How the Caroleans Won Their Battles - Military Tactics

Wizards and Warrior channel: • First Nilfgaardian War...
New Kings and Generals animated shorts video on military tactics will talk about Caroleans of the King of Sweden Charles XII and how they won their battles.
Previously:
Ancient Tactics: Hidden Flank - • How to Defeat Your Opp...
Ancient Tactics: Concentrated Center - • Ancient Tactics: Conce...
Ancient Tactics: Oblique Order - • Ancient Tactics: Obliq...
Ancient Tactics: Feigned Retreat - • Feigned Retreat and Ho...
Ancient Tactics: False Gap - • How to Use the False G...
Ancient History: Why Was Alexander the Great Paranoid - • Why Was Alexander the ...
Ancient Tactics: Crescent Formation - • How to Use Crescent Fo...
Ancient History: Spartan Mirage - • Spartan Mirage - Ancie...
Medieval History: Did Chinggis Khan Have Red Hair? - • Did Chinggis Khan Have...
Ancient Tactics: Inverted Crescent Formation - • How to Use Inverted Cr...
Ancient History: Caesar's Playboy Antics - • Was Caesar Assassinate...
Wizards and Warriors Lore: Is the Witcher Entirely Polish? - • Is the Witcher Entirel...
Ancient History: Caesar's Biggest Scandal - • Caesar's Biggest Scand...
Wizards and Warriors Lore: Witcher's Viking Inspiration - • Witcher's Viking Inspi...
Mongol History: Why Didn't Chinggis Invade India? - • Why Didn't Chinggis In...
Ancient Tactics: Hit and Run - • How to Use Hit and Run...
Mongol History: Chinggis Khan's Greatest Fear - • Chinggis Khan's Greate...
Mongol History: How to Defend Against Mongols - • How to Defend Against ...
Medieval Tactics: Schiltron - • Schiltron - Medieval T...
Medieval History: Where Was the Roman Navy During the Sack of 1204 - • Where Was the Roman Na...
Wizards and Warriors Lore: Sauron the Cat - • How the US Responded t...
Script: David Muncan
Video: Arif Azaman
#Documentary #Kingsandgenerals #shorts

[@KingsandGenerals]

Previously: Ancient Tactics: Hidden Flank - kzbin.info/www/bejne/kH_Fenh8nslpnac Ancient Tactics: Concentrated Center - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYXHoGyjq8yDftU Ancient Tactics: Oblique Order - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGnZdaGMf7pkgs0 Ancient Tactics: Feigned Retreat - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYm7qJxnh8eNmZI Ancient Tactics: False Gap - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqvFoWutl5Kohbc Ancient History: Why Was Alexander the Great Paranoid - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaLSdWVmhrSSarc Ancient Tactics: Crescent Formation - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oX7JiZh-p92nbKM Ancient History: Spartan Mirage - kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6HSlmCKl5Wob6c Medieval History: Did Chinggis Khan Have Red Hair? - kzbin.info/www/bejne/lX_OdoSYo8l5d6c Ancient Tactics: Inverted Crescent Formation - kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZSakIukh5qkgZI Ancient History: Caesar's Playboy Antics - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gICaq4mKn9JsbNk Wizards and Warriors Lore: Is the Witcher Entirely Polish? - kzbin.info/www/bejne/an_cnJZ7jceaqdk Ancient History: Caesar's Biggest Scandal - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iICYcqqlp8d4m6c Wizards and Warriors Lore: Witcher's Viking Inspiration - kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3TLdKCtnaekeNE Mongol History: Why Didn't Chinggis Invade India? - kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGWxdqmEa95_mqc Ancient Tactics: Hit and Run - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mne9m4CPZ7iGpM0 Mongol History: Chinggis Khan's Greatest Fear - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmGZcmpmrrWdkM0 Mongol History: How to Defend Against Mongols - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZPGeJijj6yFf5Y Medieval Tactics: Schiltron - kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6uci4Sribp3bdU Medieval History: Where Was the Roman Navy During the Sack of 1204 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZylk4l8pZaKeq8 Wizards and Warriors Lore: Sauron the Cat - kzbin.info/www/bejne/sF6TnZyJjqZpZq8

[@tresteg77]

Svensk stål biter! "Swedish Steel bites" För kung och fosterland

[@BountyFlamor]

The Swedish cavalry tactics accompanying the Caroleans would be interesting. On Wikipedia it says the percentage of cavalry was higher with the Swedish than with other European armies at the time.

[@Turraoic]

Why didn't other countries adopt the Swedish system?

[@bryanfleming8782]

Bro your releases are insane and quick you deserve rest. Appreciate the regular content though

[@jedidiah710]

Can you make a video on the crane wing formation?

