Attack on Frederikshald (1716)

Attack on Frederikshald

Part of: Great Northern War

date	3rd to 4th July 1716
place	Fredriksten Fortress
output	Danish-Norwegian victory

Parties to the conflict
Denmark	Sweden
Commander
Hans Jacob Brun	Charles XII.
Troop strength
1500 men, 85 cannons, 4 mortars	3000 men
losses
84 dead, 43 wounded, 50 prisoners	approx. 500 dead, wounded and prisoners

During the attack on Frederikshald on July 4, 1716 during the Norwegian campaign of the Swedish King Karl XII. In the Great Northern War , the Swedes had to break off the attack on the fortress with high losses due to a lack of artillery and withdraw.

prehistory

Attack on Frederikshald (1716)

Location of the battlefield

Due to its proximity to Sweden, the commander of the fortress of Frederikshald , Lieutenant Colonel Hans Jacob Brun , and the citizens of Frederikshald were prepared for a possible attack throughout the war and had renewed the defense of their city and kept the fortifications in good condition. Two batteries of nine cannons each were installed in the church courtyard, a parapet was built on the bridge and a small battery of three cannons was installed in the town square. There have been no palisades around the city since the fire of 1703.

Without officers, the garrison consisted of:

• 84 artillerymen
• the battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Steen Blix (5 companies) of the Vesterlenske Regiment (750 men)
• of the company of Captain Henrik Zurhelle, as reserve from the Smaalenske Regiment (200 men)
• the battalion of Lieutenant Colonel Barthold Nicolai von Landsberg of the 2nd Trondhjemske Regiment and two companies of the Cicignon Regiment (340 men).

That made a total of 1,290 infantry .

340 Landdragoner von Jarlsberg were distributed among the units of the Vesterlenske and Smaalenske regiments and are included in the troop strength mentioned above. The garrison had about 78 sick people at the time. The citizen militia consisted of about 200 men. The fortress and town together had 85 cannons and four mortars .

The attack

View of the city and the higher fortress from the harbor

The lack of artillery prevented Charles XII. a siege of Frederiksten could begin. Therefore he wanted to take possession of the suburb with a night attack and thereby weaken the garrison. In the event that the garrison retreated into the fortress, he would have them pursued. After carrying out a reconnaissance mission, Karl XII. carry out his attack on the night of July 3rd to 4th. At midnight the Swedish cavalry captured an outpost on Rødberget. Shortly before midnight, around 1500 infantrymen under Major General Delvig left the Swedish camp, first in the direction of Frederikshald and then covertly and silently further east of the Berg Church, until they pushed straight down to Skaaningsfossen. Charles XII. took the lead here. The troops crossed a ford where the water came up to their chest. The night was foggy, so the defenders had no view of what was going on.

The Colbjørnsen outpost was the first to see the Swedes and warned the other defenders with shots and reporters . Shortly afterwards, Captain Jacob Knudsen sounded the alarm in the fortress. The enemy was already fighting the outpost. Charles XII. sent 600 men under Colonel von Schlippenbach forward along the mountainside towards the town houses. They formed a wedge between the city and the fortress. Karl and Delwig followed the troops. Another 600 men under Lieutenant Colonel Rutger Fuchs were sent along the river against Kirkeporten and the city. The rest followed as a reserve.

Shortly before two o'clock in the morning Schlippenbach dispatched a vanguard of 58 volunteers under Captain Gustaf Rutensparre to storm the Norwegian positions. The Norwegian positions at the town houses now fired their gun battery at the vanguard. The Landsberg battalion occupied the palisades . Meanwhile the Swedes had reached the palisade gate. The first Swedes to reach the gate were pushed back and the gate closed again. Outside the storm-proof palisades, the Swedes now fell under rifle fire in large numbers. 51 of the 58 men fell from Rutensparre's vanguard and none escaped unharmed. Many Swedes also fell with the main troops, including Colonel Schlippenbach himself and two majors. They failed to climb through or over the palisades. When the cannons of the churchyard battery turned fire on them, the Swedes turned and streamed towards the city. Here they met the fight that raged between the defenders and the second Swedish main division under Rutger Fuchs.

The Norwegian guard at Kirkeporten with 24 men withstood the onslaught until help arrived. The now 100 defenders held the position against the Swedish superiority until three o'clock in the morning. Many of the Norwegians were killed in defense and several were injured. Those who were still fit to fight now withdrew behind the church. There Captain Knudsen and 50 men had secured the churchyard from attacks from the outer suburbs. The position was overtaken by the Swedes on the flanks .

The remaining men withdrew further into the city and tried again to rally for the fight. The batteries in the churchyard were now without protection and at three in the morning they were captured by the Swedes. The artillerymen were either killed or captured.

View of the fortress from the city

At four in the morning, the defenders had to end the uneven fight. The remaining Norwegians escaped to the harbor and then took boats to the fortress. However, a few were captured. The Swedes now secured the outer suburb. The inner suburb was now evacuated and the garrison withdrew into the main fortress. A couple of Swedes entered the redoubt at seven in the morning and demanded entry into the fortress, claiming they were deserters. However, admission was denied. The cannons of the fortress now fired at the positions of the Swedes in the suburbs. There were further Swedish losses. At eight o'clock Charles XII asked. after a truce to bury the dead. The commander promised to take care of it when the enemy left the city. An agreement did not come about.

With the streets unsafe from fire, the Swedes broke through the walls from house to house. The defenders now decided to set the city on fire. Soon most of the city was on fire. Charles XII. now had to save his troops from the fire. At 8 p.m. the city was completely burned out, but free from the Swedes.

Losses and consequences

Of the approximately 1,500 to 3,000 Swedes who participated in the attack, 500 to 1,800 men were killed, wounded or captured. The lower number is assumed to be the more likely. Major-general Delwig and Schomer, Colonel Schlippenbach and two other majors were killed among the senior officers . In addition, 14 captains and 28 lieutenants were killed or wounded. In a letter to his sister, Ulrike Eleonore , Karl described this loss-making attack as a small skirmish that went well and successfully.

Three officers and 81 men died among the defenders. Two officers, three NCOs and 38 men were wounded and 50 men were taken prisoner. 16-18 citizen militiamen were killed or wounded.

After the sea ​​battle in the Dynekilen Fjord on July 8th was lost for the Swedes and their supply base was interrupted, Karl XII decided. to break off the Norwegian campaign and to withdraw.

In 1718 it came during the second Norwegian campaign of Charles XII. again for the siege of Frederikshald . In this the king was killed.

source

• www.northern wars.com: The Great Northern War 1709-1719 From Den Norske Hær Indtil 1814 ( Memento from February 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 2.8 MB)