First War against Napoleon
Encyclopedia
The Pomeranian War or the First War against Napoleon, was the first involvement by Sweden in the Napoleonic Wars
when the country joined the Third Coalition to assist in the overthrow of Napoleon.
had declared war on France
, at this time Sweden had remained neutral together with the Nordic countries Denmark-Norway and Prussia
. But after the execution of Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé in 1804, the Swedish government broke all diplomatic ties with France and concluded a convention allowing the British to use Swedish Pomerania
as a military base against France, in exchange for payments. Russia
also promised Sweden that 40,000 men would come to the aid of the country if it was threatened by French forces. So on 9 August 1805 Sweden joined the Third Coalition and declared war on France on 31 October.
. The offensive against Hanover was repeatedly delayed because of Prussia's partial reluctance that the Swedes and the Russians moved troops through Prussian territory. However, in December 1805, after the battle of Austerlitz
, the British and the Russian forces started to evacuate Hanover, leaving only a small Swedish force alone to face the French. In April 1806, the Swedes were also forced to retreat back to Swedish Pomerania after an alliance had been concluded between Prussia and France.
. The plan was that the troops from there could take the sea route to Stralsund
in order to avoid the advancing French forces. The Swedes were still caught by the French on the 6 November while they loaded their ships at Lübeck, a battle
where fought, but the numerically superior French forces won and about 1,000 Swedish soldiers had to surrender to the French.
The French army began their offensive towards Swedish Pomerania in early 1807 and besieged Stralsund
on 15 January, this was the beginning on a seven-month long siege. Since the French forces also were engaged in warfare elsewhere this increasingly reduced the number of troops stationed around Stralsund. When the Swedes were reinforced on 1 April it was decided that they would attempt to break the siege, this was done with some success since the Swedes managed to take Usedom
and Wolin
. But the French chose to attack once again, and a force of 13,000 men attacked the Swedes from Stettin on 16 April. This forced the left section of the Swedish army to withdraw, and another division in Ueckermünde
was then cut off and later captured. On 18 April, France and Sweden agreed on a ceasefire according to which French were to leave Pomerania
. However, the Swedish government refused to join the Continental System
and denounced the armistice under the influence of British diplomacy on 8 July.
On 6 August 1807, 50,000 French, Spanish and Dutch
troops under Marshal Brune began an assault on Swedish Pomerania and besieged Stralsund again. On 20 August 1807, the defenders of the city capitulated and the remains of the Swedish army was surrounded at Rügen
. However, Swedish General Johan Christopher Toll
managed to concluded the convention of Schlatkow with Marshal Brune on favorable terms and his forces withdrew to Sweden with all of their munitions of war on 7 September.
and on 14 March the same year, Denmark-Norway also declared war
on Sweden. Danish and French-Spanish troops began preparations for an invasion of Skåne in Sweden, but the plan was soon aborted, the war was instead directed to the Norwegian-Swedish border. Sir John Moore's expedition sent by the British government to protect Sweden from possible French-Danish attack arrived on 3 May 1808 and stayed until July when it was redirected to Portugal.
Napoleon’s plans to invade Sweden was never realized due to the British activity on the Baltic Sea
, the weakness of Danish military and hesitations of French Marshal Bernadotte
. Bernadotte's actions made him popular enough to be elected as a Swedish Crown Prince
after the coup d'état
in March 1809. On 30 August 1809, the new Swedish government was to conclude the Treaty of Fredrikshamn with Russia legitimizing the Russian annexation of Finland and Åland. A peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark-Norway was signed with no territorial adjustments on 10 December 1809.
with France regaining Pomerania, at a cost of joining the Continental System
. On 17 November 1810, Sweden was forced to declare war against Britain and all British goods in Swedish Pomerania were seized. The government-supported smuggling continued, however, over the North Sea
and the English fleet was informed that it would be a phantom war. The war lasted until 1812 and no military action was taken.
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
when the country joined the Third Coalition to assist in the overthrow of Napoleon.
Background
In 1803 BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had declared war on France
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, at this time Sweden had remained neutral together with the Nordic countries Denmark-Norway and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. But after the execution of Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé in 1804, the Swedish government broke all diplomatic ties with France and concluded a convention allowing the British to use 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...
as a military base against France, in exchange for payments. 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...
also promised Sweden that 40,000 men would come to the aid of the country if it was threatened by French forces. So on 9 August 1805 Sweden joined the Third Coalition and declared war on France on 31 October.
The offensive against Hanover
In the beginning of November 1805, a combined British, Russian and Swedish force of about 12,000 men were sent from Swedish Pomerania to liberate French-held HanoverHanover
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...
. The offensive against Hanover was repeatedly delayed because of Prussia's partial reluctance that the Swedes and the Russians moved troops through Prussian territory. However, in December 1805, after the battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, the British and the Russian forces started to evacuate Hanover, leaving only a small Swedish force alone to face the French. In April 1806, the Swedes were also forced to retreat back to Swedish Pomerania after an alliance had been concluded between Prussia and France.
The Fourth Coalition
But during the summer of 1806 Prussia changed side and formed the Fourth Coalition against France, which gave Sweden the right to occupy Lauenburg. But during the autumn, the French forces advanced rapidly and soon much of the western German regions were occupied, this forced the Swedish troops on a retreat towards LübeckLübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
. The plan was that the troops from there could take the sea route to 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...
in order to avoid the advancing French forces. The Swedes were still caught by the French on the 6 November while they loaded their ships at Lübeck, a battle
Battle of Lübeck
The Battle of Lübeck took place on 6 November 1806 in Lübeck, Germany between soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and troops of the First French Empire under Marshals Joachim Murat, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, and Nicolas Soult...
where fought, but the numerically superior French forces won and about 1,000 Swedish soldiers had to surrender to the French.
