The Franco-Swedish War or Pomeranian War was the first involvement by
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 countries, Nordic c ...
in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
. The country joined the
Third Coalition
The War of the Third Coalition)
* In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...
in an effort to defeat
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
under
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
.
Background
In 1803, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
had declared war on
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and Sweden remained neutral, together with the Nordic countries
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway ( Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe ...
and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
. However, after the execution of
Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé in 1804, the Swedish government broke all diplomatic ties with France and concluded a convention to allow the British to use
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...
as a military base against France in exchange for payments.
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-eig ...
also promised Sweden that 40,000 men would come to the aid of the country if it was threatened by French forces. Therefore, on 9 August 1805 Sweden joined the Third Coalition and declared war on France on 31 October.
The war
Offensive against Hanover
In early November 1805, a combined British, Russian and Swedish force of about 12,000 men were sent from Swedish Pomerania to liberate French-held
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. The offensive against Hanover was repeatedly delayed because of Prussia's partial reluctance for the Swedes and the Russians to move troops through Prussian territory. However, in December 1805, after the
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...
, the British and the Russian forces started to evacuate Hanover and left only a small Swedish force alone to face the French. In April 1806, the Swedes were also forced to retreat to Swedish Pomerania after an agreement had been concluded between Prussia and France.
Fourth Coalition
However, during the summer of 1806 Prussia formed the
Fourth Coalition against France, which gave Sweden the right to occupy
Lauenburg
Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe ( en, Lauenberg on the Elbe), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein ...
. In the autumn, the French forces advanced rapidly and soon much of the western German regions were occupied, which forced the Swedish troops on a retreat towards
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
. The plan was for the troops from there to take the sea route to
Stralsund to avoid the advancing French forces. The Swedes were still caught by the French on the 6 November while they loaded their ships at Lübeck, and after the
Battle of Lübeck
The Battle of Lübeck took place on 6 November 1806 in Lübeck, Germany between soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who were retreating from defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, and troops of the ...
, about 1,000 Swedish soldiers had to surrender to the numerically-superior French forces.
The French Army began its offensive towards Swedish Pomerania in early 1807 and
besieged Stralsund on 15 January. That began a seven-month siege, and since the French forces were engaged in warfare elsewhere as well, the number of troops stationed around Stralsund was gradually reduced. When the Swedes were reinforced on 1 April, a decision was made to attempt to break the siege. That was done with some success since the Swedes managed to take
Usedom
Usedom (german: Usedom , pl, Uznam ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea.
It is north of the Szczecin ...
and
Wolin
Wolin (; formerly german: Wollin ) is the name both of a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from th ...
, but the French chose to counterattack, and a force of 13,000 men attacked the Swedes from
Stettin on 16 April and forced the left section of the Swedish army to withdraw. Another division in
Ueckermünde
Ueckermünde () is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland's Police County.
Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its foundi ...
was then cut off and later captured. On 18 April, France and Sweden agreed on a ceasefire according to which the French were to leave
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. However, the Swedish government refused to join the
Continental System
The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berli ...
and denounced the armistice under the influence of British diplomacy on 8 July.
On 6 August 1807, 50,000 French, Spanish and Dutch troops under Marshal
Guillaume-Marie-Anne Brune
Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune, 1st Count Brune (, 13 March 1764 – 2 August 1815) was a French military commander, Marshal of the Empire, and political figure who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Early life
Bru ...
began an assault on Swedish Pomerania and besieged Stralsund again. On 20 August 1807, the defenders of the city capitulated and the remains of the Swedish Army were surrounded at
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
. However, Swedish General
Johan Christopher Toll
Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817), Swedish statesman and soldier, was born at Mölleröd in Scania (now part of Hässleholm Municipality, Skåne County). Toll came of an ancient family, of Dutch origin, which can b ...
managed to conclude the Convention of Schlatkow with Marshal Brune on favourable terms, and his forces withdrew to Sweden, along with all of their war munitions, on 7 September.
[Sundberg, Ulf(2002), page 357-362]
Treaty of Tilsit
![Albert Edelfelt - Kohtaus Suomen sodasta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Albert_Edelfelt_-_Kohtaus_Suomen_sodasta.jpg)
The Franco-Russian
Treaty of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when ...
left Britain and Sweden without other allies in the war against France. On 21 February 1808, Russia joined the war against Sweden by
invading Finland and on 14 March the same year, Denmark-Norway also
declared war on Sweden. Danish, French and Spanish troops began preparations for an invasion of
Skåne in Sweden, but the plan was soon aborted, and the war was instead directed to the Norwegian-Swedish border. Sir
John Moore's expedition, sent by the British government to protect Sweden from possible French-Danish attack, arrived on 3 May 1808 and stayed until July, when it was redirected to Portugal.
Napoleon's plans to invade Sweden were never executed because of the British activity on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
, the weakness of the Danish military and the hesitations of French Marshal
Bernadotte, whose actions made him popular enough to be elected as a Swedish
Crown Prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wi ...
after the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
in March 1809. On 30 August 1809, the new Swedish government was to conclude the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn
The Treaty of Fredrikshamn ( sv, Freden i Fredrikshamn; russian: Фридрихсгамский мирный договор), or the Treaty of Hamina ( fi, Haminan rauha), was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 ...
with Russia, which legitimised the Russian annexation of Finland and
Åland
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...
. A peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark-Norway was signed with no territorial adjustments on 10 December 1809.
Aftermath
On 6 January 1810, Sweden signed a Russian-mediated
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
with France, regaining Pomerania at a cost of joining the
Continental System
The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berli ...
. On 17 November 1810, Sweden was forced to declare
war on Britain, and all British goods in Swedish Pomerania were seized. The government-supported smuggling continued, however, over the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
, and the British fleet was informed that it would be a phantom war. The war lasted until 1812, but no military action was taken.
See also
*
English Wars (Scandinavia)
The English Wars ( da, Englandskrigene, sv, Englandskrigen) were a series of conflicts pitting the United Kingdom and Sweden against Denmark-Norway as part of the Napoleonic Wars. It is named after England, the common name in Scandinavia f ...
**
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Na ...
**
Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809
*
Finnish War
The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a re ...
Notes
References
*
The War against Napoleon: 1805–1810' o
Lennart Hjelm
Literature
*Lindqvist, Herman(2004) – ''Napoleon'' (Schibsted forlagene)
*Sundberg, Ulf(2002) – ''Svenska krig, 1521–1814'' (Hjalmarson & Högberg)
{{DEFAULTSORT:First War Against Napoleon
Napoleon, First War
19th century in Sweden
France–Sweden relations
Wars involving France
Napoleonic Wars