[@mrsnrub282]

The amount of discipline and bravery required to march straight through several enemy volleys without running away or firing back is remarkable

[@vondantalingting]

It actually ain't if you were clear with the numbers. But considering that most of the Caroleans were farmers who were chosen to be the farmstead's professional soldier, you're right. But it ain't that hard if you had God on your side. That be the best morale booster.

[@viperrr6886]

​@@vondantalingtingyep but manay armies that out number their opponents RUN wheb facing smaller armies they moment they panick

[@vondantalingting]

​@@Eliza-yd7fi The numbers I meant were for the casualty figures between volleys of fire, which for some reason was constantly low since the early renaissance. It should be noted that until soldiers were trained to shoot human silhouettes, they had a tendency to shoot to scare instead of killing; aiming just above the head. The Caroleans had this in spades due to their training, fatalistic world view, and religious views. To them their commanders knew that with every volley only a few dies in the line until that last moment between 50-20meters, their soldiers knew that it's useless to fear since the bullet aimed at you could miss or hit someone else in the leg. There is no guarantee for survival, but with faith in God there is a chance to change faith. Hence, their battle plan is to rely on morale and training to get in range and send one effective volley that could at least bulldoze the front before charging for the kill as each Caroliner had a sword and is proficient at it. In essence, they are the BEF before the BEF existed. Few but powerful.

[@bboi1489]

​@@vondantalingtingYou're telling me it doesn't take courage to march towards an enemy shooting rifles at you repetitively, and that any Joe Schmoe can pull it off?

[@Hoboman-1453]

@@bboi1489 although they were just regular men. It was their beliefs which gave them courage. To them if they died then God had ordained it so and if they lived it was because of God. That zeal and unshakable belief in God gave them the courage and discipline to march into oncoming fire. Hope that helps

[@shashumgadimbo6857]

"to compensate for the lack of mannpower we are gonna march through enemy volleys" I mean ok

[@ethandrake5380]

Sounds like it shouldn't work but it did, with great success

[@fangorn9826]

Back then the volleys were very inaccurate, so actually shooting large parts of the enemy army took up quite some time. The caroleans avoided this by quickly changing to melee.

[@EricWulfe]

​@@fangorn9826 not to mention that reloading muskets and flintlock were a huge pain, probably more than we thought this might be similar to privateers and sailor's ways of fending for themselves, fire flintlocks then resort to melee fights

[@Khookies-lp2lu]

It sounds completely wasteful, but then again, what's losing a couple hundred to annihilating an army.

[@cassu6]

@@Khookies-lp2lu back then most casualties where caused when the army routed. The fleeing troops would be either captured or cut down

[@samwill7259]

"Hold your fire 'till you see the whites of their eyes". It's a decent strategy, especially in an era of slow reloading and heavy, hard to carry ammo but you've got to have soldiers with half the carrying capacity anyway so they can lug around their massive brass balls.

[@RexGalilae]

Most importantly, muskets were barely accurate and they were only deadly when fired en masse at close range. At the conventional range, they'd barely do damage. During the Napoleonic era, rifles were invented and would fill the long distance niche while the muskets would only be used in closer encounters

[@handlesarecringe957]

@@RexGalilae Rifles were invented long before Napoleon, they just took too long to reload and were less reliable in longer battles. It was that by the Napoleonic era, doctrine advanced enough for rifles to have a place on the battlefield.

[@RexGalilae]

@@handlesarecringe957 Thanks for taking one small thing I said and dragging a rebuttal on it My point is, by the Napoleonic era, the rifle had found a niche for itself in a standard army where they'd be used by skirmishers and recon groups The issues with reloading time dragged on well into the Napoleonic era as reloading a rifle required some more training, precaution and time but specialized corps had emerged by then

[@aliasofanalias7448]

@@RexGalilae I mean he did straight up correct you. You could have just accepted it and moved on

[@RexGalilae]

@@aliasofanalias7448 "sTrAigHt uP cOrrEcteD yOu" No, he took one offhanded remark and went on a pedantic diatribe on it which wasn't the point I was making to begin with. If I said "Man my grandma can make better spaghetti noodles than you do", he'd be the guy to go "well uhh acktchually, spaghetti aren't considered noodles" when the conversation is about who makes better spaghetti

[@brainflash1]

It also didn't hurt that they were classified as "grenadiers", a type of soldier that was chosen for being physically imposing. As a general rule in most European armies, grenadiers had to be over 6ft tall. Although their name derives from ostensibly being armed with grenades (which were usually clay fuse bombs at the time) grenades not often used due to unreliability and volatility. Instead, grenadiers relied more on hand-to-hand combat. Hence the preference for larger soldiers.

[@starwarsfamilyguy0]

i didnt know they had grenades back then!

[@brainflash1]

@@starwarsfamilyguy0 Dude, the Mongols had grenades when they tried to invade Japan. Archeologists found them in the hulls of shipwrecks.

