Spanish Armies of the Napoleonic Wars

48 Pages·1975·3.419 MB·English

by  Otto Pivka, Michael Roffe

o PREY· MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES
cScandinavian
~rmies in the
:J\1€ l0leonic "J1IJrs
Textby
JACK CASSIN-SCOTT
Colourplatesby
MICHAEL ROFFE
JC01ldi1l0vitlll~rmiesilltlte~oleollic mrs
IlItrOnl/Clioll periodofthearmisticeademonstrationofBritish
navalmightbroughtbothSwedenandRussiato
thenegotiatingtable,andonI]Juneaconvention
The involvement of Denmark/Norway and wassignedwhichboundthepreviousmembersof
we<tcnfFinlandinthe~apoleonicWarswasdue the'LeagueofNeutrality'toaf;'l.rmorcrestricted
10thedependenceofboththesecountriesontrade interpretation ofthat word, but which 'saved
~ndreasonableday-lo-dayrc];llionswithtberest facc'forallparties. Forsixyearsthereafterthe
ofEurope. Bothclaimed neutralityand traded Scandinaviannationsprosperedbytheirforeign
"irn both french- and EngJish-<lominatcd na· trade,particularlyintimberand iron. By 180]
tIons:inthecaseofDenmark,thispositionwas Napoleonwasconvincedthathemustincorpor
backedlipbythecreationofastrongnavy.Itwas ate both Denmark and Norway into his Con
inevitablelhalbothsidesshouldattempttolimit tinentalSystem,eitherbyaggressivediplomacyor
lhisneutrality;andin1801Britishinsistenceon b)'nakedforce.
IC'aTchingDanishvessels,resistedbyDanishgun
&retled10thefirsta(lackonCopenhagen.Ata
time when feeling was running high against
Britain'sunashameduseofhernavalstrengthto
imposeherwillonneutrals,Ts.'UPaulofRussia
ltaguedwithAustria,Denmark,Prussia,Portugal
andSwedeninanewandagg"cssivedeclaration
ofarmedneutrality.Thisclaimedextensivefree·
cIomoftradeinallbutthemostobviouslystrategic
materialssuchasarmsandmunitions.Denmark
and Prussia each took steps to increase their
controloftileBalticcoasts,andinMarch1801a
British neet ofeighteen ships of,the line and
numerousothervessels,under irHyde Parker
assisted by Vice·Admiral Nelson,sailedfor the
Baltic. Denmark rebllfl"ed diplomaticovertures
andreadiedherdefences.On30Marchthefleet
bravedthefireoftheElsinorebatteriesandS<liled
through the sound and, subsequently, into the
heavily.defcndedapproachestoCopenhagen.In
theactionwhichfollowedon'2ApriltheDanish
Reetwasdefeatedjlossesindeadandwounded
"erehigh theBritishsufferedsome943casuahics
andtheDanesapproximately1,800.Anarmistice
wasconcluded,withgreatcivilit)onbothsides
andmanyprotestationsofearnesthopesthatthis Adlfti...1SirHydeParker,BritiahlIaVIIIcotntnanderat
unfortunatelapseingoodrelationsbetweenthe ~':;~hh~t!ftp:.t:r-:aOa~~;fJa;D:~;~.:~.e(;ari~~:ri:rtn~
twonationswouldsoonbeforgotten!Duringthe Mua..utn}
n.\TTI.EOF
COPENHAGEN.
Thebattlep"itioluofdieBriti.bandDa.ni5hfleet.befor..
Copenh.alJe1I,IAprilISoI.
signed between Franaand Prussia.Thetreaty
Gopelll7agnl1807 betweenRussiaandFrancc,ralherthansuggest
ingthediAcrcnccbctwt'envictorandvanquished,
expressedmoreNapoleon'sdesiretodrawRussia
The year 1807 found the continentofEurope intohiscontinentalsystem;itwaspresentedasa
seemingly prostrate al the feet of Napoleon. grandalliance.aEuropeancombination,which
AustriaandPrussiahadseentheircapitalsoccu mighthavcdestroyedEnglandifitcouldhavebeen
piedbyhostilearmies,andthebattleofFriedland put intoeflcctiveoperation. Russia summoned
had convinced the Emperor of Russia ofthe Sweden, Denmark and Portugal 10adopi this
necessilyforpeace.On24Juneaninterviewtook systemand10closetheirpOrtsagainsttheBritish.
