Swedish Military Tactics (Online Battle # 163)

We take the opportunity to discuss some of the effective military tactics used by the Swedish army during the Great Northern War

[@jaredjeric17]

The Swedes were outnumbered because they could only deploy at half-strength; the rest of their men were still at home trying to assemble their 18th century IKEA-manufactured muskets.

[@AlexKall]

Haha, that was a good one!

[@Sp0okey..]

Alsace Thriene but we won against 3 countries attacking at the same time and we won against the romans... we swedes are pretty fucking badass.

[@cxarhomell5867]

Zythum Animates facts, the swedes was mad valid

[@xaero07vsxaero69]

Gustav II Adolf earned the title "father of modern warfare" during the 30 years war. Even had infantry named after him due to the tactics he used.

[@SuperEddyn]

+xaero xiii And so has Charles XII

[@Sniff420]

+SuperEddyn Gustaf was a beast, Charles did not know when or how to make peace but he was a great military leader. Its a shame that he had to follow his motto.

[@ufukcangencoglu2279]

Charles XII did the thing that ended Napoleon and Hitler. Invading Russia and an extra mistake in completly being dependent on the will of the Cossacks.

[@ihndcihbdehxubdeihcbdeih9836]

+Ufukcan Gencoglu if Carl XII invaded Russia instead of messing around in Poland, He could've had the chance to destroy Russia

[@Bellumization]

@@ufukcangencoglu2279 Karl XII did a few "wrongs" in his career, I do belive that the biggest one was that he had strong ideals that made him go on when he shouldnt have but also the contrary. Never start an unjust war, but also never quit a just one. Many scholars agree that he got those words from his father and followed them to hard.

[@kingkong381]

* Sabatons internally *

[@CAepicreviews]

Framåt Karoliner, fiendens dom är här. Låt oss krossa dom, och Kasta in dom genom helvetets portar.

[@memiangardealt]

Tills han vitögat ser karolinen marscherar fram Lade sitt liv i Guds han för sin konung och fosterland Tills han vitögat ser karolinen marscherar fram

[@BifronsCandle]

I find it interesting how, when numerical inferior, the Swedes responded by being more aggressive. Usually, when one thinks of overmatched armies winning, they think of defensive placement near chokepoints (Romans in Britain, Spartans in Thermopylae). Gunpowder warfare had changed things a bit so the Russians would always win out of attrition. Cannons and muskets certainly give an edge when massed. Great video, btw.

[@DarkLordOfSweden]

+SlyBiffrons the principle is basically that if you can knock out your opponent with one punch, he can not hit you Back

[@KennyHazy97]

It's the principle behind Defeat in Detail - If your army is well-drilled and mobile and you have competent officers you can trust, then even if your opponent has a larger army you can still concentrate your force on a point where your opponent has only a fraction of his troops, brushing them off the field one by one. That strategy does depend on excellent scouting and an offensive mindset, you'd need to put your opponent on your own timetable, if he's allowed genuine choice on the selection of the battlefield based on good intelligence then you're heading for disaster. Napoleon's Grande Armee was a prime example of this, France's victories against what were superior number on paper become less surprising when you see the advantages they had with things like the Corps System.

[@PB2001PB]

I like the history lesson on the Swedish tactics.

[@alelalle]

"see the white in their eyes, caroleans are marching on!"

[@memiangardealt]

Lade sitt liv i Guds han för sin konung och fosterland

[@traktorjesper]

Cool vid! It's really cool how the Swedish army used religion to bolster their morale. As in their very aggressive tactics where they were told to move up really close until they saw the white in their enemies eyes, shoot and then charge, they told the Caroleans that it was no idea to crouch and try to avoid incoming fire because if you fell it was the will of God.

[@coltonhugh7208]

I know I am kind of off topic but do anyone know of a good site to watch newly released movies online ?

[@caysonfletcher1089]

@Colton Hugh flixportal :D

[@coltonhugh7208]

@Cayson Fletcher thanks, I went there and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :) I appreciate it!

