The Dano-Swedish War of 1657–1658, known in Denmark as the First Karl Gustav War ( da, Første Karl Gustav-krig) in Norway as Krabbes Feud ( no, Krabbefeiden) and in Sweden as Karl Gustav's First Danish War ( sv, Karl Gustavs första danska krig), was a conflict between Sweden and Denmark–Norway during the Second Northern War. In 1657, Charles X of Sweden and his Swedish army were bogged down in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Frederick III of Denmark-Norway saw an opportunity to recover the territories lost in 1645 and attacked Sweden. The outbreak of war with Denmark provided Charles with an excuse to withdraw from the Polish campaign and move against Denmark. A harsh winter had forced the Dano-Norwegian fleet into port, and froze the

Great Belt The Great Belt ( da, Storebælt, ) is a strait between the major islands of Zealand (''Sjælland'') and Funen (''Fyn'') in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits. Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great B ...

and

Little Belt The Little Belt (, ) is a strait between the island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. It is one of the three Danish Straits that drain and connect the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat strait, which drains west to the North Sea and Atla ...

straits. After entering

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

from the south, a Swedish army of 7,000 battle-hardened veterans marched across the icy Little Belt onto the Danish island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

on 30 January 1658. The Swedes captured the island of Funen within a few days and then sent on to capture the islands of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

, Lolland, and Falster. The Swedish army continued to

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, threatening the Danish capital of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. The rapid Swedish attack across the frozen Belts was completely unexpected; Frederick III considered meeting the Swedish army in battle, but his advisors thought this was too risky and instead Denmark-Norway signed the very harsh

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat ...

on 26 February 1658. Sweden had won its most prestigious victory, and Denmark-Norway had suffered its most costly defeat.Roskildefreden (1658)
/ref> Denmark-Norway yielded the Danish provinces of

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's secon ...

and the island of Bornholm and the Norwegian provinces Bohuslen and Trondhjem len (

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denma ...

and

Nordmøre Nordmøre (English: North- Møre) is a traditional district in the Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. The area comprises the northern third of the county including the municipalities of Kristiansund, Averøy, Tingvoll, Surnadal, Aure, Halsa ...

) to Sweden. Halland had already been under Swedish control since the signing of the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, but it now became Swedish territory permanently.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dano-Swedish War (1657-58) Second Northern War Northern Wars Wars involving Denmark Wars involving Norway Wars involving Sweden Conflicts in 1657 Conflicts in 1658 1657 in Denmark 1658 in Denmark Denmark–Sweden relations 1657 in Sweden 1658 in Sweden

See also

References