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Battle of Stralsund (1715)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Stralsund was a battle during the Great Northern War
. The Swedish Empire
defended her Swedish Pomerania
n port of Stralsund
against a coalition of Denmark-Norway, the Electorate of Saxony
and the Tsardom of Russia
, which was joined by Brandenburg-Prussia
during the siege.
A first attempt to take Stralsund was made in 1711, when the allies closed in on the town. Swedish relief forced the coalition to withdraw from the fortifications, whereupon the besieging armies drew a wider ring along the lines of the Recknitz
and Peene
rivers. Magnus Stenbock
's victory at Gadebusch
for a short time distracted the allies, but after Stenbock's pursuit and subsequent defeat, Brandenburg-Prussia as well as Hanover, ruled in personal union with Great Britain
, joined the anti-Swedish alliance.
The allies agreed that Denmark should cede her claims to Bremen-Verden
to Hanover, and in turn Denmark was promised the northern parts of Swedish Pomerania
with Stralsund, while the southern parts were to become Prussian. In 1714, Charles XII of Sweden
rode to Stralsund from his Turkish exile to lead the defense in person. From 12 July to 24 December 1715, the allies sieged the town and eventually forced its surrender. Charles XII escaped to Sweden.
Stralsund remained under Danish control until it was returned to Sweden by the Treaty of Frederiksborg
.
, the Swedish Empire
lost the initiative in the Great Northern War
. With Charles XII of Sweden
's main army destroyed, the anti-Swedish alliance of the Tsardom of Russia
, Denmark-Norway and Saxe
-Poland-Lithuania re-constituted in the Treaty of Thorn
and the Treaty of Copenhagen
, the Swedish king exiled to Bender
and Sweden's provinces of Finland
and Livonia
invaded, the Swedish defense relied on 11,800 soldiers garrisoned in northern Germany, and an army of 10,000 men in Greater Poland
commanded by Ernst Detlof von Krassow
. The latter was in full retreat, harassed by Saxon forces and a plague that had broken out in Poland.
The Swedish government issued mobilization orders for Swedish Pomerania
on 8 April 1711. 3,800 men aged between twenty and forty years were to be drawn to serve a five years term. Stralsund had recovered from the destruction of 1678
, but in 1711, the plague carried to Pomerania with the retreating Swedish forces of the Krassow corps caused thousands of deaths. The Swedes were pursued by the armies of the anti-Swedish coalition, who reached and laid siege to Stralsund in 1711.
This pursuit through formerly neutral Reich
territory was made possible by the death of emperor Joseph I
in April: until Joseph I's successor Charles VI
was inaugurated, the imperial constitution ruled that August the Strong, one of the constituents of the anti-Swedish coalition, was in charge of northern Germany's imperial affairs.Per the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire
, the empire was to be goverened by two vicars during an interregnum. The vicar in charge of the north was to be the elector of Saxony
, while the south would be governed by the Palatinate. Wilson (1998), p.138. Thus, when the Swedish forces withdrew to their fortified strongholds of Stralsund
, Stettin(Szczecin
) and Wismar
, 6,000 Saxons, 6,000 Poles, and 12,000 Russians were able to follow up from the southeast. Another 25,000 Danes moved into the empire via Holstein-Gottorp
, and approached Stralsund from the west.
's command with a strength of 6,000 to 10,000 men landed on Rügen
on 25 September 1711, whereupon the Danish-Saxon-Russian siege army withdrew to the Recknitz
and Peene
rivers. Instead of a launching another major assault on the town, the allies were content with minor raids and skirmishes into the pocket
in the following years. Swedish general Gustav Dücker requested reinforcements, and in May 1712 was supplied with an additional 6,391 foot and 4,800 horse from Sweden. Also, Dücker concentrated all Swedish forces scattered in Pomeranian garrisons, another 8,000 men, in Stralsund, while the allied strength was about 23,000 men.
