Gustavus Adolphus: 'The Father Of Modern Warfare'

[@varangianguard7102]

"Where were you when gustavus die?" "I was eating pickled herring when doorbell ring" "Gustavus is kill" "Nej"

[@cyberserk5614]

As a swede I'm offended...🤣I can't stop laughing-BUT I'M OFFENDED!🤣

[@5400bowen]

Please explain the joke to us goofy Americans. I take it Nej is no in some Scandanavian language. Is that in disbelief or? And how could it be offensive, even though you seem to be joking. I’m quite curious. I love humor and I can speak German and Spanish simply because I hate not being able to communicate with.everybody. So as close to you as I can get..Fröhliche Weinachten, meine freunden.

[@varangianguard7102]

​@@5400bowen Nej means "No" in Swedish. I didn't mean to offend anyone - sure I stereotyped, but it was, in my opinion, pretty funny. Hoped this helped.

[@cyberserk5614]

@@varangianguard7102 stereotypes and cliche's are fine. The'y have a core of truth in them which help to explain cultural differences. Offence is taken not given.

[@deteon1418]

Don’t forget the köttbullar with potatismos and lingonsylt

[@leperchaun194]

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.

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

Although complex, it pales in comparison to the complexity of modern warfare with land, sea, air, space and cyberspace to consider with a staggering number of weapons systems available and the logistics needed to maneuver the forces, equipment and supplies to multiple destinations around the globe.

[@sadpotato5111]

play age of empires 2:D

[@alessa9464]

Its like Final fantasy .. using guns sword and cannons but no magic in this one lol

[@javiermendez6850]

This is not true. The cannons and firing guns were introduced in the Battle of Granada (Spain). The Spaniards were the creators of Arcabus (harkebus),firstThis is not true. The cannons and firing guns were introduced in the Battle of Granada (Spain). The Spaniards were the creators of Arcabus (harkebus),first firing rifle. That was revolutionary. No the improvement of something firing that was already created. No the improvement of something which was already created by other people.

[@naughtybear2187]

@@javiermendez6850 google translate fucked you up bro

[@JH-lo9ut]

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.

[@nutbuster6914]

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

[@bjornh4664]

I did my military service at a regiment in the southern part of Sweden, a region (in)famous for its stone-riddled soil. Digging foxholes wasn't fun...

[@TGSSMC]

Stone riddled soil is awesome for peas

[@svanstroll]

​@@TGSSMCAh, interesting. Its still a known Swedish tradition to have peasoup with salted pork on thursdays (sometimes wirh a warm glass of a sweet arrak-based liqueur called "punch"). ... so now whe know why, then. :D

[@MrLuckyronda]

@@svanstroll You forgot the mandatory pancakes with cream/jam after. Försvarsmakten never gave us any punch tho, would have been nice...

[@casparvoncampenhausen5249]

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

[@herptek]

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.

[@Macovic]

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.

[@johndorilag4129]

Napoleon based his corps system which would become the basis for most of today's military on the Roman Legions.

[@manassikdar1]

Be it the legendary Beowulf, the king of the Geats or Gustavus Adolphus, Lion of the North. The Swedish soil has birthed some of the greatest warriors in history, much respect from India.

[@user-ys7eh9kx9p]

I live in the same lands in sweden where Beowulf is supposed to come from . 😊

[@QenaitheCustodianGuard]

Götar samlas!

[@davidthompson3729]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@BoleDaPole]

Yea it's wierd seeing warrior nations with such a proud military history become largely passive, weak and deferring most matters of geopolitical importance to Brussels and DC. I guess it's better for global security reasons to pacify such states and keep them on a tight leash. Let them continue to create whatever thier little economy is based on and let the big boys like The US, China, India and Russia handle the important matters.

[@hydnars]

​@@user-ys7eh9kx9pdo you know where specifically in Götaland he is supposed to be from?

[@clintmoor422]

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 KZbinrs it is clear that you actually have intellectual integrity.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Where can one find this intellectual integrity?

[@assumjongkey1383]

Lion don't live in Sweden

[@sdsd2e2321]

@@assumjongkey1383 No shit.

[@assumjongkey1383]

@@sdsd2e2321 they normally don't live in Sweden :)

[@enriquepascual8767]

Some say lions live in Africa...))))))

