Attack on Gothenburg (1717)
| date | 2-3 May 1717 |
|---|---|
| place | Gothenburg , Sweden |
| output | Swedish victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| five orlog ships, several privateers 2,000-3,000 men |
two ships of rank, one piece of subframe, eleven galleys and several other ships |
| losses | |
|
k. A. |
two galleys |
1st phase: Swedish dominance (1700–1709)
Riga I • Jungfernhof • Varja • Pühhajoggi • Narva • Pechora • Düna • Rauge • Erastfer • Hummelshof • Embach • Tartu • Narva II • Wesenberg I • Wesenberg II
Arkhangelsk • Lake Ladoga • Nöteborg • Nyenschanz • Neva • Systerbäck • Petersburg • Vyborg I • Porvoo • Neva II • Koporje II • Kolkanpää
Vilnius • Salads • Jacobstadt • Walled Courtyard • Mitau • Grodno I • Olkieniki • Nyaswisch • Klezk • Ljachavichy
Klissow • Pułtusk • Thorn • Lemberg • Warsaw • Posen • Punitz • Tillendorf • Rakowitz • Praga • Fraustadt • Kalisch
Grodno II • Golovchin • Moljatitschi • Rajowka • Lesnaja • Desna • Baturyn • Koniecpol • Weprik • Opischnja • Krasnokutsk • Sokolki • Poltava I • Poltava II
2nd phase: Sweden on the defensive (1710–1721)
Riga II • Vyborg II • Pernau • Kexholm • Reval • Hogland • Pälkäne • Storkyro • Nyslott • Hanko
Helsingborg • Køge Bay • Gulf of Bothnia • Frederikshald I • Dynekilen Fjord • Gothenburg I • Strömstad • Trondheim • Frederikshald II • Marstrand • Ösel • Gothenburg II • Södra Stäket • Grönham • Sundsvall
Elbing • Wismar I • Lübow • Stralsund I • Greifswalder Bodden I • Stade • Rügen • Gadebusch • Altona • Tönning II • Stettin • Fehmarn • Wismar II • Stralsund II • Jasmund • Peenemünde • Greifswalder Bodden II • Stresow
During the attack on Gothenburg from May 2nd to 3rd, 1717 in the Great Northern War , a Danish fleet under the command of Captain Peter Wessel Tordenskiold tried unsuccessfully to destroy the port of Gothenburg and the Swedish fleet in it.
In advance
The Swedish fleet began to hijack merchant ships of the warring states and their partners in the Baltic Sea region . One of the bases of these pirate fleets was the port of Gothenburg. Here was Admiral Olof Stromstierna's sea squadron . The admiral had made a name for himself as a privateer in recent years . Danish merchant ships had also been seized several times through his forays. The Danish Admiralty therefore planned an attack on the ports of Gothenburg and Marstrand in the spring of 1717 .
Captain Tordenskiold worked out the attack plan for Gothenburg. He had already won against Admiral Stromstierna in a naval battle in the Dynekilen Fjord . On May 1st, the Danish flotilla weighed anchor off Fladstrand on the Jutland coast. The port of Gothenburg was protected by two fortifications. The first fortress is called Nya Elfsborg . This festival is right in the entrance to the port of Gothenburg. The cannons of this horn factory could reach the entire coastal strip around the city.
The so-called Sammelselfsborg was the main defense system of Gothenburg. In addition, two coastal batteries with 12 and 16 guns had been created and a Saxon artillery battery was positioned on the Altweiberberg between the two fortifications, which secured the Saxon trade interests in Gothenburg. If the attack was successful, the Danish attack had to take advantage of the element of surprise, pass the Nya Elfsborg fortress unnoticed and make its cannons unusable for a later retreat. In the event of success, Tordenskiold wanted to penetrate the port and set fire to the anchored fleet.
The attack
The piece of cream Noah Ark was in very poor condition and could not follow the flotilla so quickly. It did not reach the attack position until dawn several hours later. Since the Danes could not start the attack without this defensive warship, they had to cruise off the coast for the time being .
This obsolete the original plan and the Swedish defenders used the time gained to put the city in readiness for action . The gun batteries were manned and the garrison troops took up positions along the coast. The Field Marshal Mörner and the Hereditary Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel led the defense of the port facilities. The Hereditary Prince commanded the artillery of Gothenburg. In addition, the harbor was blocked with a heavy chain and blocked with hastily felled tree trunks. Admiral Stromstierna had his warships set up along the port chain in order to hit the attackers with the whole broadside . The warning shots from the forts could be heard on the Danish ships, which made it clear to them that the surprise attack had failed.
Despite the defensive measures taken by the Swedes, the Danish fleet began attacking the port the following night. Tordenskiold sent the Noah Ark against the fortress Nya Elfsborg to employ them and to provide cover for the rest of the fleet . The rest of the fleet passed this bottleneck with almost no damage. Around one o'clock the whole Danish fleet was in front of the harbor entrance. A fierce artillery duel developed between the fleets. Tordenskiold changed ships several times in this fight in order to be able to give direct orders to his officers. One galley was disabled and a second galley was pierced by two 36-pound cannonballs and sank instantly.
Despite all efforts, it was not possible to pass the Swedish fleet, and the coastal batteries also fired so precisely that the Danish gunners had problems withstanding the fire. The battle lasted about five hours. Then the Danish commander gave the order to withdraw. Aided by a north-easterly wind, the Danish fleet sailed out to sea.
The Prahm Noah Ark secured the retreat and fought a smaller battle with two Swedish frigates who were trying to board the ship .
The consequences
The attack on Gothenburg put the Swedes on alert. Stromstierna, who knew the Danish captain well, knew that he would be back. So he had the fortifications reinforced and began scouting trips along the Danish coast to discover another attack on Gothenburg early on.
literature
- Anders Fryxell: Life story of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden Volume 2, Braunschweig (1861)
- Knut Lundblad, Georg Friedrich Jenssen-Tusch: History of Charles the Twelfth, King of Sweden , Volume 2, Hamburg (1835)