[@caysonfletcher1089]

@Colton Hugh no problem :D

[@Tjag321]

It is required by law to play the song Carolus Rex by Sabaton whenever watching this video.

[@teun558]

Hey mate, you clearly are not doing all to well at the moment, if you ever need help getting your life back on track just send a message.

[@Davonte744]

Teun he was clearly joking. BTW Sabaton is awesome

[@Davonte744]

sofullofpiss it's a joke

[@Noobfist]

Loved that I could play as sweden in this games, but was very disappointed we got no special units... What the hell CA?! Just could not do anything with the Caroleans? "Thanks to their achievements during this war, they are regarded to have been perhaps the most effective military troops of that day" (from wiki)

[@Darkseh]

+Noobfist just play Darthmod and get all the stuff. Its better than base game anyway.

[@flipierfatalbina4757]

+Darksmrad yeah, darthmod Sweden is amazing!

[@Darkseh]

I had class in college on Thirty Years War and I just had to start playing it XD.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

+Darksmrad Did they fix the bloody pikemen?

[@Darkseh]

+angelowl89 I would like to say yes but since I cried while trying to point my pikemen in right way to receive enemy cavalry, I would say no. Still would recommend the mod it is really god and very atmospheric. Guns sound cool. You have different drum and fife sounds (sadly you have to choose one). Overally better than Empire on many levels

[@RedkidJ]

One interesting thing to note about the development of Swedish cavalry tactics: Not all cavalry units of the day used cantabrian circles, there was still the classical cavalry charge happening every now and then. In these charges knee-to-knee was actually standard formation. The *real* innovation that the Swedish tactics did was knee-behind-knee, thus forming the slightly wedged formation you mentioned and having the absolute densest cavalry formation possible.

[@sugarface88]

The swedish tactics info was glorious Oakley!

[@InvictaHistory]

+Nick Fraser I found it really interesting when I did some research and wanted to share

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

+THFE Productions Props for finding some excellent research. Very few people are interested in Sweden, even fewer Swedish history, and even fewer Swedish history in the 18th century. There is almost no information out here, so great work finding not just accurate but awesome information!

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

+THFE Productions To bad the pike AI is broken and that you can't give the musketeers some proper swords. With some proper equipment the aggresive tactics make more sense. :/

[@georgiaguy12]

If anyone was wondering, there is an actual names for the Swedish troops, Oakley is describing. They are called the Caroleans. They used both strict rules and religion to hold the lines and keep morale up while marching forward. Here's a wiki link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroleans

[@Tyrfingr]

Karoliner

[@pob-4810]

Hey Oakley I really love these tactics discussion videos including the line shift formation video. Can't wait to see more of them

[@InvictaHistory]

+Kevin Le I'll have to do more of those for sure

[@OsKuukkeli]

When talking about this period of Sweden, people often forget about Finnish contribution to the swedes war effort. Hakkapeliittas were the most renowned Swedish troops during the Great Northern War. The name comes from Finnish troops war cry "Hakkaa Päälle!" Which basically means "Charge" or "Get at them". :) Just being proud of my heritage here... ;_;

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

+OsKuukkeli No. The Hakkapeliittas were disbanded more than 80 years before the Great Northern war started.

[@OsKuukkeli]

I have been corrected, thank you sir/madam. But my point still stands. Finns never get enough credit from wars before 1939. Maybe a good thing though.

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

OsKuukkeli Possibly. The Finns were invaluable to the Swedish cavalry forces however, only a moron would claim otherwise.

[@jonasvalfridsson]

+OsKuukkeli But at least the Hakkapeliittas is one of Swedens unique units in Civ V. :)

[@charlesxll7925]

+jonasvalfridsson To bad they suck in Civ :(

[@Bonko78]

Very nice video and great initiative on the historical highlight! It's great how these games so easily inspire further learning on the side. If we are lucky even the developers might see this and include some of those specific tactics that you mentioned in some further iteration of Total War.

