Lion of the North

I have always wondered, what if Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, also known as the Lion of the North, had lived. Would there have been more protestant countries in Europe? Would Sweden have eventually became a superpower? Could they have even been a rival with Russia, perhaps?
 
I have always wondered, what if Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, also known as the Lion of the North, had lived. Would there have been more protestant countries in Europe? Would Sweden have eventually became a superpower? Could they have even been a rival with Russia, perhaps?


Gustavus was of course very successfull while alive, and he did make Sweden into a major power. I doubt if Sweden due to demographic reasons, could become even greater than they did for some period IOTL.

Russia was a sleeping giant, who, once awoken, no matter what would be able to brush the Swedes aside....also as seen IOTL.

But maybe Gustavus could have secured protestantism a larger area in Europe, had he not been killed at Lützen.....he was after all a great commander.
 
I have always wondered, what if Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, also known as the Lion of the North, had lived. Would there have been more protestant countries in Europe? Would Sweden have eventually became a superpower? Could they have even been a rival with Russia, perhaps?

The best-case for his survival in the short term is a new campaign in 1633 that ends the war in a few years. An earlier end to the war would greatly benefit Sweden. Some sort of Protestant Northern German confederacy under Swedish protection would have been the result, as well as more Swedish possessions in northern Germany, like all of Pomerania . After the war, he might try to take down Denmark or Poland. Maybe he can get Norway and Scania from Denmark, but he would have to fight a major war with Russia and possibly Poland to get it. That is about the absolute limit of Gustav's conquests in his lifetime. There's a good chance he will die in another battle; his myopia and tendency to ride off into battle make his life expectancy fairly short. Also, OTL Sweden gained an enormous amount from the Thirty Years' War and the Torstenson War; more than that is very wankish.

Long-term, Sweden cannot remain a major power; it has two eternal enemies in Russia and Denmark, and does not have the population or industrial base to compete. Its time as a major power OTL was only possible via a very good and efficient army, and one bad war or monarch could and did send the whole thing crashing down. If Gustav's wars manage to permanently neuter Denmark as described above, they have a better chance of surviving. Sweden can only remain a major power in this scenario if it gains a major population boost or if one of its two major enemies (Russia or Poland) fragments. Perhaps a more successful Deluge?
 
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Thanks guys, this was my first post, and I will think about your ideas and maybe expand on it later. I always wondered if perhaps sweden could get drawn into a war with Russia, and the Swedes defeat them so many times, that perhaps some of the Russian cities would break off and join the Swedes (yes, i am a big Swedish fan). I always thought it was a interesting idea, since Russia has a history of revolutions and I thought a defection was possible.
 
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