Warfare in the Age of Gustavus Adolphus Through the Lens of the Western Way of War Analytical Essay

Introduction

Background

Of all Swedish kings, Gustavus Adolphus is, perhaps, the most famous one. A straightforward thinker and an innovator, he redesigned the very foundation of the military tradition accepted at the time. The changes that he made to the army, including consistent training, change of values, technological and economic innovations, etc. created premises for the development of a strong army and led to the further acceptance of a new Western way of war as later explained by Parker (2008).

Thesis Statement

Despite failing to develop the “punctuated equilibrium” (Parker, 2008, p. 6) model due to the obtrusive politics of the royal power enhancement, Gustavus Adolphus managed to not only win numerous armed conflicts with his opponents but also alter the very concept of warfare by reinforcing the significance of technological advancement and consistent training of the soldiers.

Military Tradition and Faith: A Winning Combination

One could also argue that the emphasis on the importance of religious beliefs, particularly, the promotion of the traditional Protestant values among the soldiers. Fueling people’s emotions my supporting their battle spirit with the idea of fighting for a noble cause was promoted by Gustavus Adolphus actively and quite successfully as a military tradition, which the Thirty Year War is a graphic example of (Knox & Murray, 2001).

Thirty Year War

The existing historical evidence shows that the Thirty Year War was started as a religious conflict, and it was not up until the 1630s that the problem escalated to a political struggle (Parker, 2008).

It could be argued that Gustavus Adolphus could predict the political inconsistencies that would later on emerge and develop into a separate issue; however, the fact that he emphasized the religious issues underlying the conflict shows that he was using faith as the tool for building an elaborate military tradition and appealing to the soldiers’ ethical and spiritual values.

Catholic Church and the Protestants

The fact that the next step to be taken by Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Year War was arranging the collaboration with the Catholic Church also points to the tendency to use religious ideas as the tools for attaining success in the warfare department. What might seem impossible because of the power that church authorities had over people at the time became an opportunity with the incorporation of flexibility into the military tradition.

Desirability of Decisive Victory: Setting Clear Objectives

Another essential component of the warfare philosophy promoted by Gustavus Adolphus, the reinforcement of the idea of a triumph can be viewed as a breakthrough in the overall war strategy that made the latter closer to the European style of military actions, and nowhere is it seen as clearly as in the Battle of Brightenfeld and the Thirty Years’ War.

Parker (2008) makes it quite obvious that, by insisting on the “enemy’s unconditional surrender” (Parker, 2008, p. 5) as the only possible outcome of a war. The determination of the soldiers shown in the Battle of Brightenfeld, in its turn, manifests the emphasis on the decisive victory concept as the primary tool for promoting change in the Western warfare design.

Technology and the Ensuing Superiority of the Army and the State

Weaponry and Military Strategy Update

The argument concerning the use of technological superiority of the army led by Gustavus Adolphus could be viewed as debatable in light of the fact that progress was set at a rather slow pace on the specified time slot.

Indeed, the era of the Swedish monarch’s reign cannot be deemed as technologically advanced; however, it is the resourcefulness in the use of the resources available as opposed to the rivals: “The drill developed by Maurice of Nassau and further extended by Gustavus Adolphus made possible speedy maneuver and a hitherto unknown rate of fire; this promise of tactical effectiveness lured French officers to the Netherlands and northern Germany” (Knox & Murray, 2001, p. 48).

Consequently, claiming the concept of technological superiority as one of the foundational elements of the Western way of warfare to be Gustavus Adolphus’ primary tool for attaining victory is quite legitimate.

Consequently, the king’s unceasing endeavors to improve the quality of the technology used in the course of battles can be viewed as the provision of the environment for attaining technological superiority. The efforts mentioned above can be related to Parker’s idea of technological superiority as one of the essential characteristics of changes in the Western war style.

Economic Changes

Parker (2008) points quite reasonably in his work that the connection between the efficacy of the state army and the economic opportunities that the state provides is doubtless.

