Besides the actual story you narrated, this video is an excellent synopsis of how economics, specialisation of labour (in this case, training of soldiers), and politics, to name just a few issues, are intimately intertwined… to study history is to learn so much more than a few names and dates!
More than anything, history provides perspective. The more history I learn the greater I appreciate my life and the hardships I’ve eluded by merely being born in the time period I did.
@@JustTryingToTH-cam I totally agree with you on that. Example: there is no way I’d survive to adulthood if I was born at any time during the 30 Years War. That was pure hell on earth.
"If you couldn't hold onto the borders of your own kingdom, quite likely your neighbour would be happy to look after them for you" - That's a very gentlemanly way of putting it.
In these areas the border between Sweden and Norway is marked by piles of stones painted yellow on the top of some high point. Standing on one of these I could see probably 30 miles into Norway and no human was in sight. I told my Swedish wife if she moved the yellow stones to the next hilltop west she could gain territory for Sweden but she didn't think it worth the trouble.
I still appreciate so much that sean records every single intro instead of copy+paste every episode. It’s such a small thing but it really shows me the amount of care he puts in to every episode.
Id just like to add how his comment section for the most part are all positive in some way, and not the normal toxic cesspool that somehow always devolves into politics.
Beginning a campaign into Western Asia before winter seemed extraordinary folly. Marching a forced retreat through the Norwegian mountains in winter is some new kind of frozen hell.
@@Pottan23 A king that was never hungry or cold wouldn't know that people could be lethally hungry or cold. Not so invincible so far outside the comfort of the king's private chambers.
As a Scandinavian I'm ashamed that we don't learn about these sort of historical events in school these days. Thanks for making such a fascinating video.
We do [in Sweden]. Just not this in depth. We'd need to expand the school day to fit in more history class if we were to go into stuff like this. As a former school student, that would be about as far as worth as you could get. But this is absolutely mentioned and taught.
In Trondheim, the university's orienteering club organises a particularly tough competition every autumn. There's a tradition that a certain "C.G.Armfeldt" is always on the start list for the men's race, and he's always announced as "Missing/Did Not Finish" at the end 😉🇳🇴
As a Finn I must say that Charles XII is often a hugely glorified king and sometimes I ofcourse feel this way about him too when I look at the early stages of the Great Northern War. But this king wanted everything and refused to accept any peaceterms even when his subjects were suffering all around him. In the end he only seemed to care about his glory. He did fight in the frontlines with the men, I do give him that, but that action was also very irresbonsible for a king. Eventually that bravery caused a huge chaos by him dying either by his fed up soldiers or the Norwegians from the castle walls. What I would like to add to this story is that this was happening at the same time when Finnish area (integral part of the Swedish kingdomn at the time) was under the rule of very harsh Russian forces. We call this time period the Great Wrath. A time when 20 000 - 30 000 (about 10% of the whole Finnish population) Finns were taken as slaves by these invaders -some of them ended up as sexslaves as far away as Persia- and basically the whole country was used as a pillaging ground for 7 years (1714-1721). While it's impossible to say how much did these Finnish soldiers knew about what was happening in their homeland, I do believe that they had some knowledge after so many years. It must have been so painful to literally march the other way from suffering family members in this forlorn hope action because of this king. Glorified men are nice stories for the historybooks and TH-camvideos but usually misery for people living at their time. To me this Carolean Death March is a reminder of how somehow one foolish uncaring stuborn boy can be responsible for thousands of men wasting away.
@@samis6553 True that. This campaign in particular truly shows the folly of war. Nobody "won" here. Denmark-Norway did on paper, but most of the civillians and soldiers around Trondheim at this time were starving even before the invasion came and worsened it. Sweden lost its king and depleted its military. And like you said, most of the forces were Finnish and probably wished to be at home rather than campaign in Norway.
@@jetblackjoy No disagreement with that for sure! And ofcourse the upperclass were grown up to be a warriorclass and above others from birth so it is what it is (or was).
As a Swede I agree. He is unjustly glorified for all the reasons you list (and many more). I think we, the Swedes, are woefully unaware of the cruelty we have brought on our neighboring nations and I think that unawareness is embarrassing.
Amazing, glad to see this incident described in detail, you do manage to find stuff that is mostly overlooked but does actually make for a fascinating story
Haha same here… if I could only watch movies, read books and watch videos about one period of history for forever it would be 1600-1900 - I have no idea why
My son just wrote two papers on guns for English in high school, I proofread them and learned more that way than anywhere else (the fear associated with AR’s and military upgrade from M4’s-son is a military history buff especially when it comes to the evolution of tanks)
My family lives in Stjørdal and i work in Trondheim, i have lived in Verdal and know this area very well, so it’s very interesting to hear this. Never heard this before.
Sweden went from most aggressive military force to Neutral war policy ever. You did an amazing job with the details as always. Thank you for your hard work on this historical moments.
There was also another death march Charles XII is responsible for: 10 years prior, in Swedish invasion of Russia he led an army of 35,000 troops and marched it all the way into Eastern Ukraine until he reached Poltava in Spring of 1709 with only 20,000 troops remaining. The winter of 1709 is said to have been the coldest in 500 years. In the Battle of Poltava the rest of the army was annihilated. Charles XII survived and fled further south to the Ottoman Empire.
I do think it's also important to mention that alot of the deaths in that march was a direct consequence of Russias scorched earth policy and massacres of their own villages.
It's very interesting to hear about this. I've been living in Sweden most of my life, and not once did i hear about this in school growing up. I know we had a very good army way back, but never did i expect something like this happend. And that the King died during that war. Thank you for the video and enlightening me about my country!