placebetweentheEmperorofRussiaandBona The expected arrival ofa British force at
pane, on a raft on the ri"er Niemen. Final Stralsund, and the prcsenn'ofI}russian troops
ratificationsofthepeaccwcrccompletedatTilsit alreadythere,raisedtheSwedishking'shopes.In
on9July,andonthcS<'lIllCdaypeacewasalso violationofanarmisticeconcludedwithGeneral
Brune,theFrenchcommand~ratth~tim('~h('n strictneutralityandthetemperatepoliticsofher
1Itg00iatiol1sat Tilsit had Ix:~nopenn:L h(" re court.Shehadwatchedthegelleralpolicyofthe
J:IIt'\loedthewarsingle-handed. FrenchEmperor,whohadmaintainedanarmy
Tht·FrenchinvadedSwedishPomerania,From ath~rfrontier,thusforcingtheCrownPrinceof
iMirvariousstrong·pointsth~Swedishfol'"Core D~nmarktodrain hisotherdominionsoftheir
ur:3tro without sustaining any regular action, forcesandforthreeyearstokeepthecreamofhis
~fellbacktothefortressofStralsund.Thiswas armyassembledonthebordersofHolsteintopro·
quicklysurroundedonthelandside,makingit teettheonlvforseeableavenueofinvasion.Tothe
highlyuntenable.sothearmywaswithdrawnby overbearingdeterminationofFranceandRussia
IJtatotheislandofRugen.TheFrenchthenlOok to terminate this neutrality Denmark could
O\'erandoccupiedStralsundon20August1807; opposenoeffectualresistance.
tht)alsocapturccltheislandofDanholmwhich Themerethreatofatemporaryoccupationof
b.y betweenStralsundand Rugen. Itwasnow Holstein, Schleswig and Jutland might suffi·
n-K!('ntthat Rugencould nolongerresist,soa dentl)! alarm tht' Danish court. Temporary
mttting took place bet\,'een the French and occupation by Francewas usuallyfollo""ed by
",,·edishcommanderson7Septemberandacon- requisitionsandoppressions,wasteand ravage.
Tntionwassignedbythem.bywhichtheSwedes Threatoftheappropriationofthemostfertileof
_eretocvacuateRiigenandretiretoStockholm; the Danish territory was within the limits of
thatisland,andallthose011theGermancoast, possibilityifsherefused toco-operate,andwith
"erecededtoFrance. Holsteinonceoccupied,ZealandandtheDanish
Denmark up to this timc had remained Ull ~av) would beatthedisposalofFrance.Such
IDOlestcd,prOlcctcdbytheri't"idobservanceofa wasthestateofaffairswhentheBritishCovern.
n"MU-leas-("-omA_I""1.1aad.,....idalloeRoyal
Daai Dockyard..t....(D~(Nao-Jlobrio-..
