Battle of the Langnes ski jump
| date | August 9, 1814 |
|---|---|
| place | Langnes (municipality of Indre Østfold ) |
| output | Norwegian defensive success |
| consequences | Norway is united in personal union with Sweden |
| Peace treaty | Moss Convention |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 2,000 men 8 guns |
3,000 men |
| losses | |
|
6 dead |
100 dead and wounded |
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Hvaler , Fredrikstad , Lier , Matrand , Kjölbergs , Langnes
The battle at Langnes-Schanze took place on August 9, 1814 between Norwegian and Swedish troops. It was the last fighting between Scandinavian countries.
prehistory
The personal union between Norway and Denmark was dissolved after the Peace of Kiel in January 1814 and Norway was added to Sweden. This arrangement, which was made without the participation of Norway, was not recognized by Norway. The Norwegian politicians took the position that the Danish king could dismiss Norway from the Danish-Norwegian state association, but not make it subordinate to another state. Under the leadership of the Danish prince Christian Frederik , Norway declared its independence, elected Christian Frederik as king and adopted its own constitution on May 17, 1814 . But the Swedish Crown Prince Karl XIV. Johann insisted on the execution of the Kiel Peace Treaty. So it came to war between Norway and Sweden, the last between Scandinavian countries, when Swedish warships attacked Norwegian gunboats near Hvaler on July 26, 1814 .
The battle
The Norwegians under their inexperienced king were hopelessly inferior to the superior Swedish troops and lost one battle after another. When Fredrikstad fortress surrendered, it was also clear to the Norwegian king that ultimate defeat was only a matter of time. His troops wanted to reorganize behind the river Glomma and built a pontoon bridge at Langnes in the municipality of Indre Østfold over the river for retreat. At this point a headland extends into the river with a moraine . Behind it was a small hill. The bridgehead was easy to defend at this point. A simple jump was built along the moraine . Four cannons were placed behind the hill and four on the small hill. The hill was manned by two regiments from Oppland and three sniper divisions from Valdres . The commander was Colonel Diderich Hegermann .
The Swedish troops under General von Vegesack and Lieutenant Colonel Cederström consisted of several infantry regiments from Västergötland and Värmland . The vanguard reached Langnes on the night of August 9th, and when the weather was very bad there were some skirmishes with Hegermann's Norwegian patrols. Hegermann tried a surprise attack before dawn. But the experienced Swedish troops were able to repel him, so that Hegermann's troops had to retreat behind the entrenchments.
The Swedes now advanced in long columns from a hill on which the Langnes train station now stands. There were about 500 meters between the positions. The terrain was open and the ground was swampy from the long and heavy rain. The Norwegian cannons shot them with aimed and concentrated fire and struck one alley after the other. Hegermann described the effect later, saying that it was as if a car had driven through the Swedish columns. The Swedes attacked three times that morning. The dense columns were a good target for the grape rapiers , especially since Hegermann allowed the columns to come very close so that the columns gave the grape rapiers behind the ramparts the flank before he gave the order to fire. Now the Swedes advanced in formation to reduce the effectiveness of the cannons. This also brought some success thanks to better rifles with greater ranges. They also managed to place snipers well and thus put the Norwegians in distress. Hegermann now directed the cannons against the snipers, so that they had to withdraw. The third Swedish attack was also repulsed. In the end, six Norwegian soldiers died and nine were wounded. On the Swedish side, a hundred had fallen or wounded.
Despite this victory, the king ordered the further withdrawal against Hegermann's protest, who wanted to pursue the Swedes. Three cannons had to be sunk in the Glomma because there weren't enough horses for them. In addition, the pontoon bridge could not withstand the load and broke. Hegermann crossed the Glomm with other minor skirmishes further south.
meaning
The battle did nothing to change the fact that the war was lost for Norway. But it was thanks to her that the Norwegian troops could be saved undefeated in an orderly retreat and the morale of the troops was raised. This also resulted in a better negotiating position vis-à-vis the Swedes in Moss , as Swedes had failed to achieve an unconditional surrender.
literature
- Chris Nyborg: "Slaget ved Langnes Skanse" in: Lokalhistoriewiki , accessed on November 29, 2011.
- Terje H. Holm: Med plotons! Høire-sving! March! March! 1991 ISBN 82-991167-7-5 . Forsvarsmuseets Småskrift nr. 7th