[@Bjornlovesjazz]

I bet 10 swedish crowns that the crew of Sabaton is watching this video

[@TLOK1918]

Then they should get to writing a Napoleon album. Fifteen years have I been waiting to listen to it!

[@palkia192]

Sabaton seriously needs to make the Napoleonic wars happen! I feel like that era always gets shafted/under-appreciated.

[@johndalton3787]

10 Swedish krona? That's a pretty low wager

[@mrmoth26]

@@johndalton3787 Isn't that like £1?

[@Liamtheseriousguy]

@@palkia192 Epic History and K&G had done it... But they can try!

[@tobago3679]

Couldn't read the Title of the video without starting to sing Lion from the North: "Gustavuuus Adolfuuuus"

[@rabbitman4648]

LIBERA ET IMPERA

[@poissonpoison3090]

Acerbus et ingel

[@ghostrider.49]

AUGUSTA PER ANGUSTA

[@dennisfischer4838]

Lion from the north

[@justanunluckyirishmaninabl5178]

A storm over Europe unleashed Dawn of war A trail of destruction

[@thenathan4490]

Gustavus Adolphus, libera et impera

[@Alwindar1]

Acerbus, et Ingens AGUSTA PER ANGUSTA

[@patrickaalfs9584]

My all time favorite historical military character. Wish more of my countrymen knew about him.

[@christianfreedom-seeker2025]

Can you do a video on Cromwell's "New Model Army" and how their organizational structure and weapons decisively defeated the Royalists?

[@joellaz9836]

Cromwell was strongly influenced by the Swedish army when he created the new model army.

[@ivanvoronov3871]

That would be a real cool idea

[@elsakristina2689]

You know you’re awesome when people already see you as the stuff of legend during your lifetime.

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

**Age of Empires 3 Definitive Edition players taking notes**

[@INSANESUICIDE]

For people interested in history I recommend crusader kings, Europa universalis, for the glory, fields of honour, these games are less arcadey and gives you more a feeling of changing history. Do not be intimidated by the dlc price tags on paradox games, there are guides online that explains what is worth getting and what is not, and you can get all Dlc for not even a third of the price using allkeyshop that compares the lowest prices on sites selling keys, and yes those keys usually work for steam. Enjoy the struggle armchair historians!

[@howdoyouturnthison7827]

@@INSANESUICIDE For battle simulation I think total war series does a good job.

[@PaladinPoppie]

AOE3DE is just fine. Thank you very much.

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

They just added sweds to aoe3 and there are units based on Gustav's reforms like caroleans or leather cannons

[@darthwalrus4740]

@@howdoyouturnthison7827 Shame there is no game set in this time period though.

[@plrc4593]

Excellent videos! Answer a lot of questions I have had since a long time.

[@pp-wo1sd]

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 ?

[@milanmericskay8003]

I completly agree, its a topic wich i have a hard time finding infos on, weird considering that France was such a major player in the war

[@FieldMarshalYT]

@@milanmericskay8003 It would be awesome to see.

[@fanbuoy9234]

I believe that they typically used the standard French tactic of "CHAAAAARGE!!"

[@FieldMarshalYT]

@@fanbuoy9234 To be fair, Conde used that to great effect at Rocroi.

[@enriquepascual8767]

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.

[@noneofyourbusiness3288]

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.

[@dontenty5643]

Im Swedish so is it ok if i bring some muskets, pikes and my army?

[@phillip_iv_planetking6354]

@@dontenty5643 And I will bring the Tercios just to make sure you behave.

[@martinan22]

Because the Americans and the British destroyed every large town in Germany.

[@jakubivanecky8184]

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.

[@oilslick7010]

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

[@hydnars]

Where is this course taught?

[@andreaslundstrom7921]

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 :-)

[@jockehaggstrom8596]

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..

[@andreaslundstrom7921]

@@jockehaggstrom8596 This was about Gustav II Adolf, not Gustav III ;-)

[@Jauhl1]

Axel Oxenstierna was a regent to Gustav's daughter Christina. Gustav Adolf never had a regent. He was leading his father's armies at 16. became king at 17 and despite not being of legal age was confirmed as ruling in his own right by the Swedish parliament. Axel Oxenstierna served as Gustavs Lord High chancellor and essentially governed Sweden for decades while the king focused on fighting wars.