In light of this statement, one must give credit to Gustavus Adolphus consider the changes that he made to modernize the Western warfare strategies as he was one of the few leaders suggesting sustainability in enforcing the military and the economic development: “Some (like Denmark after 1660) proved too small or (like Poland after 1667) too fragmented; others (like Sweden, Switzerland or – with less success – Belgium) chose neutrality” (Parker, 2008, p. 10) in boosting the economic development and the evolution of the armed forces.

The reconsideration of the use of the state resources was evidently beneficial to the countries that could not afford research and development of both areas. Moreover, the sparing manner, in which the economic resources were used, permitted the creation of a reserve that could later on be used in case of an emergency or a failure inflicted by a change in circumstances.

Innovation: New Tools to Fight for New Ideas

While the age of Gustavus Adolphus’ reign cannot be legitimately called the era of a technological breakthrough, new tools that redefined the concept and the process of war in western states were invented at the time (Clausewitz, 1989). Therefore, warfare in the age of Gustavus Adolphus also deserves the characteristics of being innovative in terms of both technology used and the military maneuvers that were adopted to attack and defend.

In fact, the very fact that negotiations were started between the proponents of the opposing religious doctrines, i.e., Protestantism and Catholicism, should already be interpreted as a huge leap forward and doubtlessly innovative characteristics of Gustavus Adolphus’ war style.

According to Parker, the above-mentioned innovativeness that was characteristic of the Western warfare manifested itself in not only technological novelties but also the overall framework for approaching conflicts: “Simply copying weapons picked up on the battlefield could never suffice; it also required the ‘replication’ of the whole social and economic structure that underpinned the capacity to innovate and respond swiftly” (Parker, 2008, p. 8).

Hence, the switch to negotiations as opposed to uncompromising fighting can be interpreted as a major step in the right direction that complies with Parker’s idea of innovation as an integral part of the Western manner of warfare.

Disadvantages and the Problems That They Triggered

The emphasis on the unceasing evolution of the military strategies and the overall approach to warfare can also be viewed as a means to counterbalance the lack of what Parker called the “punctuated equilibrium” (Parker, 2008, p. 6) model.

Seeing that Gustavus Adolphus tended to seize power over the state entirely and prevented it from disseminating, he could not be credited for developing the framework of operation suggested by Parker: “During this period, however, three Alexanders appeared – Gustavus Adolphus, Charles XII, and Frederick the Great. With relatively limited but highly efficient forces each sought to turn his small state into a large monarchy, and crush all opposition” (Clausewitz, 1989, p. 712).

Nevertheless, the persistence in advancing the military process by improving its technological aspects and the discipline among the members of the troops clearly overcompensated for the challenges that the lack of punctuated equilibrium posed to the strength of the king’s army.

The success of the war campaigns that Gustavus Adolphus was at the helm of can be viewed as a graphic evidence of his strategy’s efficacy. Therefore, it can be assumed that the Western way of warfare was evidently traceable in the patterns that the kingdom of Sweden displayed at the time. However, despite the above-mentioned problems, the approach used by Gustavus Adolphus can be viewed as revolutionary due to the effects that it had on the Western warfare strategies.

Conclusion

By focusing on four elements of the Western military conflicts as interpreted by Parker (2008), Gustavus Adolphus managed to introduce a sustainable use of resources and the idea of negotiation into managing military conflicts, therefore, breaking new grounds in the Western warfare manner.

Although Gustavus Adolphus did not introduce the concept of the punctuated equilibrium into the designated area, the incorporation of the principles such as the decisive victory, the technological superiority, innovation, and discipline made his army and state stronger. Moreover, the efficacy of his strategy led to its further promotion among the rest of the states, thus, changing the political and economic landscape thereof dramatically.

Reference List

Clausewitz, C. v. (1989). On war (M. Howard & P. Paret, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1832).

Knox, M., & Murray, W. (2001). The dynamics of military revolution, 1300-2050. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Parker, G. (2008). The Cambridge illustrated history of warfare: The triumph of the West. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.