@nakenfaan I am sad for the lives lost due to a stupid venture, not uncommon in wars, that does not make me an imperalist. But if you want to misinterpret, go ahead…..
When the new drafting system was adopted they changed the names for more recognisable names. They could'nt have 36 Karlsson and 25 Svensson and 30 Johansson in a company. Many got names of personal qualities such as: Snygg = Handsome Trotsig = Defiant Stolt = Proud Stark = Strong Trygg = Safe, secure We are many today still carrying that remnant of Swedish history.
All the Finns who served were given a "soldier's surname", and even today you can still tell if someone has Carolean soldier as their ancestor, by their surname.
I absolutely love how you did a deep dive into the mechanical history of European warfare before you got into the story proper. This kind of attention to detail and context is why I find you to be such a compelling storyteller. You're wonderful
@tamaskosa4456 Yes, but you still plan for contingencies. This wasn't even the first time he fucked up in this exact way so apparently he wasn't capable of learning from mistakes either. Why far right nationalists worship this guy is beyond me.
@@tamaskosa4456 True, but at the same time was the campaign started way to late in the year as the difficulties involved in it were totally underestimated. It reminds me of Putin thinking he would take Ukraine with in a few days and a few weeks at most. Starting a campaign against Norway where they needed to march on foot in the autumn and into the winter was pure insanity. They were lucky with the weather at the beginning as the winter came later than usual and their losses would have much higher if the winter had come at a normal time of the year for that area.
Just outside of Trondheim is a village called Hell, it sits at the end of a valley leading past the Hegra fortress which guards a pass to Sweden that held off the Germans in WW2, Hell means cliff or overhang in Norweigen.
Awesome video! The opening bit were you explain the historical context of the Carolingians is soooo good and informative! If you ever think about branching your historical content out I would love to see it!!
One interesting effect of this disastrous campaign is that it made the Swedish army more or less permanently hesitant about campaigning in the Norwegian mountains, fearing they would be swallowed up like Armfeldt’s force. While a handful more minor wars happened between Sweden and Denmark-Norway after this, it was mostly Denmark-Norway striking into Sweden interspersed with a few Swedish border raids. Only almost a century later, in 1814, did Sweden try a large scale invasion again, after the Norwegians revolted against Denmark in response to their imminent handover to Sweden as part of the peace treaty after Napoleon’s fall (Denmark-Norway had been a French ally). Even then they stuck to the milder south coast, and after it took over a month of skirmishes through the forests to approach the Norwegian capital, the Swedish commander and future king, General Bernadotte, realized the campaign would last into the winter if they had to march into the mountains, and agreed to a compromise peace with the Norwegians where the countries would share a monarch but have separate governments and militaries. A century after that again, when the Union collapsed in 1905, the Norwegians had constructed a series of heavy border fortifications throughout the southeast, to force the Swedes to attack through the mountains, and once again the Swedes wavered, maintaining the union not being worth the risk of another incredibly dangerous mountain campaign. In this way, the military trauma of Armfeldt’s Disaster helped shape the division of Scandinavia into three independent countries we still have today 300 years after the march.
My girlfriend hates that I talk so much about Scary Interesting and recommend it to EVERYONE of my friends or anyone I meet. Literally my favorite channel on TH-cam and have watched every single video, some of them multiples. Also, she hates that I don't switch back to my account when I comment :)
I would like everyone to imagine our population of 18-35 year olds being put into a situation like this! The strength of character in these men in this terrible scenario is remarkable! I like the historical videos ❤
Why imagine. You can watch this sort of thing in real time. There are plenty such things happening in Ukraine to 18-50 year olds. It's all on x and tiktok
you realize they didn't have a choice right? They were given orders and if they weren't followed they were executed for insubordination. Same with nearly every fighting force in history.
They both used to upload on Sundays, which obviously made Sundays pretty great, but I've noticed MrBallen has been uploading on Saturdays here lately, which means I don't have to open up TH-cam on Sunday afternoons and choose between which one I want to watch first anymore. I've also seen this channel uploading randomly at times during the week lately, too, so it's been nice getting multiple Scary Interesting videos per week.
You've done a great job of revealing a part of European history not taught in U.S. schools. The visuals behind the story are fascinating. Obviously, some of the pictures are created or enhanced for this episode. In the case of historic art and drawings, it would be nice to know who the creators are.
I just celebrated Christmas with a friend where this happened. We also discussed this subject with the family. What are the odds of you making a video about this at the same time. Great video as always.
Army vs Winter not often does the Army win. I have a lone Dane in my Norwegian lineage who was noted to be a Soldier in a 1700's Danish Norwegian War. Afterward he came back to marry the woman he loved and they stayed in Norway.
As someone who lives in the area, this is still kinda living history. There are tons of areas with information signs, old fortifications, reenactments, etc. Every few years, there are still artefacts found in the mountains.
Thanks for covering the Swedish Empire. The Karoleans were one of the first professional militaries. It wasn't communities it was farmsteads that had one professional warrior and they were forbidden to do farm work. They were to do nothing but practice shooting, swordsmanship, and horse riding. The size of the farm determined if you were Calvary or infantry based on the ability to care for several horses or not. The farm avoided paying taxes this way. They spent a month traveling learning regiment formations and battle drills as they got to know their battle buddies in their units made up of men from surrounding communities. Most nations used massive armies of conscripts that didn't see a rifle until they got a crash course before battle. The Swedes were so effective that they routinely defeated armies several times their size. Their tactics and the fact that everyone had a sword instead of a bayonet greatly helped them fight as a single organism. They even carried 20mm muskets which is the smallest calibre cannon that you find on a helicopter gunship today. Huge! They could literally shoot through the entire ranks of enemy lines before charging their cavalry into the breach to divide the entire enemy army in two. They also were ordered to shoot an enemy in the back if he ran and to engage with swords if they stayed to fight. This kept the formation tight and kept the cavalry from chasing people in different directions and getting cut off from each other. They are my favorite military force to do research on. But you forgot the part about the Swedes defeating all of these nations on her own and chasing the Russians all over Russia as Peter "the great" begged for peace. But The Young Lion of the North, went too far into Russia and had to retreat when Sweden was being attacked back home again. His return was this battle and his final campaign. My father was very proud that Sweden itself was never conquered. Just lost all her war territory gains.