[@andreaslundstrom7921]

@@Jauhl1 Well, yes that is true, he was sovereign from the get go and Oxenstierna was High Chancellor, my bad. But still, some of the changes made that are attributed to Gustav in the video were actually the work of Oxenstierna. I was sloppy when I wrote my first comment.

[@GefreitervonAdler]

@@jockehaggstrom8596 dollar is just the Spanish name for thaler. The Swedish name for thaler is daler. The US called their currency dollar because the Spanish dollar (thaler) was the standard currency in the new world - a Spanish dollar was a silver coin worth 8 real (thus the "piece of eight" in pirate lore). All are copied from a 15th century Bohemian silver coin.

[@richardcleveland8549]

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!

[@skitkjell85]

Swede here; He's a national hero for a reason ^_^ He was frightiningly intelligent when it came to warfare. Star fortresses? His idea.

[@greatsarmatae]

Muscovy was no threat to Sweden at all, in fact conversely.

[@mixchief]

@@greatsarmatae Funnily the moscovites are said to have partially originated from Sweden, specifically the Roslagen region.

[@greatsarmatae]

@@mixchief certainly not Muscovites though. The mentioned hypothesis concerned Rus', but Muscovy isn't even Rus. The hypothesis is quite a myth too though, regardless of actual Swedish presence in Rus kingdom.

[@mixchief]

​@@greatsarmatae You may be right and I'm by no means knowledgeable to make a factual statement. But from what I gathered, though, which I find pretty interesting, is that scholars connect the Finnish word for Sweden - Ruotsi - with the people (Rus) who left Scandinavia for eastern regions across the Baltic Sea and onwards. Allegedly, the name Vladimir might also derive from the Scandinavian name Valdemar (which in turn might or might not derive from the german name Woldemor). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rus%27_people

[@settekwan2708]

0:18 That's probably the highest praise one can receive as a renowned militarist .

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

Almost as good as having "The Conqueror" or "The Great" appended to your name.

[@augustuslunasol10thapostle]

@@MrNiceGuyHistory tbh it's better then "the great" there will always be more the greats but their will be few "father of modern warfare"

[@raggarNable]

@@MrNiceGuyHistory well on his grave it says Gustavus adolphus Magnus (the great)

[@GusaElof]

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.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

We covered Gustavus' invasion of Germany more in depth here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJm3i2aFf5esqK8 Go check it out, it's a much newer video. Generally speaking, the quality of this video is much better, especially regarding the voice over and the visuals!

[@gabrielvanhauten4169]

Yes?

[@clintmoor422]

more of whatever man, just moooore

[@JohnDoe-yr4wc]

Yes please! More pike and shot.

[@theblackprince1346]

English civil war would be great it's pike and shot and also literally no history youtuber has covered it yet.

[@robertobarazzutti3807]

This is as usual excellent vidéo of this century of war. Continue. Dont forget naval warfare and amphibious opérations.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

[@johnpotter4750]

Battle of the Dunes !

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

or use nukes if your lazy

[@DeezNuts-kl2te]

The man who perfected the ancient art of organised mutual murder

[@philRminiatures]

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! 😍😍👍

[@alvar534]

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

[@Schmangrovius]

I really appreciate ur effort to include relevant sources within the video. Thank you for that

[@mrmr446]

Regarding volley fire I have read that it was in use in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai, most famously at Nagashino in 1575.

[@Dfathurr]

In the west, there is Gustavus Adolphus. In the east, there is Oda Nobunaga. Both of them change the warfare tactics and strategies on their own scope.

[@Shenordak]

Also, Oda Nobunaga fielded armies that would dwarf the european forces.

[@Shenordak]

@ Actually, no, not that much😉 But look at the number of troops present at the largest Sengoku Jidai battles. Those numbers would be rare to see in Europe even during the 30 years war. Japan was densely populated, very militarized from decades of war and had excellent logistics. Specifically, at Nagashino Nobonunaga had 38000 troops. At Sekigahara Tokugawa had almost 90000 against an even larger enemy force. The largest battles of the 30 years war (which took place almost 50 years later) had armies of roughly 40000 per side, but most no more than 20-30000.

[@xanpenguin754]

@@Shenordak It is worth noting that at the height of Wallenstein's military power, the imperial army had over 100 thousand men. However, they were spread out across Brandenburg, Pomerania, and Saxony. There were numerous challenges in fielding an army that large and during the thirty years war where the population of Germany was cut in thrid and famine and plague made fielding an army even more difficult. A battle between Japan and German forces at that time would be interesting to watch though.

