Baron Simon Grundel-Helmfelt (1617–1677) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 ...

and governor.Alf Åberg
Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
Riksarkivet.se, retrieved 28 August 2013 Helmfelt is most notable for his overwhelming victory at the

Battle of Lund The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about ...

despite being heavily outnumbered by

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 ...

troops.

Military career

He served in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

from 1641 and distinguished himself at the Battle of Breitenfeld and received his first commission. He was knighted in 1646, when he changed his name from Grundel to Grundel-Helmfelt. Later that year he was wounded outside

Rain am Lech Rain (also: ''Rain (Lech)'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Lech, close to its confluence with the Danube, 11 km east of Donauwörth. Rain is on the B16 road and served by the Ingolst ...

by a musket bullet. In 1649 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 Artillery and in 1655 to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the Infantry. In 1656, he was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, where he successfully defended the town against Tsar Alexej and his army of 90,000 men. He became

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Est ...

in 1658. Helmfelt returned to

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 ...

in 1676 to become Commander-in-chief of the Swedish army 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, ...

. He was killed the following year at the

Battle of Landskrona The Battle of Landskrona was fought between Denmark and Sweden on ''Ylleshed'' moor, outside the town of Landskrona, in the province of Scania in what is now southern Sweden on July 14, 1677. Prelude On July 12 the Swedish army of 10,000 men ha ...

References

1617 births 1677 deaths 17th-century Swedish military personnel Ingria Field marshals of Sweden Swedish nobility People of the Scanian War {{Sweden-mil-bio-stub