The Battle of Vittsjö was a battle between
Swedish force under the supervision of
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
and
Denmark-Norway, Dano-Norwegian force under
Breide Rantzau that took place in 1612; it was more a case of the Swedes fleeing the Danes than a full-scale battle.
[http://www.zenker.se/Historia/Gustaf_II_Adolf/3_kriget_med_danmark.shtml "Träffningen vid Vittsjö"]
Gustavus Adolphus, who in December 1611 at the age of 17, had ascended the throne of Sweden, was in the winter of 1612 on the rampage in
Skåne
Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...
in retaliation for the Danish ravaging of
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
and
Västergötland
Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden.
Vä ...
during the
Kalmar War. He and his army, which consisted of about 3,000 men, led by ,
Herman Wrangel
Herman Wrangel (born 1584/1587 – 10 December 1643) was a Swedish military officer and statesman of Baltic German extraction.
Biography
Herman von Wrangel was born in Livonia. He came to Sweden around 1608. In 1612, he participated in the ...
, and others,
[ had burned the city of Vä and 24 parishes within Göinge and Villands district.
On the night of 10–11 February 1612 the king and a small force were in Vittsjö. In the morning, the Danes attacked and the king and his entourage fled north past Vittsjö sconce towards Dragsån (now Verumsån or Vieån). The bridge over the river was held by Danes so the king was forced to try to cross by riding over the ice. The ice broke and the king and his horse fell into the water. The king (but not his horse) was rescued by the horsemen Thomas Larsson and Per Banér, who himself got into the water and was rescued by his younger brother Nils Banér.
In 1912 a memorial was raised to commemorate the battle. The inscription on the memorial reads in full:
"Minne af konung Gustaf II Adolfs räddning i Wittsjö den 11 februari 1612 af ryttaren Thomas Larsson" (in English "Memory of King Gustavus Adolphus' rescue in Wittsjö February 11, 1612 by the horseman Thomas Larsson")
Those who died in the action were buried in a mass grave. It was long forgotten but was recovered as a result of the digging of a trench in 1959 not more than 100 meters from the previously-raised memorial stone.
]
Sources
Slaget i Vittsjö 1612
Author Ebbe Persson
Kriget mot Danmark
Author Stefan Zenker
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittsjö 1612
Conflicts in 1612
1612 in Denmark
Kalmar War
Battles involving Denmark–Norway
Battles involving the Swedish Empire
Hässleholm Municipality
17th century in Scania