[@Mrree250]

@@Shenordak What brand of body pillow you possess? *weeb*

[@andreattafabio]

Best history channel uploads - i watch & i upvote! Thank you

[@TheAurelianProject]

This isn’t Reddit

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

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...

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

This channel is such a hidden gem, I have no idea how there are fewer than 90k subscribers!

[@raphlvlogs271]

the definition of modern warfare is constantly evolving through out history.

[@Ragnarswe]

The "modern" man is my favorite phrase.. The mordern man hasnt changed for thousands of years. Only tools has evolved.

The true father of Modern Warfare is the Spanish Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (the Great Captain) who successfully combined the use of firearms with the infantry and those who evolved his concept were the Duke of Alba (who initiated the change from the arquebus to the musket) and Maurice of Nassau (who promoted firearms in the infantry and reduced pikes), Gustavus Adolphus was only the next step in that evolution (by better integrating artillery with infantry and a best use of cavalry), but it should never be called the "Father" of something that didn't start. The only reason why the merit has been stolen is because Protestant countries do not like the idea of giving value to what a Spanish Catholic started. On the other hand, the Tercios were first an organizational entity, since each company was autonomous and was the true combat unit, the second point is that they were never an immobile formation of pikes, because the companies had different combat configurations that adapted to the situation of the moment (7:42), being the typical display of a Square of Pikes with arquebus sleeves the generally shown, but not the only one (6:54) and the third is that it always had a growing component of arquebusiers and musketeers. The Tercios evolved throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, for example: the Ordinance of 1536 said that each Tercio was made up of several companies of 300 men, of which there were several pikemen and some arquebusiers or shotgunners ( that is, more than half of the 300 were pikemen and only a few arquebusiers); In 1560 the tercio was reduced to 3,000 men, divided by 10 companies of 300 men, of these 2 companies were exclusively arquebusiers (that is, 300 arquebusiers in each of the 2 companies), while the rest mixed pikemen in a greater proportion with groups of arquebusiers (that is, for each of Those 8 companies there were 150 corselettes, 50 arquebusiers and 100 light pikes), giving a total result of 1200 corset pikemen, 1000 arquebusiers and 800 light pikemen. With the Duke of Alba, the tercios that left to fight in 1567 in the Netherlands were reorganized, adding the musketeers to the equation, which ended with 15 musketeers for each of the 10 companies, giving a total of 150 musketeers in each Tercio, with 850 arquebusiers and 2000 pikemen; while in the Ordinances of 1598 the companies were reduced to 250 men, increasing from 10 to 12 companies, each with 130 corselets, 100 arquebusiers and 20 musketeers, being adopted in 1598 a ratio of pikes and firearms similar to what the English saw as acceptable in the middle of the Civil War a century later, that is, 1 and 1.2 between pikes and firearms (Spain was ahead in military organization). By the beginning of the 17th century, the tercios were reduced to 1,500 men with 15 companies made up of 100 soldiers, of which only 40% were pikemen, a proportion almost similar to that of the other armies of the time (8:02). All these data given by the historian Eduardo de Mesa Gallego according to the historical archives, shows that even at the time mentioned in this video, the Tercios had a greater number of firearms than what is shown in the video (7:30), the difference is in the longer formation that the Dutch and the Swedes had, which allowed a better shot (13:23), but not because the Spanish army was an outdated machine that did not adapt to the moment, because they continued to maintain considerable firepower for his confrontations (this allowed them to win battles like those of Nördlingen 9:00 and Honnecourt, before Rocroi and Tuttlingen later).

[@pinchevulpes]

