siege of Fredriksten

File:Carolus XII dress livrustkammaren museum stockholm.jpg's uniform, the one he wore when he died at Fredriksten. On display at Livrustkammaren in Stockholm.]]

File:Carl Gustaf Armfeldt.jpg]]

{{Main|Fredriksten#Great Northern War (1700–1721)}}

King Charles XII of Sweden made several campaigns into the city during the Great Northern War (Swedish: Stora nordiska kriget) as part of his campaign to capture Norway. At the close of the Great Northern War, the Norwegian Army had been weakened in early 1716 by withdrawal of 5000 of the best troops to Denmark. When rumors reached Christiania (now Oslo) that Charles XII was preparing to invade, all remaining troops in Østerdal and Gudbrandsdal were ordered to the border at Halden and Fredrikstad. The Norwegians expected Swedish forces to invade at Kongsvinger, Basmo and/or Halden. {{cite web|url =http://www.tacitus.nu/svenskhistoria/artiklar/stora_nordiska_kriget.htmasp |title= Stora Nordiska Kriget|publisher = tacitus.nu/svenskhistoria

|accessdate=November 1, 2018}}

It was at Basmo Fortress (Basmo festning) where Charles struck, crossing the border on 8 March 1716. The Norwegian scorched earth policy and guerrilla raid interdiction of supply chains by the residents of Bohuslen deprived Charles of supplies, while the fortresses still held by the Norwegians behind his lines threatened his supply chain. Charles took Christiania (now Oslo), but without heavy siege artillery, was unable to take Akershus Fortress.{{cite web|url= https://snl.no/Akershus_slott_og_festning|title= Akershus slott og festning |publisher =Store norske leksikon|author= Erlend Hammer |accessdate= June 1, 2017}}

After a brief occupation, Charles retraced his steps to the Norwegian fortresses in southeastern Norway with the objective of capturing Fredriksten. This would remove the threat at his back, and the fortifications could serve as the base for a renewed offensive later that year. Capturing the harbours at the mouth of the Glomma river would also allow him to land the necessary provisions for a successful siege of Akershus Fortress. {{cite web|url= http://www.norgeshistorie.no/enevelde/artikler/1219-norge-i-den-store-nordiske-krig.html|title= Norge i den store nordiske krig|publisher= University of Oslo|accessdate= June 1, 2017}}

Charles' troops attempted to take Fredriksten by storm on 4 July. His troops took the town after fierce fighting, but the citizens set fire to their own houses, forcing Charles, unable to take the fortress, to retreat and await the arrival of heavy siege guns. Unfortunately for the invading army the entire Swedish transport fleet was captured or destroyed by the Norwegian naval hero Peter Wessel Tordenskjold (1690-1720) at the Battle of Dynekilen (Slaget om Dynekilen) in Bohuslen. Running low on supplies, Charles retreated hastily across the Svinesund and burned the bridges behind him. By 12 July 1716 all Swedish troops had been withdrawn from the area around Fredriksten.{{cite web|url = http://forsvaretsmuseer.no/Marinemuseet/1716-Slaget-om-Dynekilen |title= 1716 - Slaget om Dynekilen|publisher = Forsvarets Marinemuseet |accessdate=September 1, 2018}}

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Charles XII once again invaded southern Norway in the autumn of 1718, this time with 35,000–40,000 men.{{Cite book |last=McNab |first=Chris |title=Famous Battles of the Early Modern Period |year=2017 |pages=58}} He did this intending to first capture Fredriksten fortress to be able to sustain a siege of Akershus. By first taking the border areas, Charles wished to avoid a repeat of the fiasco he had suffered two years before. The Frederiksten garrison, of between 1,400 and 1,800 men, fought ferociously to hold back the besieging force of some 5,000–6,000 Swedes under the personal command of their king. They, however, suffered a severe setback when, on 8 December the forward fortification, Gyldenløve fort, at Fredriksten fell. Encouraged by their very hard-fought success the Swedish army intensified their efforts against the main fort.{{cn|date=March 2021}}

The Swedish trenches had almost reached the main fortification walls when on the evening of 11 December (Swedish calendar: 30 November 1718, a projectile (probably a large musket ball or grapeshot) struck Charles XII through the left temple while he inspected the trench-works and killed him. The death of the king effectively ended the attack on Fredriksten and the invasion was called off, leading to the conclusion of the war.{{cn|date=March 2021}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• Åberg. Alf; Göte Göransson (1976) Karoliner (Stockholm : Bokförl. Trevi) {{ISBN|9789171602084}}
• Bain, R. Nisbet (2015) Charles XII and the Collapse of the Swedish Empire (CreateSpace Independent Publishing) {{ISBN|978-1514632680}}
• Frost, Robert I. (2000) The Northern Wars, 1558-1721 (Longman Harlowd) {{ISBN|0-582-06429-5}}
• Lisk, Jill (1968) The Struggle for Supremacy in the Baltic 1600-1725 (Funk & Wagnalls)
• Lunde, Henrik O. (2014) A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of Sweden as a Military Superpower, 1611-1721 (Casemate) {{ISBN|978-1612002422}}
• Stagg, Frank Noel (1956) East Norway and its Frontier (George Allen & Unwin, Ltd)
• Stiles, Andrina (1992) Sweden and the Baltic, 1523 - 1721 (Hodder & Stoughton) {{ISBN|0-340-54644-1}}

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Category:Battles of the Great Northern War

Category:Sieges involving Denmark–Norway

Category:Attacks on military installations in Norway

Category:Halden

Category:Sieges involving the Swedish Empire

Category:History of Bohuslän

Category:1718 in Norway

Category:Conflicts in 1718