At this time, Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway was not interested in annexing Stralsund to his empire. When he re-entered the war
in 1709, Frederik had promised to not attack Swedish territories in the Holy Roman Empire
and protect their citizens wherever they pledge loyalty to him. Accordingly, Frederik IV had agreed in a convention of 1711 that Stralsund along with northern Swedish Pomerania should be annexed by August the Strong, elector of Saxony
and king of Poland-Lithuania. However, after George I
of Brunswick-Lüneburg
(Hanover) ascended the throne of Great Britain
, who had dropped out of the War of Spanish Succession in the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 and was thus free to enter the anti-Swedish alliance in the Great Northern War, Frederik IV changed his mind. Already in 1712, Denmark and Hanover had invaded and partitioned Bremen-Verden.Denmark had invaded Bremen-Verden
claiming the neutrallity of the Lower Saxon Circle
was no longer in effect (see note above), and forced the Swedish garrison in Stade
, 2,600 men, to surrender. Hanover had invaded Bremen-Verden claiming they would protect it for the Swedes from the plague carried by the Danes. Effectively, Bremen-Verden was thus partitioned with Denmark occupying the former archdiocese of Bremen, and Hanover occupying the Verden area. Wilson (1998), p.139.
The Stralsund area had been tied to Denmark in the Late Middle Ages, was of strategic importance as a bridgehead into the Holy Roman Empire
, and a potent exporter of wool and grain. First Danish claims to northern Swedish Pomerania were formulated in 1713, and a respective treaty was drafted in May 1715 between Frederick IV and George I which guaranteed the Danish occupied Swedish dominion
of Bremen-Verden
to George I in return for him entering the war on Frederik's side, and Pomerania north of the Peene
river as well as 30,000 talers to Frederik IV. When Brandenburg-Prussia
, keen to annex Swedish Pomerania as well, joined the allies in summer, a Dano-Prussian treaty was concluded partitioning Swedish Pomerania along the Peene, with Denmark being assured her claims for the northern part with Stralsund, and Brandenburg-Prussia for the southern part with Stettin. August the Strong's protests and Danish tendencies to minimize their military efforts in the coalition after the treaty, resulting from Frederik IV's understanding that he now would gain Stralsund anyway, led to quarrels in the siege force.
Stenbock's forces turned west with 16,000 men to face the allies at Gadebusch
, leaving 3,000 men to garrison Stralsund. Their victory and subsequent westward movement distracted the allies from the siege, yet when Stenbock burned down Danish Altona
, Russian forces burned Swedish Pomeranian Wolgast
east of Stralsund in revenge in 1713. The allies were free to concentrate on Stralsund again after Stenbock's forces, pursued by 36,000 Poles, Russians and Saxons, were defeated in the Battle of Tönning on 16 May 1713. Before re-joining with the siege army near Stralsund, Russian forces under Alexander Menshikov
's commandRussian tsar
Peter the Great had entrusted baron Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
with the command of the sieges of Stralsund, Stettin and Tönning
, yet in the first years of the campaign he was also present in Pomerania in person. Peter the Great left for Hanover
and Russia in 1713, when Magnus Stenbock
's defeat at Tönning became inevitable. Bushkovitch (2001), pp.309-310. and a Saxon engineur corps were deployed from Tönning
to Stettin, the second major Swedish fortress in Pomerania, and captured it on 29 September 1713. However, Russian tsar
Peter the Great had to withdraw his forces from the Holy Roman Empire by the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople
, concluded on 25 June 1714 as a consequence of the Pruth Campaign.
Charles XII of Sweden
, exiled to Bender
in the Ottoman Empire
between the Surrender at Perevolochna
and his return in 1714, had envisioned that Stralsund would constitute the base of a renewed Swedish attack on Peter the Great. Charles XII's plans foresaw a two-fold assault of a Swedish army from Pomerania and a Turkish army from the South. When Charles XII reached Stralsund in November 1714, the town's garrison was reinforced to a strength of 17,000 men. Searching for allies, Charles XII also negotiated with Brandenburg-Prussia
, but was unwilling to meet Frederick William I's demands on Stettin and a 400,000 reichstalers payment. In April 1715, Brandenburg-Prussia declared war.