All that to be soundly defeated by some Dutchmen in a swamp 😂

@@pinchevulpes The same as the French and Americans against the poorly armed peasants in the jungles of Vietnam or the Russian tank columns in 2022 against the Ukrainians barely armed with anti-tank weapons; It is the only way to defeat the military powers of each moment, using unconventional and even in some cases cowardly war tactics. But in all of those cases, along with the 80 Years War, some important things happened that ignorant people like you tend to omit, and that is that in all three cases, the insurgents (Dutch, Vietnamese and Ukrainians) were widely supported by the rival countries of those world powers of the day: while the Dutch had the English, French Huguenots and German Protestants giving them weapons or financing their war effort, in addition to providing mercenaries; The Vietnamese had Russia and China, just like now the Ukrainians have NATO and the United States behind them... As much as it pains you to admit it, if it were not for foreign aid, the Dutch cause would have succumbed with the Duke of Alba (who, if it were not for the English support for the Beggars of the Sea, would not have turned the tables) and then with Alexander Farnese (who if it were not for Henry IV, would not have had to be distracted outside of Flanders). Added to the fact that it is easy to feel victorious by throwing yourself behind the walls and flooding the fields, instead of facing the Tercios in the open field as people of honor, and the few times they tried it went badly, except for the Battle of the Dunes in 1600, in which they did not even manage to achieve a decisive conclusion (since they had to withdraw later due to the losses suffered, without conquering any important ground), the supposed "invincible reforms" of Maurice of Nassau could not defeat Spinola shortly after in the Battle of Mülheim in 1605, leading to them being forced into a 12-year truce, and then failing to take Belgium from the besieged Tercios who were fighting on 3 fronts during the 30 Years' War, having to accept being left alone with their independence in 1648 (when the objective was to recover the entire territory of the Netherlands and Luxembourg)... does that seriously seem like a humiliating defeat to you? That Dutchman in the swamp that you say, had an entire machine of Protestant Europe behind him and it was not enough for him in the end.

[@pinchevulpes]

@ and what is Spain now? A vassal and a meat shield for the United States. Divided against itself in Catalonia it was better run by the moors

[@huntermad5668]

U know that Tercios actually fought against Swede, right? The new thing did really have any real edge against the supposedly old style Tercios

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Gustavus just time traveling as a military advisor

[@grisom5863]

Or student. But that's a very interesting premise for someone willing to pick it up.

[@hedgehog3180]

That's just what great people in Civilization are like.

[@skitkjell85]

Have fun trying to contradict it.

[@launch4]

@@grisom5863 Funny, it's not Gustavus that's doing the time travelling but something like that happened in the Ring of Fire 1632 series.

[@metal87power]

He wouldn't survive post World War world

[@fw6938]

nice, finally a video on my favourite king from my favourite niche history period!

[@gudmundursteinar]

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.

[@zantupatikabujiyapasargada4018]

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.

[@gudmundursteinar]

@@zantupatikabujiyapasargada4018 I agree. However 1914 wasn't modern warfare.

[@zantupatikabujiyapasargada4018]

@@gudmundursteinar Yes, it is.

[@gudmundursteinar]

@@zantupatikabujiyapasargada4018 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.

[@zantupatikabujiyapasargada4018]

@@gudmundursteinar 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.

[@1926PlovdivCity]

"I was the King of Sweden" a bad ass in death to :) i like him very very much

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

You can always cement your badassness by having witty one liners

[@julio5prado]

Another excellent video. Amazing amount of research, knowledge and common sense (quite unusual in historians). Many thanks again!

[@shadowwarriorshockwave3281]

I may be a day late due to youtube being trash but hey I’m finally watching one of the best videos on KZbin instead

[@Martin_likes_beer]

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!

[@bigmac8168]

Varför kallas han Gustavos Adolfus på engelska?

[@Zipcot]

@@bigmac8168 Latin*

[@bigmac8168]

@@Zipcot tack😃👍

[@HanslLanda]

excellent video rhoman, each one of your videos is a masterpiece

[@SandRhomanHistory]

hey, thank you! much appreciated!

[@TheJakeSweede]

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.

[@darthwalrus4740]

A video about the other Polish-Lithuanian cavalry types would be interesting to see in the future! Also, good video! :)

[@rabbitman4648]

ahem AND THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED

[@jakm1264]

There would have been be a huge confusion what Cossacks cavalry was (kawaleria/choragiew kozacka). If he does this video one day, that will be the biggest challenge and potential flop. Anyway the channel is great. guys are doing incredible job.

[@huginmunin8253]

Quick info about winged hussars, it started with serbs that was sent in exile to Poland and became merceneries there as light cavalery and later on when Poland had a Hungarian king he reformed the army in Poland and the winged hussars became heavy cavalery

[@rabbitman4648]

@@huginmunin8253 I thought Three Strikes shot you two down?

[@huginmunin8253]

@@rabbitman4648 are you refering to the air planens? Cause odens Ravens was never shot down, or do you refer to something else?