Mu m)
• fromKidonthesouthernbordenofhisterritories
to lead the defenceofhiscapital. The British
troopsadvancedfromthelandin~pointsinthree
columns, and the Danish co,-erin~force was
drivenintothefortr<."Ss.Tendayslater,relieving
DanishforcesoccupiedastrongJl'O!'itioninfront
ofthevillageofKji)ge;theyweredislodgedand
drivenbackwithconsiderablelossn.Thewaywas
nowopenforanattackonCope.nhagcn,whichwas
effectedonthenorthandsouthbythemilitary
forces,andbythenavyontheeast.Theregular
worksbeganandadvancedrapidly;frigatcsand
gunboatsstationedthemselvesneartheentrance
oftheharbourwithineasystrikingdistanceofthe
town.TheBritishBrigadier-GeneralDeckencap·
tured frcderickswork, a cannon and powder
depot,alongwith850Danishsoldiers.TheOanes,
allhoughlateintheday,madegreate/lonsunder
GencralCastellschield,whocollectedaroundhim
avoluntnryforceofirregulartroopsandthreeor
NorakSkil~berr:orp.,.800,darkA"r......lun;cwithblack fourbattalionsofregularsoldiers.Asthismight
~O~~;{;~~·I~::nO~·r..:':1::~o~::~'IIIII~~:;~oe~nr;:~~;cC;:~~
poseaseriousproblem,SirArthurWclk"Slcy,in
lIionnd!..w..h..iIt.ebeolyle.,..b..lllIl.ckbu("ltaothneurppoLuhcehowuilt"hrbl.i.C.l.l.f.flI1l:.......r.i.fdt...,.T..h.de commandofabrigade,wasgiventhetaskofdis
hllDI!l"rarec.rri...:l.(Tojhu.rnu_.Denmark) persingit before it wascapableoranyserious
men! decided 10dispatch anexpedition tothe resistance.Onthe26thheattackedanddefeated
Balticwithincreasedhaste.Whenevcrylhingwas the hastily gathered force with a loss for the
ready this powerful force, consisting ofsome Danesofsixt)'officers,1,100men,andtenpieccs
20,000troopsunderthecommandofLieulena1lI ofartillery. Withthismissionaccomplishedthe
General Lord Cathcan.commandcr-in-chicfof Britishgeneral advanced towards thecentreof
thelandforces.embarkedandsetsailinafleetof theisland todisarmandquieten thepopulace,
twenty-sevenshipsofthelinc,andOIhe.vesselsof which he did effectively. (It was during this
alldescriptions(aboutninetyvesselsinall)under campaignthatthefamouschestnuthorse'Copen
theprotectionandcommandofAdmiralGambier. hagen'wasborntoamarcofLordGrosvenor,and
When newsofthisformidablefleetwasfirst re waslaterpurchasedbyWellesleyin1810.)
ceivedinCopenhagenitwassupposed that the Danishgunboatsnowthreatenedtheentrance
Britishintendedtoco·operatewiththeSwedesin totheharbour,forcingtheBritishtoretire.The
defendingStralsundandreconqueringtherestof Britishbatterieswhichhadbeenerectedonshore
Pomerania. Within afewdays, thevisit tothe and the Danish gunboats exchanged lire, the
Danishcapitalofarepreselllativeofl-lisBritannic Danesin their\Urn beingforced toretirewith
MajestyconfirmedthatCopenhagenwasiLSclfthe considerableloss.ThebesiegingBritisharmyhad
objectoftheexpedition.Althoughthetcrmswere now advanced into their prepared positions,
fair,theBritishnegotiatorwasunabletoconvince havingdrivenbackthelastremainingresistance
theDanishcourt. in frontofthecityand in thesuburbson the
Accordingly,on16August,LordCathcartdis northbank,indudingsomepostpositionswithin
embarked histroopsat Wybeck; almostsimul· 400yardsofthecityramparts.Withthefinalland·
tancously.BritishtroopsfromStralsundeffecteda ingoftheheavyordnance,andwiththeplatforms
landingatKcogeBay,bringingthetotalnumber laidbythe31st,thesiegewasreadytocommence.
oftroopsunderBritishcommandto28,000men. AsummonswasdispatchedfromtheBritishcom
The Danish Crown Prince hurried northwards manderstoGeneralPieman,GovernorofCopen-
hagen: this callcd upon him to surrendel'" the understandably-sequesteredallBritishproperty,
Danishf1ectintoBritishcustodyforthedurntion andforbadeallcontactbetweenhispeopleand
ofthewar,afterwhichitwouldbereturnedintact. those of England undel'" severe penalties. He
Inreturntheexpeditionaryforcewouldrestoreall turnedtoFrance,withwhomheconcludedan
materialsseizedduringthecampaign,andwith allianceon31October1807atFontainebleu,and
dl'"aw.Piemancourteouslybutfil'"mlyrefusedthis atthebeginningofNovemberthedualkingdom
offer. ofDenmark-NorwaydeclaredwaronBritain.
