1.
Scanian War
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The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden, the war was prompted by Swedish involvement in the Franco-Dutch War. Sweden had allied with France against several European countries, the United Provinces, under attack by France, sought support from Denmark–Norway. After some hesitation, King Christian V started the invasion of Skåneland in 1675, the Danish objective was to retrieve the Scanian lands that had been ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde, after the Northern Wars. Although the Danish offensive was initially a success, Swedish counter-offensives led by the 19-year-old Charles XI of Sweden nullified much of the gain. At the end of the war, the Swedish navy had lost at sea, the Danish army had defeated in Scania by the Swedes. Peace was made on behalf of France with the treaties of Fontainebleau and Lund and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the 1660s and early 1670s, the Swedish Empire experienced a financial crisis. Also, Sweden maintained good relations to the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp south of Denmark, another defensive alliance formed in September 1672 between Denmark, Emperor Leopold I, the Electorate of Brandenburg, and the duchies of Brunswick-Celle, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Hesse-Cassel. This alliance maintained an army of 21,000 foot and 10,500 horse, and since May 1673, Brandenburg was then the second most powerful German state, and maintained its own standing army of 23,000 men. The Netherlands had been attacked by the French army in 1672, known as the rampjaar, in December 1674, Louis XIV of France called upon Sweden to invade Brandenburg. Wrangel advanced into the Uckermark, a region on the Brandenburg-Pomeranian frontier, Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg received the news in the Rhine valley, and turned northeast to confront Wrangel. As a result of defeat, Sweden appeared vulnerable, encouraging neighbouring countries that had suffered invasion by Sweden in the prior Swedish campaigns to join in the Scanian War. Count Peder Griffenfeld, a royal adviser, advised against it. But when the numerically superior Swedes lost the Battle of Fehrbellin on June 28,1675, Christian V saw his chance, and overcoming Griffenfelds opposition, attacked. The second largest Swedish garrison in North Germany, after Swedish Pomerania, was the twin Duchy of Bremen-Verden, for political reasons, and to prevent the Swedes from advertising and recruiting mercenaries, the Allies decided to conquer these two duchies. Denmark and Brandenburg-Prussia were joined by allies from the neighboring imperial principalities of Münster, the campaign began on 15 September 1675 with an Allied advance into the two Swedish duchies. They rapidly captured one Swedish fortress after another, by the end of the year only the Swedish headquarters town of Stade and Carlsburg were still in Swedish hands. In November the Allies sent their troops into winter quarters with the result that the conquest of the last remaining Swedish strongholds had to wait until the following year, Stade did not surrender until 13 August 1676
2.
Halmstad
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Halmstad is a port, university, industrial and recreational city at the mouth of Nissan in the province of Halland on the Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat of Halmstad Municipality and the capital of Halland County, the city had a population of 92,797 in 2012, out of a municipal total of over 90,000. Halmstad is Swedens 20th-largest city by population and located about midway between Gothenburg and Malmö and it is Europes northernmost city with a lot of timber framing architecture. Halmstad, at the part of the Kingdom of Denmark, received its first city charter in 1307. The oldest remains of that first town are to be found at Övraby upstream on Nissan, just south of, the remains of the church can still be seen today between a defunct brick industry and a former landfill. In the 1320s the town moved to the present day town centre, at this time there were two monasteries in the town and during the 15th century the St. Nikolai church was built. Halland was the object of numerous battles, sieges and occupations by Swedish troops, during the Kalmar Union – a Nordic Union between Sweden, Norway and Denmark which lasted between 1400 and 1520 – it was in Halmstad that the Union King was to be finally selected. 1619 is an important date in the history of Halmstad, in March of that year, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden and Christian IV met at the castle. Over a period of a week they celebrated the payment in full of the Älvsborg ransom, august of the same year saw the destruction of Halmstad by fire. Halland became part of Sweden for a period of thirty years when peace was declared at the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 made this acquisition permanent. Sweden defeated Denmark in the Battle of Fyllebro which took place in 1676 just outside Halmstad, the first May Day demonstration in Sweden was held in Halmstad in 1897. The population grew from 48,800 in 1990 to 58,577 in 2010, in September 2007 the city hosted the Solheim Cup, which was played at the Halmstad Golfklubb. In 2011 Halmstad was the port of the Tall Ships Races. Halmstad has the south Scandinavian variety of the relatively wet climate with warm summers and cool to cold winters. Founded in 1983, Halmstad University is a higher education institution offering bachelors and masters programs in various fields of study. In addition, it conducts Ph. D. programs in three fields of research, Information Technology, Innovation Science and Health Science, Halmstad University has more than 9000 students, including 245 exchange students and 163 international programme students
3.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
4.
