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| Torstenson War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofDano-Swedish Wars andThirty Years' War | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Swedish Empire |  Denmark–Norway | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| ChristinaGustav HornCarl Gustaf WrangelLennart TorstensonHelmut WrangelMaerten Thijssen | Christian IVHannibal SehestedAnders BilleEbbe UlfeldtJacob Ulfeld Matthias Gallas | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 24,600 | 32,000 | ||||||||
TheTorstenson War[a], 1643 to 1645, was fought betweenSweden andDenmark–Norway. The name derives from Swedish generalLennart Torstenson, and it is considered a related conflict of theThirty Years' War.
Denmark–Norway had withdrawn from theThirty Years' War in the 1629Treaty of Lübeck. After its victories in the war, Sweden felt it had to attack Denmark–Norway due to its advantageous geographical position in relation to Sweden. Sweden invaded in a short two-year war. In theSecond Treaty of Brömsebro (1645), which concluded the war, Denmark–Norway had to make huge territorial concessions and exempt Sweden from theSound Dues,de facto acknowledging the end of the Danish-Norwegian, and the start of the Swedish,dominium maris baltici. Dano–Norwegian efforts to reverse this result in theSecond Northern,Scanian andGreat Northern wars failed.
Sweden had been highly successful in the Thirty Years' War, having defeated Imperial armies in Germany and seen substantial victories underGustavus Adolphus and after his death, under the leadership of CountAxel Oxenstierna, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. At the same time, Sweden was continually threatened by Denmark–Norway, which almost completely encircled Sweden from the south (Blekinge,Scania andHalland), the west (Bohuslän) and the north-west (Jämtland andHärjedalen). The DanishSound Dues were also a continuing source of irritation and a contributing factor to the war. In the spring of 1643 the Swedish Privy Council determined that their military strength made territorial gains at the expense of Denmark-Norway feasible. The Council drew up the plan for war and directed a surprise multi-front attack on Denmark in May.
Swedish Field MarshalLennart Torstensson was ordered by Oxenstierna to march against Denmark.[1] Proceeding fromMoravia, his forcesentered Danish territory in Holstein on 12 December and by the end of January 1644 theJutland peninsula was in his possession. It was not until late December 1643 that news of Torstensson's rapid advance arrived in Copenhagen.[2]
In February 1644, the recently released Swedish Field MarshalGustav Horn with an army of 10,600 men occupied most of the Danish provinces ofScania,Halland andBlekinge, except for the fortress towns ofMalmø andKristianstad.[3]
This attack caught Denmark-Norway unaware and poorly prepared but KingChristian IV retained his presence of mind. He placed his confidence in the fleet to protect the home islands, just winning theBattle of Colberger Heide on 1 July 1644 but suffering a decisive defeat in theBattle of Fehmarn on 13 October 1644 against the Swedish fleet, including leased Dutch ships underMårten Anckarhielm (previously Maerten Thijssen). He also counted on the forces of Norway to relieve the pressures on Danish provinces in Scania by attacking Sweden along the Norwegian–Swedish border.
Norway, governed by Christian's son-in-law,Governor-GeneralHannibal Sehested, was a reluctant participant. The Norwegian populace opposed an attack on Sweden, which would only leave them open to counter-attack. Their opposition to Statholder Sehested's direction grew bitter and the war was lampooned as the "Hannibal War." The Danes cared little for Norwegian public sentiment when Denmark was threatened andJacob Ulfeld initiated an attack into Sweden from NorwegianJemtland. He was driven back and Swedish troops temporarily occupied Jemtland and advanced into the NorwegianØsterdal before being driven back.
Sehested had made preparations to advance with his own army and a similar army underHenrik Bjelke into SwedishVärmland but was ordered to relieve the King in the Danish attack onGothenburg. When Sehested arrived the King joined his fleet and performed heroically, even though wounded, preventing Torstensson's army from moving onto the Danish islands. On the Norwegian front, Sehested attacked and destroyed the new Swedish city ofVänersborg. He also sent Norwegian troops under the command ofGeorge von Reichwein across the border fromVinger andEidskog and troops under Henrik Bjelke into SwedishDalsland.
Christian's Danish forces were so exhausted that he was forced to accept the mediation of France and the United Provinces in suing for peace. ThePeace of Brömsebro was signed on 13 August 1645, a humiliating disaster to Denmark–Norway. The Swedes were exempted from theSound Dues, the toll for passing through Danish territory into theBaltic Sea. Denmark–Norway ceded to Sweden the Norwegian provinces ofJemtland,Herjedalen together with the towns ofIdre & Serna and the strategically valuable Danish islands ofGotland (Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark had conquered the island from Sweden in 1361) in the center of the Baltic andØsel in theBaltic Sea. InDalarna the landshövding (chief of the land i.e. governor) raised a host of 200 dalecarlian farmers whoseized the region ofSärna, making it de facto Swedish territory. Sweden occupied the Danish province ofHalland as well as other territories for 30 years as a guarantee of the treaty. The heir to the thrones ofDenmark-Norway,Frederick II,Administrator of thePrince-Bishopric of Verden (1634–1645) and of thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–1645), had to resign, with the two prince-bishoprics being occupied by the Swedes. According to thePeace of Westphalia both prince-bishoprics became a fief of theHoly Roman Empire to the Swedish crown in 1648.
The defeat of Denmark-Norway reversed the historic balance of power in the Baltic. Sweden gained domination of the Baltic, unrestricted access to theNorth Sea and was no longer encircled by Denmark–Norway. The surprise attack assured that Denmark–Norway now looked for an opportunity to recoup their losses, while Sweden looked for opportunities to expand further, setting the stage for continued conflict on the Baltic over the next century.
With Denmark–Norway out of the war, Torstensson then pursued theImperial army underGallas from Jutland in Denmark south to Bohemia. At theBattle of Jankau near Prague, the Swedish army defeated the Imperial army under Gallas and could occupyBohemian lands and threatenPrague, as well asVienna.
