The Battle of Uddevalla took place at

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 ...

on August 28, 1677 as part of 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

After the fall of Marstrand to the Norwegians,

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 ...

had become vulnerably exposed. Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie assembled a force of 3,000 Swedes of which 1,200 were fresh cavalry recruits and 1,500 were impressed

Dalecarlia Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norway i ...

ns. The force camped at

Vänersborg Vänersborg () is a locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,591) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which was dissolved in 1998. Sin ...

on August 10, and moved from there to Uddevalla. However, a strong

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

force of 5,600 men led by Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve was approaching from Norway and caught up with the Swedish force.

The battle

De la Gardie deployed his troops for a set-piece defence, but the Gyldenløve began flanking the Swedes, attempting to cut off their escape route to the river

Göta älv The Göta älv (; "River of (the) Geats") is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat, at the city of Gothenburg, on the western coast of Sweden. It was formed at the end of the last glaciation, as an outflow channel from the Baltic Ic ...

. De la Gardie had to order his cavalry to cover the Swedish infantry's retreat to the river, but when the superior Danish cavalry charged the

Swedish cavalry This is a list of Swedish cavalry regiments, battalions, corps and companies that have existed in the Swedish Army. They are listed in three ways, first by the actual units that have existed, then by the various names these units have had, and la ...

, it ran away without firing a shot. De la Gardie himself was almost captured, and the battle devolved into a disorganized rout (a Danish source described the Swedes "scampering like

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...

s among the rocks"). Only at Kuru Bro, 5 km east of Uddevalla, did the fleeing Swedes make a stand. The Dalecarlians held their positions, their pikes defending the bridge from the attacking cavalry until the Swedish force had crossed, after which the bridge was demolished.

Aftermath

The Swedish army reached safety behind Göta Älv, but its losses amounted to 500 men and 9

cannons A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...

. The outcome of the battle was blamed on the poorly trained Swedish troops and the incompetence of de la Gardie as a military leader. After the battle, he requested and was relieved of his command, with sharp reprimands from the king.

References

* ''Berättelser ur svenska historien'', vol 6, pp 684–685, Carl Georg Starbäck & Per Olof Bäckström (1886) * ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon'', vol 10, pp 597–598, Carl Frederik Bricka (1905) * https://www.imago-images.com/st/0072511073 {{coord missing, Sweden

1677 in Denmark History of Bohuslän