A military history of the 17th century and the 18th century
Friday, 30 November 2018
Death of Charles XII 300th
Today is the 300th anniversary of the death of Charles XII. Killed while in the trenches his demise saw the end of Sweden's imperial period. Read an essay by Julian Cope on the subject.
I have the Fran Benngtsen book on Charles which is where I originally saw the image of Charles plus bullet hole. Its interesting that in the book the theory was put forward that Charles was shot bu his Aide de Camp, a French soldier of fortune who disappeared after his death. The story was that Charles's troops were simply fed up and wanted to go home, of course it can never be proved, but very understandable given the lunacy of their king.
I have the Fran Benngtsen book on Charles which is where I originally saw the image of Charles plus bullet hole. Its interesting that in the book the theory was put forward that Charles was shot bu his Aide de Camp, a French soldier of fortune who disappeared after his death. The story was that Charles's troops were simply fed up and wanted to go home, of course it can never be proved, but very understandable given the lunacy of their king.
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