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TheCarolean Death March (Swedish:karolinernas dödsmarsch), also known asthe Catastrophe on Øyfjellet (Swedish:katastrofen på Öjfjället) was the disastrous retreat by a force ofSwedish soldiers (known asCaroleans), under the command ofCarl Gustaf Armfeldt, across theTydalen mountain range inTrøndelag around the new year 1718–1719.[1]
In 1718, after several defeats in theGreat Northern War, Sweden had lost its eastern territories toRussia. Too weakened to retake these,Charles XII of Sweden instead planned an attack on Norway to force theDano-Norwegian KingFrederick IV into great concessions in subsequent peace treaty negotiations.
After the Swedish defeat atStorkyro, Swedish Lieutenant-generalCarl Gustaf Armfeldt had retreated to the area ofGävle with the mauled army ofFinland. He was now ordered to make a diversionary attack fromJämtland towardsTrondheim in Trøndelag with his poorly equipped soldiers. After assembling a host of 10,000 soldiers inDuved, he set off towards Norway on 29 August [O.S. 18 August] 1718.[2] Four months later, the campaign in Trøndelag had failed: the defenders of Trondheim had successfully held off Armfeldt. The army of 10,000 had dwindled to around 6,000, and the surviving soldiers were exhausted and starved, their clothing tattered and threadbare. Bad weather made resupplies from Sweden impossible, so the army had to live off the land, causing untold suffering to the Norwegian civilian population.
After Charles' death on 11 December 1718 during the siege ofFredriksten, all Swedish forces in Norway were ordered to retreat back to Sweden. Armfeldt received notice of Charles' death on 7 January 1719, when his force was inHaltdalen,Gauldal with about 6,000 men. He decided to take the shortest route to Sweden: first over the mountains toTydalen and from there over the Tydal mountain range back to the fort ofHjerpe. So far the winter had been mild with scant to no snow cover.Skis were therefore not needed, but the army was poorly equipped and exhausted from the campaigning in Trøndelag.
On 8 January 1719 the army left Haltdalen and marched to Tydalen, a distance of almost 30 kilometres (19 mi). Due to the cold weather, about 200 men died on the mountains fromexposure. On 11 January Armfeldt's army was gathered on theÅs andØstby farms in Tydalen, almost 5,800 men in total. A vanguard of 14 skiers was sent across to Jämtland to prepare for the main army's arrival in Sweden.
The army left Østby on the morning of 12 January 1719 (New Year's Day according to the Swedish calendar), accompanied by Norwegianguide Lars Bersvendsen Østby,who had been coerced into aiding the enemy by having two kinswomen held hostage[citation needed]. The weather was very cold, but there was no snowfall. The distance to the village ofHandöl in present-dayÅre Municipality is about 55 kilometres (34 mi). Without the inclement weather the army could have reached Jämtland after a two-day march.
That afternoon a violent northwesterlyblizzard struck, with its strong wind swirling up the light snow. The resulting poor visibility and biting cold forced Armfeldt to encamp on the northern mountainside ofØyfjellet by the lake Essand. In desperate efforts to keep warm, the soldiers set fire todwarf birch,heather, their ownrifle butts andsleds, but to little effect. An estimated 200 men froze to death this first night.
The storm continued the next day, and the retreat now became chaotic as the soldiers were scattered in the hills. The main part of the force reached the Swedish border and encamped atEnaälven. A hole was hacked in the ice on the Ena to see in which direction the water flowed: in that direction lay rescue. However, the severe weather continued to take its toll; many of thedraught horses died and all equipment had to be abandoned on the mountain. The storm was still raging on 14 January as the first troops led by Armfeldt made their way to Handöl. The majority of the survivors arrived at Handöl on the 15 and 16 January. About 3,000 men remained on the mountain, frozen to death. During the continued voyage down toDuved, where lodging had been arranged for the soldiers, another 700 men died. About 600 of the surviving 2,100 soldiers were crippled for life. Over two thirds of the victims wereFinns.[3]
On 18 January, Norwegian major Emahusen set off up the mountain on the trail of the Swedish army. He found hundreds of dead Caroleans. The horses that were still alive ran around without riders, while others lay collapsed harnessed to fully loaded sleds, where the driver, with a glazed expression, still held the reins in a frozen grip.
Norwegians took a great deal of loot that winter. They found masses of swords and rifles; six smallercannons were found abandoned on the mountain. The locals plundered the dead of boots, coats, valuables and weapons. Musket barrels could be used for hardware in fireplaces or for axles in grindstones.
In Brekka Bygdetun in Tydal, an open-air theatre performance of "Karolinerspelet" is held every other year in January, dramatizing the events of the Death March.
InRøros, another Norwegian town visited by Swedish soldiers, an annual outdoormusical theater production calledElden is staged in late July/early August on the Rørosslag heaps. The show is one of the largest outdoor theater productions inNorway, and includes the use of livehorses. It is widely renowned in the local area, having sold over 10,000 tickets to its nine 2014 shows.
In 2012, theFalun-based bandSabaton released Ruina Imperii, a song about the Carolean Death March as a part of the albumCarolus Rex.[4]
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