Battle of Landskrona
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Landskrona was fought on the Ylleshed moore, outside the town of Landskrona
, in southern Sweden
on
July 14, 1677 (Julian calendar
).
and left its camp near Klippan
to march south. The plan was to find the Danish army that had been weakened by losses at Malmö
and attack it before reinforcements could arrive from Germany and Austria via Landskrona. The Danes however, had already returned to Landskrona and camped on the hills west of the town.
During the night Christian V had moved his army down from the hills and lined it up behind an earth wall in the intention to ambush the Swedes on the moor.
The Swedish General Ascheberg
spotted the Danish troops behind the wall. The Swedish army paused for about one hour and at nine o'clock formed itself on two lines at the North-east end of the moor.
Though his generals advised against it Christian V decided to leave his favorable position behind the wall and attack the Swedes. The two armies started advancing towards each other and were soon separated only by a small valley. The artillery exchanged fire but none of the sides were willing to attack across the dale.
Finally Charles XI and his guard on the right wing charged down the slope and up the other side. They were immediately surrounded and almost taken prisoner, but saved by the Household cavalry. The rest of the Swedish right wing followed and the battle began. After less than one hour the Danish left wing was routed and the Danish artillery in Swedish hands.
On the Danish right wing Christian V outflanked the Swedes and when Field marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
was killed the Swedish left wing was scattered. However, backed up by the 4,000 peasants the Swedes managed to escape and reorganize their left wing.
In the center the Danes took the initiative when General Russenstein
attacked soon after both flanks were engaged in battle. But as his left flank was unprotected it took a lot of punishment and the Danish center slowly started dissolving. At the same time Christian V could not make the left flank of the Swedish center bulge. When the Swedish cavalry that had pursued the Danish left wing returned to the battle at the same time as the Swedish left wing was ready for action Christian V left the field at four o'clock.
At 6 o'clock all Danish troops had quit the field and the Swedes retired to the former Danish camp.
Though unquestionably a Swedish victory the battle had little influence on the outcome of the war. As long as the Danes were victorious at sea and held the fortified town of Landskrona they could easily bring reinforcements to Scania. The Swedish army now counted 7,000 men and this was not enough to take Landskrona.
After a couple of skirmishes around Kristianstad
the main part of the Swedish army marched back north to Sweden proper
to find winter quarters, while Christian V shipped some of his troops back to Zealand.
Landskrona
Landskrona is a locality and the seat of Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 28,670 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Landskrona was founded at the location of Scania's best natural harbour, as a means of King Eric of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy, intended to compete...
, in southern Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
on
July 14, 1677 (Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
).
Prelude
On July 12 the Swedish army of 10,000 men had just been reinforced with 4,000 peasants from SmålandSmåland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
and left its camp near Klippan
Klippan
Klippan may refer to:*Klippan, Sweden, a town in Skåne, Sweden*Klippan Municipality, Skåne, Sweden*Klippan , a district of Gothenburg, Sweden*Klippan , a popular sofa manufactured and sold by IKEA...
to march south. The plan was to find the Danish army that had been weakened by losses at Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
and attack it before reinforcements could arrive from Germany and Austria via Landskrona. The Danes however, had already returned to Landskrona and camped on the hills west of the town.
The battle
Early in the morning July 14 Charles XI formed his army on four columns and started advancing towards the Danes. But as soon as the Swedes got the enemy camp in sight they noticed that it was empty. This caused some confusion among the Swedish generals. Most of them assumed that Christian V had retreated to Landskrona and that the Swedes should abort the operation. However Charles XI was determined to deliver battle and kept his army marching towards the Danish camp.During the night Christian V had moved his army down from the hills and lined it up behind an earth wall in the intention to ambush the Swedes on the moor.
The Swedish General Ascheberg
Rutger von Ascheberg
Count Rutger von Ascheberg was a soldier, officer and civil servant in Swedish service, being appointed Lieutenant General in 1670, General in 1674, Field Marshal in 1678, Governor General of the Scanian provinces, in 1680, and Royal Councilor in 1681.-Biography:Ascheberg was born on the estate...
spotted the Danish troops behind the wall. The Swedish army paused for about one hour and at nine o'clock formed itself on two lines at the North-east end of the moor.
Though his generals advised against it Christian V decided to leave his favorable position behind the wall and attack the Swedes. The two armies started advancing towards each other and were soon separated only by a small valley. The artillery exchanged fire but none of the sides were willing to attack across the dale.
Finally Charles XI and his guard on the right wing charged down the slope and up the other side. They were immediately surrounded and almost taken prisoner, but saved by the Household cavalry. The rest of the Swedish right wing followed and the battle began. After less than one hour the Danish left wing was routed and the Danish artillery in Swedish hands.
On the Danish right wing Christian V outflanked the Swedes and when Field marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
Baron Simon Grundel-Helmfelt was a Swedish Field marshal. Helmfelt is most notable for the overwhelming victory he won despite being heavily outnumbered at the Battle of Lund....
was killed the Swedish left wing was scattered. However, backed up by the 4,000 peasants the Swedes managed to escape and reorganize their left wing.
In the center the Danes took the initiative when General Russenstein
Henrik Ruse
Henrik Ruse , later Baron Henrik Rysensteen , was a Dutch officer and fortification engineer...
attacked soon after both flanks were engaged in battle. But as his left flank was unprotected it took a lot of punishment and the Danish center slowly started dissolving. At the same time Christian V could not make the left flank of the Swedish center bulge. When the Swedish cavalry that had pursued the Danish left wing returned to the battle at the same time as the Swedish left wing was ready for action Christian V left the field at four o'clock.
At 6 o'clock all Danish troops had quit the field and the Swedes retired to the former Danish camp.
Aftermath
Reasons for the Danish defeat are said to be rivalry between Danish generals and that the Danish units had been mixed up during the night. The Danes also failed to exploit their success on the right wing, which gave the Swedes time to reorganize their units.Though unquestionably a Swedish victory the battle had little influence on the outcome of the war. As long as the Danes were victorious at sea and held the fortified town of Landskrona they could easily bring reinforcements to Scania. The Swedish army now counted 7,000 men and this was not enough to take Landskrona.
After a couple of skirmishes around Kristianstad
Kristianstad
Kristianstad is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 35,711 inhabitants in 2010.-History:The city was founded in 1614 by King Christian IV of Denmark, the city's name literally means 'Town of Christian', as a planned city after the burning of the town of Vä...
the main part of the Swedish army marched back north to Sweden proper
Sweden proper
Sweden proper, , is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden....
to find winter quarters, while Christian V shipped some of his troops back to Zealand.