Slaget om Breitenfeld : En analys med hjälp av de grundläggande förmågorna, marktaktiska grundprinciperna och ledningsfilosofin uppdragstaktik

Sammanfattning: The Battle of Breitenfeld took place in 1631, during the 30-year war. It was the biggest battle the Swedish army has participated in. The essay analyses the battle from a Swedish-Saxon perspective, using the basic skills, ground tactical principles and management philosophy of decentralized command. The essay is based on a case study stemming from a qualitative text analysis, and is as such divided into three parts. The first part of the essay describes my theory, and explains what the different terms stand for. The second part narrates the battle and the participating armies. Finally, in the third part, I analyze the Battle of Breitenfeld with the theories. The main question the essay aims to answer is: How can the Battle of Breitenfeld be explained with the help of the basic skills, ground tactical principles and decentralized command? To answer that question two research questions were used:Which of the basic skills and ground tactical principles were crucial for the Swedish-Saxon side to achieve victory? Can traces of decentralized command in the Swedish army be found? The essay concludes that Gustavus Adolphus built the Swedish armed forces with a sharp increase in the number of self-thinking officers and non commissioned officers which indicates that decentralized command, to some extent, was used.The also derives at the conclusion that effective use of a combination between firepower, maneuver and concentration of mass were crucial to the Swedish-Saxon victory.