Sweet Sixteen

Sweet Sixteen: The Conquests of Charles XII

            When one thinks of Sweden the last thing that comes to mind is a country of great conquerors.  How could a tiny nation that sat out both world wars have conquered anything of note?  However, a few hundred years back they were one of the big kids on the block.  Most people with more than a passing knowledge of military history will have heard of the great Swedish leader Gustavus Adolphus and his exploits during the 30 Years War.   At the moment he needn't concern us except that, thanks to a string of warlike rulers, Sweden had built up an empire that spanned most of the Baltic.

Swedish Empire

            By the late 1600s though, it seemed like their best days were behind them.  Their ruler, Charles XI, was so shy that he needed his mother to speak to parliament on his behalf.  Needless to say, the rest of the Baltic was licking its lips by the time Charles XI died of cancer in 1697.  The best part was that he was succeeded by a fifteen year old boy: Charles XII.  Russia, Denmark-Norway, Saxony, and Poland all signed on to a kill-the-Swedes alliance and set out to attack every Swedish holding within reach.  How dangerous could some kid really be?

Charles XII of Sweden

            Very dangerous, as it turned out.  With an army of 77,000 men Charles was faced with the admittedly difficult task of defending holdings scattered across the Baltic against a coalition with more than 360,000 troops.  Denmark struck first by attacking various Swedish holdings in what is now Germany.  Charles responded by landing an army outside their capitol and forcing them out of the war.  With his western flank secured, Charles rushed his army east to deal with Russia.  Peter the Great had sent an army of 40,000 troops to besiege the Swedish city of Narva.  Charles quickly arrived with a relief force of about 8,000 troops.  The Russians never stood a chance.  Attacking under the cover of a blizzard, Charles routed the Russian army, sustaining only 667 casualties.  Peter was un-phased and reverted to the age-old Russian infantry tactic: if at first you don't succeed, send in the second wave!  He eventually took the city four years later while Charles was busy elsewhere.

Russians surrender at Narva

            Having crushed two major powers in a single year, Charles decided to one-up himself and marched against Poland-Lithuania and Saxony.  I'll spare you the accounts of each battle, but needless to say he crushed every army he faced and eventually stood as the unopposed master of Northeastern Europe. 

            It was here that Charles chose to follow the path of most great conquers: invade Russia while wearing short-shorts.  His army froze to death, his Ukrainian allies proved to be incompetents, and Peter had an endless supply of cannon fodder to throw at him.  Despite all of this, Charles still almost won but was eventually routed at the Battle of Poltava.  Even here, the defeat is not technically his as he had recently been injured and had given command over to his subordinates.  After this battle Charles was forced to flee to the Ottoman Empire.

Battle of Poltava

            The Ottomans had always been enemies of the Russians, but they were hesitant to enter into a war on Sweden's behalf.  Eventually growing tired of Charles's warmongering they arrested him and locked him up.  Eventually managing to make his way back to Sweden, Charles found that his empire had crumbled in his absence.  With boundless enthusiasm, he rallied a new army and marched into Norway in 1718.  It was fighting here that he took a bullet to the head and died at the age of 36, ending the tale of Charles XII.