Norwegian campaign (1716)

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Sweden-Norway border area

The Norwegian campaign of 1716 in the Great Northern War from March 8 to July 18, 1716 was the unsuccessful attempt of Charles XII. to conquer Norway , which was part of the Danish kingdom , with a Swedish army .

Campaign planning

After the return of Charles XII. from besieged Stralsund to Sweden at the end of 1715 renewed armament efforts began for a new campaign . The campaign was to lead to the conquest of Copenhagen . For this purpose, troops from Skåne were to march across the frozen Oresund and besiege the city. As the winter remained mild, the campaign plan changed. Instead, Norway should be conquered via Bohuslän . The Danish general Caspar Herman Hausmann found out about the Swedish plans and informed King Frederick IV , who did not believe him and dismissed him. The Norwegian army had previously had to deliver 5000 men to defend Denmark.

Hausmann's successor, Barthold Heinrich von Lützow , was not considered a charismatic leader. After news of the imminent invasion by Karl's army reached Oslo , all available troops in Østerdalen and Gudbrandsdal were ordered to march to the border at Halden and Fredrikstad . The Norwegian leadership anticipated the likely plans of the Swedes and expected the attack at Kongsvinger , Basmo or Halden.

campaign

Sea battle in the Dynekilenfjord

Charles XII. chose Basmo, where he crossed the border with the 10,000-strong army and set up his headquarters on March 8, 1716. The Norwegian commander of the district attacked the superior Swedish army with only 200 dragoons without waiting for further reinforcements and was repulsed. Both sides lost about 30 men each in dead and wounded in the skirmish . After the news of the battle reached General Lützow, he withdrew his foremost troops and set up a defensive position near Oslo. The Swedish forces continued to advance, ignoring the Norwegian fortress Akershus near Oslo, while Lützow's troops returned to Bragernes in Drammen .

The Norwegian troops used the scorched earth tactic . The local residents attacked the supply trains of the Swedish army in the hinterland. The remaining Norwegian forts also remained a potential threat to the Swedes in the event of a possible retreat. The Swedes took Oslo and began to besiege Akershus fortress. Meanwhile, more fighting took place in Lier. The Det smålenske regiment battalion from Fredrikstad, Norway overtook Swedish troops in Moss . There they took 200 prisoners and brought some of the equipment back to their base. Since Moss was part of the Swedish supply line to Akershus, Akershus was even more manned. At the end of March, reinforcements arrived from Denmark and Bergen for the Norwegian defenders. Charles's siege did little damage to Akershus fortress. Most of the projectiles had a short range and did not reach the fort. In mid-April, Vice Admiral Christian Carl Gabel from Denmark came to Norway with a fleet of seven ships of the line , six frigates and other smaller ships. Their first target was Moss. After two hard fights, the Swedes surrendered and over 500 men were taken prisoner. Meanwhile, Gabel's fleet interrupted the Swedish supply line to Christiania. Thus the siege of the city was no longer possible and Karl XII. retreated on April 29th.

After a brief occupation of Oslo, the Swedish advance towards the Norwegian fortresses in southeastern Norway followed with the aim of conquering them, especially the Frederiksten fortress . This should avert the danger behind the Swedes and form a basis for the start of new fighting next spring. Charles's troops assaulted Frederiksten on July 4th, but failed in an attempt to capture the fortress.

Charles's army was forced to retreat to await the arrival of heavy artillery. In the meantime, a transport fleet has been equipped in Gothenburg . This should supply the Swedish army with ammunition, supplies and heavy artillery. An archipelago fleet ( galleys ) was also put together to cover the transport convoy. In addition, the ship's artillery should bombard Fredrikshald fortress from the sea. The flotilla headed north and between Svinesund and Strömstad , three miles from Fredrikshald, it reached the small port of Dynekilen. There it was destroyed by Danish ships in a sea battle on July 8, 1716 .

Result

The Swedish King Charles XII. broke off the siege of the city immediately after receiving the defeat in Dynekilen and withdrew to Swedish territory. On July 18, the Norwegian campaign was over and according to his own account the Swedish king had lost over 4,000 men (over 6,000 according to other sources).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kaldager, pp. 48-54