By Defeating My Enemies: Charles XII of Sweden and the Great Northern War

by Michael Glaeser

Overview

By Defeating My Enemies is a military biography of Charles XII of Sweden, the first written in English in over 50 years. It challenges several traditions created by historians of both the old and new schools of Carolean historiography and through a chronological review provides a balanced account of the king’s life.

Ample space is dedicated to exploring the undervalued pre-war life of the king as his upbringing influenced key decisions on war and how he waged it. As the Great Northern War begins, Charles’s involvement on the battlefield and his deep connection with the Carolean army are studied to assess his growth as a commander. The king is followed into the crucible of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the fateful march on Russia, exile in Ottoman territory, and the desperate rearguard actions culminating in a second invasion of Norway and his mysterious death at Fredriksten fortress.

Had Charles not inherited the crown, he would be ranked among the great generals of the period and left at that. However, he was the only Swedish monarch born to absolutism and his actions as king, for better or worse, helped decide the fate of his kingdom. Occasional tangents are taken to explore his domestic and foreign policy decisions, and an entire chapter is used to highlight the creation, expansion, and struggles of the Swedish Empire and how Charles had to cope with the geopolitical ramifications left to him by his predecessors.

The book concludes with a review of the king’s reputation and literary persona post mortem. An appendix covers additional characteristics of the king that did not fit into the flow of the main text such as image, health, marriage and sexuality, and wealth. Lavishly illustrated with maps and photographs, this book supplements the existing Helion publications on the Great Northern War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913336462
Publisher:	Helion and Company
Publication date:	11/23/2020
Series:	Century of the Soldier 1618-1721
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.80(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Glaeser is an early modern historian with interests in Tudor England and the Swedish Empire of the 17th/18th centuries. He is published in the Great Northern War Compendium and taught history at the University of New Hampshire- Manchester. After completing his graduate work at the University of Sheffield, he returned to the United States where he lives with his wife Susan and son Henry who is most definitely not named after Henry VIII of England.

Table of Contents

Timeline v

The Royal Line of Sweden vii

The Family of Charles XII of Sweden viii

1 Stormaktstiden: the Swedish Empire up to 1682 13

2 Childhood: 1682-1697 25

3 A King Without Concern: 1697-1700 33

4 The Carolean Army under Charles XII 42

5 First Battles, 1700-1702 53

6 The Venture Into Poland and Saxony, 1701-1707 73

7 The March to Russia, 1707-1709 92

8 Poltava, 1709 110

9 Exile, 1709-1714 121

10 Rearguard, 1714-1717 135

11 Death in the Trenches, 1718 150

12 The Warrior King Reassessed: 1718 and Beyond 166

Conclusion 173

Appendices

I Personality, Traits, and Myth 176

II The Vanity of Human Wishes 182

Colour Plate Commentaries 183

Select Bibliography 184

Editorial Reviews

"While the book itself is less than 200 pages, it still gives the reader all of the history of the period. There is no glossing over of any part of Charles's life or the history of The Great Northern War."

A Wargamers Needful Things

"Recommended for those who would like a better sense of who Charles XII was and what he achieved in his short lifetime, and if you are new to the Great Northern War this will only whet your appetite for more."

Wargames Illustrated