Thebombardmentofthecitycommencedon Thisdeclarationofwarhadaseriouseffecton
themorningof:2September.Themortarbatteries theNorwegianeconomy.Shedependedwhollyon
uected by the army and the bomb-vessels heroverseastradetoexist.Thecountry'sneeds
stationedaroundtheharbourbegantheshelling, dependedonherimports,especiallycorn,which
andinaveryshorttimethecitywasonfirein had always come from Denmark, but which
several places. This incessant bombardment ceasedassoonasthewarbegan.Agovernment
lasteduntiltheeveningofthe5thbywhichtimea commission(Regjeringskommisjonen)wasestab
considerablepartofthecitywasdestroyedandthc lished to deal with this situation, but due to
conflagration threatened the destruction ofthc mishandlinginCopenhagenitfailed todisplay
Temainder. A flag oftruce was sent from the theurgencythatwasdemanded.Thesituation
Governorofthe city, desiring an armistice to worsenedwiththefailureofthe1807and 1808
afford time for a capitulation. In reply, the harvests,andatlemptsweremadetomakemeal
Bl"itishrepeated theirpreviousrequestthat the from birch-barkandlichen.Butdespitethisthe
basisofthecapitulationmustbethedeliveringup Norwegianssurvived,andbecauseofthelackof
ofthefleet;thiswasaccepted,andonthemorning
ofthe7ththeArticlesofcapitulationwhichhad
been settled during the night ofthe 6th were
ratified.BytheseArticles,theBritishforceswere
totakeimmediatepossessionofthecityanddock
yards;allshipsofwarandthenavalstoresofHis
DanishMajestyweretobedeliveredup;prisoners
weretobemutuallyrestored;allprivateproperty
wastoberespected;thefunctionsoftheciviland
militaryofficersweretocontinueuninterrupted;
withinsixweeksthecitywastoberestoredtoHis
Danish Majesty, in the state in which it was
occupied,andtheBritishtroopswouldevacuate
theislandofZealand.
InconsequenceofthiscapitulationtheDanish
NavydeliveredtotheBritish16shipsoftheline,
15frigates,6brigsand:25gunboats,asweBas
shipsstandingon thestocks. Thestoresin the
arsenals,whichincludedmasts,sparsandtimber,
amountedtosome20,000tons,sufficienttoload
9:2transportsandothervesselscharteredforthis
purpose. British losses were light for such an
operation,notexceeding:200men;thoseofthe
Daneswere much heavier, about :2,000people
beingkilledand400housesdestroyed.
The British foreign secretary, Canning, did ~~,;r::..;n:~o~:~:~th~1:;:i.'~iu:~;~~~f=~r:a~
promisetoreturntheDanishfleetthreeyearsafter yeUowforthelatterumt.Whitefeath..rpluDl",o.....ralh,
theend ofhostilities; but the Crown Prince~ lbo..o1pt.aannddbhuattyoonnO..tnlferofst-;.tuBmla..,,kbuct:tuorlne.db.hrraiDnl.hatwithyeUow
toDenmarkwhich,providedshesurrenderedher
fleettoFrance,gavehertheHanseatictownsasan
indemnityinlheNorthofEurope.AstoSweden,
RussiawasgivenafreehandregardingFinland,
which at this time was a part ofthe Swedish
dominions.
BritainimposedablockadeonbothDenmark
andNorwayandoccupiedHeligoland.Denmark,
whohad thrown herselfcompletelybehind the
causeoftheFrenchEmperor,viewedSwedenas
England'sally. Forthis reason shesenl 14,000
Danish-Norwegian volunteer troops tojointhe
22,000FrenchandSpanishforcesunderMarshal
BernadotleinZealand.(TheSpanishRommana
DivisionincludedthePrince'sCavalryRegiment
and the Princesa Inbntry Regiment, who at
tractedconsiderableattentionfromtheDanesbe
causeortheirexoticappearance.)Thisforcewas
toattackandinvadesouthernandwesternSweden
intheeventofaRussianattackonFinland.With
suchasituationintheoffing,Swedenenteredinto
aconventionwithCreatBritain,whohadoffered
every assistance within her power. Britain im
provedSweden'sfinancialpositionwithagrantof
£t,200,000poundssterlinginequalinstalments
of[100,000amonth.
