Gustavus Adolphus

Gustavus Adolphus was the King of Sweden that was credited with leading Sweden to become a great power through during the Thirty Years War. He was instrumental in determining the political supremacy of Sweden in the region as well as the religious balance of power in Europe. In contemporary Protestant propaganda he was called the Lion of the North. He is often regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use of combined arms, well drilled musketeers, and extremely daring charges that would later form the doctrine of the Swedish Empire.

In an era characterized by almost endless warfare, he led his armies as king from 1611 (at age 16) until his death in battle in 1632 while leading a charge—During his reign Sweden rose from the status of a mere regional backwater into a great power in Europe. Within only a few decades of his accession, Sweden had become the largest empire in Europe after Russia and Spain. Some have called him the "father of modern