The Carolean Death March ( sv, karolinernas dödsmarsch), also known as the Catastrophe on Øyfjellet ( sv, katastrofen på Öjfjället) was the disastrous retreat by a force of
Swedish soldiers (known as
Caroleans), under the command of
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt (9 November 1666 – 24 October 1736) was a Swedish officer, general and friherre (baron) who took part in the Great Northern War.
Early life
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was born in Swedish Ingria to lieutenant colonel Gustaf Armfe ...
, across the
Tydal
Tydal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås. Other villages include Østby, Gressli, Aunet, and Stugudalen. There is a school and a kindergarten in Tydal.
The inhab ...
mountain range in
Trøndelag around the new year 1718–1719.
Background
In 1718, after several defeats in the
Great Northern War, Sweden had lost its eastern territories to
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 encompassing one-eight ...
. Too weakened to retake these,
Charles XII of Sweden
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 ...
instead planned an attack on Norway to force 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 ...
king
Frederick IV into great concessions in subsequent peace treaty negotiations.
After the defeat at
Storkyro, Lieutenant-general
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt (9 November 1666 – 24 October 1736) was a Swedish officer, general and friherre (baron) who took part in the Great Northern War.
Early life
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was born in Swedish Ingria to lieutenant colonel Gustaf Armfe ...
had retreated to the area of
Gävle with the mauled army of
Finland. He was now ordered to make a diversionary attack from
Jämtland towards
Trondheim in Trøndelag with his poorly equipped soldiers. After assembling a host of 10,000 soldiers in
Duved, he set off towards Norway on 29 August 1718. Four months later, the campaign in Trøndelag had failed: the defenders of Trondheim had successfully held off Armfeldt. The army of 10,000 had dwindled to around 6,000, and the surviving soldiers were exhausted and starved, their clothing tattered and threadbare. Bad weather made resupplies from Sweden impossible, so the army had to live off the land, causing untold suffering to the Norwegian civilian population.
After Charles' death on 11 December 1718 during the siege of
Fredriksten, all Swedish forces in Norway were ordered to retreat back to Sweden. Armfeldt received notice of Charles' death on 7 January 1719, when his force was in
Haltdalen
Haltdalen is a village in Holtålen municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located along the river Gaula, about northwest of the village of Renbygda and about southwest of the village of Aunegrenda. The village of Haltda ...
,
Gauldal with about 6,000 men. He decided to take the shortest route to Sweden: first over the mountains to
Tydal
Tydal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås. Other villages include Østby, Gressli, Aunet, and Stugudalen. There is a school and a kindergarten in Tydal.
The inhab ...
and from there over the Tydal mountain range back to the fort of
Hjerpe. So far the winter had been mild with scant to no snow cover.
Ski
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partia ...
s were therefore not needed, but the army was poorly equipped and exhausted from the campaigning in Trøndelag.
The departure to Sweden
On 8 January 1719 the army left Haltdalen and marched to Tydal, a distance of almost 30 kilometres. Due to the cold weather, about 200 men died on the mountains from
exposure
Exposure or Exposures may refer to:
People
* The Exposures, a pseudonym for German electronic musician Jan Jeline
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Exposure'' (film), a 1932 American film
* ''Exposure'', another name for the 1991 movie ...
. On 11 January Armfeldt's army was gathered on the Ås and Østby farms in Tydal, almost 5,800 men in total. A vanguard of 14 skiers was sent across to Jämtland to prepare for the main army's arrival in Sweden.
The army left Østby on the morning of 12 January 1719 (New Year's Day according to the Swedish calendar), accompanied by Norwegian
guide
A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom.
Travel and recreation
Exp ...
Lars Bersvendsen Østby, who had been coerced into aiding the enemy by having two kinswomen held hostage. The weather was very cold, but there was no snowfall. The distance to the village of in present-day
Åre Municipality
Åre Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Järpen.
The present municipality was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of "old" Åre Municipality with the surrounding municipalities ...
is about 55 kilometres. Without the inclement weather the army could have reached Jämtland after a two-day march.
The storm
That afternoon a violent northwesterly
blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...
struck, with its strong wind swirling up the light snow. The resulting poor visibility and biting cold forced Armfeldt to encamp on the northern mountainside of
Øyfjellet by the lake Essand. In desperate efforts to keep warm, the soldiers set fire to
dwarf birch
''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.
Description
It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copp ...
,
heather, their own
rifle butts and
sleds, but to little effect. An estimated 200 men froze to death this first night.
The storm continued the next day, and the retreat now became chaotic as the soldiers were scattered in the hills. The main part of the force reached the Swedish border and encamped at
Enaälven. A hole was hacked in the ice on the Ena to see in which direction the water flowed: in that direction lay rescue. However, the severe weather continued to take its toll; many of the
draught horse
A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or dray horse (from the Old English ''dragan'' meaning "to draw or haul"; compare Dutch ''dragen'' and German ''tragen'' meaning "to carry" and Danish ''drage'' meaning "to draw" or "to fare"), less oft ...
s died and all equipment had to be abandoned on the mountain. The storm was still raging on 14 January as the first troops led by Armfeldt made their way to Handöl. The majority of the survivors arrived at Handöl on the 15 and 16 January. About 3,000 men remained on the mountain, frozen to death. During the continued voyage down to
Duved, where lodging had been arranged for the soldiers, another 700 men died. About 600 of the surviving 2,100 soldiers were crippled for life. Over two thirds of the victims were
Finns.
Aftermath
On 18 January, Norwegian major Emahusen set off up the mountain on the trail of the Swedish army. He found hundreds of dead Caroleans. The horses that were still alive ran around without riders, while others lay collapsed harnessed to fully loaded sleds, where the driver, with a glazed expression, still held the reins in a frozen grip.
Norwegians took a great deal of loot that winter. They found masses of swords and rifles; six smaller
cannons were found abandoned on the mountain. The locals plundered the dead of boots, coats, valuables and weapons. Musket barrels could be used for hardware in fireplaces or for axles in grindstones.
After the people were finished, then came the beasts of prey.
Wolves,
wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
s and
foxes discovered an abundance of carcasses. A local legend told that for many years these mountain tracts were one of the best hunting areas for fur-bearing animals.
In Brekka Bygdetun in Tydal, an open-air theatre performance of "Karolinerspelet" is held every other year in January, dramatizing the events of the Death March.
In
Røros
Røros ( sma, Plaassja, ) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Røros. Some of the villages in Røros include Brekken, Glåmos, Feragen, Galåa, and Hitterdalen.
The ...
, another Norwegian town visited by Swedish soldiers, an annual outdoor
musical theater
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
production called
Elden is staged in late July/early August on the Røros
slag
Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-pr ...
heaps. The show is one of the largest outdoor theater productions in
Norway, and includes the use of live
horses. It is widely renowned in the local area, having sold over 10,000 tickets to its nine 2014 shows.
See also
*
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt (9 November 1666 – 24 October 1736) was a Swedish officer, general and friherre (baron) who took part in the Great Northern War.
Early life
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was born in Swedish Ingria to lieutenant colonel Gustaf Armfe ...
*
Caroleans
References
Literature
*
*
External links
Karolinerspelet{{in lang, no
Great Northern War
1718 in Europe
1719 in Europe
1719 in Norway
Mountaineering disasters