Swedish Empire
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The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Swedens territorial control of much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries, a time when Sweden was one of the great European powers. The beginning of the Empire is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, in Swedish history, the period is referred to as stormaktstiden, literally meaning the Great Power era. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy, in territories acquired during the periods of de facto noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also a trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper. The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to efforts of the nobility. However, in the course of this war as well as in the subsequent Scanian War, Sweden was able to maintain her empire only with support of her closest ally. Charles XI of Sweden consolidated the empire and ensured a period of peace, before Russia, Saxony and Denmark started an attack on his successor. Sweden emerged as a great European power under Axel Oxenstierna and King Gustavus Adolphus, during the Thirty Years War, Sweden managed to conquer approximately half of the member states of the Holy Roman Empire. After France had intervened on the side as Sweden, the fortunes would shift again. As the war continued, it turned more and more grim, although exact population estimates do not exist, historians estimate that as many as one-third of the people in the Holy Roman Empire may have died as a result of the war. At the same time, Sweden joined the other important northern European nations in founding overseas colonies, New Sweden was founded in the valley of the Delaware River in 1638, and Sweden later laid claim to a number of Caribbean islands. A string of Swedish forts and trading posts was constructed along the coast of West Africa as well, at the conclusion of the Thirty Years War, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations. Sweden demanded Silesia, Pomerania pay a sum of 200,000 Riksdaler out of the lands they would receive, or 2) surrender a fourth of the property itself. Against this, the over-taxed lower estates protested, and the Diet had to be suspended, the king intervened, not to quell the commons, as the senate insisted, but to compel the nobility to give way. He proposed a committee to investigate the matter before the meeting of the next Riksdag. Charles X Gustav had done his best to recover from the extravagance of Christina. However, his own desire for military glory may have caused problems for his country, in three days, he persuaded the Swedish estates of the potential of his attack on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw on July 10,1654, the Polish-Swedish War expanded into a general European war. He achieved passage over the Belts and emerged triumphant, only to die of sheer exhaustion, immediately after his death, a regency was appointed to govern Sweden during the minority of his only son and successor, Charles XI of Sweden, who was four years old
5.
Charles XI of Sweden
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Charles XI, also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire. Charles was the son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. His father died when he was five years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen, soon after, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XI does not mean that he was the 11th king of Sweden who had the name Charles. His fathers name was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden and this descendant was actually the 5th King Charles. The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf, Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father, Charles X of Sweden, left Sweden in July to fight in the war against Poland, after several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659 and gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. In mid-January 1660 he fell ill and one month later he wrote his last will, per Brahe was one member of the council. In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and these provisions among others led to the remainder of the council immediately challenging the will. February 14, the day after King Charles Xs death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected. The council answered that the will must first be discussed with the parliament, and at the council in Stockholm on May 13. The parliament questioned whether it would be good for her health or suitable for a widow to attend council, and her reply that the council would be allowed to meet without her and only inform her when they considered it necessary was met with satisfaction from the council. Hedwig Eleonoras ostensible indifference to politics came as a relief to the lords of the guardian government. His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672. During his first appearances in parliament, Charles spoke to the government through her and he would whisper the questions he had in her ear, and she would ask them aloud and clearly for him. As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports, exercise and he appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties are now seen as evident signs of dyslexia, according to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs
6.