[@HisHolyMajesty]

TO THE SKIEEEEEES SEE CAROLUS RISE!

[@shawnk6736]

please more videos like this, i loved it. i definitely see you listening to our comments, and i commend you for that! awesome battle and explanation of historical tactics.

[@DerOrk]

Gott mit uns, as we all stand united. All-together, Gott mit uns.

[@ricard6735]

From the old worlds demise, see an empire rise. From the north reaching far here we are!

[@suyashbhagwat5615]

YOU HAVE TO DO MORE OF THIS OAKLEY!!!!!!!! these are awesome m8 continue on doing this you have my support :)

[@SamFreelancePolice]

This video is fascinating, great commentary and gameplay!

[@JohannanasTheBrave]

This is great. Greetings from Sweden. ^^

[@InvictaHistory]

+Gustav Vasa haha seems like all the Swedes are coming out of the woodwork this video : )

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

+THFE Productions Aye!

[@tinyriotsgames5306]

*Swedish patriotism intensifies*

[@xXKirkSoloXx]

+Huckler Puckler XD

[@FrejthKing]

Gull-Olle bästa namnet

[@GeneralCodyHD]

great vid man, love Etw.

[@Forcystus85]

Sadly, Charles (or Karl as we call him) XII was a brilliant tactician but a poor long term strategist. Spending five years in Poland trying to impose a puppet government controlled by Sweden backfired, and allowed Russia to rebuild and consolidate their forces. Then Charles XII invaded Russia (technically Ukraine but it was part of Russia back then) aiming for Moscow, but Russia was too bare and too freaking cold, and the Russians burned their own land and crops to halt the Swedish advance. Napoleon and Hitler made more or less the same mistakes in the following centuries.

[@Sniff420]

Yeah i think its quite funny to read how Napoleon looked up to Charles and Gustavus Adolphus but still he makes the same mistake as Charles and then Hitler who liked. Napoleon alot goes and does the same thing, not only these 3 have failed to storm Moscow, actually its a list of about 8 or so nations who have failed to done so.

[@Forcystus85]

Sniff The Monkeys Sweden has invaded Moscow successfully before Charles XII's campaign though. During the De La Gardie campaign, we invaded and took Moscow from forces that had rebelled and ousted Tsar Vasili IV, with whom Sweden had made an alliance. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_la_Gardie_Campaign

[@wallhackergotdammit]

They burned their own villages down? lol causing more damage than the enemy.

[@a-drewg1716]

The Russians although courageous had really cowardly leaders and tactics which involved mainly retreating and burning their own land thus denying the enemies any food or shelter making attrition the main killer. I mean hey if the tactic works it works who cares about honor if you are the victor.

[@Nonehasthisnamekek1]

I worked in a place called Wirabruk (now a museum) where they forged and crafted the blades which the Caroleans wielded. They had a coupple on display and they were awesome. It´s not that far away from where I live, kind of cool to imagine they mass produced weapons, cannons and other things for the Swedish Empire. Also there is a park nearby where I live where they planted Oak trees, why? For material to build warships (like Wasa, Mars, other warships). The trees are 300+ years old today and is a great place for celebrations like Midsommar and Valborg and other stuff.

[@charlieclifton-brown3729]

Please do more of these, using real tactics in multiplayer battles

[@davidhjalmarsson2662]

This video was great, I learned more history during 5 minutes on this channel than during the entiry history lesson

[@marshmallow504]

Another reason they were successful was the fact that infantry and cavalry also were trained to use artillery. So when they had taken over an enemy artillery emplacement when would use the cannons on the enemies.

[@williamw4643]

Very interesting learning about this kind of stuff! never heard about these tactics before:)

[@Si1verOne]

I only just found your channel and am i glad i did :)

[@Joltzzzzful]

Great video, very informative and fun

[@andrewcrabtree7892]

I enjoy watching this stuff :D

[@atheos7965]

If we (Sweden) would have had equal numbers to Russia, Russia would be eastern Sweden right now.

