Battle of Lund
The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about 13,000 under the personal command of 31-year-old King Christian V of Denmark, aided by General Carl von Arensdorff. The victorious Swedish army, which numbered about 8,000, was commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt and the 21-year-old Swedish king Charles XI. It is one of the bloodiest battles in percent of casualties on both sides ever fought in Scandinavia.
Events leading up to the battle
After the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Fehrbellin and a number of Danish triumphs at sea, the Swedish military was occupied retaining their tenuous hold on dominions in Brandenburg and Pomerania.The Danes saw this as an opportunity to regain control over the Scanian lands, which had fallen to Sweden with the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde. The Danes invaded via Helsingborg in late June 1676 with an army of 14,000 men, where they found themselves supported by the local peasantry. This made it impossible for the outnumbered Swedish troops to effectively defend the recently acquired province. After a month, only the fortified town of Malmö remained under Swedish control.
In August, a Danish detachment tried to advance north, but Swedish King Charles XI had prepared a new army in the province of Småland, and the Danish advance was halted at the Battle of Halmstad. The Swedes had gathered 14,000 men by October, of which three-fourths were mounted, and felt confident enough to march south. They slowly fought their way in an attempt to break the siege of Malmö. Swedish supply lines were thin due to frequent interceptions by local peasants under the command of Danish officers.
In early November, the Danish king and his army had taken post at Lund, south of the Kävlinge River. The Danes controlled all the river crossings, and the Swedish army was forced to camp on the north side. For one month this situation endured, but snow arrived in late November, and the river surface began to freeze. On the morning of December 3, the Swedish General of Fortifications Erik Dahlberg reported to the king that the ice would hold their weight. The Danes assumed that the Swedes had gone into winter camp and that they would not attack until the spring.
Order of battle
Swedish forces
Supreme Commander: Karl XICommander in chief: Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
Head of cavalry: General Rutger von Ascheberg
Quartermaster general: Colonel Erik Jönsson Dahlberg.
| Command | Commander | Strength | Unit |
| Left wing | Lt. Gen Johan Galle | ||
| First line | |||
| Lt. Col. Elias von Hagendorn | 1 squadron | Smålands cavalry | |
| Col. Bernhard von Mellin | 5 squadrons | Viborgs läns cavalry | |
| Col. Per Hierta | 4 squadrons | Västgöta cavalry | |
| Col. Herman von Burghausen | 2 squadrons | 2nd Karelian dragoons | |
| Second Line | Mj. Gen. Johan Benedict von Schönleben | ||
| Col. Robert Lichton | 4 squadrons | Nya Adelsfanan cavalry | |
| Col. Hans Wachtmeister | 2 squadrons | The Queen Consort life guards cavalry. | |
| Col. Herman von Burghausen | 1 squadron | 2nd Karelian dragoons | |
| Center | Mj. Gen. Martin Schultz von Ascheraden | ||
| First line | |||
| Col. Christopher Gyllenstierna | 3 battalions | Royal Life Guards of Foot | |
| Col. Friedrich Börstell | 1 battalion | Skaraborg Regiment | |
| Hans Abraham Kruuse af Verchou | 1 battalion | Dalarna Regiment | |
| Col. Lars Mörner | 1 battalion | Västgöta-Dals Regiment | |
| Lt. Col. Georg Fredrik von Ascheberg | 1 battalion | Hälsinge Regiment | |
| Per Larsson Örnklo | 1 battalion | Norrländska tremänningar Regiment | |
| Second line | Maj. Gen. Barthold de Mortaigne | ||
| 2 squadrons | 1st Karelian dragoons | ||
| Col. Otto Vellingk | 1 squadron | Gamla östgötar cavalry | |
| Col. Peter Örneklou | 1 battalion | Gästrike-Hälsinge regiment | |
| Vellingk/Johan Anders von der Pahlen | 1 squadron | Gamla östgötar cavalry | |
| 1 squadron | 2nd Karelian dragoons | ||
| Col. Abraham Cronhjort | Småländska dragoons, "sjättingar" | ||
| Right wing | Gen. Rutger von Ascheberg | ||
| First line | Lt. Gen. Otto Wilhelm von Fersen: | ||
| Col. Gotthard Johan von Budberg | 2 squadrons | 1st Karelian dragoons | |
| Lt. Col. Hans Henrik von Siegroth | 1 squadron | King's Drabants | |
| Lt. Gen. Nils Bielke | 5 squadrons | Life Regiment of Horse | |
| Col. Claes Johan Baranoff | 4 squadrons | Åbo-Viborg cavalry | |
| Second line | Mj.Gen. Johan Leonard Wittenberg. | ||
| Lt. Col. Wilhelm Mauritz von Post | Skåne-Bohusläns dragoons | ||
| Lt. Col. Kasper Goës | 1 squadron | Attached Dragoons | |
| Col. Johan Drake | 2 squadrons | Adelsfanan cavalry | |
| Col. Kristoffer von Gyntersberg | 2 squadrons | Adelns fördubbling i Götaland cavalry | |
| Col. Hans Andersson Ramsvärd | 1 squadron | Gamla smålänningar cavalry | |
| Col. Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld | 1 squadron | Civilstatens bevilling cavalry |
Unit sizes
Squadron: 2 cavalry companies.Battalion: 4 infantry companies.