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
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Baron Simon Grundel-Helmfelt was a Swedish field marshal and governor. Helmfelt is most notable for his victory at the Battle of Lund despite being heavily outnumbered by Danish troops. He served in the Thirty Years War from 1641 and distinguished himself at the Battle of Breitenfeld and he was knighted in 1646, when he changed his name from Grundel to Grundel-Helmfelt. Later that year he was wounded outside Rain am Lech by a musket bullet, in 1649 he was promoted to Colonel of the Artillery and in 1655 to General of the Infantry. In 1656, he was appointed Governor of Riga, where he defended the town against Tsar Alexej. He became Governor-General of Ingria in 1658, helmfelt returned to Stockholm in 1676 to become Commander-in-chief of the Swedish army during the Scanian War. He was killed the year at the Battle of Landskrona
7.
Battle of Rathenow
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The Battle of Rathenow was the first engagement between the forces of Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden in the Swedish-Brandenburg War. The battle took place on 256 and ended with the capture of the town of Rathenow, the front of which had been occupied by Sweden, by the Brandenburg troops. The Swedes, led by Colonel Wangelin, had about 500 men, in 1674, Brandenburg entered the Franco-Dutch War against France and dispatched an army to Alsace. As a result, France persuaded Sweden to attack the undefended Electorate of Brandenburg, in late 1674, Swedish troops advanced from Swedish Pomerania well into the Electorate, thanks to the absence of any significant contingents of Brandenburg troops. Meanwhile, the main Brandenburg Army was fighting the French in Bavaria, the town of Rathenow was also occupied by Swedish troops, because Wrangel wanted to launch a crossing of the River Elbe at Havelberg from Rathenow and join forces with Hanoverian troops. His objective was the capture of the important Brandenburg fortress of Magdeburg, to that end the Swedish advance party under Colonel Wangelin occupied Rathenow, initially to secure the Havel crossings and then push forward to Magdeburg. The town of Rathenow was located on the bank of the River Havel. Of its medieval fortifications, only elements had survived, but these still offered adequate protection against an army not set on a long siege, so the gates were fortified and equipped with drawbridges. The Brandenburg plan was to assault the town through its western gate and their troops advanced under Field Marshal Georg von Derfflinger just before 2 clock over the Havel bridge. This enabled the dragoons to break into the town, meanwhile, the Elector had Major General von Götze and 600 musketeers advance along the mill embankment to the Mill Gate. Here fighting broke out, the Swedes proving able to hold their ground for the time being, another unit that attempted to enter the south side of the town from the Havel in boats, was also initially repulsed. Not until the attack did the Brandenburgers succeed in entering the town. The assault on the Mill Gate also prevailed and General von Götze succeeded in capturing it, after vigorous fighting, the Swedish garrison was defeated and their commander, Swedish Colonel Wangelin, surrendered. Wangelin and his comrades are taken prisoner, as well as the lieutenant colonel and major,2 captains and some lieutenants and they had 600 in all, the rest were all killed. If God had wanted us to do more, had we had our infantry with us, we would have beaten the enemy soundly, adieu, I can write no more. I die your faithful husband and your servant, the fight cost Sweden 200 dead and 270 prisoners. The Brandenburg troops lost only 100 men killed or mortally wounded and they also captured 500 to 600 horses from the Swedes. The Swedes, hitherto perceived as invincible, had suffered their first defeat, as a consequence of this setback, the Swedes had to abandon their plan to cross the Elbe at Havelberg in the vicinity of Rathenow, in order to attack the key Brandenburg fortress of Magdeburg
8.
