He is known as the Lion of Northern Europe. He relied on military reforms to transform Sweden from a remote snow country into a European power.

During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, when a man led his army into the main battlefield in Germany, people laughed at him as a ""snowman"", which meant that he was from a remote snow country and was fragile, but Soon, people discovered that they were wrong. With superb tactics and good strategies, he advanced all the way in Germany, defeated the famous imperial general Tilly, severely damaged the invincible general Wallenstein, and gained control of the Weser River, Elbe River and other river basins. , paving the way for the rise of his country. His actions are tantamount to beating the scoffers in the face: Who dares to say that he is a ""snowman""? He is the King of Sweden, Gustaf Adolf. Gus Taft II, generally known as Gustav II, was the sixth king of Sweden's Vasa dynasty. During his reign, Sweden's fragile politics, economy, and military were strengthened, and it transformed from a weak country. As a powerful country in Northern Europe, he himself also created new tactics and strategies, which had a profound impact on modern European military. He is known as the "Nordic Lion" and the "Father of Modern War". History books Respect him as a famous military commander and military reformer. As an outstanding military strategist, Gustav was proficient in various military techniques and was very skilled in the use of infantry, artillery, cavalry, siege warfare, and fortifications, and he was very skilled in the use of terrain. He also has superb observation and judgment, and is an excellent combat command expert. However, what attracts the world's attention is his military reform. What this article will introduce is his achievements in military reform before that. We first need to understand the situation in Sweden when he succeeded to the throne. This is the reason and basis for his commitment to military reform. 1. Gustav's military reform is the trend of the times. First, force is one of the important means of making a country strong. When Gustavus was in power, it was in the first half of the seventeenth century, when Europe was in the transition period from feudalism to capitalism, and various countries began to realize the importance of national authority and tried to break away from theocratic power. In this process, in order to expand its territory, economic interests, and political influence, the country not only relied on cunning diplomatic means, but more often resorted to force. This was reflected in the Thirty Years War. It is even more obvious. (To learn about the Thirty Years War, please refer to the link below.) However, when Gustavus took over, it was difficult for Sweden to even protect itself, let alone dominate Europe. Its economy and culture were backward, and its military strength was naturally poor. Weak. Externally, due to the struggle for the throne (when Gustav's father, Duke Carl, was alive, his nephew Sigismund served as the king of Poland and Sweden, Carl seized the Swedish throne and became Carl IX, Sigismund Germany has always been worried about this), Sweden is constantly at war with Poland; due to the competition for control of the Baltic Sea, Sweden is in constant conflict with Russia and Denmark. Under such a situation, self-protection cannot be achieved by relying on civil rule and elegant diplomacy. A strong military is a strong guarantee for a country to become strong. Secondly, it has a good foundation for military reform. Externally, the complex situation faced by Sweden did not intimidate the seventeen-year-old Gustav. This ambitious, heroic and martial monarch personally led his army and took the initiative to march into three countries. The first one to fight was Denmark, which ended in Sweden's defeat, but Gustav, who learned his lesson, won the subsequent wars with Russia and Poland, and finally reached reconciliation with the three countries. In successive years of war, especially the eight-year war of resistance between Sweden and Poland, Gustav's army has withstood the baptism of actual combat and became a powerful force. On this basis, it is a matter of course to make it more optimized and advanced. . Internally, he adopted a series of preferential policies to protect people's livelihood and develop the economy. On the one hand, he gave the peasants autonomy to prevent them from being overly oppressed and exploited by the nobles, thus preserving the vitality of the kingdom. On the other hand, he took advantage of the country's abundant copper and iron ore resources to vigorously develop the metallurgical industry and allowed blacksmiths, gunsmiths and other industrial workers not to perform military service for six years. The development of the metallurgical industry promoted the prosperity of other manufacturing industries, accelerated the growth of economic strength, and also solved the problem of demand for weapons and equipment in war. Driven by the above factors, Gustav, who was brave in innovation and unwilling to stick to the rules, began to invest national financial resources in national defense construction and devoted himself to the reform of the military system. 