Siege of Snoghøj

Siege of Snoghøj
Part of the Torstenson War

1670 depiction of Frederiksodde near Snoghøj by Galeazzo Gualdo Priorato
Date11–14 January 1644
Location
Snoghøj, Denmark–Norway
(present-day Denmark)
55°31′25″N 9°43′05″E / 55.52361°N 9.71806°E / 55.52361; 9.71806
Result Swedish victory
Territorial
changes		 Snoghøj is captured by Swedish forces
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Denmark–Norway
Commanders and leaders
Lennart Torstensson Anders Bille
Units involved
Unknown Snoghøj garrison
Strength
Unknown 4,500 men
Casualties and losses
Unknown 4,500 captured

The siege of Snoghøj occurred from 11 to 14 January 1644 during the Torstenson War between Denmark–Norway and Sweden.

After Sweden went to war with Denmark in 1643, a Swedish army led by Lennart Torstensson invaded Jutland. The Swedes quickly captured multiple towns, and after an assault on Christianspris, the Swedish army moved toward the Danish fortification of Snoghøj, which was near its intended crossing point to Funen.

After three days of Danish resistance, the Swedish army formed up outside Snoghøj, and the Danish garrison, some 4,500 men in total, capitulated to the Swedes. The fortifications commander, Anders Bille, had evacuated to Funen before it fell.

Background

Frustrated by perceived Danish disruptions of Swedish activities in the Thirty Years' War, Axel Oxenstierna, the chancellor of Sweden, began planning a preemptive war with Denmark in May 1643.[1] According to his plan, a Swedish army under the command of Lennart Torstensson was to invade Jutland from Germany and then be transported to the Danish islands. Another army under the command of Gustav Horn would invade Scania.[2][3]

Prelude

After being ordered to attack Denmark in October 1643, Torstensson prepared defenses on the borders of Bohemia and Moravia before marching northwest.[4][5] He led about 15,000[6] or 16,000 men in total, 12,000 of whom were national troops.[7][4][8] Only after arriving at Havelberg on 6 December were Torstensson's officers informed of the attack on Denmark.[5][9][8]

The Swedish army assembled at Ratzeburg on 11 December and invaded Holstein on 13 December. They captured Segelburg, Itzehoe, Kiel, and Breitenburg, and then moved toward Christianspris.[5][10] Christianspris would be captured on 19 December,[11] after which Swedish forces defeated a Danish force at Kolding.[12][13] Following the victory at Kolding, Swedish forces moved against Snoghøj.[12]

Siege

After reaching Snoghøj, which was near the location where the Swedes intended to cross to Funen, Torstensson ordered a bombardment of the unfinished fortification.[13] The size of the garrison at Snoghøj is disputed. According to La Gazette, it numbered 15,000 men, while other sources estimate 9,000 or 7,000–8,000 men.[14] K. R. Böhme and Peter Englund give a lower estimate of about 4,500 men, of which 1,000 were soldiers, and the rest were peasants.[14][15][16]

On 14 January, after three days of resistance from the Danish garrison,[17] the Swedish army formed up in front of the Danish earthworks. Once the Swedes began advancing toward the Danish positions, the Danish troops inside laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Swedes without a fight.[18][14] Prior to the surrender, Anders Bille had evacuated to Funen with officers, regimental colors, and as many soldiers as possible,[19][16] with Swedish historian Arnold Munthe (militär) specifying 1,000 soldiers being evacuated.[20]

Aftermath

After Snoghøj capitulated, around 4,500 Danes were captured by the Swedes, and the 1,000 professional soldiers were forced to enter Swedish service. The peasants were sent home after swearing an oath not to fight in the war again.[16][21]

See also

Citations

  1. ↑ von Essen 2020, pp. 97 & 99.
  2. ↑ von Essen 2020, pp. 97–101.
  3. ↑ Sundberg 2010, p. 111.
  4. 1 2 von Essen 2020, p. 101.
  5. 1 2 3 Walde 1916, p. 218.
  6. ↑ Pohl 2020, p. 163.
  7. ↑ Wolke 2018, p. 68.
  8. 1 2 Englund 1993, p. 306.
  9. ↑ Palmstierna & Zeeh 1944, p. 71.
  10. ↑ Palmstierna & Zeeh 1944, p. 72.
  11. ↑ Englund 1993, p. 308.
  12. 1 2 von Essen 2020, p. 102.
  13. 1 2 Englund 1993, p. 311.
  14. 1 2 3 Bäckström 2018, p. 99.
  15. ↑ Böhme 1965, pp. 46–47.
  16. 1 2 3 Englund 1993, p. 312.
  17. ↑ Klitgaard 1924, p. 29.
  18. ↑ Englund 1993, pp. 311–312.
  19. ↑ Bäckström 2018, pp. 99–100.
  20. ↑ Munthe 1905, p. 116.
  21. ↑ Munthe 1905, pp. 116–117.

References

  • Englund, Peter (1993). Ofredsår: om den Svenska Stormaktstiden och en man i dess mitt [Years of unrest: about the Swedish Empire and a man in its midst] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Atlantis. ISBN 9789174863499.
  • Böhme, K. R. (1965). "Lennart Torstensson und Helmut Wrangel in Schleswig-Holstein und Jütland". Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte. 90. Karl Wachholtz Verlag Neumünster: 41–83.
  • Bäckström, Olli (2018). Katajala, Kimmo; Hirvonen, Helena (eds.). Snapphanar and Power States: Insurgency and the Transformation of War in Sweden and Denmark 1643–1645. Joensuu: University of Eastern Finland. ISBN 9789526129020.
  • Sundberg, Ulf (2010). Sveriges krig 1630-1814 [Sweden's wars 1630–1814] (in Swedish). Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789185789634.
  • von Essen, Michael Fredholm (2020). The Lion from the North: The Swedish Army during the Thirty Years War 1632-48. Vol. 2. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781913118839.
  • Palmstierna, Carl-Fredrik; Zeeh, Erik (1944). Slaget vid Femern [Battle of Fehrmarn] (PDF) (in Swedish). Gothenburg: Sjöhistoriska samfundet.
  • Walde, O. (1916). Storhetstidens litterära krigsbyten [The Literary War Booty of the Age of Greatness] (PDF) (in Swedish). Almqvist & Wiksells.
  • Wolke, Lars Ericson (2018). "Lennart Torstensson: Fader till det svenska artilleriet". Sveriges tio främsta fältherrar [Sweden's ten greatest generals] (in Swedish). Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789188053787.
  • Pohl, Per-Ole (2020). "Christianspries – Eine Festung des Dreißigjährigen Krieges im Lichte historischer Bildquellen" [Christianspries – A Fortress from the Thirty Years' War Seen in the Light of Historical Pictorial Sources]. In Atzbach, Rainer; Ottersbach, Christian; Sørensen, Claus; Kock, Jan; Wille-Jørgensen, Dorthe (eds.). Castles and Fortifications of the Reformation Period (PDF). The Danish Castle Research Association.
  • Klitgaard, C. (1924). "Et Bidrag til Jyllands Forsvarshistorie". Jyske Samlinger (in Danish). 4.
  • Munthe, Arnold [in Swedish] (1905). Klas Fleming, Karl Gustaf Wrangel, Martin Thijsen Anckarhielm, danska kriget 1643—1645: Omfattande tiden till Juli 1644. Svenska sjöhjältar (in Swedish). Vol. 5:1. Illustrated by Jacob Hägg. Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & Söners förlag.
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