"They defeated all these nations on their own before they defeated them" isn’t the dunk you think it is. The situation in reality was Charles XII was an excellent field commander but a terrible politician and diplomat. He should have made a quick peace with the Russians once he knocked the Danes and Saxons out of the war, but he didn’t. He shouldn’t have committed war crimes in Poland that would guarantee them rejoining the war, but he did. And perhaps more fatally, he should have concentrated on fighting Denmark while fighting Denmark-Norway, as had worked in 1700, rather than repeatedly try to conquer Norway with the terrible conditions there. And most important of all, he should have tried to avoid getting sucked into the wars in the first place. Ceding Peter the Great the city he wanted at the start of the conflict would have saved the rest of the Empire and allowed him to beat his other foes. The man may be praised for his skill as a strategist, but his pride and stubborness was an incredible disaster for Sweden and Finland. Tens of thousands of people dead, starving, sick and enslaved for the sake of his ego.
I think you were blinded by vain glory of war and pride, same as Charles XII. In reality Charles XII is a warmonger. Do you think all of Caroleans war is just with Russia?. What about Denmarl, Norway, Prussian, Saxony?. What about the sack of Poles nobility done by Charles that indirectly created yeare of Anarchy in Poles, why does he prolonged the war and left Finland on its own?, where was he when Sweden were in chaos after his defeat at Poltava?, i dunno maybe sucking Ottoman Sultan some relief for war, while his entire navy were destroyed and Finland ravage. And when the only time he got back to Sweden, not in a year he immedietly goes to war and got himself killed and his entire army froze to death. He is such a great King that he lead his nation into a glorious irrelevancy for next centuries.
History books so often only give statistics; I appreciate how you humanize the loss of lives and treat those statistics as the individual people they were.
This isn't the only time an army marched into snowy mountainous terrain and lost many of their solders to a blizzard. There was a similar incident in Japan, though that one was meant as a training exercise.
Even though you obviously already know the story, he covered that one on this channel and I still totally recommend watching his rendition. I know I watched it in the last year sometime, but I don't know if it was a new upload or just an old one that I'd never seen until then.
Good morning or good day to everyone hope all is well fantastic work as always Sean i really appreciate your time work dedication put into your content it definitely shows thanks once again man
So far the friendly scandinavians...Ever the same old story, a guy behind a desk made a nice plan and thousands died...Thanks for the rare info about this disaster! Ludwig
When I saw the title I thought this was about the Antuco Tragedy, this might be a topic you want to check, is way more contemporary, but definitely something worthy of this channel.
When in high school 40 yrs ago then college I didnt much care about history. My late husband watched The History channel and other shows. And I started watching when older. So I watch and read about history of world and country. I regret not caring and just wanting the diploma.
Because nobility get grumpy at each other & use normal people to sort out their grievances instead of getting in the ring & fighting it out amongst themselves.
Something that is important to understand is that a soldier only got 1 shot and then had to reload, which took 20-30 seconds. Therefore, if another army is running at you, you only had 1 or maybe 2 shots from the time they got within musket range, until they got close enough for bayonets.
Aye. The Battle of Fontenoy, France versus England. The French said to the English- Men of England, fire first! A gallant, noble action, inviting the enemy to take the first shot, from a distance far enough away that hitting your men is a long-shot. Then, while the enemy reloads their muskets, charge, get closer, ensure your first volley causes great harm to the enemy! Yes, the French won that battle!
So I always listen to Scary Interesting when I’m in bed to help me wind down. I link my phone to an Echo dot speaker that sits on the nightstand beside my bed for better sound quality. Last night I was on the verge of dozing off when I heard this strange noise that sounded like a bird fluttering its wings near my head!! It startled me so much that I sat up and started looking around for the bird!! Naturally there wasn’t one so I lay back down and went back to listening to the story. A few minutes later just as I’m nodding off again, I heard the same noise again! This time I get out of bed and I’m looking around my bedroom thinking “what the hell?!” I finally figured out it was a sound effect from the video and started laughing hysterically. God only knows what my neighbors thought if they heard me last night! 😂🤣
I live in Trondheim and it was fortified against an attack like this. We learned about this invasion in school. Every time our fortress is under restoration I like to joke that the Swedes are coming :)
i know this story but didn't know down to these details. amazing! i've been to the area several times and to Fredriksten fortress in Halden where king Karl was shot. he was most probably murdered by his own men. the nordic history is ful with such unbelievable stories but somehow everyone is stuck with the vikings and have no idea about the rest.
In high school this kind of history lesson (from a textbook) would have bored me to death. Now i seek it out, and the presentation format holds my attention and interest, even with worst case of adhd 😎👍🏼
I've been to those mountains, on the swedish side. It's cold as fuck and deep snow. The terrain is barely traversable. At that time of the year the night is about 16 hours long. I can't imagine how anyone could come up with the idea to try to cross it without proper gear. Even with snowmobiles and modern equipment it would be a serious challenge. To try with just some cotton jacket and light leather shoes is crazy.
