The year is
1397 the three kingdoms of denmark norway and sweden are united under a single monarch in the kalmar union
These Nordic countries made up the largest kingdom in Europe at the time and was very powerful whenever things were agreed upon
However, this union would not last
During the 14th century a germanic confederation of merchant guilds and towns had sprung up along the baltic coast
This was the Hanseatic League and they came to dominate trade within the region war soon erupted between the two rivals
Constant battles were fought leading to severe trade disruptions while taxes within the kalmar union rose
This led to some unhappy Swedes and revolts and rebellions became more frequent
to solve this problem the Danish King Christian ii invaded and
once successful invited many swedish nobles to a banquet
Promising amnesty on the evening of the 7th of november Danish soldiers entered the Great Hall with lanterns and torches
And many guests were then murdered or taken for imprisonment
Over the following days anyone who opposed Christian was executed
Around a hundred people either noblemen bishops or commoners were murdered by hanging or decapitation
It is reported Christian even ordered the leader of the anti unionist faction. Sten Sture be dug up out of his grave and burnt
However, the survivors of this Stockholm bloodbath were not terrified into submission
But outraged a man named gustav eriksson was furious as his father had fallen victim to the atrocities
He rallied support from his fellow Swedes and in 1523. They defeated Christian
Declaring Sweden independent and free with Gustav as king
With the execution of many Swedish Nobles Gustav had little resistance as king after defeating a small peasant
Uprising he proved to be a good administrator and diplomat in
becoming a Protestant nation Gustav seized all church property
Allowing him to pay his debts to the Hanseatic League who had contributed to the liberation
Denmark was soon engaged in a civil war known as the count's feud and the Hanseatic League was falling into decline
All this allowed Gustav to build a centralised state making numerous reforms and laying the foundations for modern Sweden
But the Swedish Empire truly began in 1611 with the new 16 year old King Gustavus, Adolphus
Who unfortunately inherited three ongoing wars with Denmark Norway, Russia and Poland Lithuania?
The Danish king Christian the fourth saw the opportunity to invade Stockholm at the death of the previous King
Gustavus greatly outnumbered knew the danes were on their way
But with the stroke of genius Gustavus ordered every civilian man to change into uniform to make it appear
He had a much larger army
The Danes compelled by what appeared to be a large army never attacked and many of the mercenaries in the Danish army deserted
The war with Denmark Norway would end less than a year. Later
From here Sweden went on to annex territory in the Baltic
Having already gained the Duchy of Estonia from a crumbling livonian Confederacy
Sweden marched into Russia seizing key ports and rivers
Sweden was also still embroiled in the war with Poland Lithuania and Gustavus wanted to improve Sweden's Navy situation
At the time Sweden had many setbacks in
1625 a squadron of ten ships were caught in a storm and ran aground a few years later
Another squadron was attacked by Polish Lithuanian forces in this attack to considerably large ships were lost
The tiger which was captured and the Sun which was blown up by her own crew
So Gustavus decided it was time to build one of the greatest ships ever built
So great. It would rival the warships built even into the Napoleonic era
At 70 metres long and 50 metres high the mighty warship Vasa was created in Stockholm
She was loaded with 64 heavy bronze cannons ready to dominate the seas
On the day of her maiden voyage. She left the port of Stockholm with thousands gazing at her glory
1,400 yards later
She sank
On land Gustavus had more success in the battles against Poland, Lithuania
victory for Sweden resulted in the control of Livonia as well as the right to
two-thirds of all shipping tolls in the ports of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth
This would prove vital for Sweden's entrance into the 30 Years War
Where she would rise to prominence?
At the time most European armies consisted of mercenaries who recruited as units and created the foundation of a national army
But Gustavus had employed a regular standing army who were loyal
Well-trained and equipped with fine weapons and when mercenaries were hired they were well-trained
The year is 1630 and Sweden joins the 30 Years War
The Catholics were dominating the Protestants, but when Gustavus arrived everything changed
Gustavus personally led his armies into battle and was a military genius
He had gained much experience in the wars against Poland Lithuania and seen the effectiveness of shock cavalry by the winged Hussars
He essentially created the world's first light and mobile artillery
He also refined infantry tactics deploying Musketeers in with traditional Pike formations
Gustavus made his artillery light and mobile showed just how effective his tactics were at the Battle of Breitenfeld
Killing tens of thousands of men while only losing a handful of his own
After the 30 Years War Sweden emerged into a great power and was one of the few countries without a damaged infrastructure
The large number of other hostile countries in Europe Sweden's Navy was almost always committed to the defense of their Baltic possessions
This left few vessels for colonial expansion to the west and is the reason Sweden did not become a full-fledged
European power in the way that Spain Portugal France and Great Britain did a small colony was founded in the valley of the Delaware River
Called New Sweden
But with a lack of manpower it was later seized by the Dutch
The Empire reached its territorial height in 1658
After another one with Denmark, but with all this territory it bought many enemies
These enemies were Denmark Norway the Tsardom of Russia and Saxony who were in a personal union with Poland, Lithuania
At the crowning of the teenage King Charles (Karl) the 12th. They formed a secret alliance against Sweden
In 1700 the great northern war began
Sweden was at war on three fronts in the years prior the Swedish army had been
reorganised in order to compensate for the lack of manpower and resources
Farmers within the Empire were to provide the crown of the full regiment of a thousand men complete with weapons and uniforms
This formed the Carolean army who were loyal disciplined and fearsome
So they were prepared for a great war
They first attacked Denmark the Navy managed to outmanoeuvre a blockade and quickly sent troops into Denmark threatening
Copenhagen and forcing them out of the war in just a few months
Charles then deployed his forces into the Baltic where the city of Narva was under siege by Russia
Charles arrived in Nava with 10,000 soldiers matched against Russia's army of
40,000 the day after Charles arrival a blizzard descended upon the Russian camp and without hesitation
Charles ordered his forces to attack
It was a great victory
Having ended the Russian advance Charles pursued his forces into Saxony and won victory
pulling poland-lithuania
out of the war
Russia was the last man standing and offered to return the territories. It had taken except s.t Petersburg
But in 1708 Charles launched an invasion into Russia with 40,000 troops
Aiming to take Moscow
the Russians began to retreat and adopted scorched earth tactics
Destroying anything that might be useful to the oncoming enemy
In 1709 the Russian winter set in and Sweden lost half their army at the Battle of Poltava
Sweden saw a crushing defeat
The relatively small size of the carolean army meant they could not take heavy losses
With this single battle it saw the end of an empire