[@Leaffordes]

What do you mean "classified as grenadiers"? Who classified them as grenadiers?

[@brainflash1]

@@Leaffordes This very channel.

[@Leaffordes]

@@brainflash1 That's an incorrect statement; the Swedes had actual grenadiers positioned on the flanks of every battalion, there would hardly have been any need for that, if they were all classified as grenadiers already.

[@Confirmed105]

One interesting thing about this aggresive tactic was that for some reason the caroleans would get more and more "motivated" the further they got while not answering the incoming fire. In sweden we call this phenomenon the "the flight to the front", because the only way out of the situation is to continue marching forward unto the enemy lines and beat them. Atop of this the caroleans had a mentality drilled into their head; "Ingen kula träffar människan utan guds vilja, antingen man går rätter eller luta.", Which would translate to "No bullet hits a man without god's will, either you go straight or fall." They believed their fate was preconceived by god. If you would die that it won't matter if you are at home or in the field- you will die that day anyhow. Thinking that it was god's will made dying on the field much easier. The caroleans were pretty much an entire army of religious fanatics thinking their king was directly chosen by god.

[@MovieIdiot]

I wouldn’t call them fanatics but good input overall. I don’t hear this aspect very often in these videos, that is the bravery found in their religious beliefs.

[@Zabiru-]

As far as their training was concerned for the time - Top of the line. Their mentality? Essentially Lutheran Taliban

[@WynnofThule]

​@@Zabiru- Lutheran taliban sounds terrifying

[@ERAA-on-YT]

​@@WynnofThule Sometimes is called Calvinism.

[@ethantaylor6321]

Or we can see them as men who believed that they were doing what they did for their families back home not religious fanatics out for glory

[@Mrkabrat]

Enemy: Surely melee is obsolete in this age! Caroleans: *Blood for the Blood God!*

[@mokarokas-1727]

Caroleans*, it's right in the title. =)

[@Mrkabrat]

@@mokarokas-1727 Hello dsylexai my old freidn...

[@everettluther9103]

Skulls for the Skull Throne!

[@cheapnugget7939]

Glorious melee combat

[@Hammadz-li]

Skulls for the skull throne

[@ccerrato147]

This is brutal discipline. Truly impressive.

[@barbiquearea]

Gustavus Adolphus was also the first to experiment with light, mobile field artillery. The Swedish king realized that heavy cannons were only effective at the start of a battle, however they could not be moved from their positions and be redeployed without much difficulty. As such, artillery generally could not keep up with the rest of the army as they advance across battlefields. In order to bridge the gap between hand held muskets and heavy bombard cannons, Gustavus Adolphus commissioned the leather cannon. These were made of relatively thin copper tubes that were reinforced by heavy cords and finally clad in leather. While the weapon was light enough to be mobile and was cheaper to make, the basic design proved to be flawed. The reinforcing materials acted as an insulator that did not allow heat to dissipate fast enough. After only a few shots the gun would become too hot for further use. Nonetheless this did demonstrate the usefulness of mobile fire support. And while they were short-lived, the leather cannon was copied by numerous nations of Europe, most notably Scotland.

[@NKABoX]

thanks for the knowledge

[@shrekzebee4435]

Why scotland though?

[@BasicLib]

@@shrekzebee4435 The Remakable event that was the English Civil war Which if you ask me should be called the British Revolution Cause England Scotland and Ireland all fought. It started with Reforms in Scotland, An invasion by pissed off Scots A breakdown in Royal, Parliament relations And culminates in the founding of a revolutionary army, the Execution of a King and the Abolition of Monarchy Scotland was right in the thick of it all Remarkable era really Laid the groundwork for the subsequent American Revolution almost a century later that would officially kickstart the Age of Revolutions

[@luggy9256]

They also had a habit of exploding sometimes… but yes as soon as metallurgy advanced a step further light artillery became a mainstay of basically every army.

[@joseph1150]

@@shrekzebee4435 Because Scotland was hideously poor and frequently at war.

[@flavivsaetivs5738]

*you have alerted the sabaton horde*

[@robertm.8653]

See the Caroleans standing tall, all for one and one for all, enemies fall at their feet, begging for their mercy!

[@3ch056]

A song you can hear by reading; See the white in their eyes Caroleans are marching on Put their lives in God's hand for their kingdom and fatherland See the white in their eyes Caroleans are marching on

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

[@АлексейДрузин-ш8ю]

In the name of Christ their enemies chastise!

[@nattygsbord]

The Swedish army was very effective in the 1600s as well. But this new Carolean tactics was a further improvement of the army.

