The battle of Marstrand was a successful Dano-Norwegian siege of the harbor town of

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 ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

which took place between 6–23 July 1677, during the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) 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, ...

Prelude

In January 1677, a strong point in

Strömstad Strömstad is a locality and the seat of Strömstad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,288 inhabitants in 2010. For historical reasons, Strömstad is called a ''city'' despite its small population. Strömstad became part of Sw ...

was taken by a Swedish force. After a fiercely cold winter struck, no military movements took place until June, when

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Count of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was Governor-general of Norway (''Stattholdere i Norge'') from 1664–1699. He was the leading general in Norway during the Scanian War, whose Norwegian leg is conventio ...

sent 2,000 men under the command of general Hans Løvenhjelm across the border to

Bohuslän Bohuslän (; da, Bohuslen; no, Båhuslen) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea ...

to retake Strömstad. After doing this Løvenhielm proceeded to

Uddevalla Uddevalla (old no, Oddevold) is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2015, it had a population of 34 781. It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla are ...

. Simultaneously, Gyldenløve shipped out a considerable force (1,600 men according to Danish sources, 3,000 according to Swedish sources) in the direction of Marstrand. He landed on the neighboring island of Koön on 6 July and began besieging the town.

Development

Marstrand was defended by the fortress of

Carlsten Carlsten ( sv, Karlstens fästning) is a stone fortress located at Marstrand, on the western coast of Sweden. The fortress was built on the orders of King Carl X of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde, 1658 to protect the newly acquired pro ...

and the three strong-points Malepert (on the east side of the northern

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

inlet), Gustafsborg (by the southern harbour inlet), and Hedvigsholm (on a

skerry A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...

located in the harbour itself). The defenders tallied 600, led by commander (''kommendant'')

Anders Sinclair Anders Sinclair, born 1614, died 1689, was one of many Scottish soldiers that joined Swedish service during the Thirty Years' War, rising to the rank of colonel, and holding several military governorship of important fortress towns in Sweden. S ...

. When demanded to evacuate the fortress, Sinclair replied "...there was no fortress to yield, but if the enemy would like to visit, there would be a fine welcoming party." The Danes attacked Hedvigsholm first; after withstanding several attacks, the Swedes defending it were forced to abandon it and retire to Carlsten on 20 July. Malepert had been taken already on 13 July and Gustafsberg was abandoned soon thereafter. Carlsten no longer had outposts, and after strong bombardment from all sides, finally surrendered on 23 July, with the condition that the commander along with his men would be sent to

Värmland Värmland () also known as Wermeland, is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are ''Va ...

Aftermath

After taking Carlsten, Gyldenløve installed a strong detachment of troops under Løvenhjelm to defend Marstrand before returning to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Through the conquest of Marstrand Denmark obtained a safe, ice-free harbour. This in turn further enabled the Danish blockade of

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. However, Løvenhjelm soon found himself threatened by approaching Swedish forces, and retired with his men to Strömstad in August.

References

{{Reflist * ''Berättelser ur svenska historien'', vol 6, p 685, Carl Georg Starbäck & Per Olof Bäckström (1886) * ''Dansk biografisk lexikon'', vol 10, p 597, Carl Frederik Bricka (1905)

1677 in Denmark History of Bohuslän

Marstrand