Battle of Helsingborg
Part of Great Northern War
German copperplate depicting the battle. (Krigsarkivet)
Date Februrary 28, 1710 Location Helsingborg, Sweden Result Decisive Swedish victory
Combatants
Sweden	Denmark
Commanders
Magnus Stenbock	Jørgen Rantzau
Strength
14,000	14,000
Casualties
800 dead, 2,000 wounded	5,000 dead 2,500 captured

In the Battle of Helsingborg (February 28, 1710) 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau was decisively defeated by an equally large Swedish army under Magnus Stenbock on the Ringstorp heights northwest of Helsingborg. It was Denmark's last attempt to regain the Scanian lands. Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Russia Denmark-Norway Poland-Lithuania Saxony later also Prussia, Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Peter the Great Augustus II the Strong Frederick IV of Denmark Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... Copperplate refers to the use of inscribed sheets of copper in printing. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 3 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. ... Helsingborg in Sweden Helsingborg is located in the southernmost part of Sweden, called SkÃ¥ne, and has a population of 91,600. ... Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock (1664 - 1717), Swedish soldier. ... Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Russia Denmark-Norway Poland-Lithuania Saxony later also Prussia, Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Peter the Great Augustus II the Strong Frederick IV of Denmark Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders King Charles XII of Sweden Field Marshal Charles Eugène de Croy Strength 10,640 about 37,000 Casualties 667 killed 15,000 killed or drowned the rest surrendered For other Battles of Narva, see Battle of Narva (disambiguation). ... Combatants Sweden Saxony/Russia Commanders Charles XII August II Adam Heinrich von Steinau Strength 7,000 in the first wave of attack Russians 10,000 Saxons 9,000 Casualties 100 wounded - 400 KIA 2,000 KIA The Crossing of the Daugava on July 9, 1701 was the Swedish push into... Combatants Sweden Poland,Saxony Commanders Charles XII August II the Strong Strength 20 000, 20 000, Casualties 1000 2000 {{{notes}}} Battle of Kliszów took place on July 19 1702 in MaÅ‚opolska during Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt Boris Sheremetyev Strength about 5,500 about 10,000 Casualties 800 killed, 1000 wounded 2000-6000 killed Battle of Gemauerthof was a battle in the Great Nordic War. ... The battle of Fraustadt was fought on February 3, 1706 between Swedish and Russians. ... The Battle of Holowczyn was fought between the Russian army, led by Field Marshal Sheremetyev, and the Swedish army, led by Charles XII of Sweden. ... The Battle of Lesnaya was one of the decisive battles of the Great Northern War. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld # Peter the Great Strength 17,000 troops attacking, 8,000 besieging Poltava 42,000–45,000 troops, 72 cannons Casualties 6,900 killed or wounded, 2,800 prisoners 1,345 killed 3,200 wounded The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a... The Battle of Gadebusch was Swedens final great victory in the Great Northern War. ... The naval Battle of Gangut took place on July 27, 1714 during the Great Northern War, in the waters north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the modern-day city of Hanko, Finland, between the Swedish Navy and Imperial Russian Navy. ... Combatants Denmark Prussia Sweden Commanders Frederick IV Frederick William III Charles XII Strength 36,000 soldiers Unknown Casualties Unknown Charles XII was wounded. ... The naval Battle of Dynekilen took place on 8 July 1716 during the Great Northern War, when a light Danish-Norwegian force under Tordenskjold trapped and defeated a similar Swedish force in Dynekilen fjord (just north of Strömstad), on the west coast of Sweden. ... This battle took place 4 June 1719, during the Great Northern War. ... The Battle of Grengam of 1720 was a major battle in the Great Northern War that marked the end of Swedish supremacy in the Baltic waters. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 3 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. ... Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock (1664 - 1717), Swedish soldier. ... Helsingborg in Sweden Helsingborg is located in the southernmost part of Sweden, called SkÃ¥ne, and has a population of 91,600. ... SkÃ¥neland is a denomination for the area once making up the eastern part of Denmark, which was permanently ceded to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde (1658). ...