[@andromacdonald5216]

The Swedes over all has been a great waring nation with many spoils and stories to tell And now we will probably have to bring back those good old days back to fend against Russia when that time comes

[@anterok5345]

@@andromacdonald5216 Lol, Sweden won't fend anything, 1/4 of the population is already non-Swedish and at the end of the century, Swedes will be minority in their own country

[@Isabell-gw8bv]

@@andromacdonald5216 Our army is too busy cattering to gays and career women to bother

[@DenOndeMister]

Käften ryssvän

[@ZealothPL]

So you think the army should cater to part time women only? /S

[@kandam5517]

see the white in their eyes caroleans are marching on

[@HanzTheODST]

Put their lives in gods hand for the kingdom and fatherland

[@mathieugervais501]

@@HanzTheODST Morale and discipline unites them A common faith to keep them strong Always on their way to heaven In the name of Christ their enemies chastise

[@RobbertHoek]

@@mathieugervais501 Taking orders from the heavens Through hostile fire they will march Unaffected by the volleys Facing death their faith will keep their fear at bay

[@mathieugervais501]

@@RobbertHoek Into battle facing the fire Lord thy will be done Into battle walk in a line

[@BaneofBots]

@@mathieugervais501 see the white in their eyes Caroleans are marching on

[@kelechirichard54]

Sun Tzu: ...and you never bring a knife to a gun fight Caroleans: *hold my rapier*

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

[@marekgorka9816]

E​@@EEEEEEEE

[@alfiansofakhair4630]

I thought they won because of... Sabaton

[@AlgaeNymph]

Still waiting for someone to post the lyrics.

[@doeweeyah1236]

Killing ground

[@theoneandonlybutreallyreal]

​@@doeweeyah1236Even though you surrender

[@Hydra_2-6]

@@theoneandonlybutreallyreal Turn Around!

[@theoneandonlybutreallyreal]

@@Hydra_2-6 You will never survive

[@louishardiman7749]

I love these quick tactical videos. Please keep making more

[@holyfreak8]

Corellians: "You only have bullets and the hope that we are death after you run out of them"

[@richardmoon3745]

V for Vendetta misquoted but appreciated

[@theauditor5275]

lol that sums it up perfecty

[@Th3Nigma]

Han Solo has entered the chat.

[@Scarletraven87]

*dead

[@cpt.mystic_stirling]

Really? Watched V for Vendetta young. What’s the actual quote?

[@herbderbler1585]

Sounds like the Caroleans figured out how to work the meta of European warfare. Guns made everyone move away from heavy melee combat to focus on volley fire tactics, and they saw that as a prime opportunity to maximize shock and awe tactics by bringing back oldschool brawlin' and stabbin'.

[@groundedorca3039]

All that is thyne shall be mine -Sabaton's Carolus Rex

[@yancourchesne2060]

See Carolus rise! Proved in battle Led my men to victory No man alive or dead commands me I answer to the Lord -Sabaton

[@barbiquearea]

Their muskets were also smaller and lighter compared to other European armies at the time. This meant they wouldn't be able to pack as much punch and lacked as much range compared to other European gunpowder armies, but this paid off as it allowed the Caroleans to become highly mobile and not become encumbered by otherwise heavy muskets, which worked well in their tactics of getting up close and engaging their enemies in melee.

[@Leaffordes]

Do you have a source for this? Otherwise, I'll call bullshit.

[@nattygsbord]

I would say the caroleans had heavier muskets than other armies. The Swedish and Russian armies used much unmodern muskets and liked to use pikes. And heavy weapons and bayonets was prefered because there was a lower risk that your weapon would be stuck inside the stomach of an enemy soldier you had just killed. If you were in hand to hand combat you did not want your weapon to be stuck so you could not defend yourself against an enemy soldier running towards you to cut you down. Otherwise was sword the prefered weapon for melee.

[@ollejanson9071]

@@nattygsbord my knowledge on the matter says the same. Heavier rifles, not lighter

[@Whimpy13]

The Swedish Land Pattern muskets seems to have been standardized some time before the British Land Patterns and the French Charlevilles. A Swedish Musköt m/1688 is both slightly lighter and shorter than a British Long Land Pattern of 1722.

[@kirgan1000]

Thats bullshit, they was of normal size of 1,4m like everybody else. Give or take a smale bit. But Carolean was slow in introduce the bayonet, and preferd to use pikes.

[@joelaut2605]

"You see, killbots have a preset limit number of kills they can make. So my strategy was to send wave after wave of men to reach those limits" -General Zapp Brannigan

[@lvluptoaverage52]

I love futurama the first time I saw it I thought he was an idiot but now I know that was genius

[@asickspartan2763]

Lol. A for effort on the quote.

[@KT-ki6gz]

So you’re saying, they crushed their foes under the weight of their balls

[@kingster14444]

Chad Carolean: ignore large line of fire and keep walking towards enemy

[@antoory4297]

The moved forward until they could see their faces then the trolled the enemies looks. "Big nose!" "Spotty!" "Lumpy head!" "Girly haircut!" "Fake ADIDAS!" And the enemy began to cry 😭 😭

[@qwerty_chump3599]

This is amazing, someone once informed me psychological warfare was a greater weapon than physical killing

[@SacClass650]

That Viking melee antecedents...

