Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish–Norwegian provinces along the border with Sweden, and in Northern Germany. While the latter battles are regarded as a theater of the Scanian war in English, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish historiography, they are seen as a separate war in German historiography, called the Swedish-Brandenburgian War.
The war was prompted by 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 Skåneland in 1675, while the Swedes 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.
At the end of the war, the Swedish navy had lost at sea, and the Danish army had been defeated in Scania by the Swedes, who in turn had been beaten in Northern Germany by the Brandenburgers. The war and the hostilities ended when Denmark's ally, the United Provinces, settled with Sweden's 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 and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, restoring most of the lost territories to Sweden.
Background
Franco–Swedish alliance
In the 1660s and early 1670s, the Swedish Empire experienced a financial crisis. In hope of subsidies, the Swedish government, acting on behalf of king Charles XI of Sweden during his minority, 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.In April 1672, Sweden and France concluded an alliance, with France promising 400,000 riksdaler 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.
By September 1674, Sweden had enlarged her army to 22,000 men after France had increased the subsidies to 900,000 riksdaler, 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 around 26,000 men, roughly half of which were stationed in garrisons in Bremen, Wismar and Pomerania while the rest were free to operate under Lord High Constable and field marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel.
Anti-Franco–Swedish alliance
Another defensive alliance formed in September 1672 between Denmark–Norway, 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. At that time in history, Brandenburg was the second most powerful German state, and maintained its own standing army of 23,000 men.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.
War on land
Tactics
At the time of the Scanian War Sweden's armed forces were oriented around cavalry as the main assault force with infantry filling a defensive role supported by cavalry units. Being on the offensive was preferred in a battle. In a set of regulations written in 1676 by Rutger von Ascheberg, the cavalry were to rush the enemy and get in so close that they could see the whites of their eyes before firing their pistols at the enemy. After that swords were to be drawn and the attack pressed.In Northern Germany
Swedish–Brandenburger War
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 or 28 June the armies met in the Battle of Fehrbellin.The Fehrbellin affair was a mere skirmish, with actual casualties amounting to fewer than 600 men on each side—but it was a defeat by a numerically inferior force from a territory for which Sweden had little regard. As a result of this defeat, Sweden appeared vulnerable, encouraging neighbouring countries that had suffered invasion by Sweden in the prior Swedish campaigns to join in the Scanian War. Wrangel retreated to Swedish Demmin.
When the United Provinces initially asked for Danish–Norway 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 28 June 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.
Allied campaign against Bremen–Verden
The second largest Swedish garrison in North Germany, after Swedish Pomerania, was the twin Duchy of Bremen-Verden. For political reasons, and to prevent the Swedes from advertising and recruiting mercenaries, the Allies decided to conquer these two duchies. Denmark–Norway and Brandenburg–Prussia were joined by allies from the neighbouring imperial principalities of Münster and the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg.The campaign began on 15 September 1675 with an Allied advance into the two Swedish duchies. They rapidly captured one Swedish fortress after another. The Swedes were hampered by the high number of mainly German deserters because, after the imposition of the Imperial Ban it was forbidden to take up arms against member states of the Holy Roman Empire.
By the end of the year only the Swedish headquarters town of Stade and Carlsburg were still in Swedish hands. In November the Allies sent their troops into winter quarters with the result that the conquest of the last remaining Swedish strongholds had to wait until the following year. Stade did not surrender until 13 August 1676. This theatre of war was nevertheless only of secondary importance for the Allies and for Sweden.
Swedish Pomerania
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 11 October 1678. Greifswald, Sweden's last possession on the continent, was lost on 5 November. A defensive alliance with John III of Poland, concluded on 4 August 1677, was rendered inoperative by the annihilation of Sweden's sea-power, the Battle of Öland, 17 June 1676; Battle of Fehmarn, June 1677, and the difficulties of the Polish king.Danish–Norwegian reconquest of Scania
The Danish–Norway recapture of Scania started with the seizure of Helsingborg on 29 June 1676. Danish king Christian V brought 15,000 troops against a defending Swedish army of 5,000 men, who 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–Norwegian 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.