During 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-Swed ...

, the fortress of

Tönning Tönning (German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the ...

(Tønning) in the territory of

Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...

, an ally of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

, was besieged twice. Denmark-Norway was forced to lift the first siege in 1700, but a combined force of the anti-Swedish coalition successfully besieged and took Tönning in 1713–1714.

1700

The first siege was one of the first military actions of the

. Denmark-Norway, Saxe- Poland-Lithuania and

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 ...

had agreed on invading the

on three fronts, and accordingly, Danish forces moved into

,Frost (2000), p.228 allied and dynastically tied to Sweden,Frost (2000), p.227 and laid siege to

in March 1700. The siege had to be lifted when Charles XII of Sweden, backed by the Maritime Powers, in a surprise move deployed an army in front 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 ...

, forcing Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway out of the war by the

Peace of Travendal The Peace of Travendal was a peace treaty concluded at the outset of the Great Northern War on 18 August 1700 between the Swedish Empire, Denmark–Norway and Holstein-Gottorp in Traventhal.Weigley (2004), p.108 Denmark had to return Holstein-Go ...

on 18 August 1700.Frost (2000), p.229 Denmark re-entered the war only in 1709 as a consequence of the Swedish defeat at Poltava.Frost (2000), p.294

1713–1714

In early 1713, forces of the

and

were encircled by a combined

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Saxe-

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

army in a pocket around

. The Swedish force consisted of the remains of

Magnus Stenbock Count Magnus Stenbock (22 May 1665 – 23 February 1717) was a Swedish field marshal ('' Fältmarskalk'') and Royal Councillor. A renowned commander of the Carolean Army during the Great Northern War, he was a prominent member of the Sten ...

's 16,000 men who had broken out of the Stralsund pocket, and ignoring orders to march into Poland turned west, defeated a

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 ...

army the

Battle of Gadebusch The Battle of Gadebusch or Wakenstädt (20 December 1712) was Sweden's final great victory in the Great Northern War. It was fought by the Swedes to prevent the loss of the city of Stralsund to Danish and Saxon forces. Prelude During 1712, ...

and pursued their remains into Holstein. The Russian and Saxe-Polish allies of Denmark sent 36,000 troops after Stenbock. In February 1713, breaching his proclaimed neutrality,Jakubowski-Tiessen (1983), p.157 the minor duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-GottorpBushkovitch (2001), p.310 provided Stenbock with shelter and auxiliaries at his fortress of

in anticipation of support by the Maritime Powers, expecting a recurrence of the 1700 precedent. Yet, the Maritime Powers did not intervene, and the trapped, still 9,000 strong force of Stenbock ran out of supplies. When the food situation deteriorated and 2,800 Swedes fell ill, Stenbock surrendered on 16 May 1713.Wilson (1998), p.140 The 1,600 strong Holstein garrison of the Tönning fortress held out until 7 February 1714.Jakubowski-Tiessen (1983), p.158 Danish forces, in pursuit of a royal occupation order of 13 March 1713, gained complete control over Holstein-Gottorp when the last Holsteiners loyal to Sweden were captured in 1715. After Tönning's surrender, its defensive works and palace were leveled until 1735.Klose (1958), p.259

The decision of the duke of Holstein-Gottorp to open Tönning to Stenbock as well as the brokering of the Swedish surrender is ascribed to baron

Georg Heinrich von Görtz Georg Heinrich von Görtz, Baron of Schlitz (1668 – 19 February 1719), diplomat in Swedish service, was born in Holstein and educated at Jena. Career He entered the Holstein-Gottorp service, and after the death of the duchess Hedwig Sophia, C ...

, a diplomat at Charles Frederick's court. The Swedish captives were partitioned equally among the victorious powers, despite orders Russian commander

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov Prince Aleksander Danilovich Menshikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Дани́лович Ме́ншиков, tr. ; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora ...

had received from tsar Peter the Great to secure the greatest share for Russia, arguing that the Russians had provided the largest contingent in the combined army. The disobedience led to rumors that Menshikov was bribed by Görtz.

Sources

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Tonning

1700 in Europe 1714 in Europe Conflicts in 1700 Conflicts in 1714 Tonning Tonning