Though George I was not involved in the war as the king of Great Britain, but merely as the duke of Hanover, the Danish navy was assisted in the siege by eight British vessels, detached by British admiral John Norris, who was ordered to guard the Maritime Powers
' merchants in the Baltic Sea
. In July, the allied forces closed in on Stralsund from the landside, and in November a combined Danish-Saxon-Prussian army took the island of Rügen
north of the town. When defeat became inevitable, Charles XII escaped and the defendants surrendered on Christmas Eve
. Stralsund became the capitol of Danish Pomerania.
Also in 1716, Swedish Wismar
surrendered to the allies, eliminating Sweden's last stronghold on the southern Baltic coast. By the end of the war however, Stralsund was restored to Sweden.
The siege of Stralsund marked the beginning of a friendship between Frederick William I of Prussia
and Huguenot
refugee Jacques Egide Duhan de Jandun
, whom he first met when he was in the service of field marshal Alexander von Dohna in 1715. In the following year, Frederick William I entrusted Duhan den Jandun with the raising of his then four-year-old son, later known as Frederick the Great.
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
. The Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
defended her Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
n port of Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
against a coalition of Denmark-Norway, the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
and the Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
, which was joined by Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
during the siege.
A first attempt to take Stralsund was made in 1711, when the allies closed in on the town. Swedish relief forced the coalition to withdraw from the fortifications, whereupon the besieging armies drew a wider ring along the lines of the Recknitz
Recknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
and Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
rivers. Magnus Stenbock
Magnus Stenbock
Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock was a Swedish military officer at the time of the Great Northern War.He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Christina Catharine de la Gardie....
's victory at Gadebusch
Battle of Gadebusch
The Battle of Gadebusch 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 :...
for a short time distracted the allies, but after Stenbock's pursuit and subsequent defeat, Brandenburg-Prussia as well as Hanover, ruled in personal union with Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, joined the anti-Swedish alliance.
The allies agreed that Denmark should cede her claims to Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden , were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180...
to Hanover, and in turn Denmark was promised the northern parts of Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
with Stralsund, while the southern parts were to become Prussian. In 1714, Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
rode to Stralsund from his Turkish exile to lead the defense in person. From 12 July to 24 December 1715, the allies sieged the town and eventually forced its surrender. Charles XII escaped to Sweden.
Stralsund remained under Danish control until it was returned to Sweden by the Treaty of Frederiksborg
Treaty of Frederiksborg
The Treaty of Frederiksborg refers to the treaty signed at Frederiksborg Palace on 3 July 1720 that ended the Great Northern War between Sweden and Denmark-Norway. Sweden paid 600,000 Riksdaler in damages, broke the alliance with Holstein and forfeited its right to duty free passage of Öresund...
.
Prelude
In PoltavaBattle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
, the Swedish Empire
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire refers to the Kingdom of Sweden between 1561 and 1721 . During this time, Sweden was one of the great European powers. In Swedish, the period is called Stormaktstiden, literally meaning "the Great Power Era"...
lost the initiative in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
. With Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
's main army destroyed, the anti-Swedish alliance of the Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
, Denmark-Norway and Saxe
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
-Poland-Lithuania re-constituted in the Treaty of Thorn
Treaty of Thorn (1709)
The Treaty of Thorn was concluded on 9 October 1709 between Augustus the Strong and Peter the Great in Thorn , during the Great Northern War...
and the Treaty of Copenhagen
Treaty of Copenhagen (1709)
On 22 October 1709, during the Great Northern War, the alliance between the Russian Empire and Denmark-Norway was renewed in the Treaty of Copenhagen. Charles XII of Sweden had destroyed the previous alliance in Travendal . For Russia, Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov signed the treaty in...
