Copyright © Hans Högman 2017-10-27
The Many Swedish
Wars - 1700s
Swedish Wars - 1700s
1700-1721, War with Russia, Denmark
Poland, Saxony and a few German states.
"The Great Northern War"
In war with Russia, Denmark Poland, Saxony and a
few German states. "The Great Northern War"
Just before the war, Russia, Poland and Denmark
formed a pact of aggression against Sweden. They
were all after Swedish territory. Russia was after the
Baltic coast, Poland wanted Livland (a Swedish Baltic
province) and Denmark wanted to regain the Skåne
provinces in south of Sweden. The three nations of
the pact were all convinced that Sweden was weak
after the death of Karl XI in 1697, above all with a
young inexperienced regent, Karl XII. They were now
to meet one of the best armies in Europe at this
time, the Swedish Carolean Army.
A summary of the Great Northern War.
An allied of Sweden was Mazepa and his Cossacks.
A few of the battles of the war.
King Karl XII of Sweden decided to first of all deal
with Denmark.
1700 Denmark surrenders. Peace in Traventhal on
August 8, 1700.
1700 Sweden beats the Russians at Narva. Great
victory in Narva.
Next in turn was August of Saxony/Poland.
On July 9, 1701 the Swedes crossed the Düna River
and defeated the Saxony army.
1702-1704 Poland. Peace in Warsaw on November
18, 1705 with Poland.
1706 The battle of Freaustadt a great Swedish
victory.
Karl XII turns on Saxony and August give up. Peace
in Altranstädt on September 14, 1706 with
Saxony.
In the fall of 1707 Sweden head for Russia. The
march eastwards begins.
The Swedes defeated the Russian army in the Battle
of Holowczyn on June 30, 1708.
1709: The Swedish field army was defeated by the
Russians on June 28th 1709 in the Battle of Poltava
and surrenders in Perovolotjno on July 1.
The defeat at Poltava had far-reaching
consequences for Sweden. Once again Denmark and
Poland/Saxony declared war on Sweden.
1709-1720 Denmark. Battle of Helsingborg, Sweden
in February 28, 1710. The Danes were defeated and
forced to evacuate Skåne. Instead the Danes
attacked the Swedish provinces in Northern
Germany.
In 1710, the last of the Swedish possessions the
Baltic; Riga, Reval and Pernau were lost to the
Russians.
1712-1713 Sachsen.
The Swedes shipped an army to Northern Germany
in 1712 to liberate the occupied Swedish
possessions there. On December 9, 1712 General
Stenbock and the Swedes defeated a combined
army of soldiers from Denmark and Saxony in the
Battle of Gadebuch.
The Swedes surrender in the fortress Tönningen on
May 6, 1713 due to a total lack of supplies.
During 1713, the Russians attacked Finland and in
1714 Finland was in the hands of the Russians.
During 1715, both Prussia and Hanover declares was
on Sweden.
1716 The first Norwegian campaign
1718-1718 The Second Norwegian Campaign. King
Karl XII killed in action on November 30, 1718 at
Fredrikshald, Norway.
1718 The Armfeldt Campaign in Trondheim
On October 28, 1719 Sweden signed an armistice
with Denmark for 6 months.
1719-1721 Russian galley fleet ravages the
Swedish east coast. The Battle of Stäket on August
13, 1719.
During 1720 England sent a navy fleet to the
disposal of the Swedes. This strengthening of the
Swedish fleet was to remain for the rest of the war.
The peace treaties:
•
Peace in Stockholm on November 9, 1719
with England/Hanover. Sweden had to give up
both Bremen and Verden.
•
Peace in Stockholm on January 21, 1720 with
Prussia. Sweden was to give up an area in
southern Pommern, more exactly, the land
south of river Peene and east of river Oder plus
the islands Usedom and Wollin.
•
Peace in Stockholm on June 3, 1720 with
Denmark. No loss of land.
•
Peace in Nystad on August 30, 1721 with
Russia. Sweden had to give up Viborg County
and the southern part of Kexholm County, both
in the southeastern part of Finland. Further, all
possessions in the Baltic; Ingermanland, Livland
and Estonia including the islands Ösel and
Dagö. However, Russia had to return Finland to
Sweden.
•
There were no formal peace treaties between
Sweden and Poland / Saxony. However, on April
28, 1729 the war formally ended with Saxony
when Sweden and Saxony signed a declaration
of friendship. A similar declaration was signed
with Poland on September 26, 1732.
More about the terms of the peace treaties.
The Swedish borders in 1700
Gain of land:
- Bremen, Verden
- Southern Vorpommern
- Ingermanland
- Part of Kexholm and Vyborg
Counties
- Estonia, Livland
Map of Sweden 1719-1721
See detailed map
.
