Pragfreden



"The Polish war is our war; win or lose, it is our gain or loss. This German war, I don't know what it is, only that we pour our blood here for the sake of reputation, and have nought but ingratitude to expect." -Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna to Johan Banér, 28 October 1634

Despite having these thoughts, the chancellor soon after made the decision to make a lasting peace with Poland and keep fighting in Germany - for another fourteen years, as it turned out.

In the end, it turned out all right for Sweden, but that outcome was far from inevitable from the perspective of 1634 and 5, when the Swedish presence in Germany was at its weakest point yet since the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632. This is a timeline where Sweden chooses its battles more cautiously and where the "Thirty Years' War" slowly glides to a stop in just under twenty.