2. Main measures and achievements of military reform 1. Reform of the mercenary system At that time, Europe was accustomed to the mercenary system. The use of mercenaries had advantages, that is, saving manpower and material resources, and having professional combat skills, but the disadvantages were also more obvious. They did not The national consciousness will not always be loyal to anyone. Everything depends on money, and they will follow whoever pays the highest price. This leads to their instability on the battlefield. Gustavus initiated conscription, formed a standing army with free peasants as the main body, and went all out to build this army. In order to ensure their combat effectiveness, he conducted strict and systematic training for them. The outstanding ones entered the Guards training and then sent them to various companies to serve as the backbone. In order to strengthen the soldiers' sense of belonging, the army is organized into provinces and named after places. In order to strengthen discipline, he formulated strict rules and regulations. Acts such as plundering, insulting women, causing chaos, and escaping from battle will be punished by death; the army cannot disturb the people, and must obey the arrangements of local officials when camping. Peasants have the right to arrest disturbing soldiers; Soldiers can also appeal to their superiors or directly to the king, etc. In this way, Sweden has a standing national army with stable quantity, high quality and strong combat effectiveness in a very short period of time. 2. Improve weapons and equipment and improve spears.

The traditional spear is 5 meters long, making it difficult for the user to turn around and the spear can be easily cut off. In order to change this shortcoming, Gustav shortened the spear to about 3.6 meters and put an iron sheath on one end. Improved firearms. At that time, firearms were inconspicuous in traditional tactics, but Gustavus attached great importance to them. He not only increased their use in military formations, but also invented a new type of musket. The old matchlock gun weighed 15 to 25 pounds and had to be placed on a wooden fork stand to shoot, which was extremely inconvenient. Gustavus managed to reduce the weight to 11 pounds and the length of the musket to 4 feet, and later to 3 feet, using gears to fire the gun, eliminating the need for a stand. In order to cope with the new firearms, he also invented the paper cartridge, which is a quantitatively charged cartridge containing carefully weighed gunpowder and projectiles, which can save loading time. The improved musket was lighter, easier to load, and fired much faster than the matchlock gun, reaching more than one round per minute. Reform artillery. Traditional artillery weighs about half a ton and requires a four-wheeled vehicle drawn by two or three horses to load, making it extremely inflexible to move on the battlefield. Gustav's idea of ??reforming artillery was to reduce the weight of the artillery and increase its flexibility. The artillery he invented weighed only 400 pounds and could be transported by one horse or three or four people, saving time and effort and being very convenient to use. many. Artillery cartridges were also improved, reloading and firing faster. Change clothing. Infantrymen gradually abandoned traditional armor and only used helmets, which were lighter and more flexible for individual combat. Gustavus was also the first to propose unifying the uniforms of soldiers, even if it was just the same color. His army was known as the "Blue Brigade", "Yellow Brigade" and so on. Swedish Army 3. Innovative Tactics and Strategy Optimization Team During the Thirty Years' War, Gustavus defeated the famous German general Tilly at Breitenfeld and became famous in one battle, becoming the ""Nordic Lion"" in people's minds. At that time, he relied on The improved combat formation defeated the Spanish phalanx used by Germany. This phalanx relied on its huge depth to crush the enemy. It is known as the "flower of infantry" and has been popular in Europe for a hundred years. According to Wang Maple's "The Biography of Gustav II" records that in the Battle of Breitenfeld, the number of German formations was between 13 and 18, with 1,500 to 2,000 people in each square, with spearmen in the center and spearmen on the four corners. It is a small phalanx of musketeers with cavalry on both sides. A phalanx of 1,500 people may be 50 people wide and 30 people deep. It is designed for all-round defense, but the disadvantage is that it is too bulky and the formation cannot be adjusted in time. The situation changes, there is a lack of