[@dimitristripakis7364]

The imagery is beautiful, you can tell the individual who made them loves what they are doing.

[@WalkaCrookedLine]

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.

[@r32guy85]

france and spain didn't fight in germany, they fought in the netherlands, asturia hre and sweden fought in germany.

[@alegp97]

these wars are so overlooked yet so interesting, thanks

[@thommagnusson8449]

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.

[@benktlofgren4710]

and most of all FEAR! It ate the enemy's morale, they dropped their stuff and ran :) I do the same when a normally friendly neighbor Finn had too many bears and his eyes turns red 🤣

[@tisFrancesfault]

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]

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.

[@tisFrancesfault]

​@@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.

[@samdog166]

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

[@poptartmallshart5323]

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?"*

[@W0DAN88]

Someone should make that a mod

[@vgrg7841]

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.

[@MrBigCookieCrumble]

Amazing as always, animations keep getting better too! :)

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Thanks a bunch!

[@WalkaCrookedLine]

For those interested in a fictional USA-oriented take on the thirty years war, I recommend you go read Eric Flint's novel "1632" and some of it's many sequels. If you get sucked down this rabbit hole don't complain I didn't warn you it's addictive.

[@rogerchillco1227]

I was looking for something to read during the holidays. Thanks!

[@niccolocaramori7288]

Could you make a video about the ottoman military tactics of the 16th and 17th century? Excellent job, as usual

[@SandRhomanHistory]

We'd like to. Maybe some time next year, maybe later on.

[@niccolocaramori7288]

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

[@klaslindstein2252]

A key point of his success was also that he was in the front line, not at home in the castle, or far back. This boosted morale greatly.

[@Kalenz1234]

Leaders leading from the battlefield was fairly common up to the 18th century.

[@condotierr]

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.

[@andrzejadamowicz3753]

Every like under this video is very well deserved. Keep up the good work.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Much appreciated!

[@adampotter760]

This account is incredible, nerding out so hard

[@Erikjagren]

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!

[@tombowers6713]

Calvary with claymores? That's badass

[@FleurdeLeif]

great channel! just found this! thanks

[@brokenbridge6316]

A truly extraordinary man. Cut down well before his time.

[@daveyhu]

fantastic video, answered lots of questions I had about musket & pike warfare

[@dougmhd2006]

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.

[@Stfjam7]

Seriously next level video friend.

[@adrianaslund8605]

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.

[@Zalazaar]

Not to mention it was really bad

[@Alex-yz6uq]

, Europa Universalis 4, Hearts of Iron 4, Victoria 2/3, Crusader kings 2/3, Age of Empires,

[@GameLorePage]

@@Alex-yz6uq That is because Paradox is Swedish

[@Alex-yz6uq]

@@GameLorePage 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.

[@baltswed1]

@@Alex-yz6uq map painting games wowee

[@nielsjensen9771]

Thx for very complet and insightfull content

[@hashimbokhamseen7877]

finally, holly fuck that took a while. thanks for uploading.

[@jokuhunaify]

Great video. Best channel when it comes to stuff like this. Beats all the wikipedia remixers.

[@arnljot9030]

You should also do a video on Charles XII and the caroleans with the gå-på tactic.

[@Ucra12]

And Charles XI

[@higherself7129]

Great video! Thank you from Sweden

[@egillskallagrimson5879]

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.

[@TheMeritCoba]

Thank you for this video. It is an area of history that is often overlooked..

[@antiHUMANDesigns]

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.

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Hey, yeah I know it weird. There are a couple of reasons why we have to do that. The main ones are the KZbin 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.

[@boessle2963]

Gustavus Adolphus is the only Swedish king that have been given the honorary title "The Great" by the parliament, 1633. Thus, post mortem.

[@peterpim6260]

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.

[@ieuanhunt552]

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

[@fanbuoy9234]

@@ieuanhunt552 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 :)

[@thebirdking270]

LEGENDS HAVE TAUGHT!, BATTLES FAUGHT

[@ailius1520]

THIS LION HAS NO FEAR AT HEART

[@serbanioandinu5140]

@@ailius1520 LION COME FORTH, COME FROM THE NORTH, COME FROM THE NOOOOOOOOOOOOORTH

[@countryboy1635]

Gustavus adolphus

[@heckleypanes4988]

@@countryboy1635 LIBERA ET IMPERA

[@l.c.7445]

@@heckleypanes4988 ACERBUS ET INGENS AUGUSTA PER AUGUSTA

[@Gamleman]

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.