'R.!!JSiaillVtldes:J'inltllld
TheRussiansbegantheirinvasionon8February
DhlaflnUislthryo.fLfiic..eer:s,ta.8ll0b2:la(clekftc)uorfletdh-ebLriimne,haantdw(irthi!!Ihlot)ldofhuLritgohnt r808 when Finland was covered with icc and
andlooponlefl;IloldcordswoundroundlUIdlerminatm!! snow,whichprovidedthebestmeansoftransport
atatstsoepl.riOlln:htt,heth.r,inghhtanssi-dlnell:otfothfaestteUnDi0c8;'lwa,i"t!hefwlohuitnedefresatahnedr -bysledge.Nearly4°,000Russiantroopscrossed
:~~m:il~::r~at::~I~~:t(:.~~~~,:wo~c;:fts::~u~:~a:~~ their own frontier under the command ofLt
buttons.Darkbluepantaloons,helsianboots,y.,Uowsilk Ceneral Von Buxhoevden.Theysmashed their
soafbshlawckithscinatbebrawrodv~eIndc.rLimiKsIootnI.s.fl.r.irpoetrsy;:sbw.,oadrldl:heialrtaasndLi6nuei,nbllu:st waythroughthethinly.hcldFinnishdefences,and
darksrefllplume.Darkgreentailcoatfacedandlined.black; proceededasfarasHclsingforwithoutanygreat
sDilavrekrIlbrUeyllpoannstaanlodo"n"lP;alualsebtteasn(dunswfrionrgdeads.oLninrei.gblshoulder). opposition. Ceneral Klcrker, theSwedishcom
mander in Finland, hastily concentrated some
22,000 Swedish-Finnish troops to defend the
communicationfromCopenhagentheytookupon country.ThekingofSwedensentreinforcements
themselvesmoreofanindependentpolicy. toFinland'sdefence,withthenewappointment
Thesecretclausesinthetreatyconcludedat ofCeneralKlingsporascommander-in-chief;he
Tilsit between AlexanderorRu~sia and Bona was a courtier ofuncommon talents and ex
parte, contained manyarticles indicating their perience.
graspingambitions.Amongthemwasareference TheRussianspressedonandwithinonemonth
ofthe invasion gained possession ofAbo, the damageandlossoflifewasnegligible.The7,000
capital ofSwedish Finland. Thestronghold at troops inside the fonress outnumbered the be
Biornebergfell,withtheSwedessuAeringheavy siegers,andtheirfirepower,foodandammunition
losses.GeneralKlingspordecidedthatresistance wereamplyprovidedfor.Nonetheless,despiteall
wasuselessatthisstage,andinordertokeephis these advalllages, the Swedish Governor Vice
armyintactheorderedageneralretreat,leaving Admiral Cronstedt, whoseems to havc under
only 7,000 men in a fewscatteredstrongholds estimated thewholesituationand position,sur
withorderstodelaytheadvancingRussians.The renderedSveaborg.
Russians,underthecommandofGeneralTutsch By the late summer and autumn Russian
1I;0w, failed to outRank tbe retreating Swedes. reinforcements began to pour in: experienced,
Almost every day over the following weeks seasonedtroopsdirectfromthefightingincentral
skirmishes took place between the Russian ad Europe.TheSwedo-Finnishtroopsbegantofall
\'aneeguardandtheSwedishrear-guard.Notable backsteadily northwards, and November 1808
during this period was the counter-attack by saw them retreating across the Kemi river.
GeneralAldercreutzwho,actingwithoutorders, General Klingspor withdrew to a pre-fortified
smashedaRussianattackatSiikijok.Theretreat positionatOravainenwhichwasflanked bythe
continued over some 400 miles ofa country seaontherightandprotectedbyasquadronof
almostwithoutroadsandcoveredindeepsnow. gunboats.TheRussianCountKamenskyordered
Klingspor not onty conserved his army but his advance guard under General Koulneffto
managed to preservehis magazines,storesand attacktheSwedishleftRank,buttheverynature
ammunition,andfinallysucceededinunitinghis ofthegroundprovedtoomuchfortheattackers,
harassed forces with another division under and theSwedes repulsed theconstantassaults.