[@simonrees6060]

If there ever would be a such beutiful thing in the world

[@myyentertainment3386]

I dont support nationalism but every country would be better with sweden lol.

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

A Russian army compared to an equally sized Swedish one is just a bad joke

[@wallhackergotdammit]

That would be the fucking dream!

[@felafnirelek8987]

This is true. If the cossacks hadn't betrayed us, I would have marched into Moscow.

[@kylesprenkel680]

Sounds like what i read about ancient spartans running in formation to get to their enemy faster and push them off the battlefield. pretty cool stuff about Sweden you got there.

[@DarkLordOfSweden]

haha, I remember that i did send you a link for this a while ago. looks like it caught your interest oakley =D the great Northen war have a special place in the Swedich people'e memory, as we can look through the church records to see if a relative/ancestor participated

[@FocD]

+DarkLordOfSweden ja det är inte ofta man får vara stolt att vara svensk speciellt inte idag när vår militär är som den är

[@FocD]

+DarkLordOfSweden ja kustjägarna är ASGRYMMA! Men vad jag menar är att man kan först av allt inte tro att man kan få stöd av NATO vid en eventuell attack speciellt inte om man inte är med i NATO. Samtidig så har man tagit bort lumpen vilken leder till färre soldater som kan kallas in vid en eventuellt krig. Och man fortsätter att nedmontera vårt försvar som redan är lite nog. Ska ge dig ett exempel. På Gotland vilket är en väldigt strategiskt ö då den kontrollerar stora delar av Östersjön samt så går det en väldigt viktig gaslinje igenom ön, och det enda vi har är en hemvärnsregemente stationerat på ön. Jag menar hur tänker försvarsmakten? tror dom att ett hemvärnsregemente kan stoppa en rysk invasion? Dom har bara en bas utbildning, Ak4or, Grgs och möljigtvis några bandvagnar.

[@DarkLordOfSweden]

Carrolix äh, jag vet inte om om du märker det, men jag kan inte läsa vad du har skrivit, allt jag ser är ''P&#229'' och så vidare

[@FocD]

DarkLordOfSweden omfg =D jag skrev via telefonen

[@FocD]

+DarkLordOfSweden här är vad det skulle ha stått. Ja kustjägarna är ASGRYMMA! Men vad jag menar är att man kan först av allt inte tro att man kan få stöd av NATO vid en eventuell attack speciellt inte om man inte är med i NATO. Samtidig så har man tagit bort lumpen vilken leder till färre soldater som kan kallas in vid en eventuellt krig. Och man fortsätter att nedmontera vårt försvar som redan är lite nog. Ska ge dig ett exempel. På Gotland vilket är en väldigt strategiskt ö då den kontrollerar stora delar av Östersjön samt så går det en väldigt viktig gaslinje igenom ön, och det enda vi har är en hemvärnsregemente stationerat på ön. Jag menar hur tänker försvarsmakten? tror dom att ett hemvärnsregemente kan stoppa en rysk invasion? Dom har bara en bas utbildning, Ak4or, Grgs och möljigtvis några bandvagnar.

[@f3rricf3lix]

Hey Oakley, I love the historical background in your videos! Can you provide the sources you use in your video description? I would love to learn more about the period.

[@InvictaHistory]

+f3rricf3lix I mostly relied on posts from the AskHistorians subreddit. General overview of Swedish rise to power: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2ij2e4/how_did_sweden_become_so_powerful_in_the_1600s/ Thread on the Swedish tactics: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/33bx3d/how_come_the_armies_of_karl_xii_was_able_to_win/

[@Salty-Tanky-McTriggerdn]

Nice man! Could you do more historical tactics videos in the future?

[@user-ym3le5on7w]

Great vid THFE!

