The Battle of Colberger Heide (also Kolberger Heide or Colberg Heath) took place on 1 July 1644 during the

Torstenson War The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War ( no, Hannibalsfeiden) was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway from 1643 to 1645 towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The names refer to Swedish general ...

, off the coast of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. The battle was indecisive, but a minor success for the

Dano-Norwegian Dano-Norwegian ( Danish and no, dansk-norsk) was a koiné/mixed language that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway (1536/1537–1814). It is from thi ...

fleet commanded by Jørgen Vind, assisted by Grabow and King

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian monar ...

, over a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

fleet commanded by Klas Fleming, assisted by Ulfsparre and Bjelkenstjerna.

Course of the battle

The Dano-Norwegian fleet consisted of 40 ships with about 927 guns, and the Swedish fleet consisted of 34 ships with 1018 guns and 7

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

s. The Dano-Norwegian fleet, coming from the east, and the Swedish fleet, coming from the west, met just north of the island of

Fehmarn Fehmarn (, da, Femern; from Old Wagrian Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, after Rüg ...

(Femern). The Swedes turned and sailed south along the west side of Fehmarn, inshore of a shoal, while the Danes followed a little further offshore. The Swedes turned north and swung around before resuming their westward course alongside the Danes. As the battle progressed the fleets turned before the wind, north and then back east south of the island of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

. As they approached the island of Lolland the Swedes turned south and eventually ended up in Kiel Bay while the Danes continued south-east, anchoring to the east of Fehmarn.

Casualties

Neither side had lost a ship. Dano-Norwegian casualties were 37 killed and 170 wounded, and Swedish casualties were 32 killed and 69 wounded. Among the Dano-Norwegian casualties were commander

Jørgen Vind Jørgen is a Danish, Norwegian, and Faroese masculine given name cognate to George People with the given name Jørgen * Jørgen Aall (1771–1833), Norwegian ship-owner and politician * Jørgen Andersen (1886–1973), Norwegian gymnast * Jørg ...

, who died of his wounds soon after the battle, and the king, whose wounds included the loss of an eye.

Impact

While the Dano-Norwegian fleet gained a minor success when it subsequently managed to incarcerate the Swedish fleet at the

Bay of Kiel The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay (, ; ) is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, ...

, the battle was not decisive: in a subsequent encounter, the Dano-Norwegian navy was utterly defeated off the Fehmarn coast. The significance of the battle lies rather in it being retrospectively perceived as the last Dano-Norwegian victory over her long-time adversary, Sweden, in the two countries' struggle for control of the dominium maris baltici, as well as the heroization of the Dano-Norwegian king's personal commitment during the battle, memorized in the famous

Marstrand Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histori ...

painting and the first lines of the Danish royal anthym '' Kong Christian stod ved højen mast''.

List of ships involved

Denmark-Norway

First Squadron: *''Patientia'' 48 (1st Sq. flag) *''Oldenborg'' 42 *''Stormar'' 32 (Henrik Mund) *''Fides'' 28 *''Svan'' 26 (Lucas Henriksen) *''Prinds Christian'' (merchantman) *''Lam'' 16 *''Havhest'' 14 *''Jomfrusvend'' 6 *''Ørn'' 4 Second Squadron: *''Tre Løver'' 46 *''Lindorm'' 38 *''Kronet Fisk'' 20 *''Emanuel'' (merchantman) *''Forgyldte Stokfisk'' (merchantman) *''S. Jacob'' (merchantman) *''S. Peter'' (merchantman) *''Hvide Björn'' 14 *''Sorte Björn'' 14 *''Postillion'' 14 Third Squadron: *''Trefoldighed'' 48 (3rd Sq. flag) *''Pelican'' 36 *''Graa Ulv'' 30 *''Norske Løve'' 30 *''Neptunus'' 28 *''Sorte Rytter'' 24 *''Tvende Løver'' 22 *''Josua'' (merchantman) *''Hollandske Fregat'' 12 *''Højenhald'' 8 Fourth Squadron: *''St Sophia'' 40 (4th Sq. flag) *''Tre Kroner'' 30 (Corfits Ulfeldt) *''Delmenhorst'' 28 (Hans Knudsen) *''Nelleblad'' 24 *''Røte Gans'' (merchantman) *''Unge Ulv'' (merchantman) *''Markat'' 16 *''Gak Med'' 12 *''Samsons Gallej'' 9 *''Flyvende Hjort'' 8 The Dano-Norwegian merchant ships averaged around 20 guns each.

Sweden

Van: *''Scepter'' 58 (Van flag) *''Drake'' 40 *''Göteborg'' 36 *''Leopard'' 36 *''Rafael'' 36 *''Jupiter'' 34 *''Regina'' 34 (

Abraham Duquesne Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and there ...

) *''Smålands Lejon'' 32 *''Katta'' 22 *''Tiger'' 18 *''Måne'' 16 *2 fireships Center: *''Krona'' 68 (Center flag) *''Nyckel'' 34 *''Stockholm'' 34 *''Samson'' 32 *''Apollo'' 26 *''Merkurius'' 26 *''Salvator'' 26 *''Vestervik'' 26 *''Vestgöta Lejon'' 26 *''Rekompens'' 22 *''Svan'' 22 *''St Jakob'' 12 *2 fireships Rear: *''Göta Ark'' 72 (Rear flag) *''Svärd'' 32 *''Mars'' 30 *''Andromeda'' 26 *''Jägare'' 26 *''Vesterviks Fortuna'' 24 *''Akilles'' 22 *''Enhorn'' 18 *''Falk'' 18 *''Gamla Fortuna'' 18 *''Papegoja'' 12 *3 fireships The fireships were named ''Meerman'', ''Caritas'', ''Meerweib'', ''Bona'', ''Jungru'', '' St Mikael'' and 1 other. 4 had previously been used as horse transports and were barely ready.

References

;Footnotes ;General reference * ''Naval wars in the Baltic 1559-1850'' (1910) - R. C. Anderson {{Authority control 1644 in Denmark Colberger Heide 1644 Colberger Heide Colberger Heide 1644 in the Holy Roman Empire