I live close to the place this death marsch started from and have visited the memorial of Amfelths Karoliner in the border mountins betwen Sweden and Norway a few times. In my military service we did the marsch, called ”Bergsartilleri marschen” (Mountin artillery marsch).
This channel is top-notch, but it doesn't stop people from making petty complaints in the comment section of every single video. If such minor things bother you so much that you can't get into the video or even enjoy it, maybe this type of content just isn't your thing.
Love your videos! They get me thru rough times. I've lost my wife + kids + dogs + way of life, but when Shawn uploads a new video none of that matters 😇 Thank you
8:02 There was a large painting depicting the kings march hanging on one of the walls in the entrance of the school I used to go to. Without doxxing the school (which I may be doing now anyway) it got its name from the Carolines as a tribute after they passed through on that specific march.
Besides the actual story you narrated, this video is an excellent synopsis of how economics, specialisation of labour (in this case, training of soldiers), and politics, to name just a few issues, are intimately intertwined… to study history is to learn so much more than a few names and dates!
No kidding. I had no idea how the advent of firearms changed everything.
More than anything, history provides perspective.
The more history I learn the greater I appreciate my life and the hardships I’ve eluded by merely being born in the time period I did.
@@JudasMaccabeus1this, I tell people now if you want to be more grateful for your life get into history, especially war history
@@JustTryingToTH-cam I totally agree with you on that. Example: there is no way I’d survive to adulthood if I was born at any time during the 30 Years War. That was pure hell on earth.
Excellent! Thanks for your input!
"If you couldn't hold onto the borders of your own kingdom, quite likely your neighbour would be happy to look after them for you" - That's a very gentlemanly way of putting it.
Just as true these days, too.
😂
Alot of peope dont seem to understand that anymore
In these areas the border between Sweden and Norway is marked by piles of stones painted yellow on the top of some high point. Standing on one of these I could see probably 30 miles into Norway and no human was in sight. I told my Swedish wife if she moved the yellow stones to the next hilltop west she could gain territory for Sweden but she didn't think it worth the trouble.
Don't get me started...
I was half expecting some of them to cobble together some scuba gear and try to cave dive their way home.
😂😅😂
lol wrong episode but close!
A few of them did but its not wery well known
😂😂😂
How do you half expect something??
I live in Trondheim. People are still finding equipment and bones from the Caroleans in the mountains between here and Sweden.
I still appreciate so much that sean records every single intro instead of copy+paste every episode. It’s such a small thing but it really shows me the amount of care he puts in to every episode.
Id just like to add how his comment section for the most part are all positive in some way, and not the normal toxic cesspool that somehow always devolves into politics.
@ i think seans voice puts people into a dozey trance 😂
No anger allowed
Started watching the video to hear about soldiers dying in a snowstorm. Stayed to hear about Sweden's warfare doctrine in the 18th century.
this should be a t-shirt 🤣
Watching SandRhoman like:
Can I introduce you to Sabatons 2012 album: Carolus Rex
Can you please not? I'm tired of hearing about sabaton
@@EvMund I’m sorry your taste is so poor, or that you felt the need to respond as if I owe you anything
Beginning a campaign into Western Asia before winter seemed extraordinary folly.
Marching a forced retreat through the Norwegian mountains in winter is some new kind of frozen hell.
Yes, VERY frozen. Also sending troops without rations to fight a war... seriously????
Charles the XII was many things, cautious wasn't one of them.
Yes!
@@Pottan23 A king that was never hungry or cold wouldn't know that people could be lethally hungry or cold. Not so invincible so far outside the comfort of the king's private chambers.
@Yui714 tell me you don't know a thing about Charles XII without telling me you know nothing about Charles XII 😂
As a Scandinavian I'm ashamed that we don't learn about these sort of historical events in school these days.
Thanks for making such a fascinating video.
We do [in Sweden]. Just not this in depth. We'd need to expand the school day to fit in more history class if we were to go into stuff like this. As a former school student, that would be about as far as worth as you could get. But this is absolutely mentioned and taught.
Public school is good for literacy and arithmetic. It's useless for art, science and history.
yeah i agree. its quite fascinating
There's a pretty cool exibition at Teknikland near Östersund about Karolinernas dödsmarsch
We do indeed.
In Trondheim, the university's orienteering club organises a particularly tough competition every autumn. There's a tradition that a certain "C.G.Armfeldt" is always on the start list for the men's race, and he's always announced as "Missing/Did Not Finish" at the end 😉🇳🇴
Grim, love it.
That's cold!
@@Styphon Well they are quite near the Arctic..... lol
As an ancestor to Armfeldt I should be offended, but I can't help finding that funny.
@Skeppsvrak I think he's be pretty chill with it
As a Finn I must say that Charles XII is often a hugely glorified king and sometimes I ofcourse feel this way about him too when I look at the early stages of the Great Northern War. But this king wanted everything and refused to accept any peaceterms even when his subjects were suffering all around him. In the end he only seemed to care about his glory. He did fight in the frontlines with the men, I do give him that, but that action was also very irresbonsible for a king. Eventually that bravery caused a huge chaos by him dying either by his fed up soldiers or the Norwegians from the castle walls.
