During the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

, the fortress of Tönning () in the territory of

Holstein-Gottorp 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 Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, a side ...

, an ally of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

, was besieged twice.

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

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

, Saxe- Poland-Lithuania and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

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 Tönning in March 1700. The siege had to be lifted when

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

, backed by the

Maritime Powers A maritime power (sometimes a naval power) is a nation with a very strong navy, which often is also a great power, or at least a regional power. A maritime power is able to easily control their coast, and exert influence upon both nearby and far c ...

, in a surprise move deployed an army in front of Copenhagen, forcing Frederik IV of Denmark–Norway out of the war by the Peace of Travendal 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) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and Saxe- Polish army in a

pocket A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag o ...

around Tönning. The Swedish force consisted of the remains of Magnus Stenbock's 16,000 men who had broken out of the Stralsund pocket, and ignoring orders to march into Poland turned west, defeated a Danish army the Battle of Gadebusch 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 Tönning in anticipation of support by the

, 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, 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 Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Ingria, Izhora (Duke of Ingria), Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Cosel. A ...

had received from tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

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 Tönning 1700 in Europe 1714 in Europe Conflicts in 1700 Conflicts in 1714 Tonning Tonning Military history of Schleswig-Holstein