The first battle of Öland () took place on 30–31 May 1564 between the islands of
Gotland
Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
and
Öland
Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...
, between a fleet of Allied ships, the Danes under
Herluf Trolle and the Lübeckers under
Friedrich Knebel, and a Swedish fleet of 23 or more ships under
Jakob Bagge. It was an Allied victory.
Only some of the ships on each side were involved, the rest being unable to join or continue their part in the battle due to the wind. On 30 May, Danish flagship ''Fortuna'' was damaged and ''Lange Bark'' sunk, but on 31 May the Swedish ship ''Mars'' was boarded by ''Byens Løffue'', ''Engel'', and ''Fuchs'' before catching alight and exploding, killing most of its crew and 300 boarders. Jakob Bagge and his Second, , were taken prisoner. Swedish casualties apart from in this ship were 101. Fleming took over the fleet and sailed it back to
Älvsnabben, while the Danes sailed to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
.
Ships involved
Denmark/Lübeck
* ''Fortuna'' (Danish flag)
* ''Byens Løffue'' 56
* ''Engel'' (Lübeck flag)
* ''Lange Bark'' (Lübeck) — sunk 30 May
* ''Arck''
* ''Fuchs'' (Lübeck)
* other ships
Sweden
* ''
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
'' 173 (flag) — blew up 31 May
* ''Elefant'' 65 (Fleming)
* ''Finska Svan'' 82
* ''Svenska Hektor'' 87
* 19 or more other ships
References
*Kloth, Herbert: "Lübecks Seekriegswesen in der Zeit des nordischen 7-jährigen Krieges 1563–1570", ''Zeitschrift des Vereines für lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde'', Vol. 21 (1923), pp. 1–51, 185–256 plus Vol. 22 (1923–25), pp. 121–52 & 325–79
External links
Copperprint engraving - First or second battle?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oland 1564
1564 in Denmark
Naval battles of the Northern Seven Years' War
Naval battles involving Lübeck
Conflicts in 1564
Gotland