[@MrAsakill]

This video made my start a campaign in darthmod as sweden and just only melee fight with my units

[@ivansalamon7028]

The caracole was abandoned by Swedes as early as thirty years war. They were in fact the first to do so, and the first to adapt the cavalry shock tactics of firing a volley then charging, which has proven to be much more effective than the caracole, which was slow and rather deadly for the cavalry doing it. EDIT: Oh you covered this change right afterwards, nevermind! In any case, I love The Great Northern War, interesting "leftover" tactics and equipment from the 17th century, which is my favorite.

[@svxnger]

Not only the tactics, but just as important the high morale and training of the swedish troops

[@jimisablon1552]

i really enjoyed this !!!! :D

[@greenmushroom4258]

Really good battle!!!

[@1963felonee]

if im correct the reload rates of infantry ant that time were 2-4 rounds per minute. i know the rifles of the time were 1 to 2 minute reloads.

[@Petterwass]

To be fair, the vaunted cavalry tactics of the swedes were probably inspired by contact with the heavier cavalry of the poles during the wars between the two nations. Though it might just be a case of convergent evolution inmilitary tactics.

[@charleyc8447]

Gilla om du är svensk!!🇸🇪😄🇸🇪🇸🇪

[@Emeralds11]

@Mr Dinky Tredjedels same också 😁

[@skruttigaming]

@@Emeralds11 desamma

[@ottovonbismark1872]

Hey Oakley can you do like a video on like what you would do to total war so historical tactics and like actual realistic strategies would be viable?

[@Indoor_Carrot]

interestingly sabaton made a song about these tactics 'carolean's prayer'

[@ilcias87]

A Total war Empire 2 with a DLC like Hannibal at the gates (Carolus at the gates) focusing on The great northern war with Charles XII's Sweden vs Denmark-Norway, Augustus II the Strongs Poland-Lithuania, Saxony and Peter the Greats Russia would be so awsome.

[@egerdej123]

I would add that the caracole tactic was not in use during the Great Northern War, it was however used before and during the Thirty Years' War.

[@MrShampoopy109]

*Uses square to break an infantry charge that is used for cavalry.* *Doesn't use Square for a cavalry charge* Really?

[@InvictaHistory]

+Shampoopy the square will force the enemy to surround you while your men still face outwards. Once the enemy is around you, it is a bit easier for nearby friendly units to shoot them off you without hitting your own men

[@MrShampoopy109]

+THFE Productions yes, but a counter charge the is the best of way of defending your self.

[@mrward6510]

+Shampoopy Or shoot as fast as you can 😊

[@Leaffordes]

A bit late, but here we go.. Only counter charge if your men are considerably fresher than the enemy charging you, or if your men is of much better quality or quantity. If the enemy charging you is of either better quality, quantity or fresher you should form square so nearby units can pick them off fighting your square. It takes longer time for the enemy to defeat a square than an open line counter charging, also as Invicta mentioned, it's easier for other units to pick them off when fighting your square, terrain also plays a factor here, if you're getting charged from a hill, form square. Also if the enemy has cavalry nearby ready to attack your line, form square rather than counter charge to avoid getting fiercly smacked between infantry and cavalry.

[@tiffanycordova4536]

great video

[@mikaelwidlund4123]

Awww. Was hoping for more specialized infantry/cavalry. This is just kinda a mirror match? Swedish infantry (Carolean) was known for heavy marching drills(+10% movement speed), was expecting the swedes to reach the top first :D . Would be cool to see like different bonuses to the different nations.

[@ryanmartin4732]

The darthmod Swedish army has some cool unique units for the time if anyone was interested.

[@nut77739]

Do this kind of video more often!

[@deathbasch]

Which game is better? Napoleon total war or empire total war? Because both games are reduced now and I don't know which one I should buy

[@johnpettersson1881]

before the swedish soldiers attacked in meele did the grenadiers first throw their grenades. all regementes had grenadiers . and actually did the swedish forces meet the saxon army during the battle of fraustadt. there where russians helping the saxon army at their right flank (i think) but they turned their coats inside out so the swedish forces wouldnt recognise the green russian coats.