What I would like to add to this story is that this was happening at the same time when Finnish area (integral part of the Swedish kingdomn at the time) was under the rule of very harsh Russian forces. We call this time period the Great Wrath. A time when 20 000 - 30 000 (about 10% of the whole Finnish population) Finns were taken as slaves by these invaders -some of them ended up as sexslaves as far away as Persia- and basically the whole country was used as a pillaging ground for 7 years (1714-1721). While it's impossible to say how much did these Finnish soldiers knew about what was happening in their homeland, I do believe that they had some knowledge after so many years. It must have been so painful to literally march the other way from suffering family members in this forlorn hope action because of this king. Glorified men are nice stories for the historybooks and TH-camvideos but usually misery for people living at their time. To me this Carolean Death March is a reminder of how somehow one foolish uncaring stuborn boy can be responsible for thousands of men wasting away.
@@samis6553 True that. This campaign in particular truly shows the folly of war. Nobody "won" here. Denmark-Norway did on paper, but most of the civillians and soldiers around Trondheim at this time were starving even before the invasion came and worsened it. Sweden lost its king and depleted its military. And like you said, most of the forces were Finnish and probably wished to be at home rather than campaign in Norway.
Such were the times. It's not like French, Spanish, Russian and other kings terribly cared about the fates of common people.
@@jetblackjoy No disagreement with that for sure! And ofcourse the upperclass were grown up to be a warriorclass and above others from birth so it is what it is (or was).
As a Swede I agree. He is unjustly glorified for all the reasons you list (and many more). I think we, the Swedes, are woefully unaware of the cruelty we have brought on our neighboring nations and I think that unawareness is embarrassing.
real
Nice! I suggested this topic because it's not well known internationally. Gonna watch this video with some nice dinner.
*Breakfast here now... cheers 🍻.* 👨🏾🍳🍳
Dinner? It's 10 am mate! I kid
Yea 11am here but almost lunch time 😊
Thanks I've never heard this story before
I worked in Harstad and Bardufoss during two winter periods. Very beautiful country but brutal winters 🥶.
Amazing, glad to see this incident described in detail, you do manage to find stuff that is mostly overlooked but does actually make for a fascinating story
Please continue a steady stream of videos that are in the time frame of 1600s to early 1900s i find the time and the stories fascinating!
Haha same here… if I could only watch movies, read books and watch videos about one period of history for forever it would be 1600-1900 - I have no idea why
Far enough in the past to have that sense of "foreign-ness" while still being relatable.
As an American, you've singlehandedly taught me more gun history than any teacher has in 13 years of primary school and 4 years of college.
Yeah, we don't exactly respect history in the states! It's probably why we're always trying to change it!
My son just wrote two papers on guns for English in high school, I proofread them and learned more that way than anywhere else (the fear associated with AR’s and military upgrade from M4’s-son is a military history buff especially when it comes to the evolution of tanks)
We can tell you Americans learn nothing about guns don't worry
Why would you give any gun history lessons in primary school?
@@panzerveps😂
My family lives in Stjørdal and i work in Trondheim, i have lived in Verdal and know this area very well, so it’s very interesting to hear this. Never heard this before.
I live in the area. For a long time after the march, men with sawn of foots and legs ware trying to make their way home.
Grim.
How old are you???
@@debrickashaw9387 This has been told for generations in the area. Obviously he's not from 1719.
@@debrickashaw9387 347yrs old
Can't be sure of anything these days @@kristofferhellstrom
Sweden went from most aggressive military force to Neutral war policy ever. You did an amazing job with the details as always. Thank you for your hard work on this historical moments.
There was also another death march Charles XII is responsible for: 10 years prior, in Swedish invasion of Russia he led an army of 35,000 troops and marched it all the way into Eastern Ukraine until he reached Poltava in Spring of 1709 with only 20,000 troops remaining. The winter of 1709 is said to have been the coldest in 500 years. In the Battle of Poltava the rest of the army was annihilated. Charles XII survived and fled further south to the Ottoman Empire.
I do think it's also important to mention that alot of the deaths in that march was a direct consequence of Russias scorched earth policy and massacres of their own villages.
Wasn't it like a turning point in war, where Swedish started to suffer from more and more losses?
It's very interesting to hear about this. I've been living in Sweden most of my life, and not once did i hear about this in school growing up. I know we had a very good army way back, but never did i expect something like this happend. And that the King died during that war.
Thank you for the video and enlightening me about my country!
Vi fick lära oss om detta i mellanstadiet i början på 2000-talet, det skiljer sig evt från kommun/lärare vad som lärs ut
I really like the background music you all play in your videos. It definitely adds to the creepy ambiance of the videos.
In Norway it is called "Karolinernes dødsmarsj" and translates to "The Carolean Death March".
As a scandi, I could guess from the thumbnail what todays story was about. The march of the Karolian is a sad part of our history.
sad? It literally help end an almost 20 year old war. Tragic by all means. Sad only if youre a swedish imperialist..
@nakenfaan I am sad for the lives lost due to a stupid venture, not uncommon in wars, that does not make me an imperalist. But if you want to misinterpret, go ahead…..
@@nakenfaan When the swedis imperialist loses, the russian imperialist wins.
When the new drafting system was adopted they changed the names for more recognisable names. They could'nt have 36 Karlsson and 25 Svensson and 30 Johansson in a company. Many got names of personal qualities such as:
Snygg = Handsome
Trotsig = Defiant
Stolt = Proud
Stark = Strong
Trygg = Safe, secure
We are many today still carrying that remnant of Swedish history.
All the Finns who served were given a "soldier's surname", and even today you can still tell if someone has Carolean soldier as their ancestor, by their surname.
Oien: island inthe middle of a lake: my mom's line.
Starts cranking up Sabaton’s “Carolus Rex” album!
"See the white in their eyes Caroleans are marching on..." 🤘🏾🎸🎵
I didn't expect the channel to go in this direction. I like it!
Sunday got a little better :)
Not for those guys!!!