Cronstedt. The weakened Russians were then confronted
Thefirstfull-scalebattlewasfoughtatLapua withadeterminedcounter-attackbytheSwedo
nearthecoastoftheGulfofBothnia,with the Finnish troopsunderGeneralsAldercreutzand
Finnishtroopsatlackingon14July.Battleswere Vegsack,whodescendedfromtheirheldpositions
fought throughout thefollowingsummer, large
areas being lost and recaptured. The Finnish
peasantsbecameguerillafighters,attackingand
destroyingtheRussiansupplylines.Aldercrcutz 1795huna..pistol(16tntn):cartridgeVO..ch,
defeatedtheRussiantroopssoundlyalRcvolahti. ligblinfantrypowd",rbo....,aUDanishinu",.
Sandels smashed the Russian communications
anddefiedtheRussianGeneralBarclaydeTolly
with his second Russian army on Ihe Eastern
Aank. D6bcln and his BjorneborgBrigadedis
lodged theinvadersbetweenTampereand the
AlandIslands.ThemoraleoftheIroopswasnow
high after the long depressing retreat and
successivedefeats.
In thesouthernpartoffinland theRussians
directedalarge-scaleatlackonthegrc,lIfortress
of Sveaborg which guarded the cntrance to
Helsinki.Thisplacehadastrongnaturalposition,
being builton agroupoffourinter-connected
islands just ofT the mainland, helped by the
reinforcementofitsdefences;itwasjustlycalled
,he'GibraltaroftheNorth'.Bythebeginningof
ApriltheRussiansbegantobombardSveaborg,
butitprovedtobealmostimpregnable,andthe
androutedtheRussianattackersinsomevigorous
hand-to-hand fighting. However, the gallant
Sweda-Finnishtroopscouldnotwithstandadded
reinforcementsputintothefieldbytheretreating
Russians,andtheyintheirturnwererouted.The
battle ofOravais was over; although it only
lastedafewhoul1ithelossesweresome2,000dead.
Klingsporknewhistroopswereexhaustedand,
painfulthoughitwas,orderedageneralretreatto
the homeland, with Degyllenbogel's irregulars
actingasthevanguard.
Throughout thesummerof1808the British
andSwedishnaviescombinedtocontroltheseas.
ThethreatenedinvasionbyBcrnadottewiththe
French,Spanishand Danish-Norwegian troops
underhiscommandcouldnottakeplace,forthe
SkagerakwasunderthecontroloftheBritishand
Swedish·ships.TheSwedishkingwasbecoming
moreandmoreunpopular;manyassumedhimto
be insane, and his treatment offriend and foe
alike forcshadowt:d his ultimate downfall and
dismiss.:,1 from the throne. In ~1ay 1808 the
BritishGeneralSirJohn Moorearrived at the
BalticportofGothenburgwithanexpeditionof
about14,000men;but.forsomereasonwhichhas
neverbeenfullyexplained,somedifferencearose
betweenthecommanderoftheBritishforceand
theSwedishkinginrespectoflheemploymentof
thetroopsandwheretheycouldbestbeused.The
kingwassoenragedatSirJohn'Srefusal10comply
with his demands thai he placed him under
arrest; after some difficulty, the British com
manderescaped, rejoined Ihe British fleet (the
Hol.ten.kelnfanleriresimenc,T.lDbour(d....m armyhavingremainedonboardforseveralweeks
Im..a.acjho.r.)r,'r8.0.i7n.fotUrcs.h.mb."la"cc.klf.r.1ftll.-hov.k...o...bwl.icckh-bolva.c...k.. withoutdisembarking)andrelurned10England
f=;i;:~:e.,~·u~.::;~I:~~~;~~i~.:.;Uulclc~:~r~;"jt:,~~7~~~:k:w'i:~u~~·~:::::i;.~: wkiintghoouftSwhaevdienng.been oftheleastservice10the
pal..blu..bord..randouCUplpinSinwhi...,."d
.cripofr~b..rwHnlan..rCwof...cure.;cro...