, the Swedish king exiled to Bender
Bender
- Places:* Bender, Moldova, also known as Bendery or Tighina* Bender, California, a former settlement in Fresno County, California* Bender Bayla District, a district of Bari, Somalia- Fiction :...
and Sweden's provinces of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Livonia
Swedish Livonia
- Swedish infantry and cavalry regiments:Infantry regiments:* Garnisonsregementet i Riga * Guvenörsregementet i Riga * Livländsk infanteribataljon I...
invaded, the Swedish defense relied on 11,800 soldiers garrisoned in northern Germany, and an army of 10,000 men in Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
commanded by Ernst Detlof von Krassow
Ernst Detlof von Krassow
Ernst Detlof von Krassow, Swedish noble and military commander, born around 1660, dead 23 January 1714, freiherr . Appointed Major General in 1706. Father of Karl Vilhelm von Krassow....
. The latter was in full retreat, harassed by Saxon forces and a plague that had broken out in Poland.
The Swedish government issued mobilization orders for Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
on 8 April 1711. 3,800 men aged between twenty and forty years were to be drawn to serve a five years term. Stralsund had recovered from the destruction of 1678
Siege of Stralsund (1678)
The Siege of Stralsund was a battle between the Electorate of Brandenburg and the Swedish Empire on 10 and 11 October, 1678, during the Scanian War. After two days of bombardment, the severely devastated Swedish fortress of Stralsund surrendered to the Brandenburgers...
, but in 1711, the plague carried to Pomerania with the retreating Swedish forces of the Krassow corps caused thousands of deaths. The Swedes were pursued by the armies of the anti-Swedish coalition, who reached and laid siege to Stralsund in 1711.
This pursuit through formerly neutral Reich
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
territory was made possible by the death of emperor Joseph I
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph I , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, King of the Romans was the elder son of Emperor Leopold I and his third wife, Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg....
in April: until Joseph I's successor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
was inaugurated, the imperial constitution ruled that August the Strong, one of the constituents of the anti-Swedish coalition, was in charge of northern Germany's imperial affairs.Per the constitution of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, the empire was to be goverened by two vicars during an interregnum. The vicar in charge of the north was to be the elector of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
, while the south would be governed by the Palatinate. Wilson (1998), p.138. Thus, when the Swedish forces withdrew to their fortified strongholds of Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
, Stettin(Szczecin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
) and Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
, 6,000 Saxons, 6,000 Poles, and 12,000 Russians were able to follow up from the southeast. Another 25,000 Danes moved into the empire via Holstein-Gottorp
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 that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...
, and approached Stralsund from the west.
Siege
A Swedish relief force under Magnus StenbockMagnus Stenbock
Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock was a Swedish military officer at the time of the Great Northern War.He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Christina Catharine de la Gardie....
's command with a strength of 6,000 to 10,000 men landed on Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
on 25 September 1711, whereupon the Danish-Saxon-Russian siege army withdrew to the Recknitz
Recknitz
The Recknitz is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northeastern Germany. The Recknitz's glacial valley stretches as far south as the heights at Glasewitz near Güstrow. The river has no definite source, but rather builds up from streams and drainage ditches...
and Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
rivers. Instead of a launching another major assault on the town, the allies were content with minor raids and skirmishes into the pocket
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
in the following years. Swedish general Gustav Dücker requested reinforcements, and in May 1712 was supplied with an additional 6,391 foot and 4,800 horse from Sweden. Also, Dücker concentrated all Swedish forces scattered in Pomeranian garrisons, another 8,000 men, in Stralsund, while the allied strength was about 23,000 men.
At this time, Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway was not interested in annexing Stralsund to his empire. When he re-entered the war
Peace of Travendal
The Peace of Travendal was a peace treaty concluded during the Great Northern War on 8 or 18 August 1700 between the Swedish Empire, Denmark-Norway and Holstein-Gottorp in Traventhal....
in 1709, Frederik had promised to not attack Swedish territories in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and protect their citizens wherever they pledge loyalty to him. Accordingly, Frederik IV had agreed in a convention of 1711 that Stralsund along with northern Swedish Pomerania should be annexed by August the Strong, elector of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
and king of Poland-Lithuania. However, after George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
(Hanover) ascended the throne of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, who had dropped out of the War of Spanish Succession in the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 and was thus free to enter the anti-Swedish alliance in the Great Northern War, Frederik IV changed his mind. Already in 1712, Denmark and Hanover had invaded and partitioned Bremen-Verden.Denmark had invaded Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden , were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180...
