KINGS, TSARS AND FIELD MARSHALS
CHARLES XII
‘THE LION OF THE NORTH’ 1682-1718 SWEDEN
During the 17th century, the Swedish Empire had expanded and at its height it included Finland and parts of modern Norway, Germany and the Baltic States. For a relatively small Scandinavian country this was an unprecedented success and it caused resentment among other European powers. When Charles XII came to the throne as a teenager in 1697, a triple alliance of Russia, Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland-Lithuania aimed to topple Sweden because they considered its youthful king to be inexperienced and therefore weak. They had not reckoned with the forceful character of Charles.
A contradictory personality, Charles was austere and intelligent but also foolhardy and impulsive. A keen soldier with a gift for fast warfare he
