Carl Henrik Wrangel,

friherre (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

Wrangel af Adinal (28 January 1681 – 23 March 1755) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

, attaining the rank of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Biography

He was born in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. Description Haapsalu has been well known for centuries for its w ...

in Swedish Estonia as the son of Reinhold Wrangel. Wrangel entered military service at the age of 15 and participated in several of the

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

's campaigns during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, in the process of which he was promoted to captain of

Svea Life Guards The Svea Life Guards ( sv, Svea livgarde), also I 1, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that was active in various forms 1521–2000. The unit was based in the Stockholm Garrison in Stockholm and belonged to the King's Life and Household Tro ...

and

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of Skånska ståndsdragonerna, but was captured in 1709 after the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

. After returning from

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

in 1722, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the Nyland cavalry regimen, and in 1727 was made colonel of Tavastehus regiment and in 1729 för Nyland dragoon regiment, in 1732

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and in 1739 colonel of Skaraborg Regiment. The same year, he offered the position of

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish), Rigsrådet (in Danish) or (English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that rule ...

, but demurred in favour of remaining with the Army. At the outbreak of the

Russo-Swedish War Wars between Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and ...

in 1741, he led one of the two divisions of the Swedish Army in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, with a strength of 4,000 men. In 1741 at the

Battle of Villmanstrand The battle of Villmanstrand was fought during the Russo-Swedish War on 3 September 1741, when Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the large ...

, he was ordered by General

Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock (22 July 1685 – between 16 and 27 July 1743) was a Swedish baron and Lieutenant General. He and Carl Emil Lewenhaupt were executed for negligence in the Russo-Swedish War, in the aftermath of the defeat at Villmans ...

to lead his force into battle against the superior forces of General

Peter Lacy Peter Graf von Lacy (russian: link=no, Пётр Петро́вич Ла́сси, tr. ; en, Pierce Edmond de Lacy; ga, Peadar (Piarais Éamonn) de Lása; 26 September 1678 – 30 April 1751) was an Irish-born soldier who later served in the ...

. The numerarily superior Russians won the battle and took Villmarstrand, whereupon Wrangel, who lost his right arm during the battle, was captured. Upon his return from captivity in 1742, he received gifts from the king and the burghers of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and was made

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in 1743 and colonel with the

Närke-Värmland Regiment The Närke-Värmland Regiment ( sv, Närke-Värmlands regemente) was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was split into two new regiments in 1812. The regiment's soldiers were recruited from the p ...

. In 1754, he was promoted to field marshal. During the Dalecarlian Rebellion in 1743, he was assigned the task of dissuading or diverting the march of the

Dalecarlians 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 ...

on Stockholm, but despite his popularity he achieved neither. In 1748 he bought the estate Sperlingsholm outside

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...

where he died in 1755.

References

1681 births 1755 deaths People from Haapsalu Baltic-German people Field marshals of Sweden Carl Henrik Caroleans People of the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War Battle of Poltava Swedish prisoners of war Prisoners of war held by Russia Carl Henrik {{Sweden-mil-bio-stub