1741-1742, War with Russia, "The Russian
War of the Hats"
After the Great Northern War, which ended in 1721,
Sweden lost not only the foreign provinces but also a
part of southeastern Finland.
During the 1730’s plans was formed to recapture the
lost land, primarily the lost parts of southeastern
Finland on the Karelian Isthmus. At this time there
were two dominating political parties in Sweden, the
Hats (Hattarna) and the Caps (Mössorna).
The Hats was in favor of war and when they got into
power, preparation for war begun. In 1739 troops
were sent to Finland.
In Russia at the time, there was a conflict of
succession and the Hats planned to use the
situation. They also counted on an alliance with
Turkey, Denmark, Poland and Prussia. The idea was
to support Elisabeth, the daughter of tsar Peter I, in
the struggle for the throne. In return the Hats were
hoping to regain former Swedish land. However this
was never confirmed with Elisabeth.
The warmongers for war with Russia increased in
number when a Swedish diplomat, major Malcolm
Sinclair, was murdered by Russian military in
Schlesien.
Although, a lot of warnings that the Swedish Army
wasn’t ready for war at this time, a declaration of
war was sent to Russia on July 28, 1741. Sweden
was to be without allies in the war, except for
France who supported Sweden with subsidies.
When the war started the Swedish forces in Finland
counted 18,000 men. A Swedish success in the war
was depending on a quick move at the beginning of
the war. However, the gathering of the Swedish units
took a very long time and the army was badly
equipped.
The Russians were aware of the Swedish plans and
gathered an army at Viborg. Before the Swedes was
ready to launch the attack on Russia, the Russians
crossed the border to Finland on August 22, 1741.
The Russian force counted 10,500 soldiers.
The Russians marched against Villmanstrand. In this
area, the Swedes only had 3,000 soldiers. Wrangel,
the commander of the Swedish force in the area,
decided for some strange reason the meet the
Russians on an open field, just south of the city.
Since they were outnumbered it would have been
better to stay in the fortress in Villmanstrand were
they could have defended themselves until the
Swedish field army arrived.
The Russians attacked the Swedish force at
Villmanstrand on August 23, 1741. The battle
ended with a Russian victory. After the battle the
Russians withdrew to Russian territory.
The Swedes made an attack into Russian territory in
November 1741. When they received news that
princess Elisabeth hade made a coup d'état and
seized the power of Russia, General Lewenhaupt and
the Swedes stopped their offensive. On December
6, 1741 Sweden signed an armistice with Russia.
On February 25, 1742 the Russians broke the
armistice. A large force of 26,000 men was gathered
in Viborg and in June 1742 the force crossed the
border into the Swedish Finland.
The Swedes had prepared a defensive position at
the Mendolax gorge, 20 km southeast of
Fredrikshamn. However the force at the gorge
retreated when the large Russian army approached.
The Swedish army kept on retreating from the
advancing Russian army. In August the Swedes had
retreated to Helsinki.
The Swedish officers were at this point about to
raise a mutiny due to the incompetent
commanders. On August 24, 1742 the Swedish
field army in Finland had to surrender to the
Russians. However, the Swedes were allowed to
return to Sweden.
During the winter of 1742/1743 the Swedes
prepared to recapture Finland. On March 15, 1743,
Sweden recaptured the islands of Åland and in April
the Russians were forced to retreat from Northern
Finland.
On May 20, 1743 the Swedish Galley Fleet attacked
the Russian Galley Fleet at Korpo ström. However,
the naval battle ended with a Russian victory.
On June 4 the Swedish and Russian Navy were about
begin a naval battle of Hangö udd, however the
Russians withdrew without a fight.
The Supreme Commanders of the Swedish Army in
Finland, general Charles Emil Lewenhaupt and
general Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock was court-
martialed and sentenced to “loss of life, honor and
property” due to their negligence during the war.
They were executed during the summer of 1743.
On August 7, 1743 a peace treaty was signed in
Åbo between Sweden and Russia. A Russian
prerequisite was that Adolf Fredrik of Holstein was
to be elected new heir to the Swedish throne when
the present King Fredrik I died. King Fredrik I of
Sweden had no children and the Danish Crown
prince was a popular candidate, among the Swedes,
to succeed Fredrik I as the new King of Sweden.
The Russians feared a Swedish-Danish alliance and,
in the peace preliminaries, demanded the Swedes to
choose Adolf Fredrik of Holstein as the successor of
Fredrik I. The Russians was prepared to return most
parts of Finland if the Swedes would accept this
demand.