[@tack9374]

Wait, some soldiers used rapiers at that time? Weren't sabres used by officers or cavalry and that soldiers used bayonets? I no that different units had different types of weapons yet I can't really imagine one musket soldier wielding a fixed bayonet and another wielding a pike. I probably didn't hear correctly so please clarify. :)

[@snakeguy8646]

ThisNameIsn'tWorking (I know this is a old comment) Well, he is talking early 1700s, where not everyone had bayonets equipped, so they'd have a sword at their hip, with possibly pike men helping the shock.

[@2WARDEN2]

Wasn't the reload rate of this era about two or three shots a minute? But anyways, fantastic video! You should check out Darthmod Empire, I think you'd really dig the realism it brings into this game!

[@XxSN0BxX]

It's me or in the second half of the video it doesn't Match with the audio?

[@RockStarzxx]

Does he play these on vanilla or with darthmod? Does range matter on vanilla for accuracy?

[@kurtkurt853]

Greetings from sweden. Skååål för fan

[@frmtintn]

It's an old video, but still. First of all, I'm a swede and both love my country and it's history. But the main reason that we won the battle of Narva was thanks to a snowstorm that the russians had in their eyes, and we had in our backs. Which made our tactics even more effiecient. But I learned a couple of new details in our old tactics. Great vid

[@MrGfip]

Karl den tolfte såg alltid till att vädret var med oss, samma sak var det med slaget vid fraustadt. Då hade vi medvind så ryssarnas krut flög upp i deras ansikten efter dom hade skjutit ;) Länge leve carolus rex

[@Leaffordes]

Kalle var ju inte ens med vid Fraustadt..

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Charles had a feel for the battlefield like no other man. His tactical intuition was incredible. But he was not responsible for the victory at Fraustadt. That's entirely due to the amazing cleverness of Rehnskiöld.

[@Haphazardization]

Don't forget about their innovations in light artillery that was lighter and more mobile than the fixed artillery used by other nations at the time that allowed them more aggressive formations as well.

[@jorgecm966]

Please , one gameplay for de spanish military tactics !

[@Reypolloloco5]

A little late, but yet nice description of the era bro :D

[@mrward6510]

Smaller they are the more vicious they fight. Some things never change.

[@firefyfe6211]

Any reason for playing Empire over Napoleon? (Apart from Native American factions)

[@iInTerPreTeR]

I imagine you're talking about MP but Empire actually has a really cool campaign if you install Darthmod for it

[@firefyfe6211]

Yeah I was on about the MP, but the SP is also good

[@-RXB-]

+FireFyfe Napoleon is a much better and more stable game though :/ Wish there was some port with all units from Empire to the Napoleon game. Would be much better.

[@Luke-bj8mr]

I have played both and like empire a lot better. The game has a better feel to it and honestly I think it works better. Napoleon is just not fun to play to me. Faction wise it's sucks because only 2-3 are worth using and have any decent units. Empire is a much more balanced game compared to Napoleon. If you play multiplayer on empire it is 10 times better than Napoleon

[@alexccccc7854]

Awesome! Worthy of King Gustav, the Lion of the North!

[@Bellumization]

Fire when you see the white part in the eyes of the enemy

[@tonysong4634]

What about the pike and shot?

[@Thor.Jorgensen]

I find it amusing how it turned out to be a defeat.

[@fattshea8085]

Very interesting

[@xRemRooodx]

Imagine how strong a line of infantry would be if the first line had some kind of shield(like the samurais had) Like a testudo version but with rifles.

[@konsyjes]

+Pinta Dubbs yeah I thought about it too. I wonder why in all the history of musket warfare it has never been tried. I guess that is what field works are, like a shield, just not mobile...

