A WARRIOR DYNASTY: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower, 1611-1721

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This fascinating book describes the rise and fall of the Swedish Empire in the 17th and 18th Centuries, events that could be viewed as impossible through the prisms of traditional elements of national power. Sweden was basically an agrarian society with a population of only 1.3 to 1.5 million.

However, as described in this book, the case of Sweden does not negate the traditional elements of power. Along with superb leadership and pure military skill, Sweden was able to compensate for its weaknesses in resources- manpower and finances-in the Thirty Years War by foreign resource mobilization. This horrific conflict exists in collective memory as the worst travail in German history, even worse than the Black Death and the world wars.

The twin shortfalls of manpower and finance haunted Sweden after the Thirty Years War as it tried to defend and expand its empire once foreign resource mobilization was no longer feasible, particularly on the financial side. This lack of resources eventually led to the downfall of the empire when beset by a host of enemies, including Russia, which delivered the fatal blow to Swedish arms deep inside Ukraine.

In this work renowned military historian Henrik O. Lunde unveils a fascinating chapter of Western history that is seldom seen or recognized by English or American readers