Swedish campaign against Norway (1814)
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The Campaign against Norway, or The Norwegian-Swedish War of 1814 was fought between Sweden and Norway in the summer of 1814. The war resulted in Norway entering into union with Sweden, but with its own constitution and parliament. It is the last war to have been fought by Sweden to date.
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[edit] Background
By the Treaty of Kiel Denmark had to cede Norway to Sweden, due to the kingdom of Denmark-Norway being aligned with France in the Napoleonic Wars. The treaty was however not accepted by the Norwegians; assembling a parliament and adopting a constitution they decided to declare a sovereign state. Led by the Danish crown prince Christian Frederik the new state desperately tried to gain support from Britain to maintain its independence. The allied diplomats gave no hope for any outside support to the Norwegians.
[edit] The war
The Norwegian army could muster 30,000 men, and it had taken positions away from the border with Sweden, in fear of being outflanked. The Norwegian navy had a few vessels, most of them stationed at the islands of Hvaler, close to Sweden.
The Swedish army consisted of 45,000 men, experienced and well equipped soldiers. The Swedish navy had a number of large vessels and a capacity for moving and landing troops.
The hostilities opened on 26 July with a swift Swedish naval attack against the Norwegian gunboats at Hvaler. The Norwegian vessels managed to escape, but did not take part in the rest of the war. The main Swedish thrust came across the border at Halden, bypassing and surrounding the fortress of Fredriksten and continuing north, while a second force of 6,000 soldiers landed at Kråkerøy outside Fredrikstad. The town surrendered the day after. This was the start of a pincers movement around the main part of the Norwegian army at Rakkestad. The Norwegian army delivered several blows to the Swedes, but outnumbered, out-gunned, and desperately short of supplies, it was in no condition to continue the war.
[edit] Major commanders
- Jean Baptiste Bernadotte - Swedish general and crown prince
- Magnus Fredrik Ferdinand Björnstjerna - Swedish general
- Johannes Klingenberg Sejersted - Norwegian major general
[edit] Aftermath
Negotiations started in Moss on 10 August 1814, and after a few days hard negotiations the cease fire agreement, called the Convention of Moss was signed 14 August 1814. Norway lost its independence, but acquired a rather independent position within the union; which in the following years would be used to advance Norwegian independence.