The French army began their offensive towards Swedish Pomerania in early 1807 and besieged Stralsund
Siege of Stralsund (1807)
The Siege of Stralsund lasted from 30 January to 24 August 1807 and saw troops from the First French Empire twice attempt to capture the port city from Lieutenant General Hans Henric von Essen's...
on 15 January, this was the beginning on a seven-month long siege. Since the French forces also were engaged in warfare elsewhere this increasingly reduced the number of troops stationed around Stralsund. When the Swedes were reinforced on 1 April it was decided that they would attempt to break the siege, this was done with some success since the Swedes managed to take Usedom
Usedom
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
and Wolin
Wolin
Wolin is the name both of an island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. It is separated from the island of Usedom by the Świna river, and from mainland Pomerania by the Dziwna river...
. But the French chose to attack once again, and a force of 13,000 men attacked the Swedes from Stettin on 16 April. This forced the left section of the Swedish army to withdraw, and another division in Ueckermünde
Ueckermünde
Ueckermünde is a seaport town in northeast Germany, located in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, Western Pomerania, near Germany's border with Poland . Ueckermünde has a long and varied history, going back to its founding by Slavs, known as the Uchri and mentioned in 934 by Widukind of Corvey...
was then cut off and later captured. On 18 April, France and Sweden agreed on a ceasefire according to which French were to leave Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. However, the Swedish government refused to join the Continental System
Continental System
The Continental System or Continental Blockade was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a large-scale embargo against British trade, which began on November 21, 1806...
and denounced the armistice under the influence of British diplomacy on 8 July.
On 6 August 1807, 50,000 French, Spanish and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
troops under Marshal Brune began an assault on Swedish Pomerania and besieged Stralsund again. On 20 August 1807, the defenders of the city capitulated and the remains of the Swedish army was surrounded at 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...
. However, Swedish General Johan Christopher Toll
Johan Christopher Toll
Count Johan Christopher Toll , Swedish statesman and soldier, was born at Mölleröd in Scania Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817), Swedish statesman and soldier, was born at Mölleröd in Scania Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817), Swedish...
managed to concluded the convention of Schlatkow with Marshal Brune on favorable terms and his forces withdrew to Sweden with all of their munitions of war on 7 September.
Franco-Russian treaty
The Franco-Russian Treaty of Tilsit left Britain and Sweden without other allies in the war against France. On 21 February 1808, Russia joined the war against Sweden by invading FinlandFinnish War
The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...
and on 14 March the same year, Denmark-Norway also declared war
Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809
The Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809 was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden due to Denmark–Norway's alliance with France and Sweden's alliance with the coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
on Sweden. Danish and French-Spanish troops began preparations for an invasion of Skåne in Sweden, but the plan was soon aborted, the war was instead directed to the Norwegian-Swedish border. Sir John Moore's expedition sent by the British government to protect Sweden from possible French-Danish attack arrived on 3 May 1808 and stayed until July when it was redirected to Portugal.
Napoleon’s plans to invade Sweden was never realized due to the British activity on 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...
, the weakness of Danish military and hesitations of French Marshal Bernadotte
Bernadotte
The House of Bernadotte, the current royal house of Sweden, has reigned since 1818. Between 1818 and 1905, it was also the royal house of the Norway...
. Bernadotte's actions made him popular enough to be elected as a Swedish Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
after the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in March 1809. On 30 August 1809, the new Swedish government was to conclude the Treaty of Fredrikshamn with Russia legitimizing the Russian annexation of Finland and Åland. A peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark-Norway was signed with no territorial adjustments on 10 December 1809.
Aftermath
On 6 January 1810, Sweden signed a Russian-mediated Treaty of ParisTreaty of Paris (1810)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on January 6, 1810, ended the war between France and Sweden after Sweden's defeat by Russia, an ally of France, in the Finnish War of 1808-1809...
with France regaining Pomerania, at a cost of joining the Continental System
Continental System
The Continental System or Continental Blockade was the foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a large-scale embargo against British trade, which began on November 21, 1806...
. On 17 November 1810, Sweden was forced to declare war against Britain and all British goods in Swedish Pomerania were seized. The government-supported smuggling continued, however, over the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the English fleet was informed that it would be a phantom war. The war lasted until 1812 and no military action was taken.
Literature
- Lindqvist, Herman(2004) - Napoleon (Schibsted forlagene) ISBN 978-82-516-2157-1
- Sundberg, Ulf(2002) - Svenska krig, 1521-1814 (Hjalmarson & Högberg) ISBN 91-89080-14-9
See also
- English Wars (Scandinavia)English Wars (Scandinavia)The English Wars were a series of conflicts between Sweden and Denmark-Norway as part of the Napoleonic Wars. It is named after the most prominent region of its other main participant, the United Kingdom, which declared war on Denmark-Norway due to disagreements over the neutrality of Danish trade...
- Gunboat WarGunboat WarThe Gunboat War was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional Royal Navy...
- Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809The Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809 was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden due to Denmark–Norway's alliance with France and Sweden's alliance with the coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
- Gunboat War
- Finnish WarFinnish WarThe Finnish War was fought between Sweden and the Russian Empire from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire...
- Second War against Napoleon