[@mahdihamidi5842]

I'd love to see the same series on modern tactics.

[@LordAnestis]

The Carolean’s Prayer by Sabaton. Listen to that song you gonna like it!

[@Voltaic_Fire]

I've suddenly got the compulsion to play Total War again.

[@DominicMargaret]

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with heart.

[@PianoMeetsMetal]

Morale, Discipline, and Training. Elite troops.

[@brettstrongquill8437]

Used this in RTS games and men at war and even the medieval games and proved very effective taking the brunt of the damage keeping them on cease fire till really close and then ordered fire at will promptly dealing with the enemies on their reloads.

[@Brett-uq4tz]

Which games specifically did you use the caroleans tactics in? Is total war among those games by any chance?

[@m.shahbaz5962]

I looove these shorts...quick and entertaining & educational

[@johnbamba3052]

Imagine the strong discipline of those barve men.

[@Leaffordes]

Very barve men

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , K&G . 🐺

[@meilinchan7314]

Ah, Carolean Sweden. They made banzai charges cool before the Japanese army did 200 years later. Plus they also made water torture a thing - what Europe called the "Swedish drink", frightened Asians called "Tokyo Wine" during WW2.

[@Leaffordes]

Do you have a source for the "Swedish drink"?

[@c1453.]

I love this series

[@ethancash8870]

Can you do one on the military reforms of Gustavus Adolfus

[@heilmodrhinnheimski]

Holy shit that is the most Chad battle strategy I’ve ever heard of.

[@Alejandro_Rey47]

I love these videos, very educational thank you for uploading, please post more

[@TheBlekkis]

At the battle for Narva Karl XII arrived at the besieged city with 10 537 men to aid the garrison of 1 800 defenders against a Russian army of 37 000. By the end the Swedish army had 677 dead, 1 247 wounded. The Russian army had 9 000 dead, 700 captured and 20 000 who capitulated. The tactics used were very effective with their well drilled forces.

[@tolben4006]

So basically, Quality over quantity?

[@dominicguye8058]

Sounds about right

[@Philitpls]

Lack of manpower and resources is quality?

[@certain_sloth]

The lack of quantity forced them to make what they got quality.

[@anul6801]

The lack of both quantity and quality forced them to charge thru bullet rains until they could kill their foes in good old hand to hand combat.

[@saosaosson6139]

@@anul6801no it was definitely quality

[@Willem969]

"Remember, switching to your pike is always faster than reloading"

[@mcbunson]

Has a late Roman Republican feel to them. Progectile your enemy line before charging in. Most versatile tactic for any terrain in nearly any era.

[@l.c.7445]

Follow my lead, brothers: *FAR BEYOND THE NATION'S BORDERS, THERE'S AN ARMY ON THE MARCH*

[@friend4470]

FOR RELIGION, KING AND GLORY

[@Destinybreaker07]

IN THE NAME OF CHRIST THEIR ENEMIES CHASTISE

[@eridean_nokodal]

TAKING ORDERS FROM THE HEAVENS

[@GrowlingRB24]

THROUGH HOSTILE FIRE THEY WILL MARCH

[@АлексейДрузин-ш8ю]

*UNAFFECTED BY THE VOLLEYS!*

[@chikkynuggy7522]

Honestly the march upgrade they get that allows them to heal ten a turn without having to fortify is really strong and has won me quite a few Civ play throughs

[@ergunaktemur9147]

They crushed even the winged hussars! The caroleans and generally the varangian guard were swedish meat grinders.

[@Leaffordes]

There was something called the "Drabant Corps of Charles XII" during this time, which was a highly skilled Swedish unit, fighting under the personal command of the king.

[@Freddex4LYF]

​@@Leaffordes Livgardet im not mistaken. Longest serving regiment in the world

[@Leaffordes]

@@Freddex4LYF No, not Livgardet. I'm referring to 'Drabantkåren' (the Drabant Corps).

[@Freddex4LYF]

@@Leaffordes My bad 👏

[@Leaffordes]

@@Freddex4LYF No worries. I think these two can easily be mixed up.

[@Tuulos]

Can we expect to see a video of Hakkapeliitta tactics?

[@KingsandGenerals]

Yep

[@Trias805]

Make one about winged hussars tactics

[@vulpritprooze]

Damn. Historical battles like these is one reason to be immortal.

[@hypnotoad101]

Can you perhaps include the years of the battles in the titles plz.

[@jackiecooper9439]

So basically go-ahead take bullets & grind against the enemy.

[@johngaelnox5447]

They still had the Viking strength!