claiming the neutrallity of the Lower Saxon Circle
Lower Saxon Circle
The Lower Saxon Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. Covering much of the territory of the mediæval Duchy of Saxony , firstly the circle used to be called the Saxon Circle , only to be later better differentiated from the Upper Saxon Circle the more specific name prevailed.An...
was no longer in effect (see note above), and forced the Swedish garrison in Stade
Stade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
, 2,600 men, to surrender. Hanover had invaded Bremen-Verden claiming they would protect it for the Swedes from the plague carried by the Danes. Effectively, Bremen-Verden was thus partitioned with Denmark occupying the former archdiocese of Bremen, and Hanover occupying the Verden area. Wilson (1998), p.139.
The Stralsund area had been tied to Denmark in the Late Middle Ages, was of strategic importance as a bridgehead into the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, and a potent exporter of wool and grain. First Danish claims to northern Swedish Pomerania were formulated in 1713, and a respective treaty was drafted in May 1715 between Frederick IV and George I which guaranteed the Danish occupied Swedish dominion
Dominions of Sweden
The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by Governors-General under the Swedish monarch, but within certain limits retained...
of Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden
Bremen-Verden, formally the Duchies of Bremen and Verden , were two territories and immediate fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire, which emerged and gained Imperial immediacy in 1180...
to George I in return for him entering the war on Frederik's side, and Pomerania north of the Peene
Peene
The Peene is a river in Germany. The Westpeene, Kleine Peene and Ostpeene flow into the Kummerower See, and from there as Peene proper to Anklam and into the Oder Lagoon....
river as well as 30,000 talers to Frederik IV. When Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
, keen to annex Swedish Pomerania as well, joined the allies in summer, a Dano-Prussian treaty was concluded partitioning Swedish Pomerania along the Peene, with Denmark being assured her claims for the northern part with Stralsund, and Brandenburg-Prussia for the southern part with Stettin. August the Strong's protests and Danish tendencies to minimize their military efforts in the coalition after the treaty, resulting from Frederik IV's understanding that he now would gain Stralsund anyway, led to quarrels in the siege force.
Stenbock's forces turned west with 16,000 men to face the allies at Gadebusch
Battle of Gadebusch
The Battle of Gadebusch 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 :...
, leaving 3,000 men to garrison Stralsund. Their victory and subsequent westward movement distracted the allies from the siege, yet when Stenbock burned down Danish Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
, Russian forces burned Swedish Pomeranian Wolgast
Wolgast
Wolgast is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom that can be accessed by road and railway via a bascule bridge...
east of Stralsund in revenge in 1713. The allies were free to concentrate on Stralsund again after Stenbock's forces, pursued by 36,000 Poles, Russians and Saxons, were defeated in the Battle of Tönning on 16 May 1713. Before re-joining with the siege army near Stralsund, Russian forces under Alexander Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimus, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora , Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Cosel. A highly appreciated associate and friend of Tsar Peter the Great, he was the de facto ruler of...
's commandRussian tsar
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
Peter the Great had entrusted baron Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimus, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora , Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Cosel. A highly appreciated associate and friend of Tsar Peter the Great, he was the de facto ruler of...
with the command of the sieges of Stralsund, Stettin and Tönning
Siege of Tönning
During the Great Northern War, the fortress of Tönning in the territory of Holstein-Gottorp, an ally of the Swedish Empire, 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...
, yet in the first years of the campaign he was also present in Pomerania in person. Peter the Great left for Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Russia in 1713, when Magnus Stenbock
Magnus Stenbock
Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock was a Swedish military officer at the time of the Great Northern War.He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Christina Catharine de la Gardie....
