Scanian War
Part of the Northern Wars and Franco-Dutch War
Siege of Szczecin
Date 1675-1679 Location Scandinavia Result Treaties of Fontainebleau and Lund (Sweden and Denmark) and Saint Germain (Sweden and Brandenburg): status quo ante bellum, French dictated peace with no larger territorial gains or losses for any side.
Belligerents
Denmark-Norway  United Provinces Brandenburg  Holy Roman Empire	Swedish Empire  France
Commanders and leaders
Christian V Ulrik Gyldenløve	Charles XI Magnus De la Gardie Rutger von Ascheberg Simon Grundel-Helmfelt †

The Scanian War (Danish: Skånske Krig, Swedish: Skånska kriget, German: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany. While the latter battles are regarded a theater of the Scanian war in English, Danish and Swedish historiography, they are seen as a separate war in German historiography, called the Swedish-Brandenburgian War (German: Schwedisch-Brandenburgischer Krieg).

The war was prompted by the Swedish involvement in the Franco-Dutch War. Sweden had allied with France against several European countries. The United Provinces, under attack by France, sought support from Denmark-Norway. After some hesitation, King Christian V started the invasion of the Scania (Skåneland) in 1675, while the Swedish were occupied with a war against Brandenburg. The invasion of Scania was combined with a simultaneous Norwegian front called the Gyldenløve War, forcing the defending Swedes to fight a two-front war in addition to their entanglements in the Holy Roman Empire.

The Danish objective was to retrieve the Scanian lands that had been ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde, after the Northern Wars. Although the Danish offensive was initially a great success, Swedish counter-offensives led by the 19-year-old Charles XI of Sweden nullified much of the gain.

It was a war with no definite victor; the Swedish navy lost at sea, the Danish army was defeated in Scania by the Swedes, who in turn were defeated in Northern Germany by the Brandenburgers. The war and the hostilities ended when Denmark's ally the United Provinces settled with Sweden's stronger ally France and the Swedish king Charles XI married Danish princess Ulrike Eleonora, sister of Christian V. Peace was made on behalf of France with the treaties of Fontainebleau and Lund (Sweden and Denmark) and Saint Germain (Sweden and Brandenburg), restoring most of the lost territories to Sweden.^[1]

Background[link]

Left: The assassination of Dutch regent party leaders Cornelis and Jan de Witt in the beginning of the Franco-Dutch War during the rampjaar 1672. Sweden, on behalf of her ally France, was to weaken the resulting anti-French alliance by attacking Brandenburg from the east, prompting the Scanian War.^[2] Right: Swedish Empire prior to the war, gains since 1560 are indicated

Franco-Swedish alliance[link]

In the 1660s and early 1670s, the Swedish Empire experienced a financial crisis. In hope of subsidies, Charles XI of Sweden had entered the anti-French Triple Alliance with the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of England, which broke apart when Charles II of England rapproached France in 1670, after the War of Devolution.^[3]

In April 1672, Sweden and France concluded an alliance, with France promising 400,000 riksdalers of subsidies in peace time, to be raised to 600,000 in war time, for Sweden maintaining a 16,000 men strong army in her German dominions. Also, Sweden maintained good relations to the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp south of Denmark.^[3]

By September 1674, Sweden had enlarged her army to 22,000 men after France had increased the subsidies to 900,000 riksdalers, which she threatened to withdraw if Sweden was not using this army, stationed in Swedish Pomerania, for an attack on her adversaries. By December, the Swedish army had grown to 25,000 to 26,000 men, 4,000 to 5,000 of whom stationed in Bremen, 2,000 to 3,000 in Wismar, 6,000 to 7,000 in Pomeranian garrisons, and 13,000 free to operate under Lord High Constable and field marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel.^[4]

Anti-Franco-Swedish alliance[link]

The adversaries of the Scanian War, from left to right: allies Frederick William I of Brandenburg and Christian V of Denmark, and allies Charles XI of Sweden and Louis XIV of France

Another, defensive alliance formed in September 1672 between Denmark, Emperor Leopold I, the Electorate of Brandenburg, and the duchies of Brunswick-Celle, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Hesse-Cassel. This alliance maintained an army of 21,000 foot and 10,500 horse, and since May 1673, an additional 12,000 men and twenty vessels maintained with Dutch subsidies.^[5] Brandenburg was then the second most powerful German state (the most powerful being Austria), and maintained its own standing army of 23,000 men.^[6]

The Netherlands had been attacked by the French army in 1672, known as the rampjaar, and the ensuing Franco-Dutch War would only be concluded by the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678. Roi soleil Louis XIV intended to weaken the anti-French alliance by engaging them on their eastern frontiers: he supported John Sobieski, candidate for the Polish throne, he also supported a contemporary revolt of nobles in Hungary, and aimed at binding the Brandenburgian army in a war with Sweden.^[2]