[@thechuhal13]

Imagine marching towards army twice your size while they're fiting at you.

[@pxrposewithnopurpose5801]

They were Crazy crazy

[@averychurch1392]

Training is critical!

[@nirvanic3610]

Need this in warband.

[@tomriley5790]

It's worth mentioning that muskets take a while to reload (especially if you're not disciplined troops in a battle) and not that accurate, so if you had an enemy that fired at you at long distance they'd often largely miss so you had time to close quickly and fire a close range volley.

[@mrhadfi3ld]

Yeh boyy tactics ✊🏾

[@AfaqueAhmed_]

"That's just smoke and little lead bits ." ~The Caroleans probably .

[@connorkeegan3905]

*Sabaton Intensifies*

[@ijarkkoh6944]

I think more fitting would be to call them "One of the best armies in history" rather than "one of the best armies of their time

[@nattygsbord]

It was the best army of its time.

[@brandonscott9747]

Poltava disagrees

[@ijarkkoh6944]

@@brandonscott9747 Narva agrees

[@Freddex4LYF]

​@@brandonscott9747 Poltava was a clusterfuck for a number of reasons, bad command since the king and commander of the army was sick so they were led by a coward and incompetent marshal. Outnumbered charging heavy fortifications. Poltava but and better terms would have been something different. Narva tho was one of the greatest victories of its time.

[@njnmnm]

One more to the hall of fame of the best armies in history that lost the most important war the fought

[@justanormalguyhere2408]

This what I heard in history. Swedish they only had 8000 soldiers in their arm and they would face the Danish arm which had 30,000 and it would be like in a movie. the swedish army ride over blets lake and made a surprise attack and they won

[@BIFInvaider]

You're talking about Charles X? Difference in that war was that all of Denmarks army was on the wrong side of the canal when the swedes took a gamble and walked over the Ice towards Copenhagen. Only reason why Denmark wasn't annexed was because another european power sent their fleet and disrupted the swedish logistics

[@adventure_skaut]

Their strategy was essentially: "fuck it, we ball"

[@ibrahimtas1969]

i can never get past the fact that, not longer than 170 years ago, young man was lining up straight and walking, shooting and dying god damn that is crazy.

[@kidlast4154]

we need a good movie made about Charles 12th

[@sazurishin6688]

complex problems dealt with simple solutions...CHARGE

[@dividendfire855]

I feel bad for the front line marching into a volley of lead …

[@Leaffordes]

I don't agree that the Swedish army proved ineffective during The Deluge and the Scanian wars, but nice video non the less.

[@zealezkiddo5439]

The Swedish army was pretty ineffective otherwise Charles XI wouldn't have created the "Yngre Indelningsverket" in the 1680s.

[@Leaffordes]

@@zealezkiddo5439 The Swedish army was considered one of the best in Europe during the time of the Deluge, and actually repelled a Danish invasion of Scania later on (winning the battles of Halmstad, Lund, and Landskrona); it was the navy that failed massively in the Scanian War. Just because something was improved or even changed, doesn't mean it was "ineffective" prior to that.

[@nattygsbord]