[@coolbeans8682]

A video about the much feared, Croatian light cavalry from the same time would be a treat. Thanks for this one!

[@GarfieldRex]

Your quality is like the Lion of the North ;) love this channel. By the way, I'm tired of Sabaton fanboys xdxd sorry, not sorry.

[@custink22]

Hey good songs about historical figures, hard not to fanboy. But i can definitely see it getting old pretty fast when its a massive part of the comments section of any historical battle or figure theyve done a song about.

[@davidthor4405]

Eyy cool name

[@joshcoup6440]

Very thorough analysis! Great content.

[@galenbjorn443]

One of the greatest warrior king in human history, thank the gods from Sweden and Scandinavian warrior history

[@theveryproudmoroccan2834]

You deserve way more subs mate!

[@durandal1909]

Despite Gustavus Adolphus tactics, Sweden was repeled by the Tercios and thus halted the implacable Swedish advance on continental Europe. Spanish Tercios once again proved the world their superiority in the battle field.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

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.

[@idontgetit2195]

Gustavus Adolphus is my second favorite Adolph in history.

[@Alex-lu3mz]

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

[@DisgruntledHippo]

One of the most interesting and influential figures of the Thirty Years War.

[@hedgehog3180]

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?

[@SandRhomanHistory]

naval warfare is definitely on the list.

[@brendontruong7127]

Something tells me Gustav would have been a massive fan of the machinegun if he were ever to see it.

[@HipHopRepair]

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.

[@ArvelCrynyd]

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

[@wehosrmthink7510]

So well researched and cited!

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

*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

[@funbro99]

*no one wants to tell him that the swedish people wont join the war and that his line isnt in power*

[@marekbozdech5840]

What about an Albrecht z Valdštejna (von Wallenstein) episode ?

[@fanbuoy9234]

@dimapez That sounds like a Swedish name. Wallenstein is called Wallenstein in Sweden as well, for the record.

[@Arbelot]

Fun fact: Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) was a student of Prince Maurits of Orange. His reforms were the fruit of the lessons learned at the Dutch military academy. It goes to show that no military tactic is learned in a vacuum. One form of warfare was always a refinement of the previous one.

[@seavpal]

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.

[@SyamuNekoSan]

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

[@cipriantodoran1674]

Good point.

[@stylesheetra9411]

He didnt made advances tho, everything was already here, faconet cannons, more thin formation with multiples lines, more muskets than pikes and curassiers were thing that existed way before he was born (and dont even try to say volley fire lmao) His true innovation was the swedish formation which no other nation ever adopted after the continue losses to the hand of the """""outdated""""" tercio Funnily enough everything said about "the father of modern warfare" is still part of a theory created by a single dude that right now the majority of historians dont even agree with. But tbh is better watch a video that tell you that guy X is a super hero than reading lots of books about that go like this "Contrary to what Y said, we can answer Z in a different way than Z did by using sources used by N,M,I, so to prove my point now in the next 20 pages I will throw to you everysingle number of XXX procuded in those cities [list of cities] while also trying to overcome the number of items that could be stolen so I also bring to you all the denunciations and court case I could find, so using a little of statistics we can get a more reasonable result [show six pages of just numbers and statistics]"

[@MrRjizz]

the title isnt from those advanced but the combiend arms doctrine that its later used by every other European power.

[@Arbelot]

​@@SyamuNekoSan It's a shame that I can't use him in my EU4 game...

[@spmoran4703]

I found this very interesting . Very clever planning indeed .

[@Destinybreaker07]

The Swedes military tactics did something which protestant armies had dreamed for 13 years - defeat a catholic army in detail and near artistic perfection in the field of battle Glory to the lion of the north who would come down to take the scepter from the hand of the eagle of the south.

[@Htrad]

THEN THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED!!!11 xD

[@2121gul]

@@Htrad nej

[@luifernando4002]

I really wish someone made videos as detailed as this about Napoleonic tactics

[@belakovdoj]

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.

[@TenpennyTower]

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

[@TenpennyTower]

@@goran2268 Jules after my grandfather definitely not as bad ass but gotta give it to the ancestry

[@speke3055]

Gustavus reintroduced the martial discipline of Bronze Age antiquity