Torstenson War | |||||||||
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Part of Thirty Years' War | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Sweden Dutch Republic |
DenmarkâNorway Holy Roman Empire |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Gustav Horn Carl Gustaf Wrangel Lennart Torstenson Maerten Thijssen |
Christian IV of Denmark Hannibal Sehested Anders Bille Ebbe Ulfeldt Matthias Gallas |
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Strength | |||||||||
24,600 Swedes | 26,000 Danes 6,000 Germans |
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The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War (Norwegian: Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and DenmarkâNorway which occurred in 1643 to 1645 during the waning days of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general Lennart Torstenson and Norwegian governor-general Hannibal Sehested.
Denmark, who had already withdrawn from the Thirty Years' War by the Treaty of LĂŒbeck in 1629, suffered a major defeat. In the Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645), which concluded the war, Denmark had to make huge territorial concessions and exempt Sweden from the Sound Dues, de facto acknowledging the end of the Danish dominium maris baltici. Danish efforts to reverse this result in the Second Northern, Scanian and Great Northern wars were unsuccessful.
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Sweden had been highly successful in the Thirty Years' War, having defeated Danish armies in Germany and seen substantial victories under Gustavus Adolphus and, after this death, under the leadership of Count Axel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. At the same time, Sweden was continually threatened by DenmarkâNorway, which almost completely encircled Sweden from the south (Blekinge, Scania, and Halland), the west (BohuslĂ€n) and the northwest (JĂ€mtland). The Danish Sound Dues were also a continuing source of irritation and a contributing factor to the war.
In the spring of 1643 the Swedish Privy Council determined that their military strength made territorial gains at the expense of Denmark likely. The Count drew up the plan for war and directed a surprise multiple-front attack on Denmark in May.
Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson was ordered to march against Denmark. Proceeding from Moravia, his forces entered Danish territory at Holstein on December 12 and by the end of January 1644 the Jutland peninsula was in his possession. In February 1644 the Swedish General Gustav Horn occupied much of the then Danish provinces of Halland and Scania, except for the Danish fortress town of MalmĂž, with an army of 11,000 men.
This attack caught Denmark unaware and poorly prepared, but King Christian IV retained his presence of mind. He placed his confidence in the fleet to protect the home islands, just winning the Battle of Colberger Heide on July 1, 1644, but suffering a decisive defeat in the Battle of Fehmarn on October 13, 1644 against a DutchâSwedish fleet.
He also counted on the forces of Norway to relieve the pressures on Danish provinces in Scania by attacking Sweden along the Norwegian-Swedish border.
Norway, which was then governed by Christian's son-in-law, Governor-General Hannibal Sehested, was a reluctant participant. The Norwegian populace opposed an attack on Sweden, correctly suspecting that an attack on Sweden would only leave them open to counterattack. Their opposition to Statholder Sehestedâs direction grew bitter, and the war was lampooned as the "Hannibal war." Understandably, the Danes cared little for Norwegian public sentiment when Denmark itself was seriously threatened. Hence Jacob Ulfeld initiated an attack into Sweden from Norwegian Jemtland. He was driven back out of Sweden and Swedish troops temporarily occupied Jemtland as well as advancing into the Norwegian Ăsterdal before being driven back.
Sehested had made preparations to advance with his own army and a similar army under Henrik Bjelke into Swedish VĂ€rmland, but was ordered to relieve the King in the Danish attack on Gothenburg. Upon the arrival of Sehested the King joined his fleet and performed heroically, even though wounded, preventing Torstenssonâs army from moving onto the Danish islands.
On the Norwegian front, Sehested attacked the newly founded Swedish city of VĂ€nersborg and destroyed it. He also sent Norwegian troops under the command of George von Reichwein across the border from Vinger and Eidskog as well as troops under Henrik Bjelke into Swedish Dalsland.
Christianâs Danish forces were so exhausted that he was forced to accept the mediation of France and the United Provinces in suing for peace; and to sign the Peace of Brömsebro on August 13, 1645, a humiliating disaster to DenmarkâNorway. The Swedes had achieved much from their surprise attack on Denmark. They were exempted from the Sound Dues, the toll for passing through Danish territory into the Baltic Sea. DenmarkâNorway ceded to Sweden the Norwegian provinces of Jemtland, Herjedalen and Idre & Serna and the strategically located Danish islands of Gotland in the center of the Baltic and Ăsel in the Baltic Sea. Further, Sweden occupied the Danish province of Halland as well as other territories for 30 years as a guarantee of these provisions. The Peace also included the Danish heir to the throne, Frederick II, Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden (1634â1645) and of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635â1645), who had to resign, with the two prince-bishoprics being occupied by the Swedes. According to the Peace of Westphalia both prince-bishoprics became a fief of the Holy Roman Empire to the Swedish crown in 1648.
The defeat of Denmark reversed the historic balance of power in the Baltic. Sweden now virtually controlled the Baltic, had unrestricted access to the North Sea and was no longer encircled by DenmarkâNorway.
As importantly, the successful surprise attack assured that DenmarkâNorway now looked for an opportunity to recoup their losses, while Sweden looked for opportunities to expand further, setting the stage for continued conflict on the Baltic over the next century.