Gustavus Adolphus: Father of Modern Warfare

In this video, we cover the life of Gustavus Adolphus who is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in modern history.

Ruling over his country between 1611 and 1632, Gustavus Adolphus is credited as having brought Sweden from insignificance to the status of a great European power. History remembers him as one of the greatest military commanders of the last 500 years.

Gustavus Adolphus was born on December 9th, 1594 to Duke Charles of the ruling Vasa Dynasty in Sweden. At the time of Gustavus’ birth, his cousin Sigismund was king of Sweden, but was ruling it from Poland. During the child’s formative years, a struggle unfolded between his father, who was Protestant, and his Catholic cousin for rulership. In 1599, Charles managed to wrestle the kingship away from Sigismund. He ruled as regent for the next five years before taking the title of King Charles IX in 1605. Young Charles was groomed to be a military leader from an early age. By the age of 14, he was gifted the Duchy of Gagnef-Floda in Dalecarlia. Two years later he was riding at the head of the Swedish Armed Forces in East Gotland as they fended off Danish invasion. When his father died in 1611, the Swedish parliament was so impressed with the fighting ability and overall maturity of the young man that they waived the age restriction and allowed him to rule unfettered from the age of 17.

The teenager inherited a kingdom that would have challenged even the most experienced of rulers. War was threatening not only with Denmark, but also with Russia and Poland. At the same time, Sigismund saw the death of Charles as his opportunity to reclaim the throne and made efforts to do so by forcing Gustavus to renounce the title. The most immediate concern, however, was to face up to the threats from the Danish. Leaving domestic affairs in the hands of his trusted chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, Gustavus led his army into Denmark as that country’s army was invading his. This bold and daring move was to characterize the original and brilliant military strategies that were to make Gustavus one of the greatest military leaders the world has ever seen.


Credits:
Illustration - Jonathan Benbow bongwedesign.com
Script - Steve Theunissen
Voice Actor - James Fowler
Video Editor - Julia Nazario