What could have Sweden done to win the Great Northern War and

>>2141429
Get stronger allies

Better protection around Charles XII

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>>2141429
This pic is missing modern Sweden.

>>2141429
Not letting Russia rebuild after the battle of narva 1700.
>>2141429
Knocked them out before heading south to deal with Poland-Lithuania.

>>2141429

not have been so extremely autistic

Well, they destroyed the only nation, which could be called natural enemy of Russia. So basically, there is nothing they could do, they would always lose in the long term against Russia.

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>>2141429

- Don't send your full army to rendezvous with Mazeppa in the Ukraine until you had assurance that he could and would hold up the end of his bargain by supplying men, food and armaments.

- Don't fixate on an assault from the South-East; it was protected just as well as the road to Muscow and you wouldn't need to divide up your baggage train to get there.

- Don't fixate on Pultava; besieging a fortification for the sole reason that it has a lot of food stored inside is one of the most retarded military decisions to come out of Europe.

- The outcome of Pultava may have been slightly more favourable if Karl wasn't incapacitated - He commands best from among the ranks and the intercepting force that was meant to disable the redoubts would be saved the discord of Sparre's and Levenhaupt's conflicting commands.

- Don't flee to Turkey. Extract the Livgard (5000-5700 men) with a fighting retreat up the Dnieper. Through Poland and the Baltic Sea - recuperate the army in Sweden.

- If you have to flee to Turkey; don't hang around and try to make them invade Russia, take 'no' for an answer, take their money and run to Constantinople, at least you get options for rearmament there.

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>>2141429
>>2143639

- If it is possible to recuperare the army in Sweden - then draw Peter into battle around Tavastehus. The size of the Russian force would be a burden to itself and the narrow strips of marshy land would put the Russians at the mercy of Finnish cannon. However they would still commit to battle because there's no practical way to invade Swedish heartland and keep your baggage train in-tact from Moscow.

- This one's a stretch; but currying favour with Norway, Denmark and Scotland in the early months of the war would eliminate all the strains that were put on the Swedish army which caused the forces to splinter during the Ukraine offesive. Scotland was even willing to lend Karl its fighting men on the provision that Karl would support the Jacobites.

- Arrange a political marriage, it could make it too difficult diplomatically for Russia to put together it's counter-offensive in 1704. (Even with a ugly female wife, you can still have as many handsome soldiers as you like with your usual discretion, karl.)
Ultimately though; you have to wonder how long Svea Rike as we know it would have lasted anyway even if Charles XII had beaten the first Northern Coalition into submission. France, England, and the German states were eager to see the empire dissolve. Russia arming themselves in secret, and the Turkish affair just goes to prove that noone except Sweden was happy with Sweden's hegemony in the North. It was just a matter of time.


Long live Karl XII.

Shoulda gone full Venetian WotLoC and taken advantage of the ever-shifting alliances to get Russia to join their side against everyone else, the switch sides and bitchslap them.

>>2141429
Swinging back northwards and retaking Ingria and Karelia would have been much better than marching through the Ukraine and freezing in Russian winter. Had they returned to status quo ante bellum Karl would then have intervened on behalf of the French in the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (stated in talks with French ambassador prior to Poltava). Or he could have pushed on after Narva the next spring and summer. He could have ransomed Novgorod for a peace treaty. And he could have put less effort into overthrowing no less than 6 Ottoman Grand Viziers while in Bender, which may have helped in keeping the Turks more engaged in the conflict.

>>2143639
When your army is starving and broken by scorched earth, attempting to secure enough supplies to even be able to sustain a retreat isn't all that bad of an idea. It was really his only option. Shouldn't have pushed from the South in the first place.

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>>2141429
1. occupy Saxony and put Augustus in a cage until the war is over
2. relocate the army to Finland and retake ingria
3. put the army on the defence and wait for outside support

>>2144883
Support from who? The Turks didn't care too much until it became obvious that the Swedes were done for. Everyone else was trying to stop the creation of a Franco-Spanish powerhouse

>>2144906
both brittan and holland showed support until poltava. The ottomans would probably join the swedes and retake the black sea if the Russian army was occupied

>>2144947
>"brittan" showed support until poltava

Proofs?

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>>2141429
post more of these

>>2144947
They gave naval support because it wasn't needed against the French since the French fleet was nowhere near as large as that of one of the maritime powers, much less both. Their armies, however, were locked up in the West. They could not have offered any support. The Turks did not join the war until Karl helped oust the previous minister and got him replaced with a warmonger (that time in Bender was well spent)

>>2145865
sauce?

>>2141429
not going into Russia during winter

>but they have the same climate as Russia
doesn't matter

>>2145865
Personally, I wanna see a picture like that for the Ottoman empire, maybe the Russian empire as well.

>>2145865
If I had any artistic talent, I would draw lewd historical things like this.

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What about the Finnish war? If this guy hadn't deserted Sveaborg, what would have happened? Is it conceivable that Sweden could have kept Finland?

>>2146687
http://yes-i-did.deviantart.com/gallery/33037543/History-Through-Bondage-Commissions

unfortunately he only does paid stuff