Prelude

Denmark had been forced out of the Great Northern War by the treaty of Traventhal in 1700 but had long planned on reopening hostilities with the goal of reconquering the lost provinces Skåne, Halland och Blekinge. After the Swedish defeat at Poltava in 1709 the Danes saw an opportunity and declared war on Sweden the same year. The declaration of war arrived at the Swedish state council on October 18, 1709. The reasons given were that Sweden had been cheating with the Øresund tolls, and that the population of Skåne, Halland, Blekinge and Bohuslän had been mistreated. Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Russia Denmark-Norway Poland-Lithuania Saxony later also Prussia, Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Peter the Great Augustus II the Strong Frederick IV of Denmark Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... The Flag of SkÃ¥ne (also known as Scania in English) is the southernmost historical province (landskap) and County (Län) of Sweden. ... is a historical province (landskap) on the western coast of Sweden. ... Blekinge is the name of a geographical region in Sweden which can refer to: Blechingia, or Blekinge - a historical Province of Sweden Blekinge County, or Blekinge län - a current County of Sweden This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld # Peter the Great Strength 17,000 troops attacking, 8,000 besieging Poltava 42,000–45,000 troops, 72 cannons Casualties 6,900 killed or wounded, 2,800 prisoners 1,345 killed 3,200 wounded The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a declaration of war against the Empire of Japan on December 8, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. ... Northern Öresund Oresund (Öresund in Swedish or Øresund in Danish) or The Sound, is the strait that separates Zealand from Scania, and thereby Denmark from Sweden. ...

In late fall 1709 an enormous Danish fleet gathered in Øresund, and on November 2 the a landing was made off Råå. The Danish invasion army was led by general Christian Ditlev Reventlow and consisted of 15,000 men divided into six cavalry regiments, four dragoon regiments, eight infantry regiments and six artillery companies. It was met with virtually no resistance from the Swedes. The Swedish army was in terrible shape after Poltava, when several regiments had completely been annihilated. The work on reconstructing and recruiting the regiments had begun immediately after Poltava, but by late summer 1709 Magnus Stenbock only had one Scanian regiment in battle-fit condition. The Swedish counterattack would have to wait and the army retreated into Småland. In the beginning of December the Danes controlled almost all of central Skåne except for Landskrona and Malmö. Their objective was to take the naval base at Karlskrona and the Danish army worked its way quickly into Sweden. In Januari 1710 it defeated a smaller Swedish force outside of Kristianstad. Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... French dragoon, 1745. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, or other means. ... Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ... Look up company in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Sweden Russia Commanders Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld # Peter the Great Strength 17,000 troops attacking, 8,000 besieging Poltava 42,000–45,000 troops, 72 cannons Casualties 6,900 killed or wounded, 2,800 prisoners 1,345 killed 3,200 wounded The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a... Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock (1664 - 1717), Swedish soldier. ... is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. ... The old water tower in Landskrona is perhaps the local landmark and can be seen from far away Landskrona is a city in southernmost Sweden with some 27,000 inhabitants. ... Motto: FrÃ¥n arbetarstad till kunskapsstad (eng: From industrial city to knowledge city) Location of Malmö in northern Europe Coordinates: Country Sweden Municipality Malmö Municipality County SkÃ¥ne Province Scania Charter 13th Century  - Mayor Illmar Reepalu Area    - City 335. ... Karlskrona is a city in south-eastern Sweden. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 3 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. ... Kristianstad is a municipality and city in Scania in southernmost Sweden. ...

Stenbock had frantically tried to gather a new Swedish army and several new regiments had begun to assemble in Växjö, from where Stenbock had planned to march. The raw recruits were exercised daily on the the ice of a frozen lake close to the city. By February 5 Stenbock had moved to Osby where additional units joined in. By now, about 16,000 men were part of his host. Helsingborg was the key to Skåne and Stenbock intended on marching over Rönneå to Kävlingeån, in doing so cutting off the Danish supply lines. Växjö - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Helsingborg in Sweden Helsingborg is located in the southernmost part of Sweden, called SkÃ¥ne, and has a population of 91,600. ...

