Siege of Stralsund (1678)
Floor plan of Stralsund Fortress at the time of the siege in 1678
| date | September 20, 1678 to October 15, 1678 |
|---|---|
| place | Stralsund , Western Pomerania |
| output | Victory of Brandenburg-Prussia, conquest of the important Stralsund fortress |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Elector Friedrich Wilhelm |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 3,000 Swedes 3,000 men civil militia 154 guns |
21,500 men 80 guns |
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Northern War (1674–1679)
Rathenow - Nauen - Fehrbellin - Wismar - Wolgast 1675 - Wolgast 1676 - Bornholm - Öland - Peenemünder Schanze - Stettin (1676/77) - Køgebucht - Bergen - Warksow - Rügen (1678) - Stralsund (1678) - Greifswald - Tilsit - Splitter - Telschi - Porta Westfalica
The siege of Stralsund from September 20, 1678 to October 15, 1678 (all dates correspond to the Julian calendar ) was a military conflict in the Swedish-Brandenburg War between Sweden and Brandenburg-Prussia .
After a bombardment lasting less than 20 hours , which destroyed large parts of the city, a 21,500-strong Brandenburg-Prussian army took over the important Stralsund fortress, which had previously belonged to Sweden .
prehistory
At the instigation of France, Sweden began an offensive against Brandenburg-Prussia, thereby causing the Swedish-Brandenburg War . On June 18, 1675, however, the Swedes suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Fehrbellin, as a result of which Sweden was put on the defensive in northern Germany .
After Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire declared war on Sweden, a Brandenburg-Prussian army under the leadership of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm appeared at the gates of Stralsund in October 1675 . On October 13, 1675, the Brandenburgers and Danes united for the first time in front of Stralsund. Since the present King of Denmark did not agree to an immediate storming of Stralsund and winter was imminent, the Allies withdrew on October 15, 1675.
In 1676 there were no military events in and around Stralsund. But in 1677 the Danish fleet defeated the Swedish fleet in the sea battle in the Køgebucht ( Køge Bugt near Copenhagen). For Stralsund and Swedish Pomerania , this defeat meant that it was cut off from all support from Sweden, as the Danes now exercised maritime control over the Baltic Sea. At the same time, Szczecin was besieged from 1677 and on September 7, 1677 the Danes occupied the Swedish-ruled Rügen .
On January 5, 1678, the Swedes, coming from Stralsund, landed on Rügen and defeated the Danish and Brandenburg troops on January 8, 1678 in the Battle of Warksow .
The mainland around Stralsund remained unsafe despite the Swedish victory. In the night of August 5th to 6th, 1678, 500 Brandenburgers broke into a Stralsund suburb, plundered it and took 14 prisoners. Danish ships repeatedly launched raids from the sea.
Due to the landing of the Danes and Brandenburgers on Rügen from 12./13. September 1678 a dangerous situation arose for the city of Stralsund. The Swedes had to give up the island of Rügen in the next few days and crossed over to Stralsund. On September 17, 1678, Dänholm was evacuated by the Swedes. With the final loss of Rügen, an attack on Stralsund was only a matter of time.
Siege of Stralsund
The siege of Stralsund began on September 20, 1678, when the Brandenburg artillery set up on Dänholm fired the first salvos in the direction of Frankendamm and Stralsund harbor. Five people died in Stralsund in this bombardment. Five days later, on September 25, the Brandenburgers stood in front of the city. The elector moved into his headquarters in Lüdershagen . The Brandenburgers had more than 21,500 men and 80 guns at their disposal, reinforced by troops marching from Pomerania.
In Stralsund, hectic digging work began on September 25, 1678, especially in the Frankenvorstadt . Ramps were raised and notches cut; In front of the city gates trees were cleared and buildings removed so that the enemy could not use them as cover. The fortress did not have any advanced defenses. This weakened their starting position, since in the second half of the 17th century the range of the artillery had increased more and more and the island position of Stralsund did not represent an obstacle for the artillery of the siege troops. The city of Stralsund had 73 metal and 44 iron guns of different calibers. There were also 37 Swedish field guns. The Swedish army had 3,000 soldiers in Stralsund, the city of Stralsund provided 3,000 men for defense. The supply of ammunition and powder in the city was good.
In the meantime, the Brandenburgers continued to expand their positions in front of the city despite the Swedish fire. By October 5, 1678, another 20 people died in the city of Stralsund from artillery fire.
From October 5th to 9th, Elector Friedrich Wilhelm made one last attempt to prevent the threatened destruction of the city by starting surrender negotiations. The city tour and the Swedish Governor General declined, however.
On October 10, 1678, a ship loaded with gunpowder arrived from Stettin for the besiegers. After the powder had been distributed to the batteries, preparations for a bombardment were complete. This started at 10 p.m. on the same day. The artillery shot from Dänholm , from Mühlenberg in the Frankenvorstadt and from the jump in front of the Triebseertor . Half an hour later, aided by the large stores of hay and straw in the city, a rapidly spreading fire broke out.
On the morning of October 11, 1678, between 6 and 7 a.m. and between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., the bombardment was interrupted for - unsuccessful - negotiations, but then resumed. During another ceasefire at 7 p.m. the Swedes sent a parliamentarian to the besiegers who announced their readiness to surrender. This had become necessary because the destruction was meanwhile obvious and the total destruction of the city threatened. The sources do not provide any information about the loss of life or the number of injuries in the city.
Result and consequences
On October 15, 1678, an honorable capitulation was signed . With the remaining 2,543 Swedish soldiers, the Swedish Commander-in-Chief Otto Wilhelm von Königsmarck left the city on October 18 and embarked for Sweden. On October 20, the Brandenburgers occupied the city, and the city council took the oath of homage to the elector. The guns belonging to the city passed into the possession of Brandenburg-Prussia. After Greifswald had surrendered to Friedrich Wilhelm on November 16, Sweden no longer had any bases or troops in Pomerania.
The affiliation of the city of Stralsund to Brandenburg-Prussia only lasted until June 9, 1679, when in the Peace of Saint-Germain Brandenburg-Prussia had to give back almost all conquests to Sweden and thus also to Stralsund.
literature
- Herbert Ewe: History of the city of Stralsund. Böhlau, Weimar 1984.
- Curt Jany: History of the Prussian Army. From the 15th century to 1914. Vol. 1, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1967.
- Maren Lorenz : The wheel of violence. Military and civilian population in Northern Germany after the Thirty Years War (1650-1700). Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-11606-4 .