The Blockade of Stralsund occurred during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

when a

Prussian 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 e ...

force invested the

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 ...

garrison of

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. Rather than lay formal

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to the port, the Prussians cut it off by land and blockaded it. They were unable to cut it off by sea, owing to a lack of a Prussian fleet, and eventually the blockade was abandoned when the bulk of Prussian forces were withdrawn to fight in other theatres.

Background

Sweden had entered the Seven Years' War in 1757, joining France, Russia, Austria and Saxony in their alliance against the Prussians. During Autumn 1757, with Prussian forces tied up elsewhere, the Swedes had been able to move south and occupy a large portion

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 ...

. Following the retreat of the Russians from

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, after the

Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf (30 August 1757) was a victory for the Russian force under Field Marshal Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin over a smaller Prussian force commanded by Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt, during the Seven Years' War. This wa ...

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

ordered his General

Hans von Lehwaldt Hans von Lehwald(t) (24 June 1685 – 16 November 1768), also known as Johann von Lehwald(t), was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall''. He joined the military in 1700 and participated in all Prussian field operations from the War of Spanish ...

to move west to

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

to confront the Swedes. The Prussian troops proved to be better equipped and trained than the Swedes, and were soon able to push them back into

. The Prussians pressed home their advance, taking over

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the western ...

and

Demmin Demmin () is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Demmin. Geography Demmin lies on the West Pomeranian plain at the confluence of the rivers ...

. The Swedes were left at the stronghold of

and the island of

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 ...

. Fredrik von Rosen was sent out to take over command of the Swedish forces.

Blockade

As Stralsund was not about to surrender it became apparent that the Prussians required naval support if they were to force it to yield. In light of this Frederick repeatedly requested that his British allies send a fleet into 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 from ...

. Wary of being drawn into conflict with Sweden and Russia, with whom they were not at war, the British declined. They justified their decision by explaining their ships were needed elsewhere. The failure of Frederick to gain fleet support from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

was a major factor in the failure of the Prussians to take Stralsund. During this period the Prussians forcibly recruited men from occupied Swedish Pomerania. The French had to keep the Swedish war effort afloat both by paying them subsidies, and by paying

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

not to enter the war on Prussia's side.

Aftermath

When the 1758 campaigning season commenced, the Prussian forces around Stralsund were needed more urgently on the Russian front and were mostly withdrawn - bringing an effective end to the blockade. It wasn't until after the Prussians had suffered a major defeat at Battle of Kunersdorf in 1759 and their forces were once again tied down on other fronts that the Swedes again went on the offensive again and won the

Battle of Frisches Haff The Battle of Frisches Haff or Battle of Stettiner Haff was a naval battle between Sweden and Prussia that took place 10 September 1759 as part of the ongoing Seven Years' War. The battle took place in the Szczecin Lagoon (german: Stettiner ...

.Oakley p. 140 In spite of this the Swedes made only limited progress and in 1762, when the Russians pulled out of the war, the Swedes made peace with the Prussians by the Treaty of Hamburg.

References

Bibliography

* Atkins, S.R. ''From Utrecht to Waterloo''. London, 1965 * Millar, Simon and Hook, Adam. ''Rossbach and Leuthen 1757: Prussia's Eagle Resurgent''. Osprey, 2002. * Oakley, Stewart P. ''War and peace in the Baltic, 1560-1790''. Routledge 1992 * Szabo, Franz A.J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe, 1757-1763''. Pearson, 2008. {{coord missing, Sweden

Stralsund (1757) Stralsund (1757) Stralsund (1757) 1757 in Sweden Stralsund Swedish Pomerania