flexibility, and it is easy to waste firepower. The number of Gustav's infantry battalion is 408 people, with 216 spearmen in the center, 36 people wide, and 6 columns deep; 96 musketeers, 16 men wide and 6 columns deep. Under special circumstances, the musketeers may be distributed on the same side. Under normal circumstances, there are another 96 musketeers as backup to form a brigade. It is in the shape of a ""T" (as shown below), and its size and composition can be adjusted at any time according to the situation. It is much lighter and more flexible than the Spanish phalanx. The schematic diagram of Gustav's infantry brigade attaches great importance to coordinated operations. Gustav not only The mixed formations of various arms also pay attention to the coordinated operation of infantry, artillery and cavalry. During the battle, the musketeers will usually receive the command "" two rows abreast", and the three rows behind will step into the front row, and the original depth will be 6 rows. It became three columns, and then the first row knelt, the second row bent, and the third row stood. Following the order, the muskets were fired, ensuring that the firepower was concentrated and powerful, giving full play to the advantages of firearms. This volley was usually fired before the charge. While the musketeers were reloading, the spearmen took the opportunity to attack the enemy. Gustav also pioneered the artillery branch. In 1623, he created the first. In 1629, he expanded it into an artillery regiment consisting of 6 companies, 4 of which were cannons and gunners, 1 company was engineers, and the remaining 1 company was responsible for explosive devices. Gustav also strengthened the role of cavalry. He often placed the cavalry behind the infantry line and mixed it with the musketeers. During the battle, the smoke from the artillery fire caused the cavalry to rush towards the center of the enemy's formation under the cover of smoke, disrupting the enemy's formation. After the formation, they quickly retreated, and when the second round of artillery was fired, they attacked again, but this time the direction of the attack changed to the enemy's flanks, and so on. The musketeers would also provide fire cover for the infantry and infantry when the cavalry retreated. The result of the cooperation between artillery and cavalry is to fully make up for the weak links during reloading and retreat, and to maximize firepower and sprint power. 4. Improve the supply system. At that time, the European armies used the method of "fighting to support war" to replenish their military supplies. That is, every time they captured a place, they would levy, loot, and even burn, kill, and loot to obtain military expenses and military supplies, which caused huge harm to the people. Gustav sometimes practiced "fighting to support war", but he usually asked the local government, church and nobles to pay fees and resolutely prohibited soldiers from burning, killing and looting. Therefore, although he was an invader, he On the contrary, it was welcomed by the people in certain areas. More often, Gustav's army relied on fixed supply lines. He built warehouses along the way and stationed special managers. Some of the food and other materials in the warehouses were transported by Sweden. In the past, some supplies were raised and supplied by allied countries. On the one hand, this reduced the number of baggage vehicles in the army. On the other hand, there was no need to disturb the villagers, which ensured the discipline of the army and improved its combat capabilities.

During the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish army gave full play to Gustav's military philosophy, especially in the Battle of Breitenfeld. He defeated the greater number with less and gave the invincible German army a head-on blow, making the entire Europe against Sweden. The army was impressed, and he himself was given the title of "Nordic Lion". After the war, Sweden made a lot of profits. Not only did it expand its territory, the Baltic Sea almost became Sweden's inner lake. It consists of a small country in a remote and cold land. , became a European power. More importantly, under the influence of Gustav's military philosophy, a new world war model is taking shape, and its founder will undoubtedly be influenced by future generations. Napoleon once spoke highly of him, thinking that he could be compared with Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar. Soldiers of all generations in Europe respected him as "modern warfare" because of his unique ideas and advanced tactics. father".

(The picture comes from the Internet) Reference: "The Lion of Northern Europe: The Biography of Gustavus II", Wang Feng "Military Reformer: Gustavus II", Cheng Jinming "The Military Reformer of 17th Century Europe - Gustavus" Husband II", Zhang Xiaoxiao "The Era of Gustavus Adolf II: Combination of Infantry and Artillery", T.N. Dupuy (USA)