@@zealezkiddo5439 The Swedish army was considered the best in Europe during the 30 years war, the extremely succesful campaigns against Denmark in 1644 and 1658. And during the deluge did the Swedish army manage to conquer all of Poland. But Poland started a stubborn guerilla war à la Vietnam, and when Swedens other enemies (Denmark-Norway, Russia, Brandenburg, the Netherlands and Austria) was all preparing to gang up on Sweden - then it became time to leave Poland. You might call that ineffective, but I would call it anything but. No country at that time had the resources to fight a large coalition like that on its own, so if the Polish campaign did not end up with Poland becoming a Swedish province I would not consider it a failure. And if the Swedish army was ineffective junk like you claim, then why did Brandenburg make such a big deal and propaganda campaign about winning a tiny unimportant battle against a Swedish army? The battle of Fehrbellin would have been forgotten in all history books if it wasn't for the Swedish army being considered the best of its time and the most feared force in Europe - and thus was even a victory against a tiny force (consisting of mostly Germans and not Swedes) a thing to brag about. You do not exactly read Newspaper headlines around the world when Canada crushes South Korea in Ice Hockey or when Brazil beats Finland in football. But when David beats Goliath, and the underdog wins, you will read it on newspapers all around the world. And that is why the battle of Fehrbellin is remembered in Brandenburg/Prussian history and for no other reason. The battle itself had no strategic importance. It did not cause any signification casualties on the Swedish army. It had no military importantance what so ever. The only value this victory had was propaganda value. The war went badly for Sweden because of Sweden because half its navy sank in a storm. And because of economic mismanagment and corruption had the military somewhat declined since the glorious conquests of Germany, Poland and Denmark. But it was still a powerful force that was respected by its enemies. And in the end did Sweden beat back the Danes and throw their invasion back so their men had to go back to the other side of the sea again as the war was over. The idiotic war had been started by France and the alliance with France had dragged Sweden into this unnecessary conflict she didn't want. So it was only fair that France with her military victories compensated Sweden after the war was won. The war had been won. But victory had been enormously costly. And the Swedish King was enormously angry. The noblemen advisors had lied to the King about the shape of Swedens armed forces. It had been underfunded because of selfish greed by the rich and powerful men which had ruled the country when the King was young boy. And this mismanagment had needlessly brought the empire to the brink of destruction. So after the war he decided to deal with the nobles and take back all money they had put into their own pockets with their corruption. And the rest of Swedish society was just as angry as the King so peasants, priests, and burghers all teamed up against the nobility to take away their money and power. The nobility was crushed. And now did the Swedish King have a gigantic state coffer of money. And with that he began the expensive job of replacing all big warships that had been sunk. The entire Swedish navy now laid at the bottom of the sea. So now was the perfect time to reform the navy and starting from a clean slate to make things perfect. The naval base of the Swedish navy was now moved from Stockholm to Karlskrona - a location which would make it faster and easier to start going into combat with the Danish navy (Swedens main naval threat) at the start of a new war. And this port also laid far more south which meant that the navy did no longer have to wait for the winter ice at Stockholm to melt before it could start making combat operations at a new year. Sweden was a martime empire - many people including Swedes forget that - Sweden had provinces in Finland, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and in the Baltics which all needed to be protected. And the only way of doing that was to transporting troops over the Baltic sea when a new war started. So building a new navy after the old one was lost was not really a choice. As a maritime empire you needed to have a strong navy for both offensive and defensive reasons. Some money was also used to further improve the Swedish army. And even with all those expensive reforms, did the Swedish state now starting beginning to have a good economy again. And trade was flourshing. Sweden did have one of the largest, if not the largest mechant fleets in Europe at that time. The long time of peace and neutrality in the late 1600s meant that other countries choosed to register their ships to sail under the Swedish flag - just like ships from countries all around the world today let their ships sail under Panamas flag for tax reasons. The Swedish merchant fleet got gigantic amounts of French, Dutch and British ships to come to Sweden to get permission to register as a Swedish ship and sail under a Swedish flag to avoid getting attacked by warships from enemy countries during the many wars France, England and the Netherlands fought with each other. Swedish trade profited. But it did of course also profit for other reasons - it was the worlds largest exporter of copper and iron. It controlled most of the important points of trade in the Baltic sea - the most important trade zone of the 1600s and early 1700s. And the Swedish merchant navy itself was also among the worlds largest without any foreign ships. So things did improve a lot.

[@CynickeZpravy]

Sweden was able to invade Poland only because Commonwealth was already in war with Russia and Cossacks. Sweden still lost tho.

[@nattygsbord]

@@CynickeZpravy *"only because"* 'You make this claim. Now you have to prove it. I call your claim for bullsh*t. Sweden was able to invade and conquer all of Poland on its own in 1706 despite Sweden was attacked by both Saxons and Russians at the same time. *"Commonwealth was already in war with Russia and Cossacks."* Sweden conquered Poland while the territorial gains by the Russians and other enemies was small and insignificant by comparison. Furthermore, with or without foreign assistance it is still a pretty damn good performance of an army to conquer one of the largest countries in Europe with one of the largest populations. So your argument makes no sense.

[@hellothere4858]

And then aoe 3 de decided to bring these monsters to the game and make their melee shred other muskets

[@454FatJack]

Melee shouting Hakkaa Päälle= Hakkapelitta

[@davidtuttle7556]

Resort to melee weapons...including a new one. The bayonet. I believe the Cqroleans used a plug bayonet. But even still 18th and 19th centuries showed how effective it was.

[@hs-qx5hv]

Gotta be scary seeing dudes march through your gun fire to have a close quarter scrap with you lmao

[@ZzaphodD]

The so called ‘gå på’ (just keep going) doctrine. ”Never have I seen such a combination of uncontrollable dash and perfectly controlled discipline, such soldiers and such subjects are not to be found the wide world over except in Sweden” Magnus Stenbock on the Battle of Gadebusch (1712)

[@alessavictoria]

the caroleans are very much underrated, the king although great, did not conserve his caroleans enough that they run out of men.

[@ethantaylor6321]

"Spent the night in formation" "Into battle we march at dawn" "Were ready to die for our king" "At the fields of brightenfield"!!!!!!

[@verdantonii-chan4702]

Remember, changing to melee after your shot is faster than reloading your musket; especially when your enemy have a similar +30% accuracy boomstick at 20 meters.

[@tahersadeghi6773]

The speaker brings out the beauty of the English language. Great diction.

