Charles VII

The great dynamic king of Sweden Charles VII came from being a young sweet boy to be called the “madman of Europe”. He would attack superior armies with a tiny force and he would win! Charles took the throne of Sweden when he was only fifteen years old; he had a formidable army and great territory. Right after he took the throne Charles was attacked by the combined forces of Russia, Poland, and Denmark who were trying to take the crown from him. Using the element of surprise Charles attacked those countries taking key positions. The Russians, Polish, and Danish armies had to retreat to defend their countries.

Charles was winning the war, which later became known as the Great Northern War with an iota of men under his command. Charles began invading Russia, stating that he would not stop until he got to Moscow. He did not get to Moscow… Right after he began invading the Russians used their scorched earth tactic to weaken Charles’ army. In the end Charles had to retreat to Turkey were he convinced the Ottomans to invade Russia. Peter the Great of Russia fought back, and they signed a peace treaty. Charles had to flee back to Sweden, because the Ottomans had grown tired of him and were about to arrest him.

In Sweden Charles grew tired of not being at war, so he invaded Norway. He did this in order to recover land lost in the Northern War. In one of the battles a bullet from one of his own men went right through Charles’ head and killed him instantly. He lived only until the age of thirty six without an heir. In the end Sweden lost much of its land and its economy suffered under the “madman of Europe”.