| Swedish–Norwegian War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theNapoleonic Wars | |||||||
 The constituent assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sweden | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30,000 men 8 field batteries 7 brigs 150 gunboats | 45,523–66,800 men 4 field batteries 4 ships of the line 5 frigates 24 smaller ships 60 gunboats | ||||||
TheSwedish–Norwegian War, also known as theCampaign against Norway (Swedish:Fälttåget mot Norge),War with Sweden 1814 (Norwegian:Krigen med Sverige 1814), also called theWar of Cats[1] or theNorwegian War of Independence, was a war fought betweenSweden andNorway in the summer of 1814. According to theTreaty of Kiel, Norway would enter a union with Sweden underCharles XIII of Sweden. The war resulted in Norway being forced into theUnited Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, but with its ownconstitution andparliament. The war marked the last time Sweden participated in an armed conflict with another nation, and its conclusion signalled the beginning of the country's long period ofmilitary neutrality.
As early as in 1812, prior to theNapoleonic invasion of Russia, the Swedish Crown PrinceCharles John (Karl Johan) – formerlyMarshal of France Jean Baptiste Bernadotte – had entered into an agreement with TsarAlexander I thatRussia would support a Swedish attack on Norway in order to forceDenmark–Norway to cede its northern part to Sweden.[2] The Swedish attack against Norway was postponed however, due to the fluid state of the conflict betweenNapoleon and theSixth Coalition. TheSwedish Army and, incidentally, Karl Johan's skills as a general, were urgently needed againstFrance inCentral Europe. On 18 May 1813, Swedish troops re-occupiedSwedish Pomerania and deployed against Napoleon's forces as a result of treaties between Karl Johan (on behalf of Sweden),Great Britain andPrussia, which ceded Norway to Sweden for its participation in the war, becoming effective after France and its allies (including Denmark–Norway) were defeated.[3][4]
In early December, Karl Johan led an invasion of Denmark with his Allied Army of the North that included Swedes, Russians and North Germans. The Danes were outnumbered and were unable to mount a coherent defense against Karl Johan's battle-hardened army. Within a few days, the Danes were forced out ofHolstein and into Jutland proper. By 14 December, Bernadotte agreed to an armistice and peace talks began inKiel on the basis of ceding Norway to the Swedish king in return for Swedish Pomerania, additional territory in North Germany, specifics to be decided at the general peace conference following the cessation of hostilities between the Sixth Coalition and Imperial France, as well as 1,000,000Riksdalers. The Danish position was hopeless and by early January 1814, KingFrederick VI of Denmark–Norway reconciled himself to the necessity of losing Norway.[5][6]
By theTreaty of Kiel, signed on 13 January, King Frederick VI had to cede the Kingdom of Norway to the king of Sweden, by which the two nations would enter a union. However, this treaty was not accepted by the Norwegian people, who refused to be simply a bargaining chip. Elements of the Danish government also covertly supported Norway's determination for independence.[7] Ultimately, Denmark would pay a catastrophic price for the treaty, as Karl Johan viewed this support, no matter how covert, as betrayal and a violation of the treaty, and this would later be reflected in the final peace settlement at theCongress of Vienna, which voided Kiel's promise to compensate Denmark for its loss of Norway with Swedish Pomerania, various additional Northern German territory, and 1,000,000 Riksdalers.[8]
An insurrection broke out, led by PrinceChristian Frederick of Denmark,heir presumptive to the thrones of Denmark and Norway andGovernor-general of Norway (and later King Christian VIII of Denmark). He gathered a constitutional assembly which adopted the liberal constitution of 17 May, with that constitution also electing Christian Frederick as king of an independent Norway.
As the head of the new state, Christian Frederick desperately tried to gain support from the United Kingdom, or any of the other major powers within theSixth Coalition, in order to maintain Norway's independence. However, the foreign diplomats refused to promise any outside support to the Norwegians.
TheNorwegian Army mustered 30,000 men,[9] and it had taken up positions away from the border with Sweden, in the fear of being outflanked. TheRoyal Norwegian Navy had few vessels, and most of them were stationed at the islands ofHvaler, close to Sweden.
TheSwedish Army consisted of 45,000[10]–66,800[9] well-equipped soldiers who were veterans of theGerman Campaign of 1813. TheSwedish Navy had a number of large vessels and a capacity for moving and landing troops as well as assistance from the BritishRoyal Navy.[10]
The hostilities opened on 26 July with a swift Swedish naval attack against the Norwegian gunboats atHvaler. The Norwegian army was evacuated and the vessels managed to escape, but they did not take part in the rest of the war. The main Swedish offensive came across the border atHalden, bypassing and surrounding the fortress ofFredriksten, and then continuing north, while a second force of 6,000 soldiers landed atKråkerøy outside ofFredrikstad. This town surrendered the next day. This was the start of a pincer movement around the main part of the Norwegian army atRakkestad.
On the front towardsKongsvinger, the forces were more evenly matched, and the Norwegian army eventually stopped the Swedish advance atLier on 2 August, and won another victory atMatrand on 5 August. On 3 August, KingChristian Frederick reached the front atØstfold and was persuaded to change his strategy and use the 6,000 men stationed at Rakkestad in a counterattack against the Swedes. The order to counterattack was given on 5 August, but the order was recalled a few hours later. The Norwegian forces therefore withdrew over the Glomma river atLangnes inAskim.[11] The last major battle of the war was fought on 9 August at the bridgehead atLangnes, where the Swedish forces once more were driven back.[12]
Sweden then attempted to outflank the Norwegian line, and successfully did so during theBattle of Kjølberg Bridge on 14 August. The Swedes then had a clear path toKristiania, the Norwegian capital. In addition, the British blockade of Norway cut off trade and military supplies, which combined with the proximity of Swedish armies eventually made the Norwegians' military situation unsustainable.[12]
Although the Norwegian Army had won at Langnes, it was nevertheless clear to both the Norwegian and Swedish military authorities that a defeat was inevitable.[12] Even as they had managed to deliver several minor offensive blows to the Swedes, it was considered impossible to try to stop the Swedes in the long run.[12] The Swedish offer of negotiations was therefore accepted as the war had put a heavy strain on the Norwegian finances. Every day of delay in securing Norway by the Swedes brought uncertainty to them regarding the outcome, so both parties were interested in a quick end to the war.
To the ordinary Norwegian soldier the war had seemed ill-prepared and ill-fought.[12] The defeat was blamed on Christian Frederick and the Norwegian generalHaxthausen; the latter was accused of treason. For the Norwegian government it had probably[citation needed] been more of a matter of getting the best possible bargaining position, as without the support of major powers Norway's independence was impossible to secure, whereas by agreeing to talks following the victory at Langnes Norway was in a situation where it could avoid anunconditional surrender.
On 10 August,Charles XIV John presented a proposal for a cease-fire. The proposal included a major concession – Charles XIV John, on behalf of the Swedish government as regent for his ill adopted father, accepted theEidsvoll constitution. Negotiations started inMoss, Norway on 10 August, and after a few days of hard negotiations, a cease fire agreement, called theConvention of Moss, was signed on 14 August. Christian Frederick was forced to abdicate as king of Norway, but Norway remained nominally independent within apersonal union with Sweden, under the Swedish king. Itsconstitution was upheld with only such amendments as were required to allow it to enter into the union, and the two united kingdoms retained separate institutions, except for the king and the foreign service and policy.
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