[@whodat4310]

SWEDISH GIGACHADS

[@sterbi9722]

Bouta play some empire after seeing this

[@alexanderlehigh]

It's a good thing their opponents didn't have machine guns in this era.

[@buffoonustroglodytus4688]

It’s a good thing they didn’t have nukes and iphones in this era

[@randomguyontheinternet8345]

But they would have then too..

[@redsol3629]

A soldiers spirit indeed.

[@Barnesofthenorth]

I mean i cant imagine this tactic was effective for long. As soon as reloading times improved a bit i imagine they got slaughtered.

[@langletjean]

The video is great and I like learning those king of stuff, but you talk about Charles XI and the image is Charles XII

[@able4truth]

See Carolus Rise!

[@davidlindsey6111]

It’s like a disciplined highland charge

[@notusneo]

Being batshit insane as a strategy has it own perks

[@derrickwren7878]

Never bring a Rapier to a gun fight. Unless it's a musket

[@tatsuyashiba6931]

*inhales *see the white in their eyes, caroleans are marching ooooon*

[@shamrock_fr]

Put their lives in God’s hand for their kingdom and fatherland

[@PD_Swag]

Genuinely curious, how did they not get shot to pieces while advancing upon the enemy and waiting to return fire? Thanks!

[@PD_Swag]

@@Spiderfisch Yes, but this is why armies at that time would form lines and fire volleys in unison. Even with guns that are incredibly inaccurate, a firing line would send a wave of lead down range cutting down the opposition. Why were the Caroleans able to dodge volleys from their foes and then return volleys from close range in a more devastating manner?

[@Leaffordes]

@@PD_Swag One reason is that the first volley was almost always the most effective in terms of muskets fired, because the soldiers reloaded carefully prior to the battle. The enemies often fired this initial volley way too early, while the stress among their soldiers increased the closer the Swedes got - resulting in more and more misfires. The Swedes, on the other hand, didn't stop to reload; they utilized this effective volley perfectly, at a much closer distance. Also, bear in mind, dragged-out musket engagements could take up to hours, requiring more losses than what the Swedes usually suffered in their 5 minute advance - you can see why it was psychologically feasible from this perspective. It also helped that the Swedes were very disciplined. This was not a tactic just about anyone could do; it required a strong military tradition with extremely capable soldiers. So, the tactic was only good in the right hands.

[@PD_Swag]

@@Leaffordes Right on, thank you for the explanation! That makes more sense!

[@syvertsson93]

Can you do a video of the battle of Narvik

[@horationelson298]

Can you do naval battles

[@justinheriot649]

How about have a line of soldiers carrying shields up front, to provide cover during both the advance and the shoot-out. I'm talking a giant slab of iron with some handles on it. They can also carry ammo on their backs for the rifleman to draw from, and when all else fails they can also be equipped with sword+pistol for close quarter combat. Several of them could be medics, and can pivot their shield and leave it to apply life-saving medical aid.

[@madmarvshighwaywarrior2870]

Looks fine enough until you made them prime targets for artillery

[@Kevin-iv3lv]

Kinda reminds me of the time I used a kerrilian death ray against the borg

[@Cheezymuffin.]

People don't realise that the amount of casualties during a volley weren't shockingly high. Most soldiers weren't trained to kill like modern soldiers, and even up to ww2, soldiers just shot in the general direction of the enemy. No one wanted to fight, and if someone got shot at enough, they would be sure to break ranks and run right? Only like 5% of soldiers actively shot at enemy soldiers. This figure did increase if someone of higher rank was pressent. Ww1 machine gunners mowed down the enemy when spurred on by an officer, but when an officer wasn't pressent, they tended to do less so. This means, that training a army to shoot to kill, and marching them trough semi innefective volley fire into melee range, seems to be a very effective tactic. Of course, this tactic relies on heavily motivated trained soldiers.

[@Cubmaniac7]

“I’ve got a brilliant ‘new’ idea, we should make sure our army is ‘well-trained’.” “Brilliant sir.” “They should also be disciplined as to be nearly fearless.” “No one has ever thought of that before. You sir are a master strategist!”

[@u9477]

Caroleans are marching ooonn 🔊🔊🎶🎶

[@grapeshott]

Plz explain how the soldiers survived the bullets for so long time? Won't the soldiers dying from those enemy volleys(when they were moving towards the enemy) a wastage of manpower?

[@friday26th]

firearms at the time were fairly inaccurate so until they were at an affective range themselves their losses were minimal. I think they also marched in somewhat looser lines, leaving gaps between soldiers. Might be wrong about this detail, in any case by the time the Caroleans could see the whites in the eyes of their enemies, they'd suffer very low casualties due to technological liminations.

[@blackshirtsocialist1457]

They just walk slowly so the enemy fire Will not that accurate because the distance after the enemy fire two or three volley they Will charge