Battle of Nauen
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The Skirmish at Nauen, took place on 276 near the town of Nauen between the vanguard of the Brandenburg-Prussian army and Swedish rearguard units during the Swedish-Brandenburg War. The engagement ended with the capture of the town of Nauen by Brandenburg-Prussia, the decisive military victory in favour of Brandenburg, however, took place at the Battle of Fehrbellin on the following day. In December 1674 a Swedish army from Swedish Pomerania invaded the undefended March of Brandenburg, the Swedish field marshal dispatched a spearhead under the command of Colonel Wangelin to Rathenow, in order to secure the line of the river. The situation suddenly changed when the Brandenburg army succeed in recapturing this strategically important location at the Battle of Rathenow and this coup, which completely surprised the Swedes, meant that it was no longer possible for them to cross the Elbe at Havelberg. When the Elector learned of this, he took up their immediate pursuit, in the meantime, a 1,200 strong Brandenburg advance guard under Lieutenant Colonel Sydow had ridden at the gallop to a position covering Nauen. The lakeland in front of the town was only passable over a causeway, so the Swedes had thrown up protective fieldworks, including several cannon. In spite of that, they offered no resistance when they saw a number of enemy horsemen advancing on them. Instead, they tipped their cannon into the lake and beat a hasty retreat. The fleeing soldiers were pursued by Brandenburg cavalry to the edge of the town of Nauen, the largest element of the Swedish contingent withdrew behind a stream beyond the town. A smaller element, a battalion of musketeers, occupied Nauen, meeting the advancing Brandenburgers with a fire from their muskets. Nevertheless, even before they were reinforced by cannon and more dragoons in front of the town,200 Brandenburg troopers succeeded in driving back a Swedish rearguard of 1,000 cuirassiers, in response, the Swedes rapidly surrendered the town of Nauen to Brandenburg and fled. During this further retreat, the pursuing Brandenburg cavalry inflicted further casualties on the Swedes, despite that, the Brandenburg cavalry could not capture the crossing over the stream behind the town. At the end of the bridge, the Swedes had erected a defensive position with several cannon, the fire from these guns forced the Brandenburgers to pull back with losses. Meanwhile, behind the Swedish fortification, the main Swedish army had deployed in order of battle, nevertheless, the enemy was in a good position, as before, so that a frontal assault would have been too fraught with risk. In addition, the Brandenburg troops were exhausted by their forced march, so the order was issued to pull back into and behind the town of Nauen and to pitch camp for the night. By the evening of 276 the two faced one another at close proximity. The Brandenburg side expected to battle the next morning in front of the gates of Nauen. The Swedes however used the cover of night to withdraw towards Fehrbellin, the Elector and his army broke camp the next day at 5,30 a. m. in order to continue the pursuit
9.
Battle of Fehrbellin
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The Battle of Fehrbellin was fought on June 18,1675 between Swedish and Brandenburg-Prussian troops. Along with the Battle of Warsaw, Fehrbellin was crucial in establishing the prestige of Frederick William, prior to the battle the Swedes and Brandenburg had been allies in various wars against the Kingdom of Poland. Leaving on 26 May 1675, he marched 250 kilometres to Magdeburg in only two weeks and this feat was considered one of the great marches in military history. He did it by abandoning his supply wagons and leaving large parts of the infantry behind, having his army buy supplies from the locals, the Swedes did not expect him to arrive that early. This ruse, combined with the speed of the Electors advance made the Swedes unaware of his arrival, field Marshal Derfflinger then personally led an attack on Rathenow with 7,000 cavalry and 1,000 musketeers, his approach slowed but hidden by heavy rain. Derfflinger impersonated a Swedish officer and convinced the guards to open the gates of the town by claiming that a Brandenburg patrol was after him. Once the gates were opened for him, he led a charge of 1,000 dragoons against the city and he was 69 years old at the time. Once Derfflinger had forced the Swedish garrison from Rathenow, Wrangel pulled back his troops toward Havelberg and his progress was greatly impeded by marshes that the summer rains had turned treacherous. On June 17, the Brandenburgian troops reached Nauen, meanwhile, Frederick Williams advance parties, under the command of Colonel Joachim Hennings and guided by locals, blocked