Sweden accepted and had only to give up
Kymmenegård County up to the western part of
the river Kymmene. Further, Nyslott
with adjoining area of Savolax east
of Lake Saimen.
Gain of land:
- Part of southeast Finland, foremost
large parts of Kymmenegård County.
Map of Sweden 1743
See detailed map
.
1757-1762, War with Prussia, "The Pommern
War"
Allied with Sweden: France, Russia, Austria, Saxony
and Spain.
In continental Europe there was at this time a war
called the European seven-years war. The
background of the war was the Prussian occupation
of Schlesien in 1741, which at the time belonged to
Austria.
This led to an alliance between Austria, Saxony,
France and Russia towards Prussia.
Prussia was allied with Hanover/England. Hanover
was between 1714 and 1837 in a personal union with
England.
Prussia didn’t wait for the alliance to strike; instead
they attacked Saxony in 1756.
The alliance now made a lot off efforts to get Sweden
to join the war against Prussia.
Sweden decide to join the war and the Swedish
participation in the war in known as the Pommern
War.
After the Swedish peace treaties in S:t Germain in
1679 and in Stockholm in 1720 (during the Great
Northern War), Sweden lost parts of Vorpommern to
Prussia. Sweden now hoped to recapture these
areas. Both France and Austria guaranteed this in
exchange for a Swedish participation in the war. They
also promised subsidies to Sweden.
The political party, the Hats, were in power in Sweden
and they accepted this offer. However the Swedish
army was in a bad state at this time and not really
ready to go to war.
On September 13, 1757, Swedish troops from
Pommern crossed the border to Prussia. There was
no declaration of war. The Prussian resistance in the
area was weak and soon the islands of Usedom and
Wollis once again in Swedish hands.
In October 1757 the Swedish force counted 20,000
soldiers. At the end of the year, the Prussians had
recaptured most of the areas the Swedes had
occupied.
In the summer of 1758 the Swedish offensive was
resumed and in August a force of 17,000 Swedish
soldiers advanced into Prussian territory. A Prussian
counter-attack forced the Swedes to withdraw. On
September 26, 1758, the Swedes lost the battle of
Tarnow. However, on September 28, the Swedes
defeated the Prussian in the battle of Fehrbellin.
On September 10, 1759, there was a naval battle
between Swedish and Prussian galleys at Frisches
Haff; a battle the Swedes won. Now when the
Prussian lost control of the sea, they withdrew from
the islands Usedom and Wollin; islands that now fell
into the hands of the Swedes.
On January 28, 1760, the Swedes defeated the
Prussian army in the battle of Anklam. The Prussian
general Manteuffel was taken prisoner of war. The
Swedish army was at this time of the war very well
equipped.
There were no major battles involving the Swedes
during 1761. However, the Swedes took the city of
Malchin in 1761. On January 2, 1762, Sweden won the
important battle of Neu Kahlen.
During the spring of 1762, peace talks stared
between Sweden and Prussia and an armistice was
signed on April 7.
On May 22, 1762 the peace treaty was signed in
Hamburg. Neither Sweden, nor Prussia lost any land.
The terms in short:
•
The peace of 1720 in Stockholm was confirmed
•
Sweden had to leave all occupied areas in
Prussia
•
Sweden was obligated not to participate in any
further hostilities against Prussia for the rest of
the war
The end of the European Seven Years War:
During 1761 the English ministry of Pitt had to leave
power. Pitt was the main force behind the support of
Prussia. The British now took a neutral position in the
war. This of course put the Prussians in a difficult
position.
In the beginning of 1762, the Russian empress
Elisabeth died and was succeeded by Peter III.
He was friendlier towards Prussia and considered
switching side in the war.
It war during these premises the Swedes begun the
peace talks with Prussia.
Peter III was assassinated during the summer of 1762
and after that event the Russian took a neutral
position in the war.
Prussia was very successful in the war during the
summer of 1762 and in November France retired
from the war. Austria was now alone in the alliance
and finally signed a peace treaty with Prussia on
January
Gain of land: +- zero
See detailed map
.
1788-1790, War with Russia, "The Russian
War of King Gustav III"
The Swedish King Gustav III started a war with Russia
in 1788. His purpose was to gain domestic and
international advantages.
King Gustav III was strengthening his position. A war
would take the tension away from the domestic
affairs.
The King saw Russia as a target. An aim with a war
with Russia would be to regain land lost in the wars
with Russia 1700 – 1721 and 1741 – 1742.
Another reason for a war with Russia was the Russian
interference with Swedish internal affairs.
There was one problem though. According to the
Swedish constitution, the King did not have the legal
power to start an aggressive war. He needed the
Parliament's (Riksdagen) approval to launch an
assault on Russia. Getting approval from the
Parliament to start a war with Russia was out of the
question.
