Carl Gustaf Armfeldt (9 November 1666 – 24 October 1736) was a Swedish officer,

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and

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 ...

(baron) who took part in 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-Swe ...

Early life

Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was born in

Swedish Ingria Swedish Ingria ( sv, Svenska Ingermanland, ‘land of Ingrians’) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1583 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1721, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Nystad. History Ingria was ceded ...

to lieutenant colonel Gustaf Armfelt and Anna Elisabet Brakel. Like other members of his family Armfelt devoted himself to war and at seventeen years' age joined Nylands kavalleri as a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

. In 1685 he left this position and left for

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 ...

where he joined prince Ferdinand of Fürstenberg's regiment as a mere footsoldier. He campaigned in France for twelve years and returned to Sweden as a captain.

Great Northern War

Due to his military experience he was employed in the Finnish army as a generaladjutant in 1701 and stayed with this army for most of the

. He was named commander of the Finnish army in 1713. During the long war he distinguished himself in several occasions, especially during the defense of

Helsingfors Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

in 1713, but met an overwhelming Russian force and was defeated at the

battle of Storkyro The Battle of Napue (, , ) was fought on 19 February 1714 ( O.S.) / 2 March 1714 ( N.S.) at the villages of Napue and Laurola in the Isokyrö parish of the Swedish Empire (modern Finland) between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia. I ...

in 1714.

1718 Norwegian Campaign

In 1717 Armfeldt was promoted to lieutenant general and commanded the Swedish force which on the orders of

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 ...

was sent into

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

to take

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, an ...

. Poorly equipped, Armfelt pulled out after the king fell at Fredrikshald. The ensuing disaster that struck his army is known as the

Carolean Death March 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 ...

. On

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

1718 he arrived at Norwegian Tydal, with 80 kilometers to the closest Swedish village in

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the nort ...

. When the troops had marched 10 kilometers from Tydalen, a severe

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 ...

struck from the northwest. The bitter cold killed the

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on the very first day, and the army wandered blindly in the mountains (

Sylan Sylan (Norwegian), Sylarna (Swedish), or Bealjehkh (Southern Sami) is a mountain range on the border between Norway and Sweden. The mountain range lies in Trøndelag and Jämtland counties. The central part of the range includes a large mounta ...

mountain range). On the following nights, hundreds more perished. Of the over 5,000 men who left Tydalen, only 2,100 were found alive on arrival at Duved.

Later life

In 1719 Armfelt was named governor of Viborg county but never took office, as the county was under Russian control and was ceded to Russia after the

treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad (russian: Ништадтский мир; fi, Uudenkaupungin rauha; sv, Freden i Nystad; et, Uusikaupunki rahu) was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of ...

. He was elevated to

on 5 July 1731 and named general of infantry in 1735. According to the Pernå parish records (cited by Hornborg, 1952) he died at

Liljendal Liljendal is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the Eastern Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 1,472 (31 December 2009) and covered an area of of which is wate ...

in Nyland on 24 October 1736, and was interred at Isnäs on 3 December 1736. He was married in 1700 to Lovisa Aminoff (1685–1741), daughter of cavalry captain Johan Fredrik Aminoff.

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (russian: Граф Густав-Маврикий Максимович Армфельт, tr, ; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish- Swedish- Russian courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one ...

is his grandson.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Armfeldt, Carl Gustaf 1666 births 1736 deaths Swedish Army generals Caroleans Swedish military personnel of the Nine Years' War Swedish military personnel of the Great Northern War