the exits of the area. The Swedes, who had planned to cross the Elbe river in order to join forces with Brunswick troops, were forced back to their last position at Fehrbellin. The Swedish commander, Wrangel, found himself hemmed in by a bridge over the Rhin river by the town of Fehrbellin. Impassable marshes on both flanks left Wrangel little choice but to give battle south of the village of Hakenberg while his engineers repaired the span. A total of 6, 000–7,000 Brandenburgers with 13 cannons faced 7,000 Swedes with 28 guns and these guns opened fire around noon on the 18th and caused heavy casualties on the Swedish right flank. Wrangel, now aware of the threat, attempted several times to wrest control of the hills but was stopped each time by the Brandenburgian cavalry. The Brandenburgian cavalry then turned and routed a regiment of Swedish infantry, the Swedish right however had held up long enough though for the Fehrbellin bridge to be repaired and Wrangel was able to get a large portion of his army across before darkness fell. Frederick William rejected all his officers suggestions to shell the town, the Brandenburg troops lost about 500 men. Wrangels forces lost slightly more than the Brandenburgers but it is exactly how many. The Swedish infantry under Delwig lost 300–400 men alone, with 200 additional losses mostly attributed to the cavalry, of the 1,200 Dalwig Guards, all but 20 were killed or captured
10.
Battle of Lund
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The Danish had an army of about 13,000 under the personal command of 31-year-old King Christian V of Denmark, aided by General Carl von Arensdorff. The Swedish army, which numbered about 8,000, was commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt and it is one of the bloodiest battles in percent of casualties on both sides ever fought on European soil. After the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Fehrbellin and a number of Danish triumphs at sea, the Danes saw this as an opportunity to regain control over the Scanian lands, which had fallen to Sweden with the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde. The Danes invaded via Helsingborg in late June 1676 with an army of 14,000 men and this made it impossible for the outnumbered Swedish troops to effectively defend the recently acquired province. After a month, only the town of Malmö remained under Swedish control. In August, a Danish detachment tried to advance north, but Swedish King Charles XI had prepared a new army in the province of Småland, and the Danish advance was halted at the Battle of Halmstad. The Swedes had gathered 14,000 men by October, of which three-fourths were mounted and they slowly fought their way in an attempt to break the siege of Malmö. Swedish supply lines were thin due to frequent interceptions by local peasants under the command of Danish officers, in early November, the Danish king and his army had taken post at Lund, south of the Kävlinge River. The Danes controlled all the crossings, and the Swedish army was forced to camp on the north side. For one month this situation endured, but snow arrived in late November, on the morning of December 3, the Swedish General of Fortifications Erik Dahlberg reported to the king that the ice would hold their weight. The Danes assumed that the Swedes had gone into winter camp, before daybreak the Swedish army broke camp and made preparations to cross the river. The Swedes had 2,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry at their disposal, their Danish opponents had more than 5,000 infantry,6,000 cavalry, in addition to 1,300 Dutch marines—in all, about 13,000 men. Under the cover of a night, between 04,00 and 05,30, the entire Swedish force successfully crossed the river. The Swedish planned to attack the sleeping Danish camp with cavalry from the southeast, reconnaissance patrols reported that the ground between the two armies was unsuitable for mounted troops, so King Charles XI and his generals gathered to discuss the new situation. Most advisers pointed out that it would be foolish to attack by foot as the Danish army possessed much more infantry, additionally, the Swedes would likely lose the element of surprise during the long march towards the Danish camp. The king was eager to attack at once, but was swayed by his advisers and he ordered the troops to advance towards the hills just outside the north wall of Lund, to seize a tactical advantage. The hills would mean better terrain for the cavalry and the town itself would cover the Swedish southern flank, by then Danes had woken, and soon recognised the Swedish intentions. The Danes quickly broke camp and started to race the Swedes for control of the hills, the first skirmish was between the Swedish right wing and the Danish left wing, and ended in a draw
11.
