The Battle of Axtorna or simply Axtorna, was a battle fought between the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

and Denmark-Norway 20 October 1565 at Axtorna, a small village in what is today

Falkenberg Municipality Falkenberg Municipality (''Falkenbergs kommun'') is a municipality in Halland County on the Swedish west coast. The town Falkenberg is the municipal seat. The municipality was created in 1971 when the ''City of Falkenberg'' was amalgamated with s ...

Halland County Halland County ( sv, Hallands län, link=no, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. It borders the counties of Västra Göta ...

in south-western

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Background

The battle

The

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 ...

commander

Daniel Rantzau Daniel Rantzau (1529 – 11 November 1569) was a Danish-German general. He was known for his leadership during the Northern Seven Years' War. For some years, he fought in Germany and Italy, and also took part in the Danish conquest of Dithmarschen ...

had been forced to yield the fortress Varberghus to the Swedes on 15 September 1565, after they had taken

Ny Varberg Ny Varberg (New Varberg) was a city founded sometime between 1429 and 1434 about five kilometres north of present-day Varberg, Sweden. It was abandoned around 1612. The city was located at a crossroads where the roads from Småland and Västergöt ...

, then

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 Brömsebro ...

's largest city. Rantzau received the news that a Swedish army of superior strength led by

Jacob Henriksson Hästesko Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ja ...

was approaching from the east, forcing him to move his forces toward

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran (river), Ätra ...

. Rantzau had decided to commit to combat since the Swedish force had just arrived from its march and hadn't rearranged into a militarily cohesive unit.

Aftermath

The Danes won as a consequence of their superior cavalry tacticSvenska Slagfält: "''Axtorna 1565: En fråga om kavalleritaktik''" (2003) pp. 69-76 and Rantzau became a renowned general after the battle and throughout the war. Despite the victory and the capture of the Swedish

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, the Danish had suffered great losses and stayed near the battlefield for a week, while large portions of the Swedish army were intact.

References

External links

The Axtorna project

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 1565 in Denmark Axtorna Axtorna Axtorna Axtorna 1560s in Sweden