Question

Advances in military technology (i.e., the military revolution) led to new forms of warfare, including greater reliance on infantry, firearms, mobile cannon, and more elaborate fortifications, all financed by heavier taxation and requiring a larger bureaucracy. Technology, tactics, and strategies tipped the balance of power toward states able to marshal sufficient resources for the new military environment.
What states were most successful in the period between the Renaissance and the Treaty of Westphalia in "marshaling sufficient resources for the new military environment"? The Great Power States by 1650 included some smaller states including Sweden and The Netherlands. Explain how Gustavus Adolphus can be used as an example of the advances in technology, tactics and strategies?

Answer 1

Answer: In  modern systems, a successful State is a territorial unit. As a territorial unit, its sovereignty extends over all the individuals and other things within its given territory.  "A State is sovereign or the supreme power, within its territory and that state  sovereignty extends to all the individuals in a given territory." by Dunleavy and O'leary.

Explanation: Some successful states were separately constituted with their own laws and  institutions but dependent, such as Southern Netherlands and various states in Italy and around the Baltic. Gustavus had been a keen student of both the ancient discourses on military  tactics, and how/why they were used. He incorporated many of these neo-classic “innovations” into his army. Gustavus’ army thus  became more linear, more flexible and more maneuverable.