Battle of Landskrona
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The Battle of Landskrona was fought on the Ylleshed moor, outside the town of Landskrona, in southern Sweden on July 14,1677, between Sweden and Denmark. On July 12 the Swedish army of 10,000 men had reinforced with 4,000 peasants from Småland. The Swedes planned to attack the Danish army that had weakened by losses at Malmö before reinforcements could arrive from Germany. The Danes however, had returned to Landskrona and camped on the hills west of the town. Early in the morning of July 14, Charles XI formed his army into four columns, but as soon as the Swedes got the enemy camp in sight they noticed that it was empty. This caused some confusion among the Swedish generals, most of them assumed that Christian V had retreated to Landskrona and that the Swedes should abort the operation. However Charles was determined to battle and kept his army marching towards the Danish camp. During the night Christian had moved his army down from the hills, the Swedish General Ascheberg spotted the Danish troops behind the wall. The Swedish army paused for one hour and at nine oclock formed itself into two lines at the north-east end of the moor. Although his generals advised against it, Christian decided to leave his position behind the wall. The two armies started advancing towards each other and were separated only by a small valley. The artillery exchanged fire but none of the sides were willing to attack across the dale, finally Charles XI and his guard on the right wing charged down the slope and up the other side. They were immediately surrounded and almost taken prisoner, but saved by the Household cavalry, the rest of the Swedish right wing followed and the battle began. After less than one hour the Danish left wing was routed, on the Danish right Christian V out-flanked the Swedes and when Field marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt was killed the Swedish left wing was scattered. However, backed up by the 4,000 peasants, the Swedes managed to escape, in the center the Danes took the initiative when General Russenstein attacked soon after both flanks were engaged. But as his left flank was unprotected it took a lot of punishment, at the same time Christian could not make the left flank of the Swedish center bulge. When the Swedish cavalry that had pursued the Danish left wing returned to the battle at the same time, by 18,00 all Danish troops had quit the field and the Swedes retired to the former Danish camp. Reasons for the Danish defeat are said to be rivalry between Danish generals and that the Danish units had been mixed up during the night, the Danes also failed to exploit their success on the right wing, which gave the Swedes time to reorganize their units
12.
Battle of Marstrand
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The battle of Marstrand was a successful Dano-Norwegian siege of the harbor town of Marstrand, Sweden which took place between 6–23 July 1677, during the Scanian War. In January 1677, a point in Strömstad was taken by a Swedish force. After doing this Løvenhielm proceeded to Uddevalla, simultaneously, Gyldenløve shipped out a considerable force in the direction of Marstrand. He landed on the island of Koön on 6 July. Marstrand was defended by the fortress of Carlsten and the three strong-points Malepert, Gustafsborg, and Hedvigsholm, the defenders tallied 600, led by commander Anders Sinclair. When demanded to evacuate the fortress, Sinclair replied. there was no fortress to yield, the Danes attacked Hedvigsholm first, after withstanding several attacks, the Swedes defending it were forced to abanadon it and retire to Carlsten on 20 July. Malepert had been already on 13 July and Gustafsberg was abandoned soon thereafter. Carlsten no longer had outposts, and after strong bombardment from all sides, finally surrendered on 23 July, after taking Carlsten, Gyldenløve installed a strong detachment of troops under Løvenhjelm to defend Marstrand before returning to Norway. Through the conquest of Marstrand Denmark obtained a safe, ice-free harbour and this in turn further enabled the Danish blockade of Gothenburg. However, Løvenhjelm soon found himself threatened by approaching Swedish forces, berättelser ur svenska historien, vol 6, p 685, Carl Georg Starbäck & Per Olof Bäckström Dansk biografisk lexikon, vol 10, p 597, Carl Frederik Bricka
13.