The Danish commander Reventlow saw the threat and turned immediately to meet the Swedes, but when they reached Ringsjön in central Skåne, Reventlow was suddenly taken ill and had to yield command to lieutenant-general Jørgen Rantzau. Rantzau feared being wedged between the Swedish army and the Swedish garrison in Malmö and therefore moved towards Helsingborg. Once in the city Rantzau could be reinforced and when he camped his force amounted to 10,000 foot soldiers and 4,000 horsement. Stenbock received the news of the Danish march too late and had to race to Helsingborg. The night of February 28 he camped northeast of the city. The Swedish army was at the time as large as the Danish army, with more cavalry and fewer infantry. February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The battle

On the morning of February 28 Stenbock marched south toward Helsingborg. When he approached the Danish positions he ordered his army to take battle positions. A thick morning fog lay over the area and hid the two parties from each other. When the fog lifted the two commanders could review over their respective armies. Rantzau saw that the Swedish army outflanked his own left flank in the west and was forced to reinforce it quickly. Rantzau had deployed his artillery on the heights of Ringstorp, from where he started firing at the Swedish troops at noon. Artillery with Gabion fortification Cannons on display at Fort Point Continental Artillery crew from the American Revolution Firing of an 18-pound gun, Louis-Philippe Crepin, (1772 – 1851) A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. ...

Instead of profiting from the weak Danish west flank Stenbock instead turned his army eastward to the Danish right flank. This was perceived by the Danes as an attempt to encircle the Danish eastern flank, and to prevent this it marched further east which opened up gaps in the Danish line that couldn't be filled. In the east, by Brohuset, the first skirmishes took place. The Swedes were repelled and Swedish commander Burenskiöld was captured. However, the rest of the Swedish east flank was able to improve the situation and soon the Danes were at a disadvantage. Rantzau participated in the fighting personally, not thinking of the direction of the battle, and was eventually wounded by a bullet through the lung. At the same time a rumor developed in the Danish east flank that the Swedes had encircled them and were attacking from behind, which caused the entire formation to collapse with the troops fleeing toward Helsingborg.

Rantzau's disappearance from the field became noticeable in the middle of the Danish line where the Swedish forces had begun to attack. The Danes had great difficulties withstanding the assault and when the troops saw how the eastern flank was faring, the middle started to collapse. The Danish elite forces Gardet and the corps of grenadiers which were deployed on the edges could prevent the Swedish advance long enough to allow the other forces to pull back, but many of the fleeing troops were cut down by the Swedish cavalry. A Grenadier was originally a specialized assault trooper for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the early 17th century. ...

Now the Swedes attacked the gap that had formed betweend the Danish center and its western flank. Here too the Danes had no leadership, since the commander von Dewitz had been orderd to the eastern side of battle. The Swedish cavalry chased off the Danes and thus surrounding the grenadiers. The other elite force, Gardet, had already been forced to retire and the situation became untenable for the Danes. Major general Valentin von Eickstedt ordered the Danish retreat.

Aftermath

The remainder of the Danish army had sought refuge within the walls of Helsingborg and Stenbock avoided attacking them as they had too advantageous a position. Instead he besieged the city and invited the Danes to capitulate, but the offer was dismissed by von Dewitz. A Swedish council of war determined that Swedish forces were too weak to storm the city, and instead started a bombardment of the city. By March 5 the last remains of the Danish army left Skåne after slaughtering all their horses and sabotaging their cannon. Surrender is when soldiers give up fighting and become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. ...

The Danes lost over 7,500 men had been killed, wounded, or captured. The Swedish losses amounted to 2,800 dead or wounded. The Danish army left Skåne, never to return again.

The city of Helsingborg was hit hard by the battle, due both to the Swedish bombardment which destroyed its buildings, and all the remaining human and horse cadavers which poisoned the wells. A plaugue epidemic harrowed the town and reduced its population. Helsingborg did not recover and flourish again until the middle of the 19th century. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Great Northern War
• Slaget vid Helsingborg (1362)

Combatants Sweden Ottoman Empire (1710–1714) Russia Denmark-Norway Poland-Lithuania Saxony later also Prussia, Hanover Commanders Charles XII of Sweden Ahmed III Peter the Great Augustus II the Strong Frederick IV of Denmark Strength 77,000 in the beginning of the war. ...

Sources

• Svenska slagfält, Lars Ericson, Martin Hårdstedt, Per Iko, Ingvar Sjöblom och Gunnar Åselius, Wahlström & Widstrand 2003, ISBN 91-46-21087-3.
• Berömda svenska slag, 1700-tal (1c) - Slaget vid Helsingborg, Hans Högman, 2004-05-09, http://www.algonet.se/~hogman/slb_slag_1700d.htm.