[@xRemRooodx]

I guess they thought hiding behind a shield was cowardly. They did not really care about safety back then.KlumsyK

[@konsyjes]

Pinta Dubbs I don't know dude, one thing is being brave and another - not wanting to get shot. In the words of general George Patton," no poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He did it, by making sure the other poor bastard died for his!" If there is a reason for armies not having this kind of thing, maybe it is logistics: not having to carry 3 000 heavy ass pieces of metal over a march of hundreds of miles of through broken terrain. I mean we know that when they had time to set up defensive positions armies would erect field fortifications such as earth works and stakes...

[@konsyjes]

well, I don't think they would make them out of lead, :) but sure, it's a considerable logistical effort for an uncertain effect. I guess the internal combustion engine had to be invented before you could have effective mobile field armor.

[@DarkLordOfSweden]

+Pinta Dubbs a bullet can easily go through a shield, even back then, artillery was common and would make jam of a testudo, and you can not use one while using a rifle

[@tyrannicfool2503]

would that work in napoleon?

[@gaylordzapikowski9053]

Carolus Rex RISE!

[@jrcastrorwc]

have you tried other Napoleon mods?

[@sawyermifsud852]

you should really try the imperial splendor mod. It changes rosters and units so that factions play more historically.

[@Tommy-5684]

i know he is abit before the grate northen war but i always like Gustavus Adolfus. but then again i have read allot more on the 30 years war compared to the grate northern war. any one have any good books on the grate northern war preferably in English but i can also reed German

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

+Tommy Breitwieser If you are interested in the great northern war, then i recommend Voltaires "Charles XII" It is about the Swedish monarch during the Great northern war, since he spent his entire adult lifetime fighting that war, it is mostly about the great northern war. It was written just a few years after Charles's death, so it contains many accounts of eyewitnesses and such. Its an excellent read. You can likely find both an English and German version of it, since Voltaire is quite famous.

[@Askethanoras]

i do wonder if u say karl or charls the 12th....

[@MrGallowglase]

Never played Empire myself, so to me it seems a bit dull to have a full battle with only like 4 different troops, is this normal or is it just a mikroing game? Dont get me wrong its an awesome battle but it seems lazy on the CA's side to have such lackluster unit diversity

[@thomasthomas5115]

Empire is more about unit deployment than selection, whereas CA's melee games such as Rome II are about the unit selection. Napoleon is a good halfway point, due to the multitude of units and musket-based warfare.

[@MrGallowglase]

+Adam Thomas roger that

[@derptomistic]

Those tactics not only kill lots of Russians, but they've also got to be absolutely terrifying for those on the receiving end.

[@persallnas1246]

fraustadt was in 1706 and it was a mixed army of saxons and russians who stod against the swedish army under rehnsköld

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Actually, a lot of the Saxon forces consisted of German, Dutch and Polish mercenaries. The Saxon left flank was Russian, the center was mostly mercenaries and the right was the elite Saxon guard, who fought like lions that day.

[@OzonesElbows]

Ahh, the american way of saying words confuses me so much :'D For some reason ninetyfourhundred in my head equated to 94,000 vs 20,000, I was like no wonder they did so well, it's not a surprise. Obviously I caught up then decided to write this comment.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

Just did some tests with the pikes in this game. If you tell them to attack while in pike formation, they will do nothing. They will just stand there. So you tell them to charge, and then when they reach the enemy to use the formation. One third of the time it does not work, one third it works more or less as intended, the last third they just stand in a long thin line with only a few fighting. Completely refusing to step forward and push the enemy back. If they just pushed forward then they would win, but they don't. Why are the pikemen more rooted in one place than a dwarven defender? I really want an explenation for it as it makes them pretty useless. So much for the famed carolean shock tactics. :/

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

+angelowl89 Forgot the 5-30 second delay to put up the pikes. Bah, what was wrong with how it worked in rome?

[@myyentertainment3386]

I wouldnt mind this content on National Geographic channel.