Battle of Warksow
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The Battle of Warksow was a battle that took place on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen on 8 January 1678 during the Swedish-Brandenburg War. In the battle Swedish forces defeated an army composed mainly of Danes supported by a smaller contingent of Brandenburg troops. The Swedes were able to muster some 3,500 men for the battle including 2,000 cavalry, the allied Danes and Brandenburg troops had about 4,670 men, including a few hundred Brandenburg soldiers and 1,770 cavalry, as well as 16 cannon. 170 Swedes lost their lives in the battle and subsequent pursuit, the Danish/Brandenburg side lost 400 killed and more than 3,600 captured. After the battle and in the days followed, the entire allied force were captured or forced to follow the Swedish flag. After a Swedish army had defeated in the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675 in Brandenburg. Suddenly its possessions in northern Germany were threatened by the alliance of Denmark, in 1677 the Swedish fleet was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Køge Bay by the Danish fleet under command of Admiral Niels Juel. For Swedish Rügen this defeat meant that the possession was now cut off from all assistance from Sweden. According to internal agreements between Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark, the island of Rügen would be given to Denmark after the treaty with Sweden. On 17 September 1677 Danish troops under the command of the Danish king landed on the eastern coast of the island near Prorer Wiek. Thus, the Danes were able to entrench themselves, unchallenged, the Swedes were beaten in the ensuing Battle of Bergen and withdrew to Altefähr and into the Prosnitzer Schanze. Shortly thereafter the Swedes under Königsmarck also had to leave Altefähr, only the Prosnitzer Schanze remained in Swedish hands. Due to ongoing looting and devastation by Swedish, Danish and Brandenburg troops, on 21 October the Danish king returned to Denmark. Part of the Brandenburg troops were withdrawn from the island, leaving only 970 men from Brandenburg-Prussia on the island, the Danish-Brandenburg troops were now under the command of Major General von Rumohr and Colonel Wilhelm Friedrich von Hülsen. These two had not to engage with the Swedes until the arrival of further reinforcements. However, any reinforcement from the Danish army, weakened by disease, the Swedish chose to land at Neufährschanze which was still in Swedish hands. Against orders, the allied Danish and Brandenburg force under Major General von Rumohr gave battle, at 9 in the morning the battle began with an exchange of artillery on the road between Poseritz and Gustow at Warksow Manor. When Detlef von Rumohr was felled by a shell, confusion arose in the ranks of the allies
14.
Siege of Stralsund (1678)
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The Siege of Stralsund was a battle between the Electorate of Brandenburg and the Swedish Empire on 10 and 11 October 1678, during the Scanian War. After two days of bombardment, the severely devastated Swedish fortress of Stralsund surrendered to the Brandenburgers, the Scanian War reached Swedish Pomerania when after the Battle of Fehrbellin the retreating Swedish forces were pursued by a Brandenburgian army under Great Elector Frederick William Is command. Stralsund was one of two major fortresses Sweden maintained in Pomerania, the other one being Stettin. After the Brandenburgian army had captured Stettin and Wolgast, Stralsund was seriously threatened, in addition, Danish forces had landed on Rügen in 1677, aided by a loyal Rugian noble. Thus, all buildings outside the fortifications were levelled in 1677 to strip an imminent Brandenburgian attack of cover, Stralsund then held a population of 8,500, including armed burghers, and close to 5,000 Swedish, German and Finnish foot and horse. Frederick William I positioned his artillery south of the town and started bombardment on 10 October 1678 and his aim was to force Swedish commander Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck into surrender by abundantly firing incendiary bombs on the burghers mansions. The small, newly created Brandenburgian navy also took part in the siege, most of the southern half of the town was destroyed when the defendants surrendered the town on 11 October, namely 285 houses,476 huts, and 194 servant dwellings. Despite great efforts of Frederick William I to win the loyalty of the Swedish Pomeranian population, including generous aid programs to rebuilt Stralsund and Stettin, most remained loyal to Sweden. After the fall of Stralsund, there were only few Swedish-held areas left in Swedish Pomerania, Stralsund was returned to Sweden in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Due to the bombardment and another fire on 12 June 1680. After the 1680 fire destroyed an additional 48 houses,89 huts, and 82 servant dwellings, only 205 houses,408 huts, Pomerania during the Early Modern Age Brandenburg-Pomeranian conflict
