The book describes and analyses the early modern Swedish army, with a
particular emphasis on the reforms introduced by King Gustavus Adolphus
before and during the Thirty Years War. Furthermore, the book expands
our understanding of the Swedish army during the Thirty Years War by
also focusing on its operations on the eastern front, against Russian
and Polish opponents, and not only on the better-known operations in
Germany against the Catholic League and the Holy Roman Empire. Sweden
had a long history of conflict with neighboring countries, and the
reforms introduced by King Gustavus Adolphus had their origin in wars
fought in the early seventeenth century, before or in the early phases
of the Thirty Years War. The Kalmar war with Denmark, the Novgorod and
Pskov campaigns in Russia, the conquest of Livonia, and the war with
Poland played important roles in preparing the Swedish army for the wars
on the continent from 1630 onwards. While some of the technical and
tactical innovations attributed to the Swedish Army in the Thirty Years
War are myths, others were real. Possibly of yet more enduring
importance were the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna's administrative
reforms. A conscription system was established which consistently
managed to raise troops, despite the small population of Sweden and its
territories. A logistics system was introduced which could supply the
armies, despite the vast geographical depth of operations. The
intelligence service was developed into a comprehensive support
establishment to military operations. It is fair to say that the Swedish
army that entered the Thirty Years War and the organization that enabled
it formed the foundation for the subsequent Swedish rise to regional
great power status. While the army of Gustavus Adolphus has been
described elsewhere, the book includes current research that has not yet
appeared in the English language. It also, unlike most previous works,
explains how the Swedish experiences on the eastern front influenced
Gustavus Adolphus and his views on how to build a modern army that could
challenge the established great powers on the continent.