Best timing, love your uploads Scary Interesting
I absolutely love how you did a deep dive into the mechanical history of European warfare before you got into the story proper. This kind of attention to detail and context is why I find you to be such a compelling storyteller. You're wonderful
Thanks!
Thanks so much for supporting the channel!
Been home sick binging the videos ive missed, glad theres 1 more :)
*Instantly Sabaton Music Starts Playing*
Fränder! Bröder! Vår Stormaktstid är Över!!
@@tacobanana6491 Vort rige bløder, fanen står i brand!
@@tacobanana6491 Vårt rike blöder, fanan står i brand
Aldrig, aldrig, aldrig återvända
Svea stormaktstid till ända!
r/expectedsabaton
Marching across the mountains in winter without winter clothes. Truly, Karl XII was a special kind of military genius. :P
The campaign was planned to end long before winter though.
@tamaskosa4456 Yes, but you still plan for contingencies. This wasn't even the first time he fucked up in this exact way so apparently he wasn't capable of learning from mistakes either. Why far right nationalists worship this guy is beyond me.
He was dead by this point though
@@tamaskosa4456
True, but at the same time was the campaign started way to late in the year as the difficulties involved in it were totally underestimated.
It reminds me of Putin thinking he would take Ukraine with in a few days and a few weeks at most.
Starting a campaign against Norway where they needed to march on foot in the autumn and into the winter was pure insanity.
They were lucky with the weather at the beginning as the winter came later than usual and their losses would have much higher if the winter had come at a normal time of the year for that area.
The same that the Germans did with Russia in ww2. Did not work out well for them either
I love your historical stories. Thank you!
Just outside of Trondheim is a village called Hell, it sits at the end of a valley leading past the Hegra fortress which guards a pass to Sweden that held off the Germans in WW2, Hell means cliff or overhang in Norweigen.
Awesome video! The opening bit were you explain the historical context of the Carolingians is soooo good and informative! If you ever think about branching your historical content out I would love to see it!!
One interesting effect of this disastrous campaign is that it made the Swedish army more or less permanently hesitant about campaigning in the Norwegian mountains, fearing they would be swallowed up like Armfeldt’s force. While a handful more minor wars happened between Sweden and Denmark-Norway after this, it was mostly Denmark-Norway striking into Sweden interspersed with a few Swedish border raids. Only almost a century later, in 1814, did Sweden try a large scale invasion again, after the Norwegians revolted against Denmark in response to their imminent handover to Sweden as part of the peace treaty after Napoleon’s fall (Denmark-Norway had been a French ally).
Even then they stuck to the milder south coast, and after it took over a month of skirmishes through the forests to approach the Norwegian capital, the Swedish commander and future king, General Bernadotte, realized the campaign would last into the winter if they had to march into the mountains, and agreed to a compromise peace with the Norwegians where the countries would share a monarch but have separate governments and militaries.
A century after that again, when the Union collapsed in 1905, the Norwegians had constructed a series of heavy border fortifications throughout the southeast, to force the Swedes to attack through the mountains, and once again the Swedes wavered, maintaining the union not being worth the risk of another incredibly dangerous mountain campaign.
In this way, the military trauma of Armfeldt’s Disaster helped shape the division of Scandinavia into three independent countries we still have today 300 years after the march.
I would love it if you told more history in these regions in general! It’s not really taught anywhere but it’s super interesting
"'Conquer Norway,' they said. 'It'll be fun,' they said!"
😂😂😂
Mother Nature: No ❤
They should've considered not trying to conquer Norway instead
@@Yui714 But we did later conquer Norway so yeah
@@kingmarre9130 When?
My girlfriend hates that I talk so much about Scary Interesting and recommend it to EVERYONE of my friends or anyone I meet. Literally my favorite channel on TH-cam and have watched every single video, some of them multiples. Also, she hates that I don't switch back to my account when I comment :)
Lol same 😅 And just FYI, everyone itself is a group: "... recommend to everyone." / "... recommend to every one of my friends or anyone I meet".
Leave her
Bruh @@ToucanSonofSam333
!?
Lol ok
I would like everyone to imagine our population of 18-35 year olds being put into a situation like this! The strength of character in these men in this terrible scenario is remarkable! I like the historical videos ❤
I'm afraid 9 out of 10 wouldn't make it😮...
Why imagine. You can watch this sort of thing in real time. There are plenty such things happening in Ukraine to 18-50 year olds. It's all on x and tiktok
you realize they didn't have a choice right? They were given orders and if they weren't followed they were executed for insubordination. Same with nearly every fighting force in history.
This the #1 channel I look for new videos on.
Just wanted to share 😁
Thanks 👍
You could be talking about a puppy rolling around in a paper bag and I’d listen. You make your stories so interesting and engaging :)
I'm about to head out for brunch. Your videos are the best to wake up to. RIP to those poor souls.
One of your best yet 👌
I’m kind of surprised at how effectively you explained the emergence of the Nation State in the 18th century lol
I always look forward to your uploads.
Just finished a new MrBallen episode to find out this just got uploaded. What a lovely Sunday.
Going over to mrballen after this. This popped up first
No way?!
A new story yesterday AND a new one today?
I don't believe you!
Nope!
Just checked!
New Mr Ballen was yesterday, 22 hours ago.
You're late to this ballen game!
Get it?!
They both used to upload on Sundays, which obviously made Sundays pretty great, but I've noticed MrBallen has been uploading on Saturdays here lately, which means I don't have to open up TH-cam on Sunday afternoons and choose between which one I want to watch first anymore. I've also seen this channel uploading randomly at times during the week lately, too, so it's been nice getting multiple Scary Interesting videos per week.
