Battle of Colberger Heide
Part of theTorstenson War
Battle of Kolberg Heath,Wilhelm Marstrand
Date 1 July 1644 Location OffFehmarn,Baltic Sea Result See§ Outcome
Belligerents
Denmark–Norway	Swedish Empire
Commanders and leaders
Christian IV (WIA)	Klas Fleming Klas Bjelkenstjerna
Strength
40 warships	34 warships
Casualties and losses
207 killed and wounded	101 killed and wounded

TheBattle of Colberger Heide (alsoKolberger Heide orColberg Heath) took place on 1 July 1644 during theTorstenson War, off the coast ofSchleswig-Holstein. The battle was indecisive, but a minor success for theDano-Norwegian fleet commanded by Jørgen Vind, assisted by Grabow and KingChristian IV, over aSwedish fleet commanded byKlas Fleming, assisted by Ulfsparre andBjelkenstjerna.

The Dano-Norwegian fleet consisted of 40 ships with about 927 guns, and the Swedish fleet consisted of 34 ships with 1018 guns and 7fireships.

The Dano-Norwegian fleet, coming from the east, and the Swedish fleet, coming from the west, met just north of the island ofFehmarn (Femern). The Swedes turned and sailed south along the west side of Fehmarn, inshore of a shoal, while the Danes followed a little further offshore. The Swedes turned north and swung around before resuming their westward course alongside the Danes. As the battle progressed the fleets turned before the wind, north and then back east south of the island ofLangeland. As they approached the island ofLolland the Swedes turned south and eventually ended up in Kiel Bay while the Danes continued south-east, anchoring to the east of Fehmarn.

Neither side had lost a ship. Dano-Norwegian casualties were 37 killed and 170 wounded, and Swedish casualties were 32 killed and 69 wounded. Among the Dano-Norwegian casualties were commanderJørgen Vind, who died of his wounds soon after the battle,^[1] and the king, whose wounds included the loss of an eye.

The exact result of the battle is disputed by historians. Some claim that the battle ended with a Dano-Norwegian victory,^[2] with others claiming that it ended inconclusively.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

While the Dano-Norwegian fleet gained a minor success when it subsequently managed to incarcerate the Swedish fleet at theBay of Kiel, the battle was not decisive: in a subsequent encounter, the Dano-Norwegian navy was utterlydefeated off the Fehmarn coast. The significance of the battle lies rather in it being retrospectively perceived as the last Dano-Norwegian victory over her long-time adversary, Sweden, in the two countries' struggle for control of thedominium maris baltici, as well as the heroization of the Dano-Norwegian king's personal commitment during the battle, memorized in the famousMarstrand painting and the first lines of the Danish royal anthemKong Christian stod ved højen mast.^[8]

The Dano-Norwegian merchant ships averaged around 20 guns each.

The fireships were namedMeerman,Caritas,Meerweib,Bona,Jungru, St Mikael and 1 other. 4 had previously been used as horse transports and were barely ready.

Footnotes

General reference

• Naval wars in the Baltic 1559-1850 (1910) - R. C. Anderson

• 1644 in Denmark
• Naval battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Denmark
• Conflicts in 1644
• Naval battles of the Torstenson War
• 1644 in the Holy Roman Empire
• Naval battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Sweden

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• CS1 Danish-language sources (da)
• CS1 Swedish-language sources (sv)
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• Use dmy dates from June 2017