Cavalry company: ca 75 riders.
Infantry company: ca 50 soldiers.
On average a squadron had 150 riders and a battalion 200 soldiers. Because of detachments, disease and desertions the units were rarely at full strength.
Danish forces
Supreme Commander: Kristian VCommander in chief: General Carl von Arensdorff
| Command | Commander | Strength | Unit |
| Left wing | Mj. Gen. Anders Sandberg | ||
| Mj.Gen. Anders Sandberg | 3 squadrons | 3rd Jyske cavalry regiment | |
| Col. Mogens Kruse | Jyske adelsfanen "rostjeneste" cavalry | ||
| Conrad Reventlow | 3 squadrons | 2nd Fynske cavalry regiment | |
| Col. Jacob von Bülow | 3 squadrons | 2nd Jyske cavalry regiment | |
| Col. Gotfried Rauch | Rauchs cavalry regiment | ||
| Col. Conrad Brinck | 1 battalion | Sønderjyske regiment | |
| Carl von Arensdorff | 3 squadrons | 4th Jyske cavalry regiment | |
| Col. Jörgen Brockenhus | 3 squadrons | Brockenhus dragoons | |
| Center | Maj. Gen. Joachim von Schack | ||
| First line | Maj. Gen. Joachim von Schack | ||
| Mj. Gen. Siegwert von Bibow | 2 battalions | Kongens life regiment | |
| Col. Dietrich Busch | 2 battalions | Prins Georgs regiment | |
| Col. Jakob Vilhelm Stuart | 1 battalion | Stuarts regiment | |
| Col. Hans Georg von der Schulenburg | 1 battalion | Duke of Croys regiment | |
| Lt. Gen. Thomas Meldrum | 2 battalions | Prins Frederiks/Field Marshal Wehers | |
| Erhom | 2 battalions | Dronningens life regiment | |
| Second line | Col. Johan Caspar von Cicignon | ||
| Col. Ditlev Lütken | 1 battalion | Lütkens regiment | |
| Egedius Kristof Lützow | 1 battalion | 4th Jyske regiment | |
| Col. Johan Caspar von Cicignon | 1 battalion | 1st Fynske regiment | |
| 3 battalions | Tromps sailors | ||
| Col. Bartold Bülow | 1 battalion | 3rd Jyske regiment | |
| Col. Konrad Brinck | 1 battalion | Duke of Plöns | |
| Right wing | Lt.Gen. Friedrich von Arensdorff | ||
| First line | Mj. Gen. Hans Wilhelm Meerheim | ||
| Second line | Col. Ditlef Rantzau | ||
| Col. Ditlef von Örtzen | 3 squadrons | Örtzens dragoons | |
| Lt.Col. Carl Adolf von Plessen. | 2 squadrons | Horse guards | |
| Mj.Gen. Hans Wilhelm Meerheim | 3 squadrons | Life Regiment of Horse | |
| Col. Hans Frederik Friedrich Levetzow | 3 squadrons | 1st Jyske cavalry regiment | |
| Col. Kristian Kristoffer Holck. | 2 squadrons | Sjællandske adelsfanan "rostjeneste" | |
| Lt.Gen. Gustaf Adolf Bauditz | 2 squadrons | Bauditz regiment | |
| Col. Ditlef Rantzau | 2 squadrons | 2nd Sjællandske cavalry | |
| Lt.Col. Bernhard Christopher Kaas | 3 squadrons | 1st Fynske cavalry | |
| Lt.Gen. Friedrich von Arensdorff | 3 squadrons | 1st Sjællandske cavalry |