As a Swedish person I cant take MrBallen's name serious.
You've done a great job of revealing a part of European history not taught in U.S. schools. The visuals behind the story are fascinating. Obviously, some of the pictures are created or enhanced for this episode. In the case of historic art and drawings, it would be nice to know who the creators are.
Never miss this,one, of the best channel going today.
I just celebrated Christmas with a friend where this happened. We also discussed this subject with the family. What are the odds of you making a video about this at the same time.
Great video as always.
"a grim, stop motion retelling of their journey" 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Sean your storytelling and voicing is so impressive
I had Swedish ancestors in the military then. I think I'll get too weird about this.
Your profile pic fits the comment well.
Army vs Winter not often does the Army win. I have a lone Dane in my Norwegian lineage who was noted to be a Soldier in a 1700's Danish Norwegian War. Afterward he came back to marry the woman he loved and they stayed in Norway.
As someone who lives in the area, this is still kinda living history. There are tons of areas with information signs, old fortifications, reenactments, etc.
Every few years, there are still artefacts found in the mountains.
I love your unbiased factual take on history bro too many channels get into their bias and it ruins the educational part keep it up 💪
Thanks for covering the Swedish Empire. The Karoleans were one of the first professional militaries. It wasn't communities it was farmsteads that had one professional warrior and they were forbidden to do farm work. They were to do nothing but practice shooting, swordsmanship, and horse riding.
The size of the farm determined if you were Calvary or infantry based on the ability to care for several horses or not. The farm avoided paying taxes this way. They spent a month traveling learning regiment formations and battle drills as they got to know their battle buddies in their units made up of men from surrounding communities.
Most nations used massive armies of conscripts that didn't see a rifle until they got a crash course before battle. The Swedes were so effective that they routinely defeated armies several times their size. Their tactics and the fact that everyone had a sword instead of a bayonet greatly helped them fight as a single organism.
They even carried 20mm muskets which is the smallest calibre cannon that you find on a helicopter gunship today. Huge! They could literally shoot through the entire ranks of enemy lines before charging their cavalry into the breach to divide the entire enemy army in two.
They also were ordered to shoot an enemy in the back if he ran and to engage with swords if they stayed to fight. This kept the formation tight and kept the cavalry from chasing people in different directions and getting cut off from each other.
They are my favorite military force to do research on. But you forgot the part about the Swedes defeating all of these nations on her own and chasing the Russians all over Russia as Peter "the great" begged for peace. But The Young Lion of the North, went too far into Russia and had to retreat when Sweden was being attacked back home again. His return was this battle and his final campaign. My father was very proud that Sweden itself was never conquered. Just lost all her war territory gains.
"They defeated all these nations on their own before they defeated them" isn’t the dunk you think it is. The situation in reality was Charles XII was an excellent field commander but a terrible politician and diplomat. He should have made a quick peace with the Russians once he knocked the Danes and Saxons out of the war, but he didn’t. He shouldn’t have committed war crimes in Poland that would guarantee them rejoining the war, but he did. And perhaps more fatally, he should have concentrated on fighting Denmark while fighting Denmark-Norway, as had worked in 1700, rather than repeatedly try to conquer Norway with the terrible conditions there. And most important of all, he should have tried to avoid getting sucked into the wars in the first place. Ceding Peter the Great the city he wanted at the start of the conflict would have saved the rest of the Empire and allowed him to beat his other foes. The man may be praised for his skill as a strategist, but his pride and stubborness was an incredible disaster for Sweden and Finland. Tens of thousands of people dead, starving, sick and enslaved for the sake of his ego.
I think you were blinded by vain glory of war and pride, same as Charles XII. In reality Charles XII is a warmonger. Do you think all of Caroleans war is just with Russia?. What about Denmarl, Norway, Prussian, Saxony?. What about the sack of Poles nobility done by Charles that indirectly created yeare of Anarchy in Poles, why does he prolonged the war and left Finland on its own?, where was he when Sweden were in chaos after his defeat at Poltava?, i dunno maybe sucking Ottoman Sultan some relief for war, while his entire navy were destroyed and Finland ravage. And when the only time he got back to Sweden, not in a year he immedietly goes to war and got himself killed and his entire army froze to death. He is such a great King that he lead his nation into a glorious irrelevancy for next centuries.
History books so often only give statistics; I appreciate how you humanize the loss of lives and treat those statistics as the individual people they were.
Cover the Bataan Death March next
This was a great one! Thank you for the history lesson!
This isn't the only time an army marched into snowy mountainous terrain and lost many of their solders to a blizzard. There was a similar incident in Japan, though that one was meant as a training exercise.
Even though you obviously already know the story, he covered that one on this channel and I still totally recommend watching his rendition. I know I watched it in the last year sometime, but I don't know if it was a new upload or just an old one that I'd never seen until then.
Ah, yes. The Hakkoda mts hike.
Interesting. More gripping, and relevant, than the fiction we see on Netflix nowadays.
Fantastic Videos.Every single one is fantastic.im a huge fan.keep up the great content
Just ripped the bong and new scary interesting drops
Same but I just hit the rock pipe
O dam 👆😵
@@npickle54 bro what
Some real class acts here. Waste of dna
@npickle54 lol. not the same...
Good morning or good day to everyone hope all is well fantastic work as always Sean i really appreciate your time work dedication put into your content it definitely shows thanks once again man
So far the friendly scandinavians...Ever the same old story, a guy behind a desk made a nice plan and thousands died...Thanks for the rare info about this disaster! Ludwig
Well, Carl never sat ”behind a desk”. He fought in battles with pistols and sword. He also slept on the ground.
