Soldier and Diplomat
He was born Arvid Bernhard Horn in Vuorentaka (now part of Salo, Finland Proper), Sweden, the son of Gustaf Horn af Kanckas and his wife Anna Helena von Gertten. After completing his studies at Turku, he entered the Swedish Army and served for several years in the Netherlands, in Hungary under Prince Eugene, and in Flanders under Waldeck (1690–1695). He stood high in the favour of the young Charles XII of Sweden and was one of his foremost generals in the earlier part of the Great Northern War. In 1704 he was entrusted with his first diplomatic mission, the deposition of Augustus II of Poland and the election of Stanislaus I of Poland, a mission which he accomplished with distinguished ability but absolute unscrupulousness. Shortly afterwards he was besieged by Augustus in Warsaw and compelled to surrender.
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