's defeat at Tönning became inevitable. Bushkovitch (2001), pp.309-310. and a Saxon engineur corps were deployed from Tönning
Tönning
Tönning is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During the Great Northern War, Tönning was besieged twice.-Geography:...
to Stettin, the second major Swedish fortress in Pomerania, and captured it on 29 September 1713. However, Russian tsar
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
Peter the Great had to withdraw his forces from the Holy Roman Empire by the terms of the Treaty of Adrianople
Treaty of Adrianople
The Peace Treaty of Adrianople concluded the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. It was signed on September 14, 1829 in Adrianople by Russia's Count Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov and by Turkey's Abdul Kadyr-bey...
, concluded on 25 June 1714 as a consequence of the Pruth Campaign.
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
, exiled to Bender
Bender
- Places:* Bender, Moldova, also known as Bendery or Tighina* Bender, California, a former settlement in Fresno County, California* Bender Bayla District, a district of Bari, Somalia- Fiction :...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
between the Surrender at Perevolochna
Surrender at Perevolochna
The surrender at Perevolochna was the capitulation of almost the entire Swedish army on June 30, 1709 / July 1, 1709 / July 11, 1709...
and his return in 1714, had envisioned that Stralsund would constitute the base of a renewed Swedish attack on Peter the Great. Charles XII's plans foresaw a two-fold assault of a Swedish army from Pomerania and a Turkish army from the South. When Charles XII reached Stralsund in November 1714, the town's garrison was reinforced to a strength of 17,000 men. Searching for allies, Charles XII also negotiated with Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the Early Modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession...
, but was unwilling to meet Frederick William I's demands on Stettin and a 400,000 reichstalers payment. In April 1715, Brandenburg-Prussia declared war.
Though George I was not involved in the war as the king of Great Britain, but merely as the duke of Hanover, the Danish navy was assisted in the siege by eight British vessels, detached by British admiral John Norris, who was ordered to guard the Maritime Powers
Maritime Powers
Maritime Powers may refer to both*Early Modern Great Britain*the Dutch Republic...
' merchants in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. In July, the allied forces closed in on Stralsund from the landside, and in November a combined Danish-Saxon-Prussian army took the island of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
north of the town. When defeat became inevitable, Charles XII escaped and the defendants surrendered on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
. Stralsund became the capitol of Danish Pomerania.
Aftermath
After Stralsund's surrender, a Danish administration under commander von Stöcken was set up, and 1028 Swedish prisoners of war were detained in the town. Yet, many noble and burgher families - Pomeranian, Swedish or intermarried - remained loyal to Sweden. The Danish government reacted by prohibiting contacts to Sweden and obliging the landowners to pledge allegiance, otherwise, they would be stripped of their lands or expelled. As a consequence, an unknown number emigrated to Sweden, including Swedish prisoners of war who were able to escape with the help of the local population. Of sixty-nine high ranking Swedish officials and officers detained in Stralsund in January 1716, only thirty-one were still in town in March of the following year. When the local population continued to maintain close contacts with Sweden and aid Swedish refugees, Danish guards started to patrol the coast and investigate the traffic with Sweden, before this traffic was prohibited altogether until 1719. Since only a few nobles had pledged allegiance to Frederik IV in August 1716, the Danish government issued a deadline, and in October started to expropriate those who had not given the oath to the Danish king.Also in 1716, Swedish Wismar
Wismar
Wismar , is a small port and Hanseatic League town in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. Its natural harbour, located in the Bay of Wismar is well-protected by a promontory. The...
surrendered to the allies, eliminating Sweden's last stronghold on the southern Baltic coast. By the end of the war however, Stralsund was restored to Sweden.
The siege of Stralsund marked the beginning of a friendship between Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
and Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
refugee Jacques Egide Duhan de Jandun
Jacques Duhan de Jandun
Jacques Egide Duhan de Jandun was a Huguenot soldier who served for twelve years as tutor to Frederick the Great.-Early life:Duhan's father was secretary to General Turenne before emigrating to Brandenburg in 1687. He educated Jacques himself while preparing him for a career as a soldier...
, whom he first met when he was in the service of field marshal Alexander von Dohna in 1715. In the following year, Frederick William I entrusted Duhan den Jandun with the raising of his then four-year-old son, later known as Frederick the Great.