When I saw the title I thought this was about the Antuco Tragedy, this might be a topic you want to check, is way more contemporary, but definitely something worthy of this channel.
That “stop-motion” comment was so impactful to hear. You’re an awesome storyteller
And here I was thinking of Napolon
When in high school 40 yrs ago then college I didnt much care about history. My late husband watched The History channel and other shows. And I started watching when older. So I watch and read about history of world and country. I regret not caring and just wanting the diploma.
This channel is so authentic, I love it ❤
It’s crazy that humans do this to themselves. Like why not just stay at home and chill out?
Because nobility get grumpy at each other & use normal people to sort out their grievances instead of getting in the ring & fighting it out amongst themselves.
Because of the profit motive.
Because we are always seen as slaves (serfs, chattel or wageslaves)
Because the world is a constant struggle for survival.
You are either at the dining table or on it.
When surrounded by enemies this was an attempt to knock out one threat to avoid a twi front war. This was mentioned in the video.
Something that is important to understand is that a soldier only got 1 shot and then had to reload, which took 20-30 seconds. Therefore, if another army is running at you, you only had 1 or maybe 2 shots from the time they got within musket range, until they got close enough for bayonets.
Aye. The Battle of Fontenoy, France versus England.
The French said to the English- Men of England, fire first!
A gallant, noble action, inviting the enemy to take the first shot, from a distance far enough away that hitting your men is a long-shot.
Then, while the enemy reloads their muskets, charge, get closer, ensure your first volley causes great harm to the enemy!
Yes, the French won that battle!
I'm shocked that an army, from countries with millennia of dealing with winter conditions, was so poorly prepared for the cold and snow.
So I always listen to Scary Interesting when I’m in bed to help me wind down.
I link my phone to an Echo dot speaker that sits on the nightstand beside my bed for better sound quality.
Last night I was on the verge of dozing off when I heard this strange noise that sounded like a bird fluttering its wings near my head!!
It startled me so much that I sat up and started looking around for the bird!!
Naturally there wasn’t one so I lay back down and went back to listening to the story.
A few minutes later just as I’m nodding off again, I heard the same noise again!
This time I get out of bed and I’m looking around my bedroom thinking “what the hell?!”
I finally figured out it was a sound effect from the video and started laughing hysterically.
God only knows what my neighbors thought if they heard me last night! 😂🤣
I live in Trondheim and it was fortified against an attack like this. We learned about this invasion in school. Every time our fortress is under restoration I like to joke that the Swedes are coming :)
This is really well produced; what a wealth of historical military and economic information in such a small package!
i know this story but didn't know down to these details. amazing! i've been to the area several times and to Fredriksten fortress in Halden where king Karl was shot. he was most probably murdered by his own men. the nordic history is ful with such unbelievable stories but somehow everyone is stuck with the vikings and have no idea about the rest.
In high school this kind of history lesson (from a textbook) would have bored me to death. Now i seek it out, and the presentation format holds my attention and interest, even with worst case of adhd 😎👍🏼
I’ve visited the remote part of the mountains where most of the men died, it’s a very eerie place
This weather isn’t half as bad as what my grandparents from Florida had to deal with walking to school everyday.
😂😅😂. And uphill both ways.
@@stuartgmk with one shoe and no socks
Thank's for the quotes... for the record, a dry cold winter is much to preferre over a wet warm one.
I was thinking of the Bataan Death March. But this is equally as interesting.
I've been to those mountains, on the swedish side. It's cold as fuck and deep snow. The terrain is barely traversable. At that time of the year the night is about 16 hours long. I can't imagine how anyone could come up with the idea to try to cross it without proper gear. Even with snowmobiles and modern equipment it would be a serious challenge. To try with just some cotton jacket and light leather shoes is crazy.
Love your videos man!
love your editing.
I live close to the place this death marsch started from and have visited the memorial of Amfelths Karoliner in the border mountins betwen Sweden and Norway a few times. In my military service we did the marsch, called ”Bergsartilleri marschen” (Mountin artillery marsch).
Yeah it’s fackin cold up there
This channel is top-notch, but it doesn't stop people from making petty complaints in the comment section of every single video. If such minor things bother you so much that you can't get into the video or even enjoy it, maybe this type of content just isn't your thing.
I personally find the content so interesting and the videos so well put together that I don't even notice anything to complain about.
Very enjoyable. May I suggest the long march of O'Sullivan Beare as a follow up video.
Really interesting video! The loss of life was really tragic.
I work in construction and this channel allows me to warp through time and create miracles.
Love your videos! They get me thru rough times. I've lost my wife + kids + dogs + way of life, but when Shawn uploads a new video none of that matters 😇 Thank you
Very sorry for your losses, man.
@@BrianMerkey Dogs and kids are smart and loyal. They'll be back..
Sorry for your loss man.
@@giggiddy gosh unless they have passed away😢😢
@@psychonauty2020that is whats bein suggested. She left him and took everything.
8:02
There was a large painting depicting the kings march hanging on one of the walls in the entrance of the school I used to go to.
Without doxxing the school (which I may be doing now anyway) it got its name from the Carolines as a tribute after they passed through on that specific march.
I like how you give context for the adoption of firearms instead of ridiculing the medieval people for being so seemingly backwards
always a good day when scary interesting uploads 🙏
I appreciate the background research you do for each video. Can you do more cave diving videos?
I always thought reality was always more frightening than fiction even before i found this channel. Really love this channel btw.
Great. I live in Trondheim and have a cabin on The swedish border. This is lore
SI's art/production is still supreme.
these men endured all of this and you can’t even ask her out.