Yup. Sweden especially punched well above it weight for hundreds of years.
Until Russia got too big for them to handle.
“Yup. Sweden especially punched well above it weight for hundreds of years.
Until Russia got too big for them to handle.”
- Or, maybe you could say Russia by and by became more effective and organized and less beackwards.
When we lost Finland during the Napoleon Wars, we were without allies apart from England that was isolated due to Napoleon’s blockade which Sweden defied and furthermore, we suffered from being lead by one of the most pathetic and incompetent rulers of Sweden ever, Gustav IV Adolf (not to be confused with Gustavus Adolphus).
Whether you mean “big” literally or not, Sweden managed to beat around 37 000 Russians with 8 140 men at Narva 1700 (Russia has always been bigger). One aspect was the leadership of Charles XII (one of the few Swedish monarchs who’ve ever gained a great reputation abroad). When many other military commaders of those days shouted “GO!” behind the backs of their soldiers, Charles XII took the lead and said “COME!”.