Chodkiewicz, despite his small forces and limited supplies, more than holds his own against the Swedes.

He has instituted a new form of warfare based upon his use of the elite hussar cavalry and consequently the Swedes are repeatedly defeated in the open field.

First the Poles attack Swedish cavalry, after which they usually attack the demoralized Swedish infantry, which is unable to retreat at all, and the Poles usually annihilate whole formations of this infantry.

The Swedes again spend large sums of money in 1605 to conscript a new massive army.

The Riksdag spends much cash on conscripting new formations.

Moreover, Russian tsar Boris Godunov has given the Swedes much financial help, likely attempting to keep both Sweden and the Commonwealth busy during the Time of Troubles.

The Swedes are able to hire large numbers of mercenaries, as well as hiring many siege engineers from all over Europe.