On August 11, 1658 Karl X and his forces reached Valby hill (current day Frederiksberg) from where they could overlook the Danish capital. His arrival was expected and Danish King Frederick III had already ordered every building outside the city walls burnt, even though it had housed a third of the population of the city. That same day the city gates were closed and would not open again for another 22 months. A Swedish fleet of 28 ships blocked the harbor, preventing resupply by sea. The siege had begun.[1]
When the Swedish king arrived to find half the city in flames and the Danes willing to put up a fight he had a difficult decision to make, whether to press forward immediately or whether to lay siege on the city and try to starve it out. His advisers were divided on the issue, and the king ultimately decided on the latter route. The wisdom of this decision has been questioned, since the Danish defenses were in poor shape initially. However, the population of Copenhagen rallied behind Frederick III, and the walls, moats and other defensive structures of the city were quickly improved. A large number of cannons were brought into the city from ships anchored in the harbor and placed along likely attack routes. The city also had plenty of defensive materiel: 50 tonnes (110,000 lb) of lead, 4,000 muskets, and a staggering 810 kilometres (500 mi) of slow match.[2]
The Swedish siege force consisted of 11 brigades and 16 squadrons comprising 4,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and 50 cannons. The Swedes took the outer defensive perimeter, built in 1625 by Christian IV, which had fallen into disrepair. It was hastily repaired and artillery was brought to bear on the city.[3] The Danes would not let the Swedish attack go uncontested, and made several counter-attacks. On August 23, 1658, almost 3,000 students, sailors and soldiers staged a surprise sortie through a hidden passage in the wall,[4] destroying fortifications under construction and capturing three cannons.[5]
Over 200 heated shot a day were hurled into the city, and several large howitzers were brought to bombard the Danish capital, including the 300-pounder "Eric Hansson", earlier used in the siege of Kraków.[6] But the citizens of Copenhagen proved to be resilient and endured the constant barrage.[7]
Isacson, Claes-Göran (2002). Karl X Gustavs krig (in Swedish). Lund: Historiska Media. ISBN91-85057-25-8.
January 01, 1970
siege, copenhagen, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Siege of Copenhagen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message On August 11 1658 Karl X and his forces reached Valby hill current day Frederiksberg from where they could overlook the Danish capital His arrival was expected and Danish King Frederick III had already ordered every building outside the city walls burnt even though it had housed a third of the population of the city That same day the city gates were closed and would not open again for another 22 months A Swedish fleet of 28 ships blocked the harbor preventing resupply by sea The siege had begun 1 Siege of CopenhagenPart of Dano Swedish War 1658 1660 The Danes prepare the defences of Copenhagen Painting by Heinrich Hansen Date1658LocationCopenhagenResultDanish victoryBelligerentsDenmarkSwedenCommanders and leadersFrederick IIIKarl X GustavStrengthalmost 3 000 students sailors and soldiers6 000Casualties and lossesUnknownUnknown When the Swedish king arrived to find half the city in flames and the Danes willing to put up a fight he had a difficult decision to make whether to press forward immediately or whether to lay siege on the city and try to starve it out His advisers were divided on the issue and the king ultimately decided on the latter route The wisdom of this decision has been questioned since the Danish defenses were in poor shape initially However the population of Copenhagen rallied behind Frederick III and the walls moats and other defensive structures of the city were quickly improved A large number of cannons were brought into the city from ships anchored in the harbor and placed along likely attack routes The city also had plenty of defensive materiel 50 tonnes 110 000 lb of lead 4 000 muskets and a staggering 810 kilometres 500 mi of slow match 2 The Swedish siege force consisted of 11 brigades and 16 squadrons comprising 4 000 infantry 2 000 cavalry and 50 cannons The Swedes took the outer defensive perimeter built in 1625 by Christian IV which had fallen into disrepair It was hastily repaired and artillery was brought to bear on the city 3 The Danes would not let the Swedish attack go uncontested and made several counter attacks On August 23 1658 almost 3 000 students sailors and soldiers staged a surprise sortie through a hidden passage in the wall 4 destroying fortifications under construction and capturing three cannons 5 Over 200 heated shot a day were hurled into the city and several large howitzers were brought to bombard the Danish capital including the 300 pounder Eric Hansson earlier used in the siege of Krakow 6 But the citizens of Copenhagen proved to be resilient and endured the constant barrage 7 References edit Isacson p 191 Isacson pp 192 196 Isacson p 197 This sally would later become known as Generaludfaldet in Danish history Isacson pp 198 199 Englund p 615 Isacson p 203Sources editEnglund Peter 2000 Den oovervinnerlige in Swedish Stockholm Atlantis ISBN 91 7486 999 X Isacson Claes Goran 2002 Karl X Gustavs krig in Swedish Lund Historiska Media ISBN 91 85057 25 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Siege of Copenhagen amp oldid 1212639212, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
