Background
He was born in Lohja to Princess Sigrid of Sweden.
He was born in Lohja to Princess Sigrid of Sweden.
He was appointed Privy Councilor in 1630, and Field Marshal in 1631. In the Thirty Years" War (1618–1648), he commanded troops at the Battle of Grubin, in 1627 and the Battle of Breitenfeld, in 1631. King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is said to have called him "the snow plow, who is going to clear the path for the rest".