Gustav III was now occupied on how to provoke the
Russians to start a war.
During the night of June 27, 1788 there was a
exchange of shots between a Swedish border patrol
and Russian troops at Puumala in the province of
Savolax on the Russian border.
It hasn’t been fully proved, but the “Russians” were
probably Swedes dressed up in Russian uniforms
shamming a Russian attack.
This was the reason the King needed to start a war.
Read more about the Russian War of King Gustav III
Peace in Värälä on August 14, 1790.
This war in known as the Russo-Swedish War 1788 -
1790 in English literature.
Read also about the naval battles;
•
The Naval Battle of Vyborg Bay 1790
•
The Naval Battle of Svensksund 1790
Gain of land: +- zero
See detailed map
.
1788-1788, War with Denmark, "The Theatre
War"
The Swedish King Gustav III started a war with Russia
in 1788. According to the Swedish constitution, the
King did not have the legal power to start an
aggressive war. He needed the Parliament's
(Riksdagen) approval to launch an assault on Russia.
Getting approval from the Parliament to start a war
with Russia was out of the question.
During the night of June 27, 1788 there was a
exchange of shots between a Swedish border patrol
and Russian troops at Puumala in the province of
Savolax on the Russian border.
It hasn’t been fully proved, but the “Russians” were
probably Swedes dressed up in Russian uniforms
shamming a Russian attack.
This was the reason the King needed to start a war.
There was a discontent among the Swedish officers.
In August 1788 in Finland, there was an uprising
among the officers. In the middle of the war a group
of officers declared the war illegal and decided to put
down their weapons. On their own responsibility they
contacted empress Catharine of Russia to negotiate
for peace. This uprising was called the Anjala
uprising.
For more information on the war with Russia, see the
"Russian war of King Gustav III" above.
Read more about the Russian War of King Gustav III
About the same time as the Anjala uprising, the King
got another problem on his hands. At the end of
August 1788, Denmark declared war on Sweden.
Denmark was an allied of Russia. According to the
Danish-Russian treaty of 1773 the Danes had to
assist Russia with troops if Russia was being attacked
by another nation. When the Swedish-Russian war
was a fact, the Russians put Denmark under great
pressure to get them involved in the war on the
Russian side.
Therfore Denmark declared war on Sweden in
August 1788.
King Gustav III now had to leave Finland to deal with
this new threat. In fact, the King saw the Danish
involvement as a positive event. When the King
received information about the Danish declaration of
war he shouted “I’m saved”.
Now he could unite the Swedes on a jointly goal. The
Danish hatred was still very much alive in Sweden.
Further, the way the Russian war had started was
very sensitive. Now, the King could change the
situation and make the rebellious officers and other
opponents look like traitors.
On September 24, a Danish force of 8,000 men
advanced from Norway into the County of Bohuslän.
The force was under command of Prince Carl of
Hessen. At Kvistum, north of Uddevalla there was a
Swedish unit of 700 men. On September 29, they
were surrounded by the Danish troops and were
forced to capitulate.
On October 6, the Danish force had arrived to the
outskirts of Gothenburg. King Gustav III was
personally in Gothenburg to strengthen the defense
of the city. The Gothenburg garrison had been
reinforced and the fortifications were in a good state
when the Danes arrived.
The Danes demanded the city to surrender. The
answer from the city was No.
At this time, the British emissary, Sir Huges Elliot had
arrived at Gothenburg. He was a great believer of
Sweden and urged the Danish commander in chief to
sign an armistice.
An armistice of 8 days was signed on October 9,
1788. The armistice was extended with another 4
weeks on initiative of the Prussian emissary, Count
Adriam Heinrich von Borcke, who also had arrived to
Gothenburg. Later the armistice was extended to
May 1, 1789.
In October the Danes found themselves in a
threatened position due to the Swedish armaments
in the area. On November 12, the Danes therefore
withdrew to Norway.
The war with Denmark nearly broke out again when
the Swedes were trying to blow up some Russian war
ships in Copenhagen.
During 1789, both England and Prussia increase the
diplomatic pressure on Denmark. It was in the
interest of England to preserve the balance in the
Nordic region and to keep the trade routs open. The
British also wanted the Swedes to focus on the
Russian war.
At the same time Prussia threatened to occupy the
Danish Holstein if the Danes didn’t end the war with
the Swedes.
On July 9, 1789 the Danes finally signed a
Declaration of Neutrality. According to
international rules at the time, there was no need for
a formal peace treaty, since Denmark had been
drawn into the war due to the alliance with Russia.
Gain of land: +- zero
See detailed map
.
