Siege of Trondheim
Armfeldt's campaign in Norway in 1718, but the section of Trondheim on the left is missing on the map
| date | November 1718 to January 12, 1719 |
|---|---|
| place | Trondheim , Norway |
| output | Danish-Norwegian victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 10,000 men | 7300 men |
| losses | |
|
3,600 dead, 450 invalid |
2730 dead and sick |
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
The siege of Trondheim by a Swedish army under the command of Karl Gustav Armfelt in the Great Northern War ended when the siege was broken off on January 12, 1719 .
prehistory
 
| |
The warring parties had been conducting peace talks since 1716, but they were still unsuccessful. The Swedish King Charles XII was a major obstacle to peace . Despite the hopeless situation for Sweden, he wanted to continue the armed struggle. In the east, Russian raids threatened the Swedish coast. Hunger and a severe plague epidemic since 1708 had brought the country to the brink of collapse in previous years. Many men had been killed in the more than a hundred battles and skirmishes before or died in military service, so that the basis for new armies steadily shrank.
Norway belonged to the Kingdom of Denmark and formed the personal union Denmark-Norway . Charles XII. hoped for compensation for the lost provinces in the Baltic States (Swedish-Estonia, Swedish-Livonia and Swedish-Ingermanland ) to receive Norway as compensation in a possible peace. But he first had to conquer the country in order to enforce this claim.
Shortly before the end of the Great Northern War, Charles XII. his second invasion of Norway . The first Norwegian campaign had to be canceled in 1716 after the supply base was lost. The main Swedish power marched to Fredrikshald and there began the siege of Frederikshald . A second smaller army of 10,073 men with 6,721 horses led by General Karl Gustaf Armfelt was to besiege Trondheim .
Armfelt's army gathered in Duved and left there on August 27, 1718. Trondheim was defended by 6,900 soldiers led by Vincent Budde . Since Budde's army was inferior to the Swedish, he entrenched his troops in the well-fortified city and tore down all the buildings in the suburb to have a free line of fire. In the Kristiansten fortress, which was armed with 76 cannons, 1000 men were camped, 400 men were standing at Munkholmen , while the main force was transferred to the city.
siege
The Swedish troops encountered fierce resistance from the rural population, who still remembered the earlier Swedish occupation of Trøndelag in the Second Northern War . Armfelt did not have any heavy siege artillery. The supply of the army as well as the approaching winter caused difficulties. Armfelt's army reached Trondheim in early November and besieged the city, but could not seriously threaten the fortress without heavy artillery.
The Fortress Kristiansten had supplies for six months. Armfelt's powers initially remained passive. Charles XII. increased the pressure on Armfelt and ordered him to take the city. Instead, Armfeldt withdrew his troops in the direction of Melhus and Gauldalen .
The Swedes camped out in the open and the lack of supplies had made many of the Swedish soldiers sick. The fighting force shrank to up to 4,000 men. King Charles XII. fell before Frederiksten on December 11th. It was a month before the news reached Armfelt.
Retreat to Sweden
Armfelt's army began retreating into Sweden on January 12, 1719, en route over the mountains of Tydal . The weather was already very bad and they got caught in a severe winter storm.
When the storm had subsided , a train of chasing skiers under captain Jens Henrich Emahus encountered the Swedish army. He reported gruesome sights. Dozens of people lay frozen to death in the snow. A total of 2,200 soldiers froze to death as they marched back. Another 1,400 later died of frostbite and 450 remained disabled.
consequences
The Norwegian troops in Trondheim also suffered losses. The city was overcrowded and the living conditions there were poor. There was a lack of essential equipment such as mattresses or winter clothing. Many soldiers died under these conditions during the siege. On January 6, 1719, of the 7287 Norwegian soldiers, 109 officers and 2621 soldiers were sick or dead.
With the death of Charles XII. the Swedish war effort ended. Shortly thereafter, Sweden made peace with England-Hanover in 1719 and then with Prussia in Stockholm in 1720 .