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Battle of Halmstad
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The Battle of Halmstad was fought on August 17,1676, at Fyllebro, approximately five kilometers south of the town Halmstad in southwest Sweden. It was the last battle in Halland between Denmark and Sweden, the Danish army that landed at Helsingborg in Scania in late June 1676 managed to conquer almost the whole province in less than a month. The Swedish army had to retreat north to Växjö, on August 11, King Charles XI and his small army headed west to intercept Duncan. At noon of August 17, the Swedish army reached the road from Scania to Halmstad. The Swedes destroyed the bridge leading south and headed north, after just a few kilometres the Swedish vanguard under command of Ascheberg encountered a small Danish unit that was routed back north. After a short chase Ascheberg found himself face-to-face with Duncan and his forces, the Danish army was about to cross the bridge over the creek Fylleån. Duncan, who thought that the enemy troops were the entire Swedish force. Unaware of the danger he let his troops assume battle formations on the bank with their backs against the creek. Meanwhile, the Swedes brought forward the rest of their cavalry and infantry, the battle started with a salvo from the few Swedish cannons, whereupon Charles XI and his Household cavalry charged down the hills to attack the Danish left wing. Soon the Swedes also charged on the wing and in the center. After 15 minutes the Danish left wing was scattered, in the center the Danish infantry put up a determined fight, with a powerful counter-attack from a cavalry unit that tried to break through the Swedish lines, but only one squadron made it through. At this point Duncan had realized his mistake and ordered his troops to retreat back across the bridge. But the Swedish cavalry on the right wing found a ford, understanding that the battle was lost, Duncan surrendered. The action had lasted for more than an hour. The defeat at Halmstad dealt a blow to the Danish plans to advance north. The day after the battle the Danish King Christian V broke his camp at Kristianstad, on September 5 he reached Halmstad and begun besieging the town with no result. Three weeks later he returned to Scania to find quarters for the winter, the battle at Fyllebro was also 20-year-old Charles XIs first major victory. It was an important morale boost for him, his generals, the army was still much too weak to confront the Danes in Scania and marched north to Varberg to await more troops
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Halland
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Halland is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden, on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat, the provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. Instead, that function is served by the Counties of Sweden, as of December 31,2009, Halland had a population of 303,895. Of these,287,668 lived in Halland County,13,980 lived in Västra Götaland County, during the Danish era until 1658, the province had no coat of arms and no seal. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented by heraldic arms since 1560, when Charles X Gustav of Sweden suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province. Each province was to be represented by its arms at the royal funeral, there are several theories about the choice of a lion. Bengt Algotsson, duke of Halland and Finland in the 14th century, blazon, Azure, a Lion rampant Argent langued, armed and dente Gules. The same coat of arms was granted for the administrative Halland County. The rivers of Lagan, Ätran, Nissan and Viskan flow through the province, Halland is well known for its fertile soil and as an agricultural district. The Bronze Age was probably a period of prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the archaeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds have been found, the end of the Bronze Age witnessed an over-consumption of resources. This might have been a result of a demand for charcoal in smelting gold or bronze among the local elites. The worsening climate at the beginning of the Iron Age meant that the local elites no longer could obtain bronze to the extent as before. As a result, the structures collapsed. The early Iron Age social structures seem to have been relatively egalitarian and this is likely to have been a distant influence from the growing Roman Empire. During the 5th and 6th century large free-standing farms were created, an example of such a farm can be found in Slöinge. It was not just the structure that changed, so too did the settlement structure
Swedish Empire
Denmark–Norway