War on land[link]

Fehrbellin[link]

Battle of Fehrbellin: Brandenburgian assault on the Swedish army crossing the Rhin and its adjacent marshes (Rhinluch) on a dam north of Fehrbellin. A minor defeat in military terms, it cost Sweden her reputation and prompted Denmark-Norway to enter the war.^[7]

In December 1674, Louis XIV of France called upon Sweden to invade Brandenburg. Wrangel advanced into the Uckermark, a region on the Brandenburg-Pomeranian frontier, securing quarters for his forces until the weather would permit him to turn westwards to Hanover. Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg received the news in the Rhine valley, and turned northeast to confront Wrangel. On 18 June (OS) or 28 June (NS) the armies met in the Battle of Fehrbellin^[4]

The Fehrbellin affair was a mere skirmish, with actual casualties amounting to fewer than 600 men, but it was a defeat by a numerically inferior force from a territory which Sweden had little regard for. As a result of this defeat, Sweden appeared vulnerable, encouraging neighbouring countries which had suffered invasion by Sweden in the prior Swedish campaigns to join in the Scanian War. Wrangel retreated to Swedish Demmin.^[7]

When the United Provinces initially asked for Danish support against the French and their allies in the Franco-Dutch War, Danish-Norwegian King Christian V wanted to join them, and go to war with Sweden immediately to recapture the historically Danish provinces of Scania and Halland. Count Peder Griffenfeld, an influential royal adviser, advised against it, and instead advocated a more pro-France policy. But when the numerically superior Swedes lost the Battle of Fehrbellin on June 28, 1675, it was the first such defeat of Swedish forces since the Thirty Years' War. Christian V saw his chance, and overcoming Griffenfeld's opposition, attacked.^[7]

In Northern Germany[link]

Invasion of Swedish Rügen, 1678

At this point, the Swedish empire in Germany began to crumble. In 1675, most of Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen were taken by the Brandenburgers, Austrians, and Danes. In December 1677, the elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin. Stralsund fell on October 11, 1678. Greifswald, Sweden's last possession on the continent, was lost on November 5. A defensive alliance with John III of Poland, was rendered inoperative on August 4, 1677 by the annihilation of Sweden's sea-power, the Battle of Öland, June 17, 1676; Battle of Fehmarn, June 1677, and the difficulties of the Polish king.

Danish recapture of Scania[link]

Christian V's (left) navy heading for Scania (right), 1676

The Danish recapture of Scania (which had been in captured by Sweden in 1658) started with the seizure of Helsingborg on June 29, 1676. Danish king Christian V brought 15,000 troops against a defending Swedish army of 5,000 men, which were spread out over the province.

Initially the operation was a great success. Large parts of the local peasantry sided with Denmark and the outnumbered Swedish troops were in bad shape.

Town after town fell into the hands of the Danes and the Swedes had to retreat north to Sweden proper. In a month's time only the fortified town of Malmö remained under Swedish control.

The Gyldenløve War[link]

Norwegian history records the campaigns in Norway (or in formerly Norwegian provinces) as the Gyldenløve War; it was named after Governor-General Ulrik Frederick Gyldenløve, who as commander-in-chief directed the Norwegian offensive. The Norwegian offensives were generally successful, but served only to offset the Danish setbacks elsewhere.^[8]

The 1675 stalemate[link]

Simultaneously with the Danish invasion, Norway's forces were marshaled along the border to force the Swedes to deal with the prospect of fighting a two-front war. A force of 4,000 Norwegians was concentrated at Fredrikshald under the command of General Russenstein, both protecting against any Swedish attempts to invade and threatening to retake the formerly Norwegian province of Bohuslän. The Swedish General Ascheberg took position at Svarteborg with 2,000 men. Operations along the Norwegian-Swedish border during 1675 were largely skirmishes to test strength, as mountain passes were well guarded. Gyldenløve then directed 1000 men in galleys to proceed down the coast and cut off Ascheberg's supply route; as Ascheberg had intelligence of the effort, it was unsuccessful. Both armies went into winter quarters in the border districts.^[8]

Gyldenløve's 1676 campaign[link]

Battle of Halmstad

In 1676 Gyldenløve personally led Norwegian forces in the field. His Norwegian army took and fortified the pass at Kvistrum and proceeded south, seizing Uddevalla with minimal opposition. Swedish forces provided significantly more resistance to the attack on Vänersborg, but Gyldenløve's forces captured it. From there his forces moved to Bohus where they were supplemented by General Tønne Huitfeldt's army of 5000 men.^[8]

In early August a Danish expedition was sent north to take the town of Halmstad and then advance along the Swedish west coast to seek contact with General Gyldenløve's forces. This led to the Battle of Fyllebro where Charles XI of Sweden won a decisive victory over the Danish mercenary force led by a Scotsman, General Duncan, effectively preventing the linking of forces. The Swedes then retreated north to gather more troops. Christian V brought his army to Halmstad and besieged the town for a couple of weeks but gave up and returned to winter quarters in Scania.

