Sweden's strategic situation was pretty desperate by early 1635, but to appreciate just how desperate it was, we have to look away from the Holy Roman Empire, and towards the East, where in Poland, the truce was about to expire with Sweden's dynastic enemy. Worse, for Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, the grand plan of distracting Poland by orchestrating a Russian war had failed as well, leaving the Poles vengeful, the Russians weakened, and everything apparently in the air. Before the French could arrive on the scene, Sweden would have to fend for itself, and salvage what remained of Gustavus Adolphus' legacy. How could they fare? Axe Ox wasn't feeling particularly optimistic...**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) Matchlock and the Embassy, our new historical fiction novel, is out NOW! Get it here Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.