Carolean Death March
Encyclopedia
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Carolean
Caroleans
Caroleans were the soldiers of the Swedish kings Charles XI and Charles XII.-The Carolean army:To compensate for the lack of manpower and resources Sweden strived for innovative ways to make an effective army...
army under the command of Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was a Swedish officer, general and friherre who took part in the Great Northern War....
across the Tydal
Tydal
Tydal is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås. Other villages include Østby, Gressli, Aunet, and Stugudalen. There is a school and a kindergarten in Tydal....
mountain range in Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
around the new year 1718-1719.
Background
In 1718, after several defeats in the Great Northern WarGreat 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...
, Sweden had lost its eastern territories to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Too weakened to retake these, 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...
planned an attack on Norway to force the Dano-Norwegian king Frederick IV
Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:...
into great concessions in subsequent peace treaty negotiations.
After the defeat at Storkyro
Battle of Storkyro
The Battle of Storkyro was fought on February 19, 1714 / March 2, 1714 near the village of Napo in Storkyro parish , Ostrobothnia, Swedish Empire between a Swedish and a Russian army, as part of the Great Northern War....
, Lieutenant-general Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt
Carl Gustaf Armfeldt was a Swedish officer, general and friherre who took part in the Great Northern War....
had retreated to the area of Gävle
Gävle
Gävle is a city in Sweden, the seat of Gävle Municipality and the capital of Gävleborg County. It had 71,033 inhabitants in 12/31 2010. It is the oldest city in the historical Norrland , having received its charter in 1446 from Christopher of Bavaria.-History:It is believed that the name Gävle...
with the mauled army 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...
. He was now ordered to make a diversionary attack from Jämtland
Jämtland
Jämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
towards Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
in Trøndelag with his poorly equipped soldiers. After assembling a host of 10,000 soldiers in Duved, he set off towards Norway on August 29, 1718. Four months later, the campaign in Trøndelag had failed: the defenders of Trondheim had successfully held off Armfeldt. The army of 10,000 had dwindled to around 6,000, and the surviving soldiers were exhausted and starved, their clothing tattered and threadbare. Bad weather made resupplies from Sweden impossible, so the army had to live off the land, causing untold suffering to the Norwegian civilian population.
After Charles' death on December 11, 1718 during the siege of Fredriksten
Fredriksten
-History:This Fortresses was constructed ny Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ceded to Sweden by the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658...
, all Swedish forces in Norway were ordered to retreat back to Sweden. Armfeldt received notice of Charles' death on January 7, 1719, when his force was in Haltdalen
Haltdalen
Haltdalen is a village and former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The former municipality encompassed the northwestern part of the present-day municipality of Holtålen....
, Gauldal
Gauldal
Gauldal or Gauldalen is a valley and traditional district in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The Gaula River runs through the valley before flowing into the Trondheimsfjord.The district includes the municipalities of Holtålen, Midtre Gauldal, and Melhus...
with about 6,000 men. He decided to take the shortest route to Sweden: first over the mountains to Tydal
Tydal
Tydal is a municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ås. Other villages include Østby, Gressli, Aunet, and Stugudalen. There is a school and a kindergarten in Tydal....
and from there over the Tydal mountain range back to the fort of Hjerpe. So far the winter had been mild with scant to no snow cover. Ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...
s were therefore not needed, but the army was poorly equipped and exhausted from the campaigning in Trøndelag.
The departure to Sweden
On January 8, 1719 the army left Haltdalen and marched to Tydal, a distance of almost 30 kilometers. Due to the cold weather, about 200 men died on the mountains from exposureHypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. On January 11, Armfeldt's army was gathered on the Ås and Østby farms in Tydal, almost 5,800 men in total. A vanguard of 14 skiers was sent across to Jämtland to prepare for the main army's arrival in Sweden.
The army left Østby on the morning of January 12, 1719 (New Year's Day according to the Swedish calendar), accompanied by Norwegian guide
Guide
A guide is a person who leads anyone through unknown or unmapped country. This includes a guide of the real world , as well as a person who leads someone to more abstract places .-Guide - meanings related to travel and recreational pursuits:There are many variants of...
Lars Bersvendsen Østby, who had been coerced into aiding the enemy by having two kinswomen held hostage. The weather was very cold, but there was no snowfall. The distance to the village Handöl in present-day Åre Municipality
Åre Municipality
Åre Municipality is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Järpen.The present municipality was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of "old" Åre Municipality with the surrounding municipalities Hallen, Kall, Mörsil and Undersåker...
is about 55 kilometers. In clement weather the army could have reached Jämtland after a two day march.
The storm
That afternoon a violent northwesterly blizzardBlizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
struck, with its strong wind swirling up the light snow. The resulting poor visibility and biting cold forced Armfeldt to encamp on the northern mountainside of Øyfjellet by the lake Essand. In desperate efforts to keep warm, the soldiers set fire to dwarf birch
Dwarf Birch
Betula nana is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.-Description:...
, heather
Calluna
Calluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
, their own rifle butt
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
s and sled
Sled
A sled, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle with a smooth underside or possessing a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners that travels by sliding across a surface. Most sleds are used on surfaces with low friction, such as snow or ice. In some cases,...
s, but to little effect. An estimated 200 men froze to death this first night.
The storm continued the next day, and the retreat now became chaotic as the soldiers were scattered in the hills. The main part of the force reached the Swedish border and encamped at Enaälven. A hole was hacked in the ice on the Ena to see in which direction the water flowed: in that direction lay rescue. However, the severe weather continued to take its toll; many of the draught horses died and all equipment had to be abandoned on the mountain. The storm was still raging on January 14 as the first troops led by Armfeldt made their way to Handöl. The majority of the survivors arrived at Handöl on the January 15 and 16. About 3,000 men remained on the mountain, frozen to death. During the continued voyage down to Duved
Duved, Sweden
Duved is a locality situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 637 inhabitants in 2005....
, where lodging had been arranged for the soldiers, another 700 men died. About 600 of the surviving 2,100 soldiers were crippled for life.
Aftermath
Norwegians took a great deal of booty that winter. They found masses of swords and rifles; six smaller cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s were found abandoned on the mountain. The locals plundered the dead of boots, coats, valuables and weapons. Rifle barrels could be used for hardware in fireplaces or for axles in grindstones.
After the people were finished, then came the beasts of prey. Wolves, wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
s and fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es discovered an abundance of carcasses. A local legend told that for many years these mountain tracts were one of the best hunting areas for fur-bearing animals.
In Brekka Bygdetun in Tydal an open air theatre performance of "Karolinerspelet" is held every other year in January, dramatizing the events of the Death March.