[@Sahkopekka200]

what total war is this? or is it?

[@wallhackergotdammit]

Empire Total War

[@barqrootbeerfan2689]

Sabaton explains about the Swedish army in there album called Carolus Rex Caroleans prayer Carolus Rex Killing ground Poltova Long live the king Ruina rublia

[@snakeguy8646]

Cadet Zuromski Ruina Imperii*

[@GardEngebretsen]

What really cost the Swedes the Great Northern War was the Battle of Poltava and Charles' bold adventure in Poland. They could probably sustain losses of a couple of thousands every battle for a much longer time because a lot of their soldiers were German mercenaries, and not Swedes themselves. At Poltava though they lost their entire continental army, and the King was even exiled rendering Sweden defenseless. When he returned to Sweden he undertook another bold adventure by invading Norway with the home army. He split it into two, one with him sieging a border fort where he himself was shot and died, and the other which was decimated in a blizzard while retreating back to Sweden. In the end everything Sweden had built up the last 100 years was thrown away in those two adventures.

[@markreese4533]

KZbin war vet having flashbacks

[@davidhjalmarsson2662]

4:30 During the rule of Carl XII Sweden lost it's greatpower status when we lost Finland to Russia. Sweden had been a greatpower since 1648 because of the victory of the 30 year war

[@danielxiong8592]

I was watching a men of war video mod of swede vs Austria from diplexheat

[@zachmena1700]

what game is this?

[@jbearmcdougall1646]

In this time of of war, I still think having 1000 Archers (longbowman) who could fire 8 or more arrows per minute.compared to 2 shoots per minute with the musket...horses had no body armour,nor did men...Folk gave up on Arrow fire way to early for bullets...

[@daniel931016]

What is the source of the "facts" in the video?

[@InvictaHistory]

+Daniel Karlsson I mostly relied on posts from the AskHistorians subreddit. General overview of Swedish rise to power: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2ij2e4/how_did_sweden_become_so_powerful_in_the_1600s/ Thread on the Swedish tactics: www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/33bx3d/how_come_the_armies_of_karl_xii_was_able_to_win/

[@-cherie8804]

Yeah

[@adde4791]

Daniel Karlsson The tactics don't need a source! Everyone living at that period feared the Swedish steel! Our soldiers marched in disciplined lines to close range. After that, they fired 1 shot each, then they charged with their bayonets and gave the enemy cold steel!

[@executeorder6559]

What game empire?

[@Sundance_the_Rapper]

I wonder if these tactics influenced the later German Blitzkrieg.

[@MrGfip]

Liam Tanner i Know that these tactics inspired napoleon

[@Erikaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

Napoleon and Frederick the Great took massive amounts of inspiration from the Swedes. And we know that they lived on to inspire the German's. So.. kinda?

[@Leaffordes]

How do you know they took massive amounts of inspiration from the Swedes? I've tried to find anything about Frederick commenting on the Swedish tactics but has been unable to.. Where di you find the information?

[@MrHoeBow]

Liam Tanner Prussian mobile warfare tactics were prevalent prior to the Great Northern War, so not really.

[@owen1938]

you should look up the Winter War between Russia and Finland. Finland (were I was born) was outmaned and outgunned even with Scandinavian support. They used some wicked tactics like throwing sugar into tank engines and they would be caramelized and jam the pistons, they would have all white jumpsuits and wait unroll they were super close to a tank and then run up, throw Molotov cocktails down the hatch and run. They eventually killed like 200000 Russians and only lost like 40000

[@Sniff420]

Yes, Finland like Sweden has always had a lack of nampower so to make up for that lack both Nations came up with some amazing tactics.

[@wallhackergotdammit]

Lesson learned. FUCK RUSSIA.

[@Kenny-xi6gg]

Awesome

[@adamcarling4339]

do more with tactics

[@overplex6922]

they would advance until they could see the white in the enemies eyes, then fire and charge