fboerh.alIlv.oerd_becuottreadlebdlaincklhdi.....fm••"htiiocnk,.wdiHthorlaocoepd. FIRST BATTLE OF NORWAY
witll mulcl...::oloured cord., apparently red
Fwrhointet-belduS.."..SolIfv.e.rolleaprauaplepl.lree.:,ntlleyfrbuenafrri.bBrSoeadd. The Spanish troops which wcre stationed in
paleblu.."trip<!.w..lIi.nScoc_cralouterpoint, Northern Germany and Denmark and on the
withUn..ofwhicepipinS...,aratedfromthi"by
•rfllatrip.WlUte""ai"l_beltwilbbra...plate; DanishIslandsintheBaltic,mutiniedatthenews
.vbeoYrtpha...n..l.ahluOJOb•o•ownitcrbimw.mheitd.."iAlvue.cr..r1Tahnek.wanotr.d; oftherevoltoftheircduntryagainstFrance.On9
b.iJti.bra".orsilt,d"..luIol.ilvu,ch..browa August 1808 6,000 Spanish troops under the
t.....cbeonbaaa.nvucipandf..mal..,andi.
wO!aDdwithcricoloureord••pp"re:ntly....diDS commandoftheBritishAdmiralKeatestookover
ia.ilv..rla".ela. thefortressofNybourgin theislandofFunen,
reinforcedbyathousandmorefromJulland.A
10
B.aroi,t.isShoromce:ke4t0b,0o00aurOinl:akcettisonw-erCeopfiernehd.-I.n!5-t'h2i.10a5uSaecpkt,em(robemr
mme.fi:sedtothe(orem.ast;sail.werecooltandywetted
dOWlltoavoidfirehazard.(R.Willtia_.L.lbam)
further thousand men were thrown against struckfirst.On 15AprilGeneralArmfelt,eom
Langland.OneSpanish-regimentinJutlandwas mande-roftheSwedishWesternCommand,made
capturl'Clandtworegimentsweredisarmedinthe athree-prongedattack.Hesucceededindefeating
islandofZealand;theDanishKongensLivjaeger the unprepared ;..rorwegiansand advanced be·
Corps took part in their disarmament. The yond the frontiers; attacking at Lier,southof
DanishgarrisononXybourgmadenogreateffort Konsvinger,heforcedthe~orwegjal\sacrossthe
inopposition.TheSpanishtroops,nowamounting Glommariver.Thissuccess,howevcr,wasshort
to8,000men.wereembarkedonIIAugusttothe lived, as the second prong under Col,lnt Axel
islandofLanglandbetweenFunenand Laland, ~'Iornerwasdefeatedandcaptun.'.datToverud.
where a further 2,000 Spanish troops were The NOlwegian commander Staffeldt then
stationed.FromheretheSpanishweretransferred counter-attacked,anddefeatedandcapturedthe
ontoBritishshipsand transported to England; SwedishcommandersWeibycandGalm,where
inleavingthelargefortressofKoldinghus,they upontheSwedishadvancefalteredandstopped.
destroyeditbyburning.\\liththeirdeparturcthe With inadequate provisions, camp fever rife
threatcnedinvasionofSwedenbyFranco-Danish among the troops and a certain lack ofen
forceswasended.AnattackonSwedenwasnow thusiasm, further operations against Norway
onlypossiblethroughNorway,andorderswere ceasedandtheSwedisharmywasorderedback
issuedtothecommanderoftileNorwegianarmy, across the border. The iXorwegians, having
PrinceAugustofAugustenborg,tostrikethrough gainedtheinitiativeandwiththeirmoralesoar
Baahuslen. With about 17,000 men, the Nor ing high, acted offensinly with some success
wegians began to mobilize, but becauseofthe against·theSwedes,defeatingthematPrestebakke.
tight blockade numerous things were in short TheSwedisharmywithdrewtothefrontiersand
supply, with many ofthe troops still wearing therewasachangeofcommand,withCeneral
uniformsofthepreviouscentury. Ccderstrom commanding the centre, General
Swedenforesaw the threatened invasionand AldersparretherightflankandGeneralPossethe
II