The recapture of Bohuslän[link]

Carlsten fortress, lost to Denmark in the Battle of Marstrand

Magnus de la Gardie

Despite the Danish forces defeat at Fyllebro, the successful recapture of Scania allowed Norwegian troops to regain formerly Norwegian Bohuslän. During the winter of 1677, the Norwegian army was increased to 17,000 men, allowing operations to increase further. Gyldenløve captured the fortress at Marstrand in July and joined forces with General Løvenhjelm.^[8]

The Swedes mounted a counteroffensive under the command of Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, sending an army of 8,000 to expel the Norwegian forces. They were defeated by the Norwegians, and forced to retreat, holding only Bohus Fortress in Bohuslän.^[8]

The recapture of Jämtland[link]

In August 1677, Norwegian forces of 2000 men, led by General Reinhold von Hoven and General Christian Shultz also retook formerly Norwegian Jämtland.^[8]

Although Bohuslän and Jämtland were former Norwegian provinces and the forces in both locations were well received by the native populations there, things went badly for Denmark-Norway in the Scanian campaigns, and the Norwegian forces withdrew when ordered to do so by King Christian V.^[8]

The war in Scania[link]

Charles XI at the Battle of Lund

Battle of Landskrona

On October 24, 1676, the Swedish king Charles XI marched back into Scania with an army of 12,000, forcing the Danes in the defensive. After a number of skirmishes the Danish army was badly beaten in the Battle of Lund on December 4. Despite gains by Gyldenløve in the north, the Swedish offensive of Charles XI tipped the scale. After failing to take Malmö and the defeat at the Battle of Landskrona the Danish Army in Scania was still not beaten, but the morale was definitely broken.

However the Danes held the fortified town of Landskrona and was able to ship in more Dutch and German mercenaries and in July 1678 Christian V marched east to rescue the diminishing Danish garrison in the town of Kristianstad besieged by the Swedes. After facing the whole Swedish army on the plain west of Kristianstad Christian V opted not to give battle.

War at sea[link]

Danish Admiral Niels Juel led Danish forces to victory at the Battles of Fehmarn and Køge Bay

Battle of Öland[link]

The war was also fought at sea. In the Battle of Öland, June 1, 1676, the Danish and Dutch fleet won a great victory over the Swedes, sinking one of the largest naval vessels at that time, Kronan. With the victory they got control of the Baltic sea.

Battle of Fehmarn[link]

The Danes won another significant victory in the Battle of Fehmarn on 31 May 1677. The battle was located between Fehmarn and Warnemünde, north of modern-day Germany. The Danes had been blockading a Swedish squadron in Göteborg (Gothenburg), and each side had been sending fleets out regularly in the hope of a decisive victory at sea. The Swedish ships, under Erik Carlsson Sjöblad, left to return to the Baltic Sea and there met a larger Danish squadron under Admiral Niels Juel. The action started in the evening of the 31st and continued until the next morning. It was an almost complete Danish victory. Several Swedish ships were captured, most as they tried to flee, and one was run aground and burned.

Battle of Køge bay[link]

The control at sea was secured a year later, when the Danish fleet, led by Niels Juel, again defeated the Swedish fleet at the Battle of Køge bay, near Copenhagen. The Swedes lost over 3,000 men in this engagement, while the Danish only suffered some 375 casualties. The Danish success at sea hindered the Swedish ability to move troops between northern Germany and Sweden.

Peace[link]

Peace was negotiated between France (on behalf of Sweden) and Denmark at the Treaty of Fontainebleau on August 23, 1679. The peace, which was largely dictated by France, stipulated that all territory lost by Sweden during the war should be returned. Thus the terms formulated at the Treaty of Copenhagen remained in force. It was reaffirmed by the Treaty of Lund, signed by Denmark-Norway and Sweden themselves. Denmark received minor war reparations from Sweden and returned Swedish Rügen. Likewise, the Electorate of Brandenburg had to return her gains, Bremen-Verden and Swedish Pomerania, to Sweden on behalf of France in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.^[9]

On the ground in Scania itself, however, the war had a devastating effect in raising the hopes of the pro-Danish guerilla known as Snapphane, who thereupon suffered savage repression from the reinstated Swedish authorities.

See also[link]

• dominium maris baltici

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Scanian War

• History of War site entry on the battle