A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Decline of Sweden as a Military Superpower

 

A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Decline of Sweden as a Military Superpower by Henrik O. Lunde

A niche in European history when Sweden's Viking heritage exploded to make the Baltic Sea into a Swedish lake.

I loved this historical turning point and the powerhouse personalities that made it happen. An amazing true life story especially for those of us that love to fill in the gaps that form our present day world.

Excerpts:

The kingdom of Denmark-Norway. Even if the distant territories of Iceland and Greenland are left out, the kingdom covered an immense area from northern Germany to the extremity of the European continent. The total length of the coastline was huge, providing easy access to both the Atlantic and the Baltic. To the south, the duchies in Jutland added a considerable German-speaking population. The nearby secularized bishop-rics of northern Germany were attainable objectives for the ambitious Oldenburg dynasty. The entrance to the Baltic was completely in Danish hands, and this not only brought great wealth into the royal coffers but gave the Danes great leverage with the western maritime powers. The islands of Gotland and Ösel, off the southeast coast of Sweden, were controlled by Denmark and posed a threat to Sweden, since they were stepping stones to the eastern Baltic, and locations facilitating naval control of the Baltic.

Kristian II was crowned king in Stockholm in November 1520. Before the ceremony many of the Swedish nobility were summoned to meet the king in the palace, and those who had fought against him were given unrestricted letters of amnesty. In a double-cross, these Swedish nobles were then summarily accused of being heretics and after a perfunctory trial by church leaders, led to the main square in Stockholm and executed. In less than two hours, Sweden lost at least 82 of its most prominent nobles. This incident came to be known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.

The Swedish army stopped for a week in Windsheim. After deciding that Wallenstein was no longer a threat, Gustav Adolf marched towards Swabia, intending to spend the winter there. Wallenstein abandoned and burned his camp on 21 September. He had so few horses remaining that 1,000 wagons of supplies were left behind in the inferno. He also abandoned all his sick and wounded and some of these perished when the camp was burned. Wallenstein marched north past Nuremberg to Forchheim, laying the countryside waste as he proceeded. The garrison of Nuremberg attacked the imperial rear guard and inflicted a large number of casualties, but this event was ignored by Wallenstein who continued into the rich farming area near Bamberg.