1. Lennart Torstensson adapted the use of artillery on the battlefield, making it a more mobile weapon than previously known.
14 Facts About Lennart Torstensson
1. 2.
Lennart Torstensson's parents were Marta Nilsdotter Posse and Torsten Lennartsson, of the noble house Forstena, who was supporter of King Sigismund and, for a while, the commandant of Alvsborg fortress.
3.
Young Lennart Torstensson's parents fled to exile in the year of his birth because his father had confessed to being loyal to the deposed Sigismund.
4.
Lennart Torstensson was taken care of by relatives - his father returned to Sweden only when Lennart Torstensson was around twenty.
5.
Lennart Torstensson served during the Prussian campaigns of 1628 and 1629.
6.
On his way Lennart Torstensson noticed that the enemy had changed position, and he altered the King's orders correspondingly.
7.
When Lennart Torstensson returned he told Gustavus what he had done.
8.
Shortly thereafter, in 1629 Lennart Torstensson was put in charge of the Swedish artillery, which under his guidance contributed greatly to the victories of Breitenfeld and Lech.
9.
Lennart Torstensson served with distinction during the defence of Pomerania in 1637 and 1638, as well as at the Battle of Chemnitz and the raid into Bohemia in 1639.
10.
Lennart Torstensson was at the same time promoted to the rank of Field Marshal.
11.
In 1643 Lennart Torstensson invaded Moravia for the second time, but was suddenly recalled to invade Denmark, when his rapid and unexpected intervention paralysed the Danish defence on the land side, though Torstenson's own position in Jutland was for a time precarious owing to the skilful handling of the Danish fleet by Christian IV of Denmark.
12.
Lennart Torstensson was remarkable for the extraordinary and incalculable rapidity of his movements, though very frequently he had to lead the army in a litter, as his bodily infirmities would not permit him to mount his horse.
13.
Lennart Torstensson was often considered the most scientific artillery officer and most successful engineer in the Swedish army.
14.
Lennart Torstensson was married in 1633 to Baroness Beata De la Gardie, daughter of the Privy Councillor Johan De la Gardie and Katarina Kristersdotter Oxenstierna.