small cannon' on them. You don't need a big or even medium cannon. A small cannon ball will slice through enemy ranks just as easily a a big one.
Well, WW1 warfare on the western front uses the same weapons essentially, but upgraded versions of them. What Gustav would have a hard time to learn would probably be the trench warfare doctrine. It also depends on the time. A 1918 army would WIPE THE FLOOR with any 1914 army. For example, the german stormtroopers. Essentially the only reason the kaiserschlachtt wasn't a failure bigger than stalingrad in ww2.
You deserve way more subs mate!
One of my favor people from history.
There are very few RTS games where Sweden is a playable faction.
Empire: Total War comes to mind but they screwed that one up by only giving Sweden one unique unit which was technically finnish.
Sweden needs more love in strategy video games.
@GameLore and that's why you not play any paradox games at all.
@ben ?
@Alex map painting games wowee
@Zalazar I think that's a misconception about light cavalry in ETW. Light Cavalry is by far the best form of cavalry in the game as long as it's used correctly.
Use it for getting rid of artillery behind enemy lines, killing generals, light infantry etc...
Heavy cavalry can also do this at a slower pace but are better kept in reserve to aid your frontline units.
@GameLore Yes, but my point still stands. The way he formed his sentence is according to my point. He could restate it like: There are very few RTS games where Sweden is a playable faction developed by non swedish devs.