The Swedish strategic dilemmas in 1721-1809
The strategic situation for Sweden changed dramatically after the end of the great Nordic war (GNW) in 1721, and the core lines should be the same for the coming 88 years. With the loss of Finland in 1809 the situation once again changed, but that is another story.
When you study the map, you will find that there are four main fronts that need our attention. In all four we will find that there are bout military/geographical factors and political/economical factors that makes each of the fronts important.
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1.
The eastern front. The new capital of Russia, St Petersburg is located
at the far end of Gulf of Finland. By land it's about 300 km to the Swedish
border but area is fairly easy to defend. There are large areas covered by of
forests and lakes, and the few good roads happens to pass by the old Swedish
forts of Viborg (fi. Viipuri, ru. Vyborg)
and Kexholm (fi
Käkisalmi, ru Priozersk).
On the other hand, the sea routs were vulnerable. A Hostile naval force could
easily block the gulf or land some troops close to the capital. Over the period
Sweden was to prove it self to be an unreliable neighbour, so the Russian
interest to secure the area is quite understandable.
After the disastrous war for revenge in 1741-43 the forts of Nyslott (fi Savonlinna), Villmanstrand (fi Lappeenranta) and Fredrikshamn (fi Hamnia) were lost. There were no forts at the new border, and the border itself has been extended into the lake Saimen. The lake was an important link between Karelia and southern Finland and that link was now cut of.
To defend Finland the castle of Sveaborg was constructed outside the small city of Helsingfors (fi Helsinki). The castle were to serve as an operational base for both the army and the archipelago fleet. Still the defence of Finland was not considered strong enough to withstand a serious Russian attack. The defence relied on the ability to bring in supply and reinforcements from "proper Sweden". The supply rout should preferably land at Sveaborg or somewhere close to the front in southern Finland.
In worst case, the ports in northern Finland like Wasa or Uleåborg had to be used to supply the army in Finland, but due to the bad conditions of the roads this was something to avoid if possible.
The need to keep the roads to Wasa and Uleåborg safe made the defence of Karelia to a key issue. A successful Russian push could catch the entire Swedish army in a giant trap, with no chance for supply or to escape. A special unit, the Savolax brigade, was organised and trained for defending this area.
2. The western front. In these years Norway was a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and every war with Denmark was sooner or later going to include a Danish push in the west. Since the mid 1700th century when Sweden got the upper hand on Denmark, the Danes had been looking for a strong anti-Swedish partner. In most cases that partner turned out to be the Russians. Sweden was probably strong enough to conduct a successful offensive against Denmark or Russia, but by threatening the Swedes with a two front war should make them think twice before starting anything stupid...
This had never been the Danish main front, but it was always dangerous and had to be watched and defended.
3. The southern front. The area was of special interest for the Danes, a former Danish province lost to Sweden in 1658. The area was rich, had a large population and contained Karlskrona, the home base for the entire Swedish navy. A successful Danish attack could be disastrous.
4. Pommerania. It wasn't very much left of the German provinces that Sweden had conquered during the thirty year war. The only thing left was the City of Wismar and Northern parts of Pommerania. The possession of these areas were still important. The taxes from the trade was still a large contribution to the state budget, and the fact that the Swedish king was the duke of Pommerania, he actually had a seat in the parliament of the German empire! This was of course a situation that annoyed the king of Prussia and a small but growing group of German nationalists. The province was almost impossible to defend. The defence relied on the survival of castle of Stralsund and the arrival of reinforcements from "proper Sweden". The Prussian navy was weak and should not cause any major problem, but once again you would never know if the Danes would interfere.
How to solve these dilemmas?
During the period the Swedish way to handle the situation changed a great deal. The parliament was dominated by two political parties, known as the "Caps" and the "Hats". (There is an interesting story about these names, but that you will have to find somewhere else.) In general the Caps favoured good relations with Russia, while the Hats went for a firm anti-Russian policy. The period is characterised by a heavy political corruption where the Russian, British and French embassies paid large bribes to gain influence in the parliament.
In 1772 king Gustav III ended it all by his coup d'etat. The coup was carried out by some young aristocratic officers but it actually drew support from large groups of the people. The only major opposition came from some parts of the aristocracy that now had lost their political influence. The coup is supported by France but the neighbours like Russia and Denmark are hostile. To ease the pressure Gustav marries a Danish princess and tries to charm Catherine of Russia. The two monarchs will exchange quite personal letters for several years, but it's obvious that no one trust the other...
At the same time Gustav is taking some actions to reduce the Russian-Danish threat. First he sign a pact with the Turks in order to put the Russians under a "two front threat". Secondly he plans to conquer Norway and asks for Catherine's support. In return he offers to break up the pact with the Turks, but she turns him down.
The revolution in France changes everything. Gustav makes several moves to save the French royal family. He has an agent in Paris (Axel von Fersen) that organises an escape, and there is also plans for a cavalry raid on Paris. In 1792 Gustav is assassinated and his more moderate brother (Karl XIII) takes the lead. During the British-French war the British navy is causing some heavy losses to the neutrals nations trading fleets. Now it's time for cooperation, so an anti British pact for armed neutrality is signed between Sweden, Denmark, Prussia and Russia.
When Gustav IV Adolf inherits the throne it's once again time for some changes. Gustav Adolf is an almost fanatic enemy of the French revolution, and his stubbornness and lack of realism will eventually make ways for some major changes in Scandinavia.