Siege of Stettin (1677)
| Siege of Stettin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Scanian War | |||||||||
Anonymous 17th-century depiction of the siege | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Swedish Empire |
Brandenburg Denmark–Norway Principality of Lüneburg | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Jacob Johann von Wulffen | Frederick William | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Stettin garrison | Lehnsdorff Regiment | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 2,000–3,000 men |
20,000–22,200 men 110 guns 25 mortars | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1,300–2,700 killed |
4,289 killed 316 wounded | ||||||||
| 2,000 civilians killed | |||||||||
The siege of Stettin (Swedish: belägringen av Stettin; German: belagerung von Stettin) occurred from July to 26 December 1677 during the Scanian War. It began when an allied army of Danes, Brandenburgian, and Lüneburgian, led by Frederick William of Brandenburg, consisting of 20,000–22,000 men, approached Stettin in July. The city's garrison, commanded by Jacob Johan von Wulffen, was some 2,000–3,000 men strong, reinforced by the burghers in the city. In August, Frederick William began heavy bombardments of the city, trying in vain to break its spirits. After this failed, he besieged the city. On 10 December, the allies created a large opening in the city wall and began preparing for an assault. However, before the assault was finalized, the garrison capitulated in exchange for free departure.
Background
On 4 April 1672, France and Sweden entered into an alliance primarily targeted towards the Dutch Republic. According to the treaty, Sweden was to intervene against the German princes who tried to support the Dutch in the event of a French attack. In return, Sweden received extensive subsidies and a guarantee that France would not support a Danish attack on Sweden.[1]
Soon after signing the treaty, France declared war on the Dutch Republic. In 1674, Sweden intervened on the French side in the war by invading Brandenburg, which had entered the war in 1673.[1]
Prelude
In 1676, Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck succeeded Carl Gustaf Wrangel and took command of Swedish troops in Pomerania.[2]
In June of the same year, Frederick William continued invading Swedish Pomerania. With an army of 12,000 men, he captured Anklam and Demmin on 17 August and 30 September, respectively. He also besieged Stettin for a month, but gave up the attempt once winter began.[3]
Siege
Commanding an allied army of Brandenburgian, Danes, and Lüneburgian, Frederick William besieged Stettin once more in July 1677.[4] The composition of the army, according to one source, was 18,000 Brandenburgian, 3,000 Lüneburgian, and 1,200 Danes, for a total of 22,000 men.[5] However, other sources put the total size at 20,000.[4][6][7] The allies also had 110 cannons and 25 mortars.[6] In comparison, Stettin had a garrison of 2,000,[5] 2,300,[4][7] or 3,000[6] under the command of Jacob Johann von Wulffen.[4] The garrison was reinforced by the city's burghers, who were loyal to the Swedes. In early August, Frederick William began bombarding the city in order to shatter resistance, causing fires to erupt in the city.[6][4] However, von Wulffen did not give up, and Frederick William was forced to begin a lengthy siege. On 10 December, the besieging army successfully created an opening in the city wall and began preparing for an assault.[4]
Capitulation
Before assaulting the wall, the allies first had to capture two sconces defending the city. After a night's rest, they moved towards one of them, storming and capturing it. The other one did not need to be captured, as its garrison had mutinied and handed it over to the allies.[8] On 26 December, von Wulffen capitulated to the besieging army in exchange for free departure and a return to Sweden with the now 300[6]–700 men strong garrison.[8][9][10] Following the separation of Germans in Swedish service, the remaining garrison departed for Köslin[10] on 1 January,[9] when nearly 1,100 men had either fallen sick or died.[10]
Aftermath
After the capture of the city, Frederick William initially planned to make it Brandenburg's capital instead of Berlin. Subsequently, Frederick William proceeded to Berlin, and his army moved into winter quarters.[11]
The siege also resulted in the deaths of around 4,000 Brandenburgian troops.[7] Additionally, the Danish Lehnsdorff Regiment suffered 289 dead and 316 wounded.[7][12] After his capitulation, von Wulffen was promoted to Lieutenant General and Stadtholder in Finland. During the siege, 2,000 citizens in the town had been killed.[6]
See also
- Siege of Wolgast – 1675 siege in Germany
- Siege of Stralsund (1678)
Citations
- ^ a b Sundberg 2010, p. 179.
- ^ Sundberg 2010, p. 196.
- ^ von Essen 2019, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b c d e f Gyllenstierna 2005, p. 195.
- ^ a b Westrin 1921, p. 1196.
- ^ a b c d e f Prytz 1867, p. 455.
- ^ a b c d von Essen 2019, p. 74.
- ^ a b Gyllenstierna 2005, p. 196.
- ^ a b Wimarson 1912, p. 121.
- ^ a b c Tessin 1967, p. 38.
- ^ Wimarson 1912, p. 120.
- ^ Vaupell 1872, p. 198.
References
Bibliography
- Gyllenstierna, Ebba (2005). "Kriget i Tyskland" [Kriget i Tyskland]. In Rystad, Göran (ed.). Kampen om Skåne [Fight for Scania] (in Swedish). Translated by Kristofersson, Marianne. Lund: Historiska Media. ISBN 9789185057054.
- Prytz, Harold Oscar (1867). Historiska upplysningar om svenska och norska arméernas regementer och kårer jämte flottorna [Historical information about the regiments and corps of the Swedish and Norwegian armies, as well as the navies] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bergström & Lindroth.
- von Essen, Michael Fredholm (2019). Charles XI’s War: The Scanian War Between Sweden and Denmark, 1675-1679. Century of the Soldier. Helion & Company. ISBN 9781911628002.
- Vaupell, Otto Frederik (1872). Den danske hærs historie til nutiden og den norske hærs historie, indtil 1814 [History of the Danish army to the present day and the history of the Norwegian army until 1814] (in Danish). Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Sundberg, Ulf (2010). Sveriges krig 1630-1814 [Sweden's wars 1630-1814] (in Swedish). Svenskt militärhistoriskt bibliotek. ISBN 9789185789634.
- Wimarson, Nils (1912). Sveriges krig i Tyskland: 1675-1679 [Sweden's war in Germany: 1675-1679] (in Swedish). Vol. 3. Lund: Gleerup.
- Tessin, Georg (1967). Unter Karl XI. und Karl XII. (1660-1718) [Under Charles XI and Charles XII (1660-1718)]. Die deutschen Regimenter der Krone Schweden (in German). Vol. 2. Cologne: Böhlau Verlag.
Websites
- Westrin, Th. (1921). Lagerheim, G.; Leche, V.; Nordensvan, G. (eds.). "